Newton Developer Technical Information: Newton Programmer's Guide: 2.1 OS Addendum /

Chapter 4 - Keyboard Enhancements / About Keyboard Enhancements

Keyboard Enhancements User Interface

This section describes the user interface characteristics of the keyboard enhancements, including specific command-key combinations used for various built-in applications.

General Usage

The following key combinations are applicable to general usage:

• Pressing the Control key in combination with a letter produces the appropriate results, as per the ASCII standard. All built-in applications that use paragraph views ignore the control keys during text input, which means that users cannot insert control characters into paragraph views. However, applications such as a terminal emulator can make use of control keys. Note that the control key is not used for command-key combinations.
• Pressing the Command key in combination with an alphanumeric key can be used to invoke a system or application-defined command. Commands can also be executed by pressing a combination of Command, Option, and Shift keys along with an alphanumeric key.

Text entry and editing

Users can apply the following keyboard actions during text entry and text editing:

• Pressing the arrow and tab keys to move between fields.
• Pressing the standard Macintosh clipboard key combinations produces the same actions as on the Macintosh: Cmd-X to cut the selection to the clipboard, Cmd-C to copy the selection to the clipboard, and Cmd-V to paste from the clipboard.
• Pressing the Cmd-A key combination selects all text in the view.

Slips, windows, and buttons

The key-view is generally the view that contains the caret and receives and processes keyboard commands. A slip is displayed differently when it is the key-view, to indicate to the user that key presses are directed to the slip.

Figure 4-1 shows how the find slip looks when it is not the key-view.

Figure 4-1 The find slip when it is not the key view

Figure 4-2 shows how the Find slip looks when it is the key view.

Figure 4-2 The Find slip when it is the key view

When a slip is the key-view, its border is thicker, and the default button is marked with lines above and below the button. The user can select the default button by pressing the Return key. These appearance features are only applied when a keyboard is connected. When a keyboard is not connected, the default button looks just like any other button and the slip containing the caret is drawn exactly like other slips.

As soon as the user taps to move the caret, the border and the default button change to match the new caret location. Note that since the caret can be placed in a slip that is not the frontmost slip, the key-view slip is not necessarily the same as the frontmost slip.

Older applications do not have default buttons. However, the borders of slips drawn in older applications are highlighted as shown above when they contain the caret.

The user can close the frontmost window or slip by pressing the Cmd-W key combination, the Cmd-period key combination, or the "Close" key on the eMate 300 keyboard. This does work with older applications. Also note that, unlike other keyboard commands, the close button is applied to the frontmost slip regardless of whether that slip contains the caret.

Menus

This section describes keyboard usage with Newton menus.

Application-defined keys or key combinations can be used to display popup menus. Some system-wide standards are defined (such as Cmd-N for New and Cmd-R for the routing menu, among others), but application developers can override these definitions if desired.

While a menu is displayed, the user can change the highlighted item by pressing the up-arrow and down-arrow keys. If necessary, the menu will scroll up or down. The right-arrow and left-arrow keys are also supported for menus that contain two-dimensional grids.

When a menu is opened by way of a keyboard command, the first item of the menu is initially highlighted. If the menu is opened in some other way, no item is initially highlighted; in this case, the user can highlight the top item by pressing the down-arrow key, or the user can highlight the bottom item by pressing the up-arrow key.

Pressing the Return key selects the highlighted item. This is the same as tapping on that item.

Pressing a letter or sequence of letters "type-selects" menu items, as in the Macintosh Finder and standard file dialogs. If necessary, the menu scrolls to reveal the type-selected item.

Menu items can have keyboard equivalents that are displayed to the right of the item. These are only displayed when a keyboard is actually connected.

Note

Only printable characters are displayed on menus as key equivalents.

The key equivalents can be used when the receiving application contains the caret or when the menu is open. Figure 4-3 shows the basic appearance of a menu with and without its keyboard equivalents displayed.

Figure 4-3 A menu with and without its keyboard equivalents displayed

Note

The keyboard equivalents shown in Figure 4-3 are not the actual key-combinations for these commands.

The Command-key Combination popup Help Slip

Keyboard equivalents are not displayed for buttons. Instead, the user can display a popup help slip by holding down the command key for approximately 1.5 seconds. The popup help slip displays all of the valid command keys for the current context.

The system automatically produces the popup help slip. You register your application's command-key combinations, as described in "The Command-Key Mapping Frame", and the system constructs the help slip based on which command keys are available.

The popup help slip displays the available commands ordered alphabetically by category. Your application can add to the standard categories or can define new categories, as described in "Handling Command Keys".

