2. Combining input methods
How to develop these abilities
As listed on the first page, common human input methods include:
mouse
touchpad
touchscreen
keyboard
keyboard layouts
It is always good to know multiple ways of achieving the same result, and the nuances between the methods if there are any. You will also discover which way is faster, in which situation.
Discovering keyboard accessibility
Websites
On a new website, I will explore to see if keyboard interaction is available.
Tap the
Tab key ⇥
several times to see how the element focus moves around the page.Press the
Forward Slash (Oblique) key /
to see if it focusses the page's search box. &#xNAN;(This is usually a good indicator of if the developers have considered accessibility conventions.)Try pressing the
Question Mark key ? (Shift+/)
to see if there is a keyboard shortcuts popup. &#xNAN;(Make sure that no text box has the keyboard focus!)
At the same time as I'm tapping Tab ⇥
to reach the button or box I want to use, I move my right hand from the keyboard to use the mouse, then move the mouse cursor to the same button/box. If using the mouse is noticeably quicker & easier, then I'll probably default to using the mouse for that task. It depends on what else I'm doing with the right hand on the keyboard — if I'm typing unusual words, it is preferable to keep my right hand placed on the keyboard. If I have to press Tab ⇥
more than 5-6 times to reach the target button/box, I'll probably just use the mouse anyway.
The
Enter (Return) key ↵
usually activates the default button in a window.The
Space key ' '
activates whichever button or object currently has focus. Object focus is usually shown using an outline, a dotted line, a different colour, etc. PressingTab ⇥
moves the focus to the next object.Typing letters in a drop-down selector usually jumps to items in the list that start with the letter(s) that you typed. Sometimes, a developer has coded their own drop-down selector, so it might not behave as expected.
Applications
Most desktop applications have a vast array of keyboard shortcuts built in. Some are hard-coded, but some allow you to edit the shortcuts.
Learn which shortcuts are fairly standard and universal, and then you will find it easier to memorize which keyboard shortcuts differ in each application.
Press the Alt key
(or hold it) to show "access keys".
In older applications, one letter in a menu item or button will get underlined, and you can press Alt and that letter to open or activate that item.
In newer applications, labels will pop up next to each menu item and object, with a letter. "Access key" mode is active, so you can now press the relevant letter to activate your chosen item without holding down the Alt key. From regular mode, you can also press Alt + the letter together.
Touchpad
I use a few customized gestures for controlling windows on Windows.
three-finger swipes control window positions
four-finger swipes left & right switch desktop
four-finger slide up activates the Alt+Tab window switcher
four-finger slide down activates the volume control.
Combining three-finger swipes with the Alt key also gives you access to more snapping variations.
Activating volume control with a touchpad gesture is extremely useful, especially if you regularly use audio for your work. For example, I often give classroom presentations with audio tracks for listening exercises. Sometimes the volume is already too loud!
Even when I'm using a mouse or the keyboard on my laptop, I still find my left hand jumping to the touchpad to use these gestures. A simple multi-finger flick is much quicker than a key combination or moving the mouse cursor to the small part of a window to drag it to the right place on the screen and wait for the snap animation to check if it's in the right place.
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