HHKB with excel

[sLeezy]

i'm looking into getting a hhkb and was just wondering if it's easy to adjust to the layout when using excel because i use excel extensively and i'm used to having dedicated arrows.

[Minskleip]

I've been remapping a function layer with arrows since before I got my HHKB, and all I have to say is that dedicated arrow keys are not necessary. It's much faster to use a function layer (especially when the arrows are on the home row).

[sLeezy]

Do you remap the arrows to WASD? i feel like it'd be hard to constantly press function to switch from arrows to letters to type.

[Minskleip]

No, I remap them to HJKL I can't say for certain regarding HHKB, as I've yet to develop muscle memory for it's arrows, but Fn+HJKL is much faster for me than moving my hand to the arrow cluster. Just two clicks where the fingers already are located; super speedy.

[stuiees]

HHKB pro's have the arrow keys embedded into [;'/ using the fn key.  Not sure if your talking about the lite version or not.  I am pretty sure the lite has dedicated arrow keys.

[Minskleip]

HHKB pro's have the arrow keys embedded into [;'/ using the fn key.  Not sure if your talking about the lite version or not.  I am pretty sure the lite has dedicated arrow keys.

It has, but it's not as fast as the function layer. The light also has the option of turning off the usb hub.

[ynih]

Is there a way to like have "fn lock" where I don't have to constantly hold down the FN key if i want to navigate throughout the excel document? like can i press FN twice and have it be stuck in that mode or something? ... I would imagine hold down the FN key while pressing the arrows on the HHKB would be kind of annoying...

[woody]

Is there a way to like have "fn lock" where I don't have to constantly hold down the FN key if i want to navigate throughout the excel document? like can i press FN twice and have it be stuck in that mode or something?

No.

[itlnstln]

You will be surprised how easy the arrow keys are to press.  I use Excel all day, and I have no problems with the HHKB.  You don't really "press" the Fn key when using the arrows, it's more like you rest your pinky on Fn and use the arrows normally.  It will make more sense when you start using it; it's pretty intuitive.  The hardest part is using a regular keyboard after using the HHKB for awhile.  If you do go back, don't be surprised if you inadvertently turn on Caps Lock all the time and start typing \\\\\\\\\\.

[sLeezy]

You will be surprised how easy the arrow keys are to press.  I use Excel all day, and I have no problems with the HHKB.  You don't really "press" the Fn key when using the arrows, it's more like you rest your pinky on Fn and use the arrows normally.  It will make more sense when you start using it; it's pretty intuitive.  The hardest part is using a regular keyboard after using the HHKB for awhile.  If you do go back, don't be surprised if you inadvertently turn on Caps Lock all the time and start typing \\\\\\\\\\.

I hope that's the case.  I guess I'll find out soon enough though.  How long did it take you to adjust from a full keyboard to a HHKB?

[itlnstln]

I hope that's the case.  I guess I'll find out soon enough though.  How long did it take you to adjust from a full keyboard to a HHKB?

About 5-10 minutes.  It actually takes longer for me to go from the HHKB to a regular keyboard.

[Minskleip]

Yes, it's quite disconcerting to end up with a keyboard with dedicated arrow keys when you're used to virtual.

[theferenc]

I almost never use the arrow keys, embedded or otherwise. I'm usually either using vi navigation commands, or emacs navigation commands.

Get yourself a decent editor, and you will rarely need those silly things.

Now, for excel...I find that it's keyboard support in general is quite lacking. Until they offer a way to jump from current cell to an arbitrary cell, via nothing but the keyboard, I have trouble taking them seriously from a keyboard support perspective.

Maybe that's there, and I just haven't found it. My excel use happens about once every couple of years. Office in general isn't used much, really, though excel is the most commonly used piece of it. Oh, and one note. Love me some one note.

[theferenc]

Ripster, I thought we'd settled this. Those shortcuts work perfectly fine with the HHKB. It's just a single extra button, that's easily pressed. And after using the keyboard for a while, you just do it automatically.

[elef]

Now, for excel...I find that it's keyboard support in general is quite lacking. Until they offer a way to jump from current cell to an arbitrary cell, via nothing but the keyboard, I have trouble taking them seriously from a keyboard support perspective.

It works the same as every Windows program has worked since the dawn of time.
Ctrl-G, type the cell reference, Enter. Start if off with an Esc or Enter if you've been typing in the active cell.
Although I have to say, I don't have much use for "Go to cell". I use Ctrl-[arrow], Ctrl-Home and Ctrl-End a million times more often than Ctrl-G.

On another note, I have to agree with Ripster. Having to press another modifier while you're already pressing one is not much fun. The whole dedicated-vs-virtual arrow issue surely depends on your use case. If you're mostly typing and sometimes need to use the arrows quickly, virtual is probably better if you can develop muscle memory quickly. If you mostly use the arrows and don't type in your spreadsheet, dedicated all the way.
BTW I had no idea about the Win-[arrow] shortcut, thanks.

[JosePepe]

By default it is F5 for go to cell in MS Excel and in OO Calc.  It may depend on version.  I agree that vi or emacs are better editors, but Excel is hardly an editor.  Heck, I live in ksh, bash, and perl etc.  I also have to do crap like create reports to represent data visually etc.  Once those reports are well defined:

%s/excel/jasperreports/g



Automation is key!  OSS is free.  

[theferenc]

Like I said, I haven't used excel in a while, and I almost never use the rest of office (save onenote).

It's good to know about those shortcuts, though.

And while you may feel that dedicated arrows are better, I'd hazard a guess that you haven't much used a keyboard with embedded arrows instead. I find that I actually get annoyed that my Customizer doesn't have them, and that I have to reach for those stupid dedicated arrows instead.

Anyway, it's all opinion, so EVERYONE IS RIGHT. Even Ripster.

[JosePepe]

I agree 100%.  It's all about personal preferences.  I actually tend to be a mouser when working with spreadsheets, which is very odd for me aside from Gimp and gaming.  Also, if you are running X, there is always xmodmap.