[HN Gopher] Command Palettes: How Typing Commands Became the Nor...
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Command Palettes: How Typing Commands Became the Norm Again
Author : BrendanThompson
Score : 31 points
Date : 2021-11-28 22:07 UTC (52 minutes ago)
(HTM) web link (capiche.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (capiche.com)
| underwater wrote:
| The article paints command palettes as a return to terminal
| inputs. However there are two massive differences. Firstly, the
| use of fuzzy search and natural language makes the commands
| discoverable. Secondly, there is a feedback mechanism that shows
| what the command will do before it's run. Together, these
| massively lower the learning curve.
| epberry wrote:
| This is a great observation. In the end, the goal of a terminal
| usable by people and machines was folly. Machines can use the
| shell, humans can use the command prompt.
| fiddlerwoaroof wrote:
| Every macOS application has a command palette in the help menu:
| command-shift-/ will bring it up and you can incrementally search
| all the commands in the menus.
| dkdbejwi383 wrote:
| This is one of those tiny seemingly inconsequential things that
| keeps me hooked on Mac OS
| marcodiego wrote:
| This was available on ubuntu unity in 2012.
| thrower123 wrote:
| I hate this trend. Give me back menus and toolbars.
|
| I avoid using VS Code for this reason.
| underwater wrote:
| These paradigms can be complementary. Menus and toolbars for
| when the user is browsing and they don't know what they want,
| command bars for when the user knows what they want but not how
| to get there, and shortcut keys for when they know what they
| want and how to get there.
| nawgz wrote:
| The other day I used the Command Palette to symlink `code` as a
| command to open `vscode` without having to type `ln -s
| /path/to/vscode /usr/bin/vscode` which was quite nice because
| trying the symlink version gave me confusing errors.
|
| I am unsure the UX is there to help make that discoverable in a
| menu; you'd be so deep that it'd be behind multiple sub-nests
| at a minimum. Seems much better to have a flat search for this.
| fragmede wrote:
| For anybody else looking, that particular command is called
| _Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH_.
| JadeNB wrote:
| > I hate this trend. Give me back menus and toolbars.
|
| Everyone has their own preferences; personally, every time I
| open Word, I am confused and disoriented and have no idea where
| to look for what I want. I think it's best for no-one to try to
| impose their UI preference on everyone, and for all of us just
| to use the software with which we find it easiest to interact.
| thrower123 wrote:
| This is the way everyone not responsible for creating it has
| always viewed the Office Ribbon UI. Most cursed creation in
| software.
| starkd wrote:
| It's easier to type commands when you have to do it alot. It
| uses muscle memory rather than deplete your attention span.
| Might be difficult at first, but it's easier once you get used
| to it.
| userbinator wrote:
| I like to have both. AutoCAD is an example of a (very) complex
| application which has both.
| wodenokoto wrote:
| One of the best features of OSX is that programs have menu
| bars. I didn't even know they had removed the menus from VS
| Code on other platforms. I still can't find anything in word,
| except on mac, where there is an actual menu.
|
| Anyway, the removing of menus was not caused by the addition of
| command palettes. I think the history is that microsoft
| believed icons was easier than text, so they made the ribbons,
| and then for a while other removed menus in favor of ribbons,
| but then they realized ribbons sucks, so they removed those,
| and then there was nothing, maybe a hamburger menu if one of
| the UX's had done webdesign before.
| [deleted]
| wodenokoto wrote:
| I love the command palette in Sublime, but it doesn't cover every
| menu item, which seems weird. There are also, kinda 3 palettes:
|
| Goto symbol
|
| Goto Anything
|
| Command Palette
| marcodiego wrote:
| Ubuntu had that with their Unity UI since at least 2012:
| https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yzdfLbKQy08/XMqOc0TkS0I/AAAAAAAAV80/oe
| 6jGTCdAiwLQrk5cfI6e82TAyo2y6fFACLcBGAs/s1600/Screenshot%2Bfrom%2B
| 2019-05-02%2B13-29-46.png https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1
| SSxfxI-2WQ/XMqNh1byhBI/AAAAAAAAV8s/uf3v9x3_mP806tPp-chXntSUNIuyD5
| f1gCLcBGAs/s1600/Screenshot%2Bfrom%2B2019-05-02%2B13-25-33.png
| https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oNj-
| HJIiWIc/XMqRaQZUjaI/AAAAAAAAV88/d0VgS8q3Yb8AFaJ-EOVtM2PAXf2jJlijg
| CLcBGAs/s1600/Screenshot%2Bfrom%2B2019-05-02%2B13-42-23.png
| feep wrote:
| Such a well written article/history.
|
| I applaud the trend. Love it. More smart-type CLIish interfaces,
| please.
| blondin wrote:
| > "People need to feel that they can try things without damaging
| the system," recommended Apple's Human Interface Guidelines.
|
| well, for what it's worth, many modern apps aren't following that
| guideline. for a long time i have questioned the disappearance of
| tooltips in user interfaces. especially when everybody seems to
| come up with their own iconography nowadays.
|
| the answer i got from UX people is that "you can't hover or have
| tooltips on mobile". they are trying to achieve uniformity
| between mobile and desktop.
|
| they will probably confine that useful command palette to
| particular apps too. because you can't have a command palette on
| mobile either.
| themitigating wrote:
| A gui combined with tooltips is one the easiest to learn
| interfaces. I have a very bad memory and GUIs show me what my
| options are. It's like typing a command with --help except it's
| always there
| karaterobot wrote:
| > the answer i got from UX people is that "you can't hover or
| have tooltips on mobile". they are trying to achieve uniformity
| between mobile and desktop.
|
| Achieving uniformity by reducing the user experience to the
| platforms' lowest common denominator. Not the best solution!
| arusahni wrote:
| I'm okay with command palettes, but hate how they steal ctrl/cmd
| + k. I use that in Firefox to focus the search bar.
|
| If you implement such a shortcut, please make it configurable!
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