documentation/commands.md

   1 <!--
   2 This is part of the VimFx documentation.
   3 Copyright Simon Lydell 2015.
   4 See the file README.md for copying conditions.
   5 -->
   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 ## Counts
  13
  14 Some commands support _counts._ That means that you can type a number before a
  15 command and it will change its behavior based on that number—the count. For
  16 example, typing `12x` would close 12 tabs.
  17
  18 (As opposed to vim, you may only supply a count _before_ a command, not in the
  19 middle of one. This is because VimFx’s commands are simple sequences, while
  20 vim’s are operators and motions.)
  21
  22 ### `gu`
  23
  24 Goes _count_ levels up in the URL hierarchy.
  25
  26 ### `H` and `L`
  27
  28 Goes _count_ pages backward/forward in history.
  29
  30 ### Scrolling commands
  31
  32 Specifying a count make them scroll _count_ times as far.
  33
  34 ### `J`, `K`
  35
  36 Selects the tab _count_ tabs backward/forward.
  37
  38 If the count is greater than one they don’t wrap around when reaching the ends
  39 of the tab bar.
  40
  41 ### `gJ`, `gK`
  42
  43 Moves the current tab _count_ tabs forward/backward.
  44
  45 If the count is greater than one they don’t wrap around when reaching the ends
  46 of the tab bar.
  47
  48 ### `x`
  49
  50 Closes the current tab and _count_ minus one of the following tabs.
  51
  52 ### `X`
  53
  54 Restores the _count_ last closed tabs.
  55
  56 ### `I`
  57
  58 Passes on the next _count_ keypresses to the page, without activating VimFx
  59 commands.
  60
  61 ### The `f` commands
  62
  63 Explained in the their own section below.
  64
  65 ### `gi`
  66
  67 Explained in its own section below.
  68
  69
  70 ## `<force>` commands
  71
  72 By putting the special “key” `<force>` at the beginning of a shortcut the
  73 shortcut will work exactly as it would without `<force>`, except that it will
  74 also be available in text inputs.
  75
  76 VimFx enters a kind of “automatic insert mode” when you focus a text input,
  77 allowing you to type text into it without triggering VimFx commands. The `esc`
  78 command, however, is still available, allowing you to blur the text input by
  79 pressing `<escape>`. The reason it is available is because the default shortcut
  80 is `<force><escape>`.
  81
  82 Using `<force>` allows you to run other commands in text inputs as well. For
  83 example, you could use `<force><a-j>` and `<force><a-k>` to be able to select
  84 tab backward and forward regardless if you happen to be in a text input or not.
  85
  86
  87 ## Scrolling commands
  88
  89 Firefox lets you scroll with the arrow keys, page down, page up, home, end and
  90 space by default. VimFx provides similar scrolling commands (and actually
  91 overrides space), but they work a little bit differently.
  92
  93 They scroll _the currently focused element._ If the currently focused element
  94 isn’t scrollable, or there is no (apparent) currently focused element, the
  95 entire page is scrolled.
  96
  97 You can focus scrollable elements using the `zf` command.
  98
  99
 100 ## `gi`
 101
 102 `gi` focuses the text input you last used, or the first one on the page. Note
 103 that a [prevented autofocus] still counts as having focused and used a text
 104 input. This allows you to have your cake and eat it too: You can enable
 105 autofocus prevention, and type `gi` when you wish you hadn’t.
 106
 107 `gi` takes a count. It then selects the `counth` text input on the page. Note
 108 that `gi` and `1gi` are different: The latter _always_ focuses the first input
 109 of the page, regradless of which input you used last.
 110
 111 [prevented autofocus]: options.md#prevent-autofocus
 112
 113
 114 ## Focus next/previous element
 115
 116 The default shorcuts are `<tab>` and `<s-tab>`, respectively. They work just
 117 like `<tab>` works normally, except that if you focused a text input using the
 118 `gi` command they will only switch between text inputs on thee page, as opposed
 119 to between all focusable elements (such as links, buttons and checkboxes) as
 120 they do otherwise.
 121
 122
 123 ## The `f` commands
 124
 125 When invoking one of the `f` commands you enter Hints mode. In Hints mode,
 126 markers with hints are shown for some elements. By typing the letters of a hint
 127 something is done to that element, depending on the command.
 128
 129 Which elements get hints depends on the command as well:
 130
 131 - `f` and `af`: Anything clickable—links, buttons, form controls.
 132 - `F` and `gf`: Anything that can be opened in a new tabs—links.
 133 - `yf`: Anything that has something useful to copy—links (their URL) and text
 134   inputs (their text).
 135 - `zf`: Anything focusable—links, buttons, form controls, scrollable elements,
 136   frames.
 137
 138 It might seem simpler to match the same set of elements for _all_ of the
 139 commands. The reason that is not the case is because the fewer elements the
 140 shorter the hints. (Also, what should happen if you tried to `F` a button?)
 141
 142 Another way to make hints shorter is to assign the same hint to all links with
 143 the same URL. So don’t get surprised if you see the same hint repeated several
 144 times.
 145
 146 VimFx also tries to give you shorter hints for elements that you are more likely
 147 to click. This is done by the surprisingly simple rule: The larger the element,
 148 the shorter the hint.
 149
 150 There are standardized elements which are always clickable—_semantically_
 151 clickable elements. Unfortunately, many sites use unclickable elements and then
 152 make them clickable using JavaScript—<em>un</em>semantically clickable elements.
 153 Such elements are difficult to find. VimFx has a few techniques for doing so,
 154 which works many times but not always, but unfortunately they sometimes produce
 155 false positives. Many times those false positives are pretty large elements,
 156 which according to the last paragraph would give them really short hints, making
 157 other more important elements suffer by getting longer ones. Therefore VimFx
 158 favors semantic elements over unsemantic ones and takes that into account when
 159 deciding the hint length for elements.
 160
 161 Some hint characters are easier to type than others. The ones on the home row
 162 are of course the best. When customizing the [hint chars] option you should put
 163 the best keys to the left and the worst ones to the right. VimFx favors keys to
 164 the left, so that should give you the optimal hints.
 165
 166 Hints are added on top of the corresponding element. If they obscure the display
 167 too much you can hold shift to make them transparent. (See [Styling] if you’d
 168 like to change that.) The hints can also sometimes cover each other. Press
 169 `<space>` and `<s-space>` to switch which one should be on top.
 170
 171 When giving a count to an `f` command, all markers will be re-shown after you’ve
 172 typed the hint characters of one of them, _count_ minus one times. All but the
 173 last time, the marker’s link will be opened in a new background tab. The last
 174 time the command opens links as normal (in the current tab (`f`) or in a new
 175 background (`F`) or foreground tab (`gf`)).
 176
 177 Note that the `f` command adds markers not only to links, but to buttons and
 178 form controls as well. What happens the _count_ minus one times then? Buttons,
 179 checkboxes and the like are simply clicked, allowing you to quickly check many
 180 checkboxes in one go, for example. Text inputs cancel the command.
 181
 182 `af` works as if you’d supplied an infinite count to `f`. (In fact, the `af`
 183 command is implemented by running the same function as for the `f` command,
 184 passing `Infinity` as the `count` argument!) Therefore the `af` command does not
 185 accept a count itself.
 186
 187 The `zf` and `yf` commands do not accept counts.
 188
 189 Press `<enter>` to increase the count by one. This is useful when you’ve already
 190 entered Hints mode but realize that you want to interact with yet a marker. This
 191 can be faster than going into Hints mode once more.
 192
 193 If you’ve pressed `f` but realize that you’d rather open a link in a new tab you
 194 can hold ctrl while typing the last hint character. This is similar to how you
 195 can press `<c-enter>` on a focused link to open it in a new tab (while just
 196 `<enter>` would have opened it in the same tab). Hold alt to open in a new
 197 foreground tab. In other words, holding ctrl works as if you’d pressed `F` from
 198 the beginning, and holding alt works as if you’d pressed `gf`.
 199
 200 For the `F` and `gf` commands, holding ctrl makes them open links in the same
 201 tab instead, as if you’d used the `f` command. Holding alt toggles whether to
 202 open tabs in the background or foreground—it makes `F` work like `gf`, and `gf`
 203 like `F`.
 204
 205 [hint chars]: options.md#hint-chars
 206 [Styling]: styling.md
 207
 208
 209 ## Ignore mode `<s-f1>`
 210
 211 Ignore mode is all about ignoring VimFx commands and sending the keys to the
 212 page instead. Sometimes, though, you might want to run some VimFx command even
 213 when in Insert mode.
 214
 215 One way of doing that is to press `<s-escape>` to exit Ignore mode, run your
 216 command and then enter Ignore mode again using `i`. However, it might be
 217 inconvenient having to remember to re-enter Ignore mode, and sometimes that’s
 218 not even possible, such as if you ran the `K` command to get to the next tab.
 219
 220 Another way is to press `<s-f1>` followed by the Normal mode command you wanted
 221 to run. (`<s-f1>` is essentially the inverse of the `I` command, which passes
 222 the next keypress on to the page. Internally they’re called “quote” and
 223 “unquote.”) This is handy if you’d like to switch away from a [blacklisted]
 224 page: Just press for example `<s-f1>K`.
 225
 226 `<s-f1>` was chosen as the default shortcut because on a typical keyboard `<f1>`
 227 is located just beside `<escape>`, which makes it very similar to `<s-escape>`,
 228 which is used to exit Ignore mode. Both of those are uncommonly used by web
 229 pages, so they shouldn’t be in the way. If you ever actually do need to send any
 230 of those to the page, you can prefix them with `<s-f1>`, because if the key you
 231 press after `<s-f1>` is not part of any Normal mode command, the key is sent to
 232 the page. (Another way is for example `<s-f1>I<s-escape>`.)
 233
 234 [blacklisted]: options.md#blacklist
 235
 236
 237 ## Ex commands
 238
 239 vim has something called “ex” commands. Want something similar in VimFx? True to
 240 its spirit, VimFx embraces a standard Firefox feature for this purpose: The
 241 [Developer Toolbar]. That link also includes instructions on how to extend it
 242 with your own commands.
 243
 244 In the future VimFx might even ship with a few extra “ex” commands by default.
 245 We’re open for suggestions!
 246
 247 [Developer Toolbar]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Tools/GCLI