Topic: New SmartTab Version (Page 1 of 1)

Good news everyone!

A new version of SmartTab is finally out of beta ( meaning I've been using it for 6 months without really telling anyone).
It fixes an annoying bug where you couldn't activate certain windows a certain way ( either they didn't work when clicked, or they
only worked when clicked... can't remember exactly , but it was always another window of the same app. So you couldn't activte
that other Firefox window that way ),
and has some minor new parameters for example to place it on another monitor.

Grab it while it's hot over at SmartTab.org

So long,

->Tyberius Prime

That's cool, but why not just use some modern desktop environment besides Windows?

Troll .

Because it would be a net producivity loss for me.
Starts with 'the key combos for edit controls aren't exactly the same',
goes to 'diddle with the fonts in X',
advances to half of my daily tools won't run ( since they're for example legacy delphi applications of my own writing, and I don't even want to try to get python for delphi to run on a unix based system ),
continues with 'the shop I'm working for uses an intranet variant of Windows Messener and none of the multi protocol client on any platform seem to speak that dialect' ( VPN connection, of course )
and basically ends with '.net 2.0 is my current favourite playground'.


Now, I guess I could overcome nearly all those difficulties (except the messenger, I guess - It'd be easier to convince the shop to use something different), but in what time? I guess somewhere between 6 months and a couple of years.

Simply an economic decision. 140 Bucks every third year for the newest windows is still quite a bit cheaper than spending time for the transition.
Yes, I'm in a clear vendor-lock-in situation

Downer. Ohwell, I hear you can run KDE on Windows.

hmmm. Always hated alt-tab because it always seemed suitable for righties and not us lefties... with your left hand on the mouse, using the right hand to hit alt-tab is so akward. I wish they would make the alt-tab menu, not necessarily alt-tab, but keyboard configurable...

Yea! New SmartTab!

quote:

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Always hated alt-tab because it always seemed suitable for righties and not us lefties.

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Interesting point.

Hey, TP, you didn't happen to use something like AutoHotkey to create SmartTab, did you? If so, the default Alt+Tab combo I think would be fairly easy to customize.

No, I didn't - SmartTab is written in Delphi, but then again, it indeed would be easy to customize it (as in 'add another key combo to bring it up').

So what combo do you suggest jive?

Well...from another lefty.... I think Alt and "+=" would work quite well. This configuration allows your middle and ring finger to use the backspace key as orientation. That is to say... if my middle and right finger are resting on backspace my index finger has no choice but to be on '+=" and my thumb pretty much naturally falls on the Alt key.

Just a thought but it seems to work for me.... I'm sure other 'gosh' types will have something to say.

The alt-tab thing has always been a pain for me too.

As for us lefties and using the mouse... I go about it a bit differently than most I've seen. While I have the mouse on the left side of the keyboard... I do not reconfigure the buttons to a left orientation. This makes life a whole lot easier for me for a couple of reasons.
If a right handed person wanted to show me something on my computer all they have to do is move the mouse to the other side of the keyboard...and I used to do a fair amount of tutoring to the 'over 40 crowd'..... most of whom were right-handed... so it was just easier to leave the buttons as they are. The only thing I've customized is the wheel button...which I have set to double click.

Hope that helps.

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Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.

Well, the = key jumps from keyboardlayout to keyboard layout... how about alt+Backspace? (And either of those combos with shift is going to be troublesome).

Nice little tool there. Thanks for providing it.

Dan @ Code Town

I can see NoJives point with the alt + (+=) key. My hand does rest pretty comfortably there. Although keyboard shortcutting become somewhat of a no-look instinct, and something closer to the alt key might be better, like hitting the alt-shift together? On my keyboard the opposite spot for the tab key is the (|\) key...

This feature would be well used for me.

Alt-Shift is out of the question - chances are that I can't hook on that. (Plus you need shift for the reverse combination )

How about Alt-Backspace?

Alt-Backspace is a little far for my little stubby fingers. how bout the alt-ctrl keys? its the same place as the tab, but other side. Or here are a few of my votes:

alt-ctrl - this would be incredibly convenient
alt- (?/)
alt-- (|/)

in that order.

Remember, as a righty hitting alt-tab is somewhat easy and comfortable because you don't have any other keys to the right, just the edge of the table, however as a lefty, when stretching so far up to the backspace key it's easy to have all the other keys in the way (and accidentaly hit them)

But, then again, I am a speed user, and am always looking for the quickest,easiest shortcut. Just a thought anyway.

quote:

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How about Alt-Backspace?

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Works for me. Thank you =)

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Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.

Very nice TP. Thanks.

And you southpaws just need to do things normal, and every thing`ll be fine.

:-)



(Edited by docilebob on 08-03-2006 23:11)

LOL. If only it didn't pay me to be speedy for a living! -TP I'm actually looking forward to this (where before I had little interest) . Alt - tablike thingy for lefties? Woulda thunk it! Is it possible to do alt - cntrl?

