Alt summoning of heads-up-display interferes with Emacs
Affects | Status | Importance | Assigned to | Milestone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
unity-2d |
Invalid
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned | ||
unity-2d (Ubuntu) |
Invalid
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned |
Bug Description
This is probably not a unity bug, because I can verify this on both unity and unity-2d desktops, but I couldn't figure out where else to file it (hmm
Previously, Alt-<key> would invoke an application's menu. Now, tapping Alt quickly will bring up the applications heads-up-display. While this occurs with any application that has global menus, this behavior is most problematic with Emacs which is a heavy user of Alt prefixed keybindings.
The problem is that when in Emacs, it's *very* common to hit and hold the Alt key while thinking about or waiting to complete the key chord. An example is Alt-n and Alt-p to move the window up or down, or Alt-i to add a tab stop, etc. Thus, my left thumb is *always* hitting the Alt key, sometimes hovering on it, other times lightly tapping it as I unconsciously decide what my next command is. Frankly, I was never aware of how often I tap Alt, as I've been doing this for probably 30 years. Now, this previously innocent tap invokes the heads-up display and *severely* impacts productivity, as subsequent typing goes to the HUD instead of to Emacs. Meaning, I lose a lot of typing until I realize what's going on and then hit escape. Because of the interaction with HUD it can actually take several seconds to figure out what's going on, and revert it.
The same thing happens to a slightly lesser extent with normal desktop Alt-Tab to switch between windows. Linger slightly longer on Alt before you hit TAB and instead of switching windows, you're now interacting with HUD.
There's got to be a better way!
ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: unity (not installed)
ProcVersionSign
Uname: Linux 3.2.0-18-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 1.94-0ubuntu1
Architecture: amd64
CompizPlugins: [core,bailer,
Date: Mon Mar 5 15:24:29 2012
EcryptfsInUse: Yes
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Alpha amd64 (20110228.1)
SourcePackage: unity
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to precise on 2011-06-17 (262 days ago)
Changed in unity-2d: | |
status: | New → Invalid |
Changed in unity-2d (Ubuntu): | |
status: | Confirmed → Invalid |
I'm getting this issue also when I use virtual machines that uncapture the mouse with Shift-Alt. It's pretty annoying to have the HUD pop up every time.