documentation/commands.md

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   2 This is part of the VimFx documentation.
   3 Copyright Simon Lydell 2015.
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   6
   7 # Commands
   8
   9 Most of VimFx’s commands are straight-forward enough to not need any
  10 documentation. For some commands, though, there is a bit more to know.
  11
  12 In this document, many commands are referred to by their default shortcut. You
  13 can of course [change those] if you like.
  14
  15 [change those]: shortcuts.md
  16
  17 ## Counts
  18
  19 Some commands support _counts._ That means that you can type a number before a
  20 command and it will change its behavior based on that number—the count. For
  21 example, typing `12x` would close 12 tabs.
  22
  23 (As opposed to vim, you may only supply a count _before_ a command, not in the
  24 middle of one. This is because VimFx’s commands are simple sequences, while
  25 vim’s are operators and motions.)
  26
  27 ### `gu`
  28
  29 Goes _count_ levels up in the URL hierarchy.
  30
  31 ### `H` and `L`
  32
  33 Goes _count_ pages backward/forward in history.
  34
  35 ### Scrolling commands
  36
  37 Specifying a count make them scroll _count_ times as far.
  38
  39 ### `J`, `K`
  40
  41 Selects the tab _count_ tabs backward/forward.
  42
  43 If the count is greater than one they don’t wrap around when reaching the ends
  44 of the tab bar, unless:
  45
  46 - the first tab is selected and `J` is used.
  47 - the last tab is selected and `K` is used.
  48
  49 They only wrap around _once._
  50
  51 ### `gJ`, `gK`
  52
  53 Moves the current tab _count_ tabs forward/backward.
  54
  55 As opposed to `J` and `K`, pinned and non-pinned tabs are handled separately.
  56 The first non-pinned tab wraps to the last tab, and the last tab wraps to the
  57 first non-pinned tab, and vice versa for non-pinned tabs. Use `gp` to move a tab
  58 between the pinned and non-pinned parts of the tab bar.
  59
  60 Other than the above, the count and wrap semantics work like `J` and `K`.
  61
  62 ### `g0`, `g^`, `g$`
  63
  64 `g0` selects the tab at index _count,_ counting from the start.
  65
  66 `g^` selects the tab at index _count,_ counting from the first non-pinned tab.
  67
  68 `g$` selects the tab at index _count,_ counting from the end.
  69
  70 ### `x`
  71
  72 Closes the current tab and _count_ minus one of the following tabs.
  73
  74 ### `X`
  75
  76 Restores the _count_ last closed tabs.
  77
  78 ### `I`
  79
  80 Passes on the next _count_ keypresses to the page, without activating VimFx
  81 commands.
  82
  83 ### The `f` commands
  84
  85 Explained in the their own section below.
  86
  87 ### `gi`
  88
  89 Explained in its own section below.
  90
  91
  92 ## Scrolling commands
  93
  94 Firefox lets you scroll with the arrow keys, page down, page up, home, end and
  95 space by default. VimFx provides similar scrolling commands (and actually
  96 overrides `<space>`), but they work a little bit differently.
  97
  98 They scroll _the currently focused element._ If the currently focused element
  99 isn’t scrollable, the largest scrollable element on the page (if any, and
 100 including the entire page itself) is scrolled.
 101
 102 You can focus scrollable elements using the `zf` command (or the `f` command).
 103 The right border of hint markers for scrollable elements is styled to remind of
 104 a scroll bar, making them easier to recognize among hints for links.
 105
 106 Note that `zf` and `f` do _not_ add a hint marker for the _largest_ scrollable
 107 element (such as the entire page). There’s no need to focus that element, since
 108 it is scrolled by default if no other scrollable element is focused, as
 109 explained above. (This prevents the largest scrollable element from likely
 110 eating your best hint char on most pages; see [The `f` commands]).
