H / L keyboard shortcuts?

November 13, 2012 8:07 AM

My world would be complete if, after navigating up and down through posts using j and k, I could then navigate left and right through the links in the selected post using h and l.
posted by swift to Feature Requests at 8:07 AM (22 comments total)

I think most browsers do this with Tab already. What's nice about the j and k shortcuts is that there isn't a great way for the browser to scroll down the exact length of a comment. So that's a nice addition. But I think this would be duplicating what browsers already do.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:16 AM on November 13, 2012

And you can use Shift-Tab to go backwards with the links, too.
posted by Grither at 8:28 AM on November 13, 2012

Also, hitting the Enter key is equivalent to clicking on the highlighted link.
posted by Grither at 8:29 AM on November 13, 2012

When I hit Tab in Chrome or Firefox, it always takes me to the logo. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.
posted by swift at 8:31 AM on November 13, 2012

That's the first link... you've got to keep hitting Tab until the little highlighting thing goes to the links you want (so you'll go through all the links at the top first, too).
posted by Grither at 8:39 AM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think I'll stick to the Tab key, even though it means tabbing through all the links in the header first.

I've got blisters on my fingers!
posted by swift at 8:40 AM on November 13, 2012

Tab doesn't really integrate too well with the vi key shortcuts, though, since you lose your place (at least in Chrome). Not sure if this is something that MeFi should add as a feature or something that would be better as a browser extension/userscript though. (I don't really use the vi keys or tab on MeFi, so I'm not the guy to ask!)
posted by arto at 8:44 AM on November 13, 2012

I can't help mentioning this every time someone asks for more vi-like bindings: Check out the Vimium add-on for Chrome or Vimperator for Firefox. Clicking links is accomplished with hinting rather than tabbing through every. single. link. Vimperator (and its cousin Pentadactyl) take the idea of a modal broswer even further with a fully fledged vim style command line.
posted by Lorin at 8:48 AM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

Just installed vimium and my world is complete. Thanks!
posted by swift at 9:03 AM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

I can has telekinetic mouse ?
posted by y2karl at 9:32 AM on November 13, 2012

The pigs blood makes a mess of the tracking.
posted by arcticseal at 9:50 AM on November 13, 2012

Pretty soon Metafilter will have Doom controls.
posted by 2bucksplus at 10:09 AM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Vim style navigation is a feature I didn't know we had, that I didn't know I wanted, that I will use every day.
posted by helicomatic at 10:10 AM on November 13, 2012

Even with stock Firefox I often select links with the keyboard, just by typing a single quote, followed by text of the link. For example 'pb Enter on this page will result in visiting pb's profile page.
posted by grouse at 10:12 AM on November 13, 2012 [4 favorites]

With each new comment in this thread, I grow ever closer to never using a mouse again.
posted by helicomatic at 10:44 AM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yeah I'm a keyboard commando in the OS and your typical apps but my repertoire has grown in an otherwise deficient area and I'm thankful.
posted by lordaych at 10:56 AM on November 13, 2012

Do NONE of you recall the example of Caesar Tiberius, who, when the Senate wished to rename the month of November in his honour, rebuked them harshly - by asking what would they do if they had thirteen Emperors?

Similarly, the request to dedicate the letters h and l to the East and Western winds must be answered thus: what will we do, you "noble Lords", if 14-dimensional space-time is discovered and we have more than 26 directions???

You people never think of the obvious!
posted by the quidnunc kid at 12:29 PM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

For fourteen dimensions you either learn Russian or switch to emacs.
posted by nebulawindphone at 1:27 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh ... right - well that answers my concern. Thanks.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 2:10 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

The Konami code gets you 627 bonus favorites. Try it, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:11 PM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

H and L should take you to the next/previous FPP, irrespectively.
posted by Eideteker at 8:35 AM on November 14, 2012

I'd also like to be able to loot the thread with ALT-L.
posted by 256 at 8:52 AM on November 14, 2012