CTRL + T

[sloosley]

In Apple applications, the key combination 'CTRL T' will reverse two characters.

For example, suppose you type: 'Mellle.' Oops! to reverse the 'le' to 'el,' just place the cursor between the 'l' and 'e' and then hit CTRL-T. Presto! You have Mellel. (try it!)

My request: any chance this can be built-in to Mellel?

Thanks,
-steve.

[rpcameron]

Perhaps, but it's a little more complicated than that. Ctrl+T is an EMACS keybinding that is built in to Cocoa text fields. Because Mellel is not built on OS X's standard text areas, but instead created from scratch, it does not inherit the EMACS keybindings.

(This is the same reason that Cmd+Ctrl+D does not open the Dictionary panel in Mellel.)

[sloosley]

Thanks for the reply. I'm clueless about how things really work, so please forgive me for asking for something I took lightly.

Thanks for listening, Mellel!

[nicka]

Because Mellel is not built on OS X's standard text areas, but instead created from scratch, it does not inherit the EMACS keybindings.

Right, but support for useful shortcuts that work in other applications is something that provides a lot of benefit to users at relatively little effort to the developers, so it's good to have this raised.

I admit to a fondness for this particular function. I think the 't' is for 'twiddle'.

[shades]

I checked, and this does not work in RagTime nor Papyrus.

[macsailor]

I checked, and this does not work in RagTime nor Papyrus.

It works in Nisus Writer Pro/Express but not in NeoOffice.

[sloosley]

After thinking about this for a day or so, I cast my lot with nicka who wrote,

Support for useful shortcuts that work in other applications is something that provides a lot of benefit to users at relatively little effort to the developers.

Standard, system-wide shortcuts are a no brainer; it shortens the learning curve, increases the rate of adoption, and at the end of the day sells more copies of Mellel. In a word, "It's good business!"

[spinningdoc]

I know we all get used to shortcuts but... really...

Figure out what needs swapping, cursor back to between those letters, and CTRL-T, then back to where you need to type again?

I'm sticking to hammering backspace and retyping....

[miles11]

I like the idea of a 'twiddle' function. Had it in one otherwise incredibly lame app that I won't mention by name (ZW), but I almost never used it. As the previous poster said, it's easier to just retype the error.

One thing that I have found helpful, in certain situations, is a function found in Spell Catcher--its text expander capability. It can automatically correct certain spelling errors as one types: changing a small letter to a cap at the beginning of a sentence, changing hte to the, etc.

[suavito]

I wrote a function like this as a macro for OpenOffice Writer (back in the PC days … over for almost a year now … remembering that dark decade gets more difficult every day – woohoo!).

I used it quite a lot because of the simple reason that it worked slightly though significantly different: The two letters left from the cursor were exchanged. That fitted into the workflow: You type, you see that you have made a mistake, you hit an easily to find, no cmd+opt+ctrl left foot on the pedal needing button – and that's it.

But this OS method has no use while you're typing. As the posters above said: It's easier to hit backspace twice than to first move the cursor backwards and then hit ctrl+t. This only works when you re-read your text, discover a typo, put the cursor via mouse between the twiddled characters and hit – what was it? – ctrl+t.