[Idle-dev] keyboard shortcuts for search-and-replace dialog

[Terry Reedy]

[Trevor, I am sending a copy direct to you since you are not subscribed 
and I don't know if you know how to read idle-dev via news.gmane.org. 
Please send any response to the list, not me.]

On 6/4/2018 1:15 AM, Trevor Robertson wrote:
> Hi, I like the simple useability of IDLE...
> It would be great though (for somebody like me who is keyboard-focused 
> instead of mouse-focused):
> If the sub-options inside this dialog (and others) e.g. "replace" / 
> "replace+find"/ "replace all" also had their own keyboard shortcuts (or 
> enabled you to define your own).
> Find+replace is something you do quite often in a script.
> Thanks so much
> (Windows 10; Python 3.6.5)

IDLE uses the following standard for navigating dialogs, which was 
discussed at https://bugs.python.org/issue27621

Escape closes the dialog.
Enter invokes the default action, which is specially marked with a 
'default ring.
These two rules cover both actions buttons on the Search dialog.
These two rules are not currently implemented for the Settings dialog, 
and maybe some others.  https://bugs.python.org/issue27620

Shift Tab / Tab moves the dialog focus to the previous / next widget in 
the focus cycle.  The widget with focus has a cursor or a dashed focus ring.
Space clicks a (check)(radio)button that has focus.		

For the multitab Settings dialog, the current tab is supposed to be part 
of the focus cycle.  When a tab has focus, one can move to other tabs 
with left and right arrow. (However, changing the font sample box from 
read-only label to editable text had the side-effect of intercepting tab 
key presses, thus trapping focus in the sample box.  I will try to fix 
this.)

All of this should be documented in a new subsection of the Editing and 
Navigation section of the IDLE doc chapter.
---

Adding dialog and widget specific shortcuts is trickier.  I think the 
best thing would be something like the menus, where pressing Alt 
underlines the hotkey letter.  I don't believe that I can make letters 
on labels be underlined, but there are other ways to mark a letter: _A, 
A_, or Ⓐ (\u24b6, etc).  The circled letters would not change spacing 
much.  But fixing the standard navigation method is a higher priority to me.

-- 
Terry Jan Reedy