WM suport for grab key scrolling

[Eben Eliason]

On 4/20/07, Marco Pesenti Gritti <mpg at redhat.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 2007-04-20 at 13:22 -0400, Eben Eliason wrote:
> > On 4/20/07, Marco Pesenti Gritti <mpg at redhat.com> wrote:
> > > On Fri, 2007-04-20 at 18:27 +0200, Bert Freudenberg wrote:
> > > > > Well, yeah, but the fact that's physically part of the the keyboard
> > > > > doesn't really suggest it's a mouse modifier. And the fact that we
> > > > > have
> > > > > a scrolling mode (press/release) doesn't suggest it either.
> > > >
> > > > Who actually thinks this is a good idea? I'd much rather require
> > > > holding the grab key. There will be numerous kids trying to move the
> > > > pointer while nothing happens.
> >
> > Yeah, When I first considered that idea I was still envisioning a
> > graphical change of the cursor to indicate the mode.  If we don't have
> > any visual indication that "scroll mode" is active, then we probably
> > shouldn't allow it to lock on.
> >
> > The more I consider it, though, I think a cursor change is probably
> > the right thing to do anyway.  Highlighting the scrollbar is good, but
> > actually modifying the cursor really links the two logically.  Perhaps
> > we should use the "fleur" cursor when the view can scroll both
> > directions, and the "left-right" or "up/down" (whatever the correct
> > name is for those) cursors when the region scrolls only in one axis.
> > Perhaps better, we can duplicate the grab key graphic, smaller and
> > superimposed over the aforementioned icons.
> >
> > This gives visual feedback that links the key to the cursor position.
> > It also let's you know (in addition to the highlighting) that a scroll
> > region accepts grab scrolling (since the cursor shouldn't change
> > unless it's in a region that supports it).  It also provides
> > additional information about the directions you can scroll.  These are
> > all good things.
> >
> > We can still argue about the grab-lock mode independently of this.  I
> > won't cry if it doesn't get in.  I think I'd like it personally, but
> > it would really come down to user testing with kids in my opinion.
>
> I think visual feedback will work for the case when kids knows about the
> feature. Though, when kids press the key accidentally they will not know
> how to undo the action and get back in the normal mode. Or am I missing
> something?

Well, that's true.  I think my latter suggestion to use the grab key
icon in conjunction with the arrows will visually link it to the key.
It's a recognizable icon, and I'd think that a logical solution even
if you have no idea what happened would be to press that key again.
But you may still be right.  We'll have to test it out.

- Eben