I was just reading this thread… https://sh.itjust.works/post/23476261
…and it got me thinking about something that I’ve wanted for a long time. Why is it that keyboards have not evolved to have dedicated copy/paste keys left of the main board? I’d love to see an additional column of keys left of Esc->Ctrl configurable as macros at least. I do a lot of copy/paste for work. The current shortcuts arent terrible or anything but they’re not exactly comfortable. I’d rather move my whole hand to the left for a macro key than contort to hit the current shortcut.
What do you think?
I guarantee I can hit ctrl-c faster than I can move my hand to a different part of the keyboard.
CTRL-C / CTRL-V too much? ;)
Right???
It’s a bit awkward to do a basic action
Is this a joke? It’s so easy. What would be better?
Not everyone has the same hands.
Not exactly. Its just awkward for a bunch of repetitions, especially on MacOS keyboards. CMD+C/V is even worse on those.
Personally since I use touch typing being able to hit ctrl-c,v without looking works best for me. Anything else would require me to shift my hands too far away from the “home row” and slow me down.
I use touch typing
As opposed to taste typing??
Some people never learned touch typing.
Your first mistake is using apple products
Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V have been so burned into my muscle memory, relearning to use just a single dedicated button might actually be more trouble for me than just using the standard hotkeys.
At some point, the populace felt keyboard shortcuts were enough and they have everything else they need on a keyboard. It’s the standard, other keyboard designs didn’t really quite take off, and most people can barely use a full-sized keyboard anyway.
Some people prefer smaller keyboards, and are willing (and wanting) to have more shortcuts and function layers for ergonomic and desk space reasons.
(If you use a 40% or smaller keyboard, you’re weird, and I love/hate you.)
Some other people use so many shortcuts that it becomes so infeasible to remember or press them all, so they get macro pads, or even entire additional keyboards to function as macro pads.
In the Before Time, there were physical keyboard overlays for specific apps. For example Wordperfect had an overlay that showed it’s keyboard functions.
If I was an evil peripheral manufacturer, I’d not only add keys to copy and paste, but I’d add them to the mouse too.
Then I’d have a small display in the keyboard that showed the last five things you copied, and let you select which one you’d paste.
That way users would get used to it, have to buy my gratuitously expensive peripherals with displays in them for no reason, and then not know how to use anything else.
Add monthly subscription fees just like Logitech is thinking of doing
Would you like to subscribe to PastePlusPro Premium?
That’s why I got a mouse with extra buttons on the side, so I can just copy and paste using my thumb.
I don’t know about that but I think we need two clipboards, standard. If we had the existing clipboard and a second with dedicated keys that would be very helpful.
Linux has sort of two clipboards. There’s the normal Ctrl-c/Ctrl-v one and also if you highlight a text you can paste that text using middle mouse button.
Meh, Ctrl+C Ctrl+V works well.
What I really would like is a Compose key.
The concept is brilliant, you use it with a special key combination to “draw” a special character or symbol.
If you wanted to type a copyright symbol you would hold the Compose key and press O and C in order, then release the compose key.
Here is a list of a few characters with their compose key combinations, every combo is pressed in order while holding the compose key.
To get the letter Ä use " and A
To get the letter Å use o and A
To get the letter Ö use " and O
To get the letter Æ use A and E
To get the symbol ¿ use ? and ?
To get the symbol ¡ use ! and !
To get the symbol ® use O and R
To get the symbol ™ use T and M
To get the symbol € use C and =
To get the symbol £ use L and -
There are plenty more combinations…
I have never used a computer with a compose key, but I love the concept of drawing other characters like this.
Yes, finally someone else who appretiates compose key!
I use Linux, so I remap it on every PC I use, when I have right context key, I remap that, otherwise I remap right Ctrl to compose.
It’s so good, specially for using US keymap to write in other european languages. At first it takes a bit, then it’s second nature.
I disagree. [Modifier] + C & [mod] + V works just as good as a dedicated button and you are using the space more efficiently by having multiple uses for one key.
Keyboard already has a lot of buttons. We should be considering which to remove, not any additions
I don’t think we need to remove anything. I mean if you really want a smaller keyboard that badly you could get one of the ones that removes the number pad.
But as someone who was a cashier long ago before GS1 codes on produce, we got fast at 10-key typing by touch. The thought of doing a spreadsheet or extended number-work without the number pad is unthinkable to me…
Mm, I wouldn’t hate it. It could take the place of the scroll lock and pause break buttons on my keyboard, two keys i’ve literally never used.
Oh man, you were born too late for the wild 90s era of experimental keyboards
While it doesn’t have a copy and paste key, my omnikey ultra is certainly wacky.
Come to the vim side, we have
yfor copy (yank) andpfor paste. We even havedfor cutIf you’re using Linux, you can do this easily with custom key bindings.
On linux middle mouse is traditionally paste, with just selecting text being copy.
is Ctrl c and Ctrl v too hard for OP? it’s damn near universal with no extra effort to setup…
Yes, it’s weird, but maybe he does a lot. For example, I use the superkey+space to change the keyboard layout about five times per minute, but I changed it to use the Caps Lock key to change the keyboard layout instead.
I do.
I think that everyone who really wants that will spend a half an hour learning how to remap keys.
True. My caps lock is already my mute button. Now I’m going to figure out which keys to remap as copy/paste cause that’s an awesome idea
Nice. Also because it has a little light that’s now on whan you mute things.
Exactly, and really, you can just hold shift with your pinkie if you need caps