Ok guys,
SmartTab Beta For the Lefthanded.
Keycombo is Alt-Backspace ( And Alt-Shift-Backspace ).

Let me here how it works out, it'll make it into the offical version then.

so long,

->Tyberius Prime

Just great TP but there is one problem...and it is a bit of a biggy if you regularly use photoshop.

The PS keyboard shortcut to 'fill with foreground color' is Alt-Backspace and unfortunately SmartTab overrides the PS shortcut. I actually wondered about that possibility when we first started talking about the 'lefty' version.

So I don't know what possible solution there might be there...other than don't use PS. =) Backspace (-) + ?? But other than that it's just great... Hmmm what about Alt-Insert ?? That's a pretty natural hand drop.

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The goal in Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "holy moly what a ride!"

Redownload the file, I changed it to alt-insert.

Yes! =) Works for me. Thumb-little finger just kinda land there naturally...and the other fingers work just as well.

I've noticed a little quirk which does not bother me at all but I thought I'd point it out. This works with either the 'right' or 'left' key combo's.

After you do the initial Alt-Insert release the insert key and then any of the arrow keys will also scroll through the apps. You cannot however just use alt and any arrow key. The initial combination must be Alt-Insert or Alt-Tab.

Doesn't bother me but I don't know if might be screwing up something else. I'm happy to use it just the way it is.

On behalf of the lelfties of the world.....Thanx. =)

___________________________________________________________________________
The goal in Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "holy moly what a ride!"

That's by design. You activate by alt-tab/alt-insert
and can use the other keys while keeping alt pressed.
You can use up/down for single apps, left right to jump three apps, or press the number/letter before an app.

alt-backspace seems to work for me. Alt-insert will not work at all for me. I can't even reach the insert key with my right hand from the alt key.

is alt + cntrl bad? I'm getting used to alt-backspace, but alt + cntrl would be dandy . or even alt - delete would work...

Insert is way to far of a stretch...

Well my rich ugly twin.... how can this be? =)

We're talking about the insert key that's next to backspace yes?

I don't have an exceptionally big hand but with my thumb on alt just turn my hand ever so slightly my little finger drops on the insert key like it was made to fit.

However the insert key on the number pad is ackward as hell. I'll try to snap an image later but right now I have 4 cords of wood to stack. =)

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The goal in Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "holy moly what a ride!"

hmmm, my insert key is above the number pad.... I can't even reach it, on both my keyboards...is the alt-ctrl really that much to ask? if not how about the alt-| or even keep it the alt-backspace...

But alt-ctrl would really tickle my fancy...

Alt-Ctrl can not work.
Many of us don't use US keyboards and have a Alt-Gr key as 'another shift'. Unfortunatly, internaly Alt-Gr = Alt + Ctrl.
So I can't trap that, I'm afraid.

Alt-Enter might be an option though?

Alt+Enter is a common shortcut to fullscreen-ify an application ( mostly video players )
Alt+Backspace might collide with other shortcuts in Tabs/MDI applications.

Right. Didn't think on alt-enter, I'm regulary using that one myself ( *hits head on table* ).

So... Alt-f12?

how bout the alt-| or Alt-\ key? it is in the same place as the tab key but at the opposite end. I don't think that is being used for anything that I know of.

But it's not in that position on non-us-keyboards.
Actually, on a German keyboard you have to press Alt-Gr ( which happens to be the right alt key anyhow) + ß to get the backslash ( \ ).

On French keyboards the \ on the '8' below the function keys but you have to Alt-GR for it.
On Norwegian keyboards it's next to Backspace and you have to Alt for it.

Tyberius Prime: It seems obvious that there is no left handed equivalent of Alt+Tab, so would it be possible to add some arguments in SmartTab's command line or have a 'Settings' panel where the users could define their own keystroke ?



(Edited by poi on 08-29-2006 10:34)

Well... Choosing between a few hotkeys: No problem.
Free settings: Forget it. The Api requires special virtual key numbers, that might or might not have anything to do with your keyboard. It's just no good for any end user.

Ctrl+Insert, then, maybe? It's close, and insert is a hookable key.


Justice 4 Pat Richard

and jive complaind that his insert is above num lock... I know that many keyboard manufactures like to play around with that block of 6 keys... different layout, dropping some, moving them somewhere else .

the new adobe CS3 apps seem to create a window for each of its little subwindows. so smarttab shows them all as extra windows.

TP, any chance you might bring out a new smarttab version that fixes this?

Tprime:
if you can't enable free settings: what about choosing the best from a list?

like a radio button with "Alt+Tab, Alt-+, Alt+Ins" ?

good suggestion, will keep it in mind once I work on the next version
(pretty soon, probably)