 111
 112 [The `f` commands]: #the-f-commands-1
 113
 114
 115 ## `gi`
 116
 117 `gi` focuses the text input you last used, or the first one on the page. Note
 118 that a [prevented autofocus] still counts as having focused and used a text
 119 input. This allows you to have your cake and eat it too: You can enable
 120 autofocus prevention, and type `gi` when you wish you hadn’t.
 121
 122 `gi` takes a count. It then selects the `counth` text input on the page. Note
 123 that `gi` and `1gi` are different: The latter _always_ focuses the first input
 124 of the page, regradless of which input you used last.
 125
 126 After having focused a text input using `gi`, `<tab>` and `<s-tab>` will _only
 127 cycle between text inputs,_ instead of moving the focus between _all_ focusable
 128 elements as they usually do. (See also the [`focus_previous_key` and
 129 `focus_next_key`] advanced options.)
 130
 131 [prevented autofocus]: options.md#prevent-autofocus
 132 [`focus_previous_key` and `focus_next_key`]: options.md#focus_previous_key-and-focus_next_key
 133
 134
 135 ## The `f` commands
 136
 137 When invoking one of the `f` commands you enter Hints mode. In Hints mode,
 138 markers with hints are shown for some elements. By typing the letters of a hint
 139 something is done to that element, depending on the command.
 140
 141 Which elements get hints depends on the command as well:
 142
 143 - `f` and `af`: Anything clickable—links, buttons, form controls.
 144 - `F` and `gf`: Anything that can be opened in a new tabs—links.
 145 - `yf`: Anything that has something useful to copy—links (their URL) and text
 146   inputs (their text).
 147 - `zf`: Anything focusable—links, buttons, form controls, scrollable elements,
 148   frames.
 149
 150 It might seem simpler to match the same set of elements for _all_ of the
 151 commands. The reason that is not the case is because the fewer elements the
 152 shorter the hints. (Also, what should happen if you tried to `F` a button?)
 153
 154 Another way to make hints shorter is to assign the same hint to all links with
 155 the same URL. So don’t get surprised if you see the same hint repeated several
 156 times.
 157
 158 VimFx also tries to give you shorter hints for elements that you are more likely
 159 to click. This is done by the surprisingly simple rule: The larger the element,
 160 the shorter the hint.
 161
 162 There are standardized elements which are always clickable—_semantically_
 163 clickable elements. Unfortunately, many sites use unclickable elements and then
 164 make them clickable using JavaScript—<em>un</em>semantically clickable elements.
 165 Such elements are difficult to find. VimFx has a few techniques for doing so,
 166 which works many times but not always, but unfortunately they sometimes produce
 167 false positives. Many times those false positives are pretty large elements,
 168 which according to the last paragraph would give them really short hints, making
 169 other more important elements suffer by getting longer ones. Therefore VimFx
 170 favors semantic elements over unsemantic ones and takes that into account when
 171 deciding the hint length for elements.
 172
 173 Some hint characters are easier to type than others. The ones on the home row
 174 are of course the best. When customizing the [hint chars] option you should put
 175 the best keys to the left and the worst ones to the right. VimFx favors keys to
 176 the left, so that should give you the optimal hints.
 177
 178 Hints are added on top of the corresponding element. If they obscure the display
 179 too much you can hold shift to make them transparent. (See [Styling] if you’d
 180 like to change that.) The hints can also sometimes cover each other. Press
 181 `<space>` and `<s-space>` to switch which one should be on top.
 182
 183 When giving a count to an `f` command, all markers will be re-shown after you’ve
 184 typed the hint characters of one of them, _count_ minus one times. All but the
 185 last time, the marker’s link will be opened in a new background tab. The last
 186 time the command opens links as normal (in the current tab (`f`) or in a new
 187 background (`F`) or foreground tab (`gf`)).
