Function keys productivity trick • Hacker News Board

Re: Function keys productivity trick

#141

Post by nahuel0x » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 8:29 PM UTC

wmeredith wrote: post #127

nahuel0x wrote: post #40

If macOS didn't added a very annoying fade-out/fade-in delay when switching Spaces, you could simply use them with maximized apps and hotkeys for switching them. Another design mistake from Apple.

I must be missing something because my Mac OS does not do that. There is a slide-in/over animation, but it's nearly instant.

You can change the default slide-in/over animation to a faster fade-out/fade-in one by enabling "Apple menu -> System Settings -> Accessibility -> Display -> Reduce Motion", but you cannot disable the animation completely.

Re: Function keys productivity trick

#142

Post by 1attice » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 8:29 PM UTC

teo_zero wrote: post #125

I couldn't disagree more. My mental sanity depends on some fixed beliefs. One of those is that every key sequence not involving the Win key is sent to and handled by the application in focus. Including F-keys, which many applications expect, in any case. Ex: F2=edit cell, F9=recalculate in Excel. Global actions handled by the SO or DE must involve Win. Ex: Win+L lock screen. And yes, Redmond-imposed Alt-Tab is an abo…

Idk where you were at that era but the Win key came out half a decade after Alt-Tab.

Win95 didn't even have the Win key.

Goodness. Think before you post. :) A thing cannot be an abomination for not making use of a building material which would not exist for most of the decade.

Re: Function keys productivity trick

#143

Post by dec0dedab0de » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 8:35 PM UTC

1attice wrote: post #142

teo_zero wrote: post #125

I couldn't disagree more. My mental sanity depends on some fixed beliefs. One of those is that every key sequence not involving the Win key is sent to and handled by the application in focus. Including F-keys, which many applications expect, in any case. Ex: F2=edit cell, F9=recalculate in Excel. Global actions handled by the SO or DE must involve Win. Ex: Win+L lock screen. And yes, Redmond-imposed Alt-Tab is an abo…

Idk where you were at that era but the Win key came out half a decade after Alt-Tab. Win95 didn't even have the Win key. Goodness. Think before you post. :) A thing cannot be an abomination for not making use of a building material which would not exist for most of the decade.

I am pretty sure I had a windows key on the windows 95 packard bell I got for christmas 95.

Edit: it was the same model as this reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/vintagecomputing/comments/s518wo/i_...

Re: Function keys productivity trick

#144

Post by billbrown » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 8:41 PM UTC

trumpeta wrote: post #5

Another way of doing this is assign Hyper key to Caps Lock with Karabiner and then use that to set up hyper+X shortcuts to different or macros using Hammerspoon. So e.g. I have hyper+a for Alacritty, hyper+b for Browser etc.

Karabiner Hyper key plus Alfred is The Way.

Re: Function keys productivity trick

#145

Post by xwowsersx » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 8:44 PM UTC

rxhanson wrote: post #114

Charmstone [1] is a different take from everything mentioned here (I'm the developer). The idea is to use your spatial memory to switch/launch apps faster than anything else that I've found, with a smaller learning curve and less memorization. You can use keyboard shortcuts with the arrow keys, modifier keys + cursor movement, or a trackpad gesture. [1] https://charmstone.app

Neat idea. I just downloaded it. How can I use just the keyboard, e.g. with arrows to select one the apps in the switcher? Using the mouse is a nonstarter for me.

EDIT: oh duh "display with arrow keys". Nice. Going to try this out for a while. It's definitely way faster than cmd + tabbing through my many apps.

Re: Function keys productivity trick

#146

Post by sigmonsays » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 8:46 PM UTC

I just use rofi and type what I want to launch. I dont really see the need for all this.

Re: Function keys productivity trick

#147

Post by deafpolygon » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 8:54 PM UTC

Eh..?

Don't get me wrong - if it works for you or OP, great! Keep doing it. I use Sway and KDE depending on what tickles my fancy.

For application launching, I just use Alt+Space and type the first few letters of what I want. My frequent flyers get assigned to Meta+Alt+Letter.

- Krunner / Rofi - Alt+Space (Meta+D was a bit contorted for me) - Meta+Enter - Konsole (KDE) / Kitty (Sway) - Meta+Shift+ - move active window to desktop - Meta+1-0 - switch to desktop #1-#10

A lot of apps use F-keys so it's not a good fit for me. When possible, I like to map custom shortcuts for various applications using F-keys.. not use it as an application launcher.

For example: With Dolphin, I've gotten used to F2 for renaming (Windows holdover), F3 for split file view, F4 for terminal, F5 for refresh

Kate or VS Code, I tend to map F5 to Build/Run/Debug.

Re: Function keys productivity trick

#148

Post by deafpolygon » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 8:55 PM UTC

hprotagonist wrote: post #6

~/.config/i3/config: # emacsclient set $em_daemon ~/.local/bin/em # make a quick launcher for specific things I do all the time bindsym $mod+o mode "spotlight" mode "spotlight" { ## specific files in a new emacs buffer # dired in home bindsym d exec $em_daemon ~/; mode "default" # ibuffer bindsym e exec $em_daemon --eval "(ibuffer)"; mode "default" # # guaranteed new scratch buffer bindsym s exec $em_daemon --eval '(…

I like the mode idea, wonder if I can get an equivalent in KDE.

Re: Function keys productivity trick

#149

Post by motoboi » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 9:02 PM UTC

In macOS, just CMD-,t-e will give me a terminal.

So many keys, you say. Well, it takes me probably 1/10 the time to hit fn-F1.

Also, no extra app, Chrome is just CMD-,c-h.

Re: Function keys productivity trick

#150

Post by Karawebnetwork » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 9:02 PM UTC

deafpolygon wrote: post #147

Eh..? Don't get me wrong - if it works for you or OP, great! Keep doing it. I use Sway and KDE depending on what tickles my fancy. For application launching, I just use Alt+Space and type the first few letters of what I want. My frequent flyers get assigned to Meta+Alt+Letter. - Krunner / Rofi - Alt+Space (Meta+D was a bit contorted for me) - Meta+Enter - Konsole (KDE) / Kitty (Sway) - Meta+Shift+ - move active windo…

He does cover this briefly: "Is it up to an app launcher such as Spotlight or Alfred?"

I'd be curious as to why he finds the F keys faster. Perhaps not having to wait for the bar to appear, not having to "context switch" by thinking about the app's name and not having to type anything.

He talks about how one key is his music software for example, so by simply remembering F6 it skips having to even know what the app's name is and having to potentialy pick the second of third choice of a list. "[alt space] spotif... oh damn, no [backspace] it's itun... wait no I just switched to Tidal... [backspace] So [T] [enter] oops, I just opened the Terminal..."