972662 - Provide a Customization Panel for Keyboard Shortcuts

Status: NEW

(DevTools :: Framework, enhancement)

Description

[Rob Campbell [:rc] (:robcee)]

Our (developer tools) shortcut keys occupy a lot of keyboard space. They may conflict with other addons. We should provide a means to customize these keys or disable them to better fit with other customizations.

Comment 1

[Samuel Bronson]

Preferably, you would create a general keymap framework that extensions can also use, which could be used even in, say, Thunderbird.  This would have a similar motivation to the customizable toolbars we already have, though in implementation it would more resemble Emacs or even Visual Studio.

An extension would be able to register any number of commands, each of which would have, say:

 * An identifying name (possibly qualified by the extension UUID?) for use in the actual preferences

 * Maybe some kind of localizable name?

 * Default key bindings [anywhere from none to several].
   (This might be OS-dependent, even beyond the usual Ctrl/Option substitution.)

 * Either a docstring (which would describe the command in more detail)
   or at least links to online help.

There would probably also have to be some kind of "key binding manager" that would let the user configure all of this.

Comment 2

[RDL]

Meantime, there is a very popular extension, Keyconfig, which does this. However, it is unsigned and likely to remain so. Perhaps you could help us all by forking it and getting it signed on AMO, thus ensuring its continued availability.

That would ensure that those of us who wish to use localised (en-GB in my case) 'Release' versions would not instead have to resort to the mooted 'Unbranded' version which would only be available in en-US.

Any chance?

Comment 3

[RDL]

Sorry - I forgot to paste the reference:

keyconfig 20110522 • mozillaZine Forums

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=72994

Comment 6

[08xjcec48]

Please update this bug's categories to:

Product: Firefox
Component: Keyboard Navigation
Platform: Desktop  All

Please also mark #1267145 as a duplicate of this bug.

Comment 7

[Sebastian Zartner [:sebo]]

As this one focuses on customization of the DevTools shortcuts, maybe it would make sense to mark this bug as a duplicate of a more general one instead of the other way round.

Sebastian

Comment 8

[Hani Yacoub, Desktop QA]

Keeping the bug as it is for now until we might receive more information from the other needinfo request.
Thanks.

Comment 9

[08xjcec48]

After you decide what issue to keep, please add this link to its "see also" field: https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/customizable-hotkeys/idi-p/4979

Comment 10

[Sebastian Zartner [:sebo]]

(In reply to André from comment #9)

After you decide what issue to keep, please add this link to its "see also" field: https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/customizable-hotkeys/idi-p/4979

I've referenced it in bug 1635774.

(In reply to Sebastian Zartner [:sebo] from comment #7)

As this one focuses on customization of the DevTools shortcuts, maybe it would make sense to mark this bug as a duplicate of a more general one instead of the other way round.

Actually, I agree with Hani that the bugs should be kept separate, at least for the time being.
As written in the bug above, a general way to customize shortcuts should also cover the ones of the DevTools. Though the DevTools may also provide a separate way to adjust them in the meantime.

One way this could be implemented would be via a "Custom..." option in the Keybindings drop down. That option could then open a dialog allowing to manage all the different keybindings used within the DevTools.

Sebastian