 188
 189 Note that the `f` command adds markers not only to links, but to buttons and
 190 form controls as well. What happens the _count_ minus one times then? Buttons,
 191 checkboxes and the like are simply clicked, allowing you to quickly check many
 192 checkboxes in one go, for example. Text inputs cancel the command.
 193
 194 `af` works as if you’d supplied an infinite count to `f`. (In fact, the `af`
 195 command is implemented by running the same function as for the `f` command,
 196 passing `Infinity` as the `count` argument!) Therefore the `af` command does not
 197 accept a count itself.
 198
 199 The `zf` and `yf` commands do not accept counts.
 200
 201 Press `<enter>` to increase the count by one. This is useful when you’ve already
 202 entered Hints mode but realize that you want to interact with yet a marker. This
 203 can be faster than going into Hints mode once more.
 204
 205 If you’ve pressed `f` but realize that you’d rather open a link in a new tab you
 206 can hold ctrl while typing the last hint character. This is similar to how you
 207 can press `<c-enter>` on a focused link to open it in a new tab (while just
 208 `<enter>` would have opened it in the same tab). Hold alt to open in a new
 209 foreground tab. In other words, holding ctrl works as if you’d pressed `F` from
 210 the beginning, and holding alt works as if you’d pressed `gf`.
 211
 212 For the `F` and `gf` commands, holding ctrl makes them open links in the same
 213 tab instead, as if you’d used the `f` command. Holding alt toggles whether to
 214 open tabs in the background or foreground—it makes `F` work like `gf`, and `gf`
 215 like `F`.
 216
 217 (Also see the advanced prefs [hints\_toggle\_in\_tab] and
 218 [hints\_toggle\_in\_background].)
 219
 220 [hint chars]: options.md#hint-chars
 221 [Styling]: styling.md
 222 [hints\_toggle\_in\_tab]: options.md#hints_toggle_in_tab
 223 [hints\_toggle\_in\_background]: options.md#hints_toggle_in_background
 224
 225
 226 ## Ignore mode `<s-f1>`
 227
 228 Ignore mode is all about ignoring VimFx commands and sending the keys to the
 229 page instead. Sometimes, though, you might want to run some VimFx command even
 230 when in Insert mode.
 231
 232 One way of doing that is to press `<s-escape>` to exit Ignore mode, run your
 233 command and then enter Ignore mode again using `i`. However, it might be
 234 inconvenient having to remember to re-enter Ignore mode, and sometimes that’s
 235 not even possible, such as if you ran the `K` command to get to the next tab.
 236
 237 Another way is to press `<s-f1>` followed by the Normal mode command you wanted
 238 to run. (`<s-f1>` is essentially the inverse of the `I` command, which passes
 239 the next keypress on to the page. Internally they’re called “quote” and
 240 “unquote.”) This is handy if you’d like to switch away from a [blacklisted]
 241 page: Just press for example `<s-f1>K`.
 242
 243 `<s-f1>` was chosen as the default shortcut because on a typical keyboard `<f1>`
 244 is located just beside `<escape>`, which makes it very similar to `<s-escape>`,
 245 which is used to exit Ignore mode. Both of those are uncommonly used by web
 246 pages, so they shouldn’t be in the way. If you ever actually do need to send any
 247 of those to the page, you can prefix them with `<s-f1>`, because if the key you
 248 press after `<s-f1>` is not part of any Normal mode command, the key is sent to
 249 the page. (Another way is for example `<s-f1>I<s-escape>`.)
 250
 251 [blacklisted]: options.md#blacklist
 252
 253
 254 ## Ex commands
 255
 256 vim has something called “ex” commands. Want something similar in VimFx? True to
 257 its spirit, VimFx embraces a standard Firefox feature for this purpose: The
 258 [Developer Toolbar]. That link also includes instructions on how to extend it
 259 with your own commands.
 260
 261 In the future VimFx might even ship with a few extra “ex” commands by default.
 262 We’re open for suggestions!
 263
 264 [Developer Toolbar]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Tools/GCLI