[TC11.51 RC2] Help/History: description of cm_SwitchToNextTab 1

[Fla$her]

I suggested adding a word:

Will the clarifying word "open" appear before "visited" in the help and in the history file?

cm_SwitchToNextTab 1: always switch to last open visited tab

05.01.25 Added: New parameters for internal command cm_SwitchToNextTab: 1: always switch to last open visited tab

[ghisler(Author)]

No, that would be confusing. I will use this instead:

1: always switch to last visited tab (closed tabs will not be reopened)

[Fla$her]

that would be confusing.

I don't see any reason. It's possible to write like this: always switch to the last visited tab among the open ones

I will use this instead:

It only got worse. Reopening means successive closing and opening, and here only recovery is meant. Instead of "reopening" you have to specify 'restored' or 'recovered'.

[ghisler(Author)]

I don't understand. You suggest that m_SwitchToNextTab 1 should re-open a tab if it was the last active tab and was closed by the user. My explanation "(closed tabs will not be reopened)" explicitly tells the user that this function will not reopen closed tabs.

[Fla$her]

You suggest that m_SwitchToNextTab 1 should re-open a tab if it was the last active tab and was closed by the user.

Nothing like that. This is only understood from the current description, which I suggested correcting by excluding closed tabs by pointing to open ones.
Moreover, I didn't write anything about reopening.

My explanation "(closed tabs will not be reopened)" explicitly tells the user that this function will not reopen closed tabs.

I explained why the word "reopened" here can be misleading.

[white]

You suggest that m_SwitchToNextTab 1 should re-open a tab if it was the last active tab and was closed by the user.

Nothing like that. This is only understood from the current description..

I failed to see how that would be understood that way. Do you still have the view that it needs clarification with the new description stated here? If so, can you explain why user expectations could be that the text means to include closed folder tabs too?

[Fla$her]

If so, can you explain why user expectations could be that the text means to include closed folder tabs too?

In the current description? The key word is "visited". Closed tabs can also be visited.

[white]

If so, can you explain why user expectations could be that the text means to include closed folder tabs too?

In the current description? The key word is "visited". Closed tabs can also be visited.

No, the current description is no longer relevant because it will be replaced by the new description. The new description draws a clearer comparison with the Ctrl+Tab behavior and I wondered if you still felt your suggested clarification is necessary and why.

While I agree that "visited tab" without any context could theoretically apply to tabs that currently exist and tabs that are closed (no longer exist), I don't think it makes sense in the given context and I don't think there will be confusion about it. I think the key words here are "switch" and "tab". If you say switch to a tab, I don't think users think that includes tabs that once existed.

[Fla$her]

No, the current description is no longer relevant because it will be replaced by the new description. The new description draws a clearer comparison with the Ctrl+Tab behavior and I wondered if you still felt your suggested clarification is necessary and why.

Yes, because it applies not only to the help but also to the history file. Moreover, your suggestion to make a change refers to the 0 value, but not to 1.

I don't think there will be confusion about it. I think the key words here are "switch" and "tab". If you say switch to a tab, I don't think users think that includes tabs that once existed.

You shouldn't think so. This misled me (when I read about the addition in the history), otherwise I would not have written about it.

[white]

2Fla$her
Thanks for the clarification of your point of view.

[ghisler(Author)]

I still think that my suggestion is better than yours. when I first read "always switch to last open visited tab" I asked my self what they mean with "open tab". Isn't that the tab which is currently open in the foreground?

[AntonyD]

last open visited tab

probably this is just not a correct "super-short" explanation of the desirable correction in this textual description.

"always switch to last visited tab (which is still opened somewhere on a TAB panel)"
THIS is what seems to be meant, if we describe the text IN A FULL.

[ghisler(Author)]

I still don't see why this would be better. "reopened" doesn't mean successive closed and opened. It just means that a tab which was closed before by the user will not be opened again by this function. For example, a store re-opening after renovation doesn't mean that it closed and immediately re-opened the next day.

[white]

Personally, I don't think clarification is needed for the help text. It is clear from context and adds more confusion than it clears up confusion.

Microsoft's explanation of Keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Edge mentions:

Ctrl + Tab
Switch to the next tab

Ctrl + Shift + Tab
Switch to the previous tab

It doesn't mention "open" here. But it does mention "open" when referring to the whole group of tabs:

Ctrl + Shift + D
Save all open tabs as favorites in a new folder

Opera does the same here:

Cycle forward through open tabs
Ctrl+Tab ⇥

Cycle back through open tabs
Shift ⇧+Ctrl+Tab ⇥

It does make more sense in these cases.

Google uses "open" in the explanation of the Chrome keyboard shortcuts where it does not seem necessary:

Jump to the next open tab
Ctrl + Tab or Ctrl + PgDn

Jump to the previous open tab
Ctrl + Shift + Tab or Ctrl + PgUp

Both ways seem acceptable. However, if "open" were to be used in the descriptions of TC's cm_SwitchToNextTab, I would use "last visited open tab" (meaning among the open tabs we switch to the one most recently visited) rather than "last open visited tab".

[Fla$her]

2ghisler(Author)

"reopened" doesn't mean successive closed and opened.

"restarted" too?

For example, a store re-opening after renovation doesn't mean that it closed and immediately re-opened the next day.

After the renovation, this is called an opening, not a re-opening. It's impossible to repeat what happens for the first time after renovation.

I asked my self what they mean with "open tab". Isn't that the tab which is currently open in the foreground?

You can't contrast an open and an activated tab, because an activated one is one of the open ones. That's why I suggested the second option, which shouldn't mislead anyone:

always switch to the last visited tab among the open ones