keyboard shortcut for selecting one task
maxmuller says:
I was overjoyed when RTM introduced its smart add feature, which fixed what I believed was a significant omission in its user interface--the inability to select one task at a time for an action.
However unless I'm missing something, RTM has only partially addressed this problem--it is possible to select one task only for an action with the mouse only, but not with the keyboard!
Or am I just missing it?
With the mouse you can click on a task anywhere but the check mark to select that task alone for an action. You can also check the checkbox to multi-select.
But there is no corresponding way, that I know of, to select just one task with the keyboard. The only option is to use the "i" key to multi-select.
This problem has kept me from using it consistently for years. If I want to use keyboard navigation exclusively, and want to edit the multiple different characteristics of multiple tasks in a list. I have to hit the "n" way too many times. If I forget to hit "n", I accidentally delete/move/complete tasks I didn't mean to. I don't trust myself to remember to hit n because your keyboard selection scheme is so inconsistent with other software, like gmail, that i use.
Prior to when RTM implemented the smart add system, someone suggested that RTM implemented a way to select just one task. The RTM staffer responded (http://www.rememberthemilk.com/forums/help/2756/) that there was no way to do so because you had built RTM to behave like common web-based email apps, such as gmail.
But there's a big difference between RTM's keyboard shortcuts for selecting and the way gmail does it: In gmail you don't need to "select" an item (click its checkbox) to act on it. As long as the little cursor-arrow is pointed at an email, you can archive it, read it, forward it, etc. You only need to click messages' checkboxes if you want an action to apply to multiple messages. It's way better because you can act on multiple messages without hitting select key and the unselect key between each action.
So has anyone found a way to select just one task using the keyboard in RTM?
If not, there are at least two solutions RTM could implement to resolve this inconsistency:
1. Create a new keyboard shortcut that selects just one message, similar to the way clicking on the message outside of the textbox works. Then users could choose between multiselect "i" and whatever the new "select one" key is.--OR--
2. Have RTM work like GMAIL, were simply positioning the cursor next to an item (without hitting "i") selects it, and it alone, for whatever action/key you hit next. That would save so many keystrokes (and occasional grief) . . .
However unless I'm missing something, RTM has only partially addressed this problem--it is possible to select one task only for an action with the mouse only, but not with the keyboard!
Or am I just missing it?
With the mouse you can click on a task anywhere but the check mark to select that task alone for an action. You can also check the checkbox to multi-select.
But there is no corresponding way, that I know of, to select just one task with the keyboard. The only option is to use the "i" key to multi-select.
This problem has kept me from using it consistently for years. If I want to use keyboard navigation exclusively, and want to edit the multiple different characteristics of multiple tasks in a list. I have to hit the "n" way too many times. If I forget to hit "n", I accidentally delete/move/complete tasks I didn't mean to. I don't trust myself to remember to hit n because your keyboard selection scheme is so inconsistent with other software, like gmail, that i use.
Prior to when RTM implemented the smart add system, someone suggested that RTM implemented a way to select just one task. The RTM staffer responded (http://www.rememberthemilk.com/forums/help/2756/) that there was no way to do so because you had built RTM to behave like common web-based email apps, such as gmail.
But there's a big difference between RTM's keyboard shortcuts for selecting and the way gmail does it: In gmail you don't need to "select" an item (click its checkbox) to act on it. As long as the little cursor-arrow is pointed at an email, you can archive it, read it, forward it, etc. You only need to click messages' checkboxes if you want an action to apply to multiple messages. It's way better because you can act on multiple messages without hitting select key and the unselect key between each action.
So has anyone found a way to select just one task using the keyboard in RTM?
If not, there are at least two solutions RTM could implement to resolve this inconsistency:
1. Create a new keyboard shortcut that selects just one message, similar to the way clicking on the message outside of the textbox works. Then users could choose between multiselect "i" and whatever the new "select one" key is.--OR--
2. Have RTM work like GMAIL, were simply positioning the cursor next to an item (without hitting "i") selects it, and it alone, for whatever action/key you hit next. That would save so many keystrokes (and occasional grief) . . .