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UX Note: Google Chrome's Simple Character Set
Using special characters is hard. Some applications include character sets, but getting to them often involves going through two or three screens and doing a lot of clicking. We've had keyboard shortcuts for years, but they're so complex that nobody seems to use them. Many folks don't even know about simple shortcuts like CTRL+F (for find). How can we expect them to remember, let alone type, something like "Option+U O"? The shortcuts remind me of video game cheats from the 90s. The whole process is so messy that lovely sites like Copy Paste Character have cropped up just to address this very basic need.
Enter Google Chrome. By accident, I recently discovered that this decade-long problem may have been solved with a simple long keystroke. Need a character that's a form of an "e"? Simply type the letter as normal, but hold it down for an extra second. This dialog pops up to let you quickly select your character and get on your way. It's not perfect (some marks like bullets don't seem to be available). But it's a great step that's years in the making – one that could eliminate the need for extra screens and complex key progressions.
UX Note: Google Chrome's Simple Character Set
Using special characters is hard. Some applications include character sets, but getting to them often involves going through two or three screens and doing a lot of clicking. We've had keyboard shortcuts for years, but they're so complex that nobody seems to use them. Many folks don't even know about simple shortcuts like CTRL+F (for find). How can we expect them to remember, let alone type, something like "Option+U O"? The shortcuts remind me of video game cheats from the 90s. The whole process is so messy that lovely sites like Copy Paste Character have cropped up just to address this very basic need.
Enter Google Chrome. By accident, I recently discovered that this decade-long problem may have been solved with a simple long keystroke. Need a character that's a form of an "e"? Simply type the letter as normal, but hold it down for an extra second. This dialog pops up to let you quickly select your character and get on your way. It's not perfect (some marks like bullets don't seem to be available). But it's a great step that's years in the making – one that could eliminate the need for extra screens and complex key progressions.