Suggestion about usability: shortcut 'k' (move to known) also be mapped to key reachable by left hand

Support & Feedback Forum
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Dear LingQ team,

there is a detail about the keyboard shortcuts which has irked me for some time.

tl;dr:
I suggest mapping the key for ‘move to known’ (‘k’) to an additional key, which is accessible with the left hand.

Why ? This would facilitate keyboard-centric workflows for adjusting word status while allowing the right hand to explore the text. Also this would NOT break any other usage patterns of the UI.

To put this more verbosly: The keyboard actions pertaining to word status are

LEFT HAND

  • 1 - Status 1
  • 2 - Status 2
  • 3 - Status 3
  • 4 - Status 4
  • x - Ignore, remove

RIGHT HAND

  • k - known (green check)

Action ‘move to known’ (key ‘k’) is the odd one out in this group of six actions: it can’t be reached with the left hand.

If the action ‘move to known’ were (also) accessible by the left hand this might improve the user experience for the subset of users who

  • use the left hand to manage word status with the keyboard
  • at the same time prefer to use the mouse to explore word contexts and meanings

From experimentation multiple mappings appear to be in place already: ‘d’, ‘e’, ‘f’ all map to action ‘check dictionary’ .

If I might suggest an extra mapping myself: of the unused keys ‘v’, ‘g’, ‘r’ and ‘q’ which can be comfortably reached on any of the QWERTZ- or QWERTY-layouts my personal favorite would be ‘q’. With some phonetic liberty you might be reminded of the 'k’nown words mnemonic. And truly, isn’t moving words to ‘q’nown what Ling’Q’ is all about ? :wink:

I would be delighted if you find my suggestion useful. Otherwise, no biggy. I’ll just continue plowing through Spanish with my left hand uselessly itching and twitching whenever I encounter a known word.

Best regards,
Holger

2 Likes
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I have a post about a separate programmable keyboard where I nave the main keys and some macros (Next, sound, translation) in few buttons for one hand.

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Another suggestion is getting a multi button programmable mouse (I use a Logitech G600). It’s way easier to read in LingQ with it.

I can page through words easily / LingQ with one hand and sip tea with the other.

1 Like
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Your proposal is fit for combining mouse and keyboard. Using the keyboard only, the ‘k’ is as easy as any other key, provided you use both hands in the blind-typing format. Another suggestion would be ´5´ for known next to ‘k’.

Finally, it might be an idea to allow for individual mapping to replace part or all of the default mapping, if one desires. Many programs allow for this.

1 Like
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Wow. I’ve already fallen in love with this mouse. How has this never occured to me?

Thanks for the suggestion !

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You’re right: the mapping adds nothing to the scenario with two hands on the keyboard.

I like mapping to ‘5’ a lot, too. Very consistent with the 1-2-3-4 we’ve already committed to muscle memory.

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