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I hate to compare KDE with Mac Os X, but using the latter for a while I've seen that it would be very comfortable to have a default shortcut to open the configuration window of every application.
You know, on Macs, regardless of the software, typing "cmd-," will always open the configuration window of that software, so you don't need to go to the menu. Once you discover this feature, you work faster.

In KDE we already can use ctrl-q to quit, ctrl-o to open, and so on, for every application.
So I propose to add a default shortcut such as ctrl-, to open the default configuration window of any application.

regards

There is already such a shortcut. It is in System Settings/Personal Settings -> Shortcuts and Gestures -> Standard Keyboard Shortcuts -> Configure System Settings. It is probably poorly labeled, I will submit a bug report for it if there isn't already.

They are not going to set it to ctrl- since it that is already used for zooming out in kwin by default.

No, TheBlackCat, he means the _application's_ configuration window. For example in KWrite this would be Settings->Configure Editor. Each application dumps it somewhere in the menu.

Actually, one can manually set this default shortcut in systemsettings (my system is localized in Italian, and I don't know how it is labeled in English). I set it and I'm happy with it.

But, since most of the users won't change these shortcut, it's important to set default, useful shortcuts for most actions that are commons between the applications. One of them is opening the configuration window.

So the point is: let's set a default shortcut for opening the configuration windows of the application, so that we can use it even in new installations.
This could make easier to use every new application (one less thing to learn) and give a stronger feeling of an integrated system.

There's one thing to add indeed: after setting this shortcut for all the applications, I saw that some of them maybe don't do things in the "standard" way, since this shortcut doesn't work for them.

Everything just to say that sensible defaults can make our beloved KDE SC easier to use.

If we make the same actions like "copy", "paste", "quit application", "open configuration window" working in the same way everywhere, just like we have the same icons everywhere, we will add a big "plus" to our system.

Too bad that things equivalent actions such as "display menu bar" are in different menus in different applications...

I agree, gerlos, definite +1 to this idea for me.

Moult wrote:No, TheBlackCat, he means the _application's_ configuration window. For example in KWrite this would be Settings->Configure Editor. Each application dumps it somewhere in the menu.

That is what I was talking about. It is poorly labeled, but that is exactly what the shortcut I described does. I just tried it.

I personally think this is a bad idea. Shortcuts are already in very short supply, I do not think this use-case is common enough to warrant setting a default. People shouldn't need to re-configure their applications that often.

I think reconfiguration is a quite common action. You want to add a new account to Kopete/KMail, you want to have a new appearance, something went wrong and you have to reconfigure something, you notice a great new feature, but you have to configure it to fit your needs�
In OS X this is actually very comfortable, we should add such a default-shortcut.

Then which shortcut should it be? Remember, it has to be one that isn't already assigned by default to another action, since developers have already said in other contexts that they are not going to go around randomly changing shortcuts on people. So which shortcut would make sense but is not already being used?

Probably not very creative, but what would be about ctrl+,?

Are we allowed to use super keys or multiple modifier keys in default shortcuts? (eg Windows+s or Ctrl+Alt+s)?

The shortcuts should not be tied anyway for special keys. Like ?, =, *, ´, § and so on. As those positions depends very much about the keyboard layout. All do not use English layout on their keyboards.

That is one thing what makes it even harder for people when they have localisation different than english and in emergency situations they need to deal with command line what use english layout and they actually are screwd.

That is very typical even with the Windows Games. Like many developers place console to special key what does not work by single click but in other language layouts you need to use combination to get it. And then the documentation say "Press the key". While you need to press "This+that+the key".

As example, Ctrl+? is behind two key in english layout, but it to get ? in finnish layout, you need to press Ctrl+Shift++ to get Ctrl+?.


But the application program configuration really is needed to be a global shortcut. As we need to get a way to hide menubar. We can not force people to have menubar always shown.

There is need that Ctrl+M is added to kdelibs so it is available for every possible application program. And then few popular application programs takes it back to use like Amarok, Koffice and KWrite.

The application programs what allows to hide the menubar have better usability than those what does not allow. And there are few things what really forces to show the menubar first is the application configuration. Example Kopete allows hiding menubar by default (no need a custom theme) but you need many times configure Kopete themes or settings (webcam etc) and then you need to play around with Ctrl+M. Easiest way is just to add a shortcut for settings but you need to do it for every application program separately. No way to have a global one.

The User wrote:Probably not very creative, but what would be about ctrl+,?

When I try to assign that shortcut to something it says it is already being used.

Where is it used?