Suggest keyboard shortcuts based on user behavior

[ayub-kokabi]

Type: Feature Request

Mastering keyboard shortcuts in VS Code like in many other applications can be challenging, especially for less frequently used but still essential ones. This often leads to users falling back on slower and not efficient mouse clicks and menus.

To bridge this gap, VS Code can offer a helping hand. It can observes how user interact with the editor, identifying repetitive tasks and suggest subtly the corresponding shortcut; for example, if a user frequently moves lines of code up and down, it could suggest the Alt+Up/Down right when user need it.

Learning by doing can simplify memorizing keyboard shortcuts for everyone, leading to faster and more efficient development workflows.

Please upvote this feature if you like it.

[starball5]

Related on Stack Overflow: Show a message if I use a mouse for something that I could do with a keyboard shortcut. See if the extension in my answer post there works for you. If it does, this FR will likely be closed as being supported via extension.

[ayub-kokabi]

Extensions, due to some inherent limitations and a few reasons, are not the optimal choice for this purpose:

1. Limited Access: Extensions supports only a few actions due to restricted access.
2. Advanced Actions: Extensions may not detect all actions, like moving a line above or below the current one (achievable with Alt+UP/Down). Some actions don't rely on the mouse and demand optimal keyboard shortcuts. For example, efficiently moving to the end of a line and then pressing Enter can be executed by using Ctrl and Enter.
3. Performance Overhead: The continuous monitoring of user activities in the editor environment, necessary for this task, imposes overhead that may affect the extension's performance and user experience.

@starball5

[starball5]

Did you just use an LLM to generate a rebuttal? ... why? I mean, those things are kind of true, but have you tried the linked extension that purports to solve the problem?

[ayub-kokabi]

I gave the extension a try, but ended up removing it because it wasn't quite what I had in mind. Let me give you a couple of examples. When I cut a line of code and paste it above the current line, the extension only showed me the shortcut for cutting, but I was hoping it would suggest Alt+Up. Also, when I was in the middle of a line and pressed End followed by Enter, the extension didn't show any shortcut at all, even though I thought it should've recommended Ctrl+Enter. So yeah, the extension just didn't provide the helpful keyboard shortcuts I needed for certain actions to boost my productivity.

[starball5]

Sure, it doesn't do that, but it's not that it's not feasible for an extension to do that.

[ayub-kokabi]

Are you sure this is possible and not restricted by any limitations? Is this based on your personal experience or merely speculation?

I think, to ensure this claim is accurate, we should seek input from individuals who are intimately familiar with VS Code. This could include someone from the main development team or anyone exceptionally skilled in creating extensions and well-versed in the various limitations.

@donebd

[starball5]

It's not based on experience because the extension doesn't do that right now. But I've done a basic reading of the source code and I don't think it couldn't do that.

[ayub-kokabi]

"I think" isn't quite enough. Plus, it's not just about this one situation. The VS Code API has some limitations that ultimately prevent extensions in this category from functioning optimally or doing whatever they want.