# from Bryce Harrington # on Thursday 22 September 2005 05:19 pm:
Looks like a really nice article, too. (Who scared off the critics?)
Nice.
Reading this gives me an idea, though it is rather half-baked right now. Maybe someone on the list would be able to say how tricky the implementation might be:
"One obvious interface choice in Inkscape is a reliance on keyboard and mouse button combinations rather than a straight point and click interface. This choice is a mixed blessing. ... color-coded list of hundreds of shortcuts..."
What if you took this criticism and turned it into a killer feature? i.e. how difficult would it be to make this list of shortcuts into a set of menus in a pop-up window where each function is clickable? Then, the Help->Keys&Mouse menu entry could have F1 bound to it and the user could lean on the point-n-click interface while learning the shortcuts via osmosis.
He's right about the lack of floating toolboxes being a good way to streamline the interface, but adding the pop-up discoverability would (IMHO) give the best of both worlds.
I like the layout and color coding of the svg (can you do that with drop-down menus?) but it is already a tight fit on smaller screens, and the key to making it work would be to have everything within two clicks F1.
Anybody have any observations/pointers on how to make this happen? I can file a feature request, but the idea is a little underbaked thus far.
--Eric