The Chrome OS development team has recently gone on a rampage to eliminate all Alt key shortcuts on your Chromebook keyboard. Instead, they’re really trying to enable the ‘Launcher’ button – now called the ‘All’ button ‘to create everything. Not only can it search for files in your local storage and in the cloud, but it can also find your installed applications, and so much more. Now it’s going to be the end-all-be-all-of-short buttons.
Last week, Google laid the groundwork to remove the Alt button from the shortcut to move text forward. Instead of pressing Alt + Backspace, you should now press Search + backspace to remove text to the right of your cursor. Today I came across a new Chrome flag trying to remove the Alt key from the shortcut to right click! Currently, your device can right-click without the right-click button on your mouse if you hold down Alt and then left-click. For those who use a touchpad and prefer to click on it instead of tapping with two fingers to perform a right-click or for those who have a broken right-click on their external mouse, you can right-click click through a a keyboard key in conjunction with the standard left mouse click of a mouse or touchpad is a sale.
Advertisements
The flag chrome: // flags / #use-search-click-for-right-click however, seems to change completely for a different purpose. Instead of just searching + clicking for accessibility, Google seems concerned about how apps and websites need the Alt and the left mouse button at the same time. I can not think of a single case where it would appear in my existing workflow, but the flag description states that it will ‘enable web pages and apps to consume alt + clicks’. All right, cool.
Use Search + Click for right click
If enabled, the search + click will right-click again, allowing web pages and applications to use alt + click. If disabled, the legacy of alt + click to right click playback will remain unchanged. – Chrome OS
# use-search-click-for-right-clock
If you ask me, Google wants to have the ‘All’ button done, well, just for marketing and simplicity, and I can not blame them. I mean, it’s further fastened because the Alt + click ability does not disappear – train. Keep in mind that pressing the key itself launches a Google search, so that the Chromebook ‘All Button’ does everything, including Google search literally translates to ‘Google does everything and it’s one tap away’, which is smart.
Advertisements
Truth be told, I always saw it coming, but I did not think they would move so fast to uproot existing keyboard shortcuts. People have been using it for years, and especially after coming to Windows or MacOS for over 20 years, where these shortcuts are now second nature. What do you think of these changes and the idea of having the ‘All’ button do everything? Sounds down in the comments!
