Alt_F4: This is one awkward keyboard maneuver. Can I change it?
- Thread starter tom2u
- Start date
Solution
Hawkeye22
Glorious
- Feb 10, 2006
- 11,442
- 1
- 49,065
Have you tried autohotkey?
http://superuser.com/questions/250435/how-can-i-change-the-default-shortcut-in-windows-for-closing-programs
http://superuser.com/questions/250435/how-can-i-change-the-default-shortcut-in-windows-for-closing-programs
For the life of me I cannot understand why this is so difficult. Autohotkey requires scripts it seems. Who is going to want that? 1% of the population? Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator doesn't display any keyboard like it should. I changed the display properties back to default and its still a gray window with no keyboard displayed. Strokeit doesn't seem to have a Save button. I can change Alt_F4 to Alt_Q (hooray!) but it can't be saved. Bizarre. With StrokeIt you can easily change a key to something else so I changed Q to F4. But how will I type now? It seems to only do single keys. That is useless.
I cannot grasp why nobody has marketed this. I would think most of the population would love being able to change awkward commands to convenient commands. Why in the world somebody decided Alt_F4 was a good idea we will never know. They should never be let near a computer keyboard for life.
Its very simple: pick a letter, change the letter, save the change.
Hey Geeks! If you want to sell something, ask your socially feeble mind if most of the digitally unlearned people around you would grasp your program immediately. If they can't, its back to the drawing board. Unless you want to sell 1% of your potential of course. Then by all means, make it as unintuitive as possible. I'm sure most of us will develop telepathic powers to comprehend your program right away.
These problems are so common in modern software because people don't think about other people that lack their vast software grasp in one particular area. They don't put themselves in their shoes. Or just ask average people and listen to their reactions. Or partner with someone that can enhance your abilities. The world's productivity depends on intuitive software. Few things waste more time than stuff that doesn't make sense to most people. Sure you may have to come down to their level by adding a few things but it shouldn't take away from the functionality of your design if well thought out. You can have both.
I cannot grasp why nobody has marketed this. I would think most of the population would love being able to change awkward commands to convenient commands. Why in the world somebody decided Alt_F4 was a good idea we will never know. They should never be let near a computer keyboard for life.
Its very simple: pick a letter, change the letter, save the change.
Hey Geeks! If you want to sell something, ask your socially feeble mind if most of the digitally unlearned people around you would grasp your program immediately. If they can't, its back to the drawing board. Unless you want to sell 1% of your potential of course. Then by all means, make it as unintuitive as possible. I'm sure most of us will develop telepathic powers to comprehend your program right away.
These problems are so common in modern software because people don't think about other people that lack their vast software grasp in one particular area. They don't put themselves in their shoes. Or just ask average people and listen to their reactions. Or partner with someone that can enhance your abilities. The world's productivity depends on intuitive software. Few things waste more time than stuff that doesn't make sense to most people. Sure you may have to come down to their level by adding a few things but it shouldn't take away from the functionality of your design if well thought out. You can have both.
Hawkeye22
Glorious
- Feb 10, 2006
- 11,442
- 1
- 49,065
Windows has used ALT-F4 to close a window since version 1.0. You can either program your own keyboard hook or use what's available. Most OS's have shortcuts that are kept consistent across versions so that you don't have to learn new shortcuts.
That's exactly what I would have thought. I wonder if I can accomplish this in the Registry? Or something like Group Policy. Somewhere in Windows Alt_F4 tells things to close. That's where I need to be. I thought that Alt_Q might be good. I never use that shortcut in anything. Or F5 as well as one can always use Control_R to refresh a page (and how often do you need to use that - not very!). Ideally it should be accomplished with the non-mouse hand, which, for about 95% of the population, is the left.
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