Figure 4-4 shows a version of the command-key combination popup slip.

Figure 4-4 Command-key combination slip

The popup help slip does not display function key equivalents, which are permanently labeled on the eMate 300 keyboard.

The popup help slip closes automatically when the user releases the command key, or when the user presses any key on the keyboard.

If the number of commands defined exceeds the maximum number that can be displayed at once, the system adds a scroller to the popup help slip. The user can scroll the view with the up-arrow and down-arrow keys (while holding down the command key), or by tapping on the scroller's buttons. The user must continue to press the command key while scrolling the view.

If a command lacks a name, the command does not appear in the popup help slip. This is true of the standard command-arrow combinations for navigation. If a key-combination command has no category, but does have a name, it is automatically placed in the "Other" category.

Applications can completely override this slip by providing a different help slip, or can use the information presented in the default slip in their own way, as described in "Handling Command Keys".

System and Built-in App Command Key Assignments

This section describes the command-key combinations for system-level and built-in application operations. Table 4-2 shows the system-level command-key combinations.

Table 4-2 System-level key assignments

Command-key combination	Behavior
Cmd-A	Selects all text in a note or the current view
Cmd-C	Copies selected text to clipboard
Cmd-E	Opens the title slip
Cmd-F	Opens the Find slip
Cmd-N	Opens the New button picker
Cmd-O	Opens the overview, toggles to close overview
Cmd-P	Opens the print slip
Cmd-R	Opens the Routing button picker, with first item hilited
Cmd-S	Opens the Show button picker
Cmd-V	Pastes selected text at cursor
Cmd-W	Closes the open window/slip
Cmd-X	Cuts selected text
Cmd-Z	Undo/redo
Cmd-return	Opens popup
Cmd-` (tilde)	Opens assist
Cmd-. (period)	Cancels action, closes window or slip
Cmd-=	Activates spellcheck
Cmd-shift -F	Opens the Filing button picker, tab/arrow supported
Cmd-shift S	Opens the styles slip
Cmd-shift T	Opens the folder tab
Cmd-?	Opens help file
Cmd-up/down arrows	Scrolls up and down, except in the Newton Works Word Processor, in which it scrolls to the beginning or end of the document.
up/down arrows	Moves highlight up or down in overview or picker
Return	Selects highlighted item from overview or picker

Notes

The system-level key assignments do not include combinations for accessing Prefs, the Info button, or the Edit Folders button.

When local scrollers are present, the Cmd-up-arrow and Cmd-down-arrow key combinations affect the local scrollers.

Command-key Assignments for the NotePad Application

Table 4-3 shows the command-key assignments for the Notepad checklist and outline stationery.

Table 4-3 Notepad checklist and outline stationery command keys

Command Keys	Behavior
Cmd- ]	Creates a new right bulleted item
Cmd- [	Creates a new left bulleted item
Cmd-return	Checks/unchecks an item
Cmd-=	Creates a bulleted item (same level)

Note

There are no keyboard commands for demoting, promoting, expanding, or collapsing already created items. The user can only perform these operations with the pen.

Command-Key Assignments for The Names Application

Table 4-4 shows the command-key assignments for the Names application.

Table 4-4 Names application command keys

Command Keys	Behavior
Cmd- +	Opens the Add picker. The user can choose the item with the arrow and Return keys.

Note

New users will often press Return or Enter after they fill in the first of the entry screens, rather than the preferred Cmd-W.

Command-Key Assignments for The Dates Application

Table 4-5 shows the command key assignments for the Dates application.

Table 4-5 Dates application command keys

Command Keys	Behavior
Cmd-+	Opens the Add picker. The user can choose the item with the arrow and Return keys.

Command-Key Assignments for The In/Out Box

Table 4-6 shows the command key assignments for the In/Out box

Table 4-6 In/Out box command keys

Command Keys	Behavior
Cmd-left-arrow	Opens In Box
Cmd-right-arrow	Opens Out Box
Cmd-E	Taps the send button when in an item; taps the send or receive when in box view
Cmd-G	Taps the tag button

Command-Key Assignments for The Call Log

Table 4-7 shows the command-key assignments for the call log.

Table 4-7 Call log command keys

Command Keys	Behavior
Cmd- +	Taps the Add to Names button
Cmd-D	Taps the Call button
Cmd-H	Taps the Hang-up button

Command-Key Assignments for the BookPlayer

Table 4-8 shows the command-key assignments for the BookPlayer application.

Table 4-8 BookPlayer command keys

Command Keys	Behavior
Cmd- B	Taps the Bookmark button
Cmd-G	Taps the Page Number button
Cmd-M	Taps the Markup button