716093 - TB: Keyboard Shortcuts broken(?)/wrong/incomplete in documentation: Ctrl+M

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Thunderbird :: Help Documentation, defect)

Description

[Thomas D. (:thomas8)]

+++ This bug was initially created as a clone of Bug #714040 +++

Thunderbird Keyboard Shortcuts documentation (1) currently has this:

Minimize: Ctrl+M
This doesn't work for Windows (used for "New Message"). Does it work on other OS?

Maybe somebody can explain the expected behaviour for other OS, so that we can fix the documentation.

(1) https://support.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/kb/keyboard-shortcuts

Comment 1

[jenzed]

This is an OS X shortcut, not a Thunderbird shortcut.

Comment 2

[Thomas D. (:thomas8)]

sreepriya, does this work on Linux?
Jen, in MAC OS X, will this minimize only the main TB window or all TB windows including satellites like compose window, saved files window etc?

- open some extra tb windows, like compose, saved files (ctrl+j) etc.
- TB9 on Linux/MAC, main window, focus on msg list
- Ctrl+M = Minimize? If yes, does it minimize only TB main window or all TB windows? If no, does it do anything else?

(In reply to jenzed from comment #1)
> This is an OS X shortcut, not a Thunderbird shortcut.

Pending verification here, I kept Minimize = Ctrl+M for Linux when landing new revision (1) today:

|-
|Minimize||{for linux}{key Ctrl+M}{/for}{for mac}{key Command+M}{/for}
|-

Also added Ctrl+M = New Message for Windows

|-
|New message||{for win}{key Ctrl+N}<br>{key Ctrl+M}{/for}{for linux}{key Ctrl+N}{/for}{for mac}{key Command+N}{/for}
|-

(1) https://support.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/kb/keyboard-shortcuts/revision/5614

Comment 3

[jenzed]

(In reply to Thomas D. from comment #2)

> Jen, in MAC OS X, will this minimize only the main TB window or all TB
> windows including satellites like compose window, saved files window etc?
> 
> - open some extra tb windows, like compose, saved files (ctrl+j) etc.
> - TB9 on Linux/MAC, main window, focus on msg list
> - Ctrl+M = Minimize? If yes, does it minimize only TB main window or all TB
> windows? If no, does it do anything else?

It minimizes only the window in focus, not all windows.

Comment 4

[Thomas D. (:thomas8)]

Suyash, with focus on a msg in main 3pane, what does Ctrl+M do on Linux?

Comment 5

[Suyash Agarwal (:sshagarwal)]

(In reply to Thomas D. (away till 31st January) from comment #4)
> Suyash, with focus on a msg in main 3pane, what does Ctrl+M do on Linux?

For me, it opens the compose window which is undesirable. Why are we opening a compose window on Ctrl + M ? Anyone can think that his/her keyboard is malfunctioning and M is behaving like N.

Comment 6

[Thomas D. (:thomas8)]

Per comment 5, corrected Linux keyboard shortcut Ctrl+M = New Message:

https://support.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/kb/keyboard-shortcuts/revision/8289

|-
|New message||{for win}{key Ctrl+N}<br>{key Ctrl+M}{/for}{for linux}{key Ctrl+N}<br>{key Ctrl+M}{/for}{for mac}{key Command+N}{/for}
|-

|-
|Minimize current window||{for win}{key Win+&darr;}{/for}{for mac}{key Command+M}{/for}
|-
|Hide Thunderbird (Mac only)||{for mac}{key Command+H}{/for}
|-
|Hide Other Windows (Mac only)||{for mac}{key Command+Option+H}{/for}
|-

Comment 7

[Thomas D. (:thomas8)]

(In reply to Suyash Agarwal (:sshagarwal) from comment #5)

Thanks Suyash for quick reply! :)

> (In reply to Thomas D. (away till 31st January) from comment #4)
> > Suyash, with focus on a msg in main 3pane, what does Ctrl+M do on Linux?
> 
> For me, it opens the compose window which is undesirable. Why are we opening
> a compose window on Ctrl + M ? Anyone can think that his/her keyboard is
> malfunctioning and M is behaving like N.

Well, both Ctrl+N and Ctrl+M work for "New Message" on Windows and Linux. I suppose Ctrl+M has mnemonic value for "Message" (on MAC, Command+M is OS shortcut "Minimize current window").
The advantage for Windows and Linux users is that Ctrl+M also works consistently to compose a new message to selected contacts in Address book, where Ctrl+N is "New contact". So iow, Ctrl+M will work everywhere in TB including AB, while Ctrl+N has a different meaning and does not work for composing new message from AB. I think users will pick whatever best fits their usecases and mnemonic patterns, and I don't think anybody will get confused by this, as long as the documentation is correct ;)

So I see no reason to remove additional Ctrl+M shortcut for "New message" on Windows and Linux (I think historically, it might even be the main shortcut). Anyway, this bug is only about documentation, and that's fixed now. :)