Feature Suggestion: Arrow Key Pie Menu Navigation

[mathewharwich]

Keyboard User Here. Would love more than anything to be able to invoke CirMenu and then use my arrow keys ↑→↓← to navigate through the pie menu, and then select using the enter keys. I have shortcuts on my keyboard already for navigation but for users without it you could add something like ⌃j ⌃k ⌃I ⌃l as well as standard arrow keys for navigation.

[DaveBjerre]

Yes! This! So much!

[roc7890]

In process....

[roc7890]

2.2.2 has supported navigation with arrow keys.
It's a pie menu , It's hard to find a suitable way to make the navigation like rect menus.

⌃j ⌃k ⌃I ⌃l navigation will be processed in later version.

[DaveBjerre]

I can't get the arrows to work in the initial launch. Once the app specific menu is activated, it works, and when I get back to the finder menu from the app sub-menu it also works.... sort of.... The arrow navigation is very inconsistent. I need to press either left or up to cycle through the items. Even with these problems it looks like it could be very useful!

[mathewharwich]

@roc7890 I would very much like to be able to facilitate these arrow navigation keys by cycling using the same key. Such as right arrow to go clockwise, and left to cycle counterclockwise. As it is right now, it's not very intuitive, as you have to switch between up/down and right/left to navigate through the selections and rings. There should be a way to cycle through the selections of a ring with one key.

Perhaps:

• up/down/left/right gives the initial selection of direction, and takes us through rings.
• then left/right moves the selection clockwise or counterclockwise through the rings

Just another idea here, and I say this because you've built one hell of a launcher app that could really transform the way we interact with launchers, and make it more intuitive and customizable as fully keyboard based. The way you you've made the interface is brilliant, why limit it to circular menus at all. What if you were able to make list style or grid style menus as well. CirMenu could potentially be a sub app of a larger scheme of apps, that could take on different shapes. Like an app called 'GridMenu' and then another called 'List Menu'. And then make a full encompassing app that includes them all such as "AllMenu". CirMenu could be what better snap tool is to better touch tool I guess. Just thinking out loud here.

[roc7890]

I think a GridMenu style might be better. I plan to add this type of interface in the future.

For navigation in a circular menu:

Currently, the up/down/left/right keys move to the nearest item relative to the currently selected menu item. Since the circular layout cannot perfectly align, this sometimes feels unintuitive.

Perhaps the up key could move to the outer ring, the down key to the inner ring, and the left/right keys could move clockwise or counterclockwise. This would create a more consistent rule.

We can try this approach.