Suggestion for Minor Change to New Laptop Keyboard

[nvaccessAuto]

Reported by miahtech on 2013-03-07 12:51
While I was initially not happy with the new laptop scheme I've come to see the good points in it. One thing though I think should be looked at, changing the read current line command. Having to go back to l from the arrows every time is very annoying. Why not instead, use alt+NVDA+up arrow. It is open, not being used by anything else, and would be easy to do on a laptop. I think this would make more sense, and I suspect other users would agree. Something to at least consider.

[nvaccessAuto]

Comment 1 by ateu on 2013-03-07 15:25
Great!

I really like this idea.
This is so practical when navigating.

[nvaccessAuto]

Comment 2 by ateu on 2013-03-07 15:33
However, there is a problem with this command. Once pressed, the command is performed but the menu is opened as you pressed alt.

[nvaccessAuto]

Comment 3 by jteh on 2013-03-07 21:57
Unfortunately, it's not possible to use the alt key in NVDA commands because it will trigger the menu bar, as the alt key itself isn't intercepted.

Out of interest, I don't quite follow why proximity to the arrow keys matters here. If you're already navigating with the arrow keys, what is the scenario that requires you to read the current line and then immediately continue navigating?

[ehollig]

Intriguing, but I do not believe it is possible. As stated in #3059 (comment), the alt key would activate the menu bar, as the alt key itself is not intercepted by NVDA. CC @jcsteh

[jcsteh]

Actually, the alt and Windows keys can now be used as modifiers for NVDA commands thanks to #3472. That said, I'm reluctant to make this change at this stage, as the layout has been like this for years. Users can always bind the command themselves, though. Closing as won't fix.