Add keyboard shortcuts for launching separate instances of applications

Bug #724865 reported by David Planella
12
This bug affects 2 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
Ayatana Design
Fix Released
Undecided
Unassigned
Unity
Fix Released
Medium
Didier Roche-Tolomelli
unity (Ubuntu)
Fix Released
Medium
Unassigned

Bug Description

Binary package hint: unity

The existing keyboard shortcuts in Unity (Super+<key>) are pretty awesome.

Right now they match the effect of clicking on a launcher icon, but there is no way to use the keyboard to reproduce the effect of doing a mouse middle click to launch a new instance of an application.

It would be great to have additional shortcuts (e.g. Super+Shift+<key>) to match the existing middle click functionality of launching separate app instances.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
Package: unity 3.4.6-0ubuntu1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.38-5.32-generic 2.6.38-rc6
Uname: Linux 2.6.38-5-generic i686
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
Architecture: i386
CompizPlugins: [core,bailer,detection,composite,opengl,decor,mousepoll,vpswitch,regex,animation,snap,expo,move,compiztoolbox,place,grid,gnomecompat,wall,ezoom,workarounds,staticswitcher,resize,fade,scale,session,unityshell]
Date: Fri Feb 25 11:04:18 2011
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=ca_ES@valencia:ca:en_GB:en
 LANG=ca_ES.UTF-8
 LC_MESSAGES=ca_ES.utf8@valencia
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: unity

Revision history for this message
David Planella (dpm) wrote :
Revision history for this message
Didier Roche-Tolomelli (didrocks) wrote :

Adding an ayatana-design to get some designer's feedback. However, IMHO, I think it's not really needed, as it's only shortcuts and shortcuts are for "the most used functionality".

If you want to open a new instance in the keyboard, you need to Alt + F1, navigate to the needed item and click space.

Changed in unity:
status: New → Incomplete
Changed in unity (Ubuntu):
status: New → Incomplete
Revision history for this message
Mark Shuttleworth (sabdfl) wrote : Re: [Bug 724865] Re: Add keyboard shortcuts for launching separate instances of applications

Let's use Shift+Super+<number> for that - +1

Revision history for this message
Didier Roche-Tolomelli (didrocks) wrote :

@Mark, this is not really possible because with the french keyboard layout, we need shift to get the keynum.
So, basically, "Super 1" is Super + Shift + &.

Revision history for this message
Florian Boucault (fboucault) wrote :

@Didier: I thought you were right but then I tried in Unity 2D with my french (:p) layout and it works without shift. I don't know if that's a bug in Unity 2D or if it's just simpler that way.

Revision history for this message
Mark Shuttleworth (sabdfl) wrote :

Didier, if it works as Florian says, it would be better!

Revision history for this message
Didier Roche-Tolomelli (didrocks) wrote :

@Florian, I think it's a bug in unity 2D (you don't listen to modifier key). It was my first implementation in Unity 3D.

So right, we can try to do that (ignoring the modifier key) in Unity 3D as well and then avoid weird fingers contortion for the primary use case :)
So, basically, in the French layout (oss) we would have (& is the key for 1 with shift enabled):
Super + & <=> "Super 1" (activate the first item)
Super + Shift + & <=> "Super Shift 1" open a new instance for the first item

I'll have a look and do that. Thanks Mark and Florian!

Changed in ayatana-design:
status: New → Fix Committed
Changed in unity:
status: Incomplete → Triaged
Changed in unity (Ubuntu):
importance: Undecided → Medium
Changed in unity:
milestone: none → 3.6
assignee: nobody → Didier Roche (didrocks)
Changed in unity (Ubuntu):
status: Incomplete → Triaged
Changed in unity:
importance: Undecided → Medium
Changed in unity:
milestone: 3.6 → 3.6.2
Changed in unity:
milestone: 3.6.2 → 3.6
status: Triaged → Fix Released
Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote :

This bug was fixed in the package unity - 3.6.0-0ubuntu1

---------------
unity (3.6.0-0ubuntu1) natty; urgency=low

  * New upstream release.
    - Menu bar becomes blank periodically (LP: #683065)
    - Unity does not update when screen resolution changes (LP: #684539)
    - [dash] Keyboard navigation not implemented as specified (LP: #608132)
    - Dash - build the Desktop Dash (LP: #683719)
    - Quicklists not working (LP: #719780)
    - Launcher auto hide animation has a life of it's own / Unity launcher
      constantly sliding in and out without user interaction (LP: #717364)
    - compiz crashed with SIGSEGV in PrivateWindow::getModalTransient()
      (LP: #726235)
    - Don't show launcher number overlays on tap of super (LP: #726630)
    - Optimize texture memory usage for unexposed view icons (LP: #609994)
    - Unity should handle video-out keycodes that correspond to Super + P +
      Enter (LP: #632632)
    - dash - wrong count of remaining items to see (LP: #662605)
    - dash - x search box button visibility (LP: #662614)
    - Touch window management gesture previews (LP: #683688)
    - unity not working on rotated displays (LP: #694596)
    - unity main top bar in displays in wrong area (multi-head issue)
      (LP: #707209)
    - unity place group visual improvements (LP: #714528)
    - Implement ref_state_set for toplevel ATK objects in the panel service
      (LP: #715299)
    - Alt + F1 doesn't show the launcher if hidden (LP: #717125)
    - Keyboard navigation: Choosing a window from launcher doesn't change
      input focus. (LP: #721811)
    - Quicklists not closing when losing focus (LP: #724739)
    - wrong animation in the launcher (LP: #724956)
    - Window management - windows go below launcher and panel (LP: #725463)
    - Media and PrintScreen keys don't work (LP: #621887)
    - super-shortcuts should be "serializable" (LP: #638936)
    - Chromium icon in Unity is distorted / some scaled distored in the unity
      place applications (LP: #670169)
    - launcher stays on screen when it shouldn't | false show/hide positives
      on the launcher (LP: #711176)
    - Keyboard navigation: no public API to know the current Laucher Icon
      selected when key nav is activated (LP: #722660)
    - Require to implement AtkSelection on the Launcher (LP: #723804)
    - LauncherIcon accessibility support requires to expose the selection
      state (LP: #723806)
    - Add keyboard shortcuts for launching separate instances of applications
      (LP: #724865)
  * debian/control:
    - dep on latest nux
 -- Didier Roche <email address hidden> Tue, 01 Mar 2011 14:27:16 +0100

Changed in unity (Ubuntu):
status: Triaged → Fix Released
John Lea (johnlea)
Changed in ayatana-design:
status: Fix Committed → Fix Released
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