documentation/commands.md

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   2 This is part of the VimFx documentation.
   3 Copyright Simon Lydell 2015.
   4 See the file README.md for copying conditions.
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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, or there is no (apparent) currently focused element, the
 100 entire page is scrolled. Finally, if the entire page isn’t scrollable, the
 101 largest scrollable element on the page (if any) is scrolled.
 102
 103 You can focus scrollable elements using the `zf` command (or the `f` command).
 104 The right border of hint markers for scrollable elements is styled to remind of
 105 a scroll bar, making them easier to recognize among hints for links.
 106
 107
 108 ## `gi`
 109
 110 `gi` focuses the text input you last used, or the first one on the page. Note
 111 that a [prevented autofocus] still counts as having focused and used a text
 112 input. This allows you to have your cake and eat it too: You can enable
 113 autofocus prevention, and type `gi` when you wish you hadn’t.
 114
 115 `gi` takes a count. It then selects the `counth` text input on the page. Note
 116 that `gi` and `1gi` are different: The latter _always_ focuses the first input
 117 of the page, regradless of which input you used last.
 118
 119 [prevented autofocus]: options.md#prevent-autofocus
 120
 121
 122 ## Focus next/previous element
 123
 124 The default shorcuts are `<tab>` and `<s-tab>`, respectively (to be precise,
 125 they also include [special keys]). They work just like `<tab>` works normally,
 126 except that if you focused a text input using the `gi` command they will only
 127 switch between text inputs on thee page, as opposed to between all focusable
 128 elements (such as links, buttons and checkboxes) as they do otherwise.
 129
 130 [special keys]: shortcuts.md#special-keys
 131
 132
 133 ## The `f` commands
 134
 135 When invoking one of the `f` commands you enter Hints mode. In Hints mode,
 136 markers with hints are shown for some elements. By typing the letters of a hint
 137 something is done to that element, depending on the command.
 138
 139 Which elements get hints depends on the command as well:
 140
 141 - `f` and `af`: Anything clickable—links, buttons, form controls.
 142 - `F` and `gf`: Anything that can be opened in a new tabs—links.
 143 - `yf`: Anything that has something useful to copy—links (their URL) and text
 144   inputs (their text).
 145 - `zf`: Anything focusable—links, buttons, form controls, scrollable elements,
 146   frames.
 147
 148 It might seem simpler to match the same set of elements for _all_ of the
 149 commands. The reason that is not the case is because the fewer elements the
 150 shorter the hints. (Also, what should happen if you tried to `F` a button?)
 151
 152 Another way to make hints shorter is to assign the same hint to all links with
 153 the same URL. So don’t get surprised if you see the same hint repeated several
 154 times.
 155
 156 VimFx also tries to give you shorter hints for elements that you are more likely
 157 to click. This is done by the surprisingly simple rule: The larger the element,
 158 the shorter the hint.
 159
 160 There are standardized elements which are always clickable—_semantically_
 161 clickable elements. Unfortunately, many sites use unclickable elements and then
 162 make them clickable using JavaScript—<em>un</em>semantically clickable elements.
 163 Such elements are difficult to find. VimFx has a few techniques for doing so,
 164 which works many times but not always, but unfortunately they sometimes produce
 165 false positives. Many times those false positives are pretty large elements,
 166 which according to the last paragraph would give them really short hints, making
 167 other more important elements suffer by getting longer ones. Therefore VimFx
 168 favors semantic elements over unsemantic ones and takes that into account when
 169 deciding the hint length for elements.
 170
 171 Some hint characters are easier to type than others. The ones on the home row
 172 are of course the best. When customizing the [hint chars] option you should put
 173 the best keys to the left and the worst ones to the right. VimFx favors keys to
 174 the left, so that should give you the optimal hints.
 175
 176 Hints are added on top of the corresponding element. If they obscure the display
 177 too much you can hold shift to make them transparent. (See [Styling] if you’d
 178 like to change that.) The hints can also sometimes cover each other. Press
 179 `<space>` and `<s-space>` to switch which one should be on top.
 180
 181 When giving a count to an `f` command, all markers will be re-shown after you’ve
 182 typed the hint characters of one of them, _count_ minus one times. All but the
 183 last time, the marker’s link will be opened in a new background tab. The last
 184 time the command opens links as normal (in the current tab (`f`) or in a new
 185 background (`F`) or foreground tab (`gf`)).
 186
 187 Note that the `f` command adds markers not only to links, but to buttons and
 188 form controls as well. What happens the _count_ minus one times then? Buttons,
 189 checkboxes and the like are simply clicked, allowing you to quickly check many
 190 checkboxes in one go, for example. Text inputs cancel the command.
 191
 192 `af` works as if you’d supplied an infinite count to `f`. (In fact, the `af`
 193 command is implemented by running the same function as for the `f` command,
 194 passing `Infinity` as the `count` argument!) Therefore the `af` command does not
 195 accept a count itself.
 196
 197 The `zf` and `yf` commands do not accept counts.
 198
 199 Press `<enter>` to increase the count by one. This is useful when you’ve already
 200 entered Hints mode but realize that you want to interact with yet a marker. This
 201 can be faster than going into Hints mode once more.
 202
 203 If you’ve pressed `f` but realize that you’d rather open a link in a new tab you
 204 can hold ctrl while typing the last hint character. This is similar to how you
 205 can press `<c-enter>` on a focused link to open it in a new tab (while just
 206 `<enter>` would have opened it in the same tab). Hold alt to open in a new
 207 foreground tab. In other words, holding ctrl works as if you’d pressed `F` from
 208 the beginning, and holding alt works as if you’d pressed `gf`.
 209
 210 For the `F` and `gf` commands, holding ctrl makes them open links in the same
 211 tab instead, as if you’d used the `f` command. Holding alt toggles whether to
 212 open tabs in the background or foreground—it makes `F` work like `gf`, and `gf`
 213 like `F`.
 214
 215 (Also see the advanced prefs [hints\_toggle\_in\_tab] and
 216 [hints\_toggle\_in\_background].)
 217
 218 [hint chars]: options.md#hint-chars
 219 [Styling]: styling.md
 220 [hints\_toggle\_in\_tab]: options.md#hints_toggle_in_tab
 221 [hints\_toggle\_in\_background]: options.md#hints_toggle_in_background
 222
 223
 224 ## Ignore mode `<s-f1>`
 225
 226 Ignore mode is all about ignoring VimFx commands and sending the keys to the
 227 page instead. Sometimes, though, you might want to run some VimFx command even
 228 when in Insert mode.
 229
 230 One way of doing that is to press `<s-escape>` to exit Ignore mode, run your
 231 command and then enter Ignore mode again using `i`. However, it might be
 232 inconvenient having to remember to re-enter Ignore mode, and sometimes that’s
 233 not even possible, such as if you ran the `K` command to get to the next tab.
 234
 235 Another way is to press `<s-f1>` followed by the Normal mode command you wanted
 236 to run. (`<s-f1>` is essentially the inverse of the `I` command, which passes
 237 the next keypress on to the page. Internally they’re called “quote” and
 238 “unquote.”) This is handy if you’d like to switch away from a [blacklisted]
 239 page: Just press for example `<s-f1>K`.
 240
 241 `<s-f1>` was chosen as the default shortcut because on a typical keyboard `<f1>`
 242 is located just beside `<escape>`, which makes it very similar to `<s-escape>`,
 243 which is used to exit Ignore mode. Both of those are uncommonly used by web
 244 pages, so they shouldn’t be in the way. If you ever actually do need to send any
 245 of those to the page, you can prefix them with `<s-f1>`, because if the key you
 246 press after `<s-f1>` is not part of any Normal mode command, the key is sent to
 247 the page. (Another way is for example `<s-f1>I<s-escape>`.)
 248
 249 [blacklisted]: options.md#blacklist
 250
 251
 252 ## Ex commands
 253
 254 vim has something called “ex” commands. Want something similar in VimFx? True to
 255 its spirit, VimFx embraces a standard Firefox feature for this purpose: The
 256 [Developer Toolbar]. That link also includes instructions on how to extend it
 257 with your own commands.
 258
 259 In the future VimFx might even ship with a few extra “ex” commands by default.
 260 We’re open for suggestions!
 261
 262 [Developer Toolbar]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Tools/GCLI