284761 - Changing Headers in Message Compose Window

Status: NEW

(Thunderbird :: Message Compose Window, enhancement)

Description

[Gregor Rosenauer]

Changing the header-fields when composing a message is a bit tedious currently:

1. the focus indicator is missing when the focus is on the Type-field ("To:",
"CC:",...) - this is actually the bug-part of this issue;)

2. there is no shortcut IIRC to change the header-type when entering an address
- this would be very useful to change between "To:" and "CC:" and "BCC:" without
having to shift-tab or even reach for the mouse...

It would be great to make the compose-window more comfortable in this respect, I
think keyboard-navigation is of utmost importance here since the mail window is
99% used for typing.

Comment 1

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

(In reply to comment #0)
> 1. the focus indicator is missing when the focus is on the Type-field
> ("To:", "CC:",...) - this is actually the bug-part of this issue;)

This is theme-specific; see bug 266928.  Copy the CSS from bug 184811 comment 5 
to your userChrome.css file for a better display of those buttons.


> 2. there is no shortcut IIRC to change the header-type when entering an
> address - this would be very useful to change between "To:" and "CC:" and
> "BCC:" without having to shift-tab or even reach for the mouse...

What shortcuts, exactly, do you propose?  Ctrl-C is already in use, altho Ctrl-T 
and Ctrl-B are available.  Alt-xxx is, technically, inappropriate for this type 
of shortcut.  

You can Shift-Tab to the button and -- in trunk builds, this is broken in TB 1.0 
-- type T, B or C to change the header type.  With 1.0, you have to open the 
list, then select the choice, then <enter>, before tabbing back.

See bug 251917, bug 284648 for some alternate approaches.

Comment 2

[Jim Porter (:squib)]

How about Ctrl+Up and Ctrl+Down, like in the Firefox search bar?