fix the stickykeys issue that has been present since XP and reported numerous times by many
Issue present in Win XP, 7, 8, 10 (including latest fast ring)
Summary
When using sticky keys on windows 10, the left and right sides control (ctrl), Alt and shift keys are independently activated without a visual display or sound, making it clear enoughdifficult to distinguish between left and right sides. Further when activating the right hand side sticky keys with the setting of double press activate (push the key twice and it not only toggles but it holds down the key pushed indefinitely) it can be override by the left keys one push if the right key was the original activated sticky key.
Essentially the sounds that let users know the activation of a sticky key has occurred, do not respect whether it was the left or right (or whether its first shift/ctrl/alt key or the second).
Why this is important
There are systems that allow you to use the left or right shift key (and alt/ctrl keys) for different shortcuts/functions and if you are not able to hear the difference or see it and you rely either on the audio or visual cues then it becomes less clear which key you activated or if you have to use another key later the display does not tell you which key it was.
Simple Recommendation
Change the notification area icon to show left and right modifier keys easily and change the sounds so that it is clear which key is being activated/de-activated. In other words, have a set of notification icons for the left side sticky keys (shift/ctrl/win/alt), and have a set of notification icons for the right side sticky keys (shift/alt /win/ ctrl)
Steps to reproduce the issues
The issue of the independent keys without separate sounds or display notifications:
The following is an example with the Shift key, however, this is also the same for the Crtl and Alt keys.
1. Activate sticky keys
2. Activate/Press the left shift key and note that the toggle menu on the notification area and the sound alerts you to its activation (you will need to presspush twice to activate the key indefinitely/lock the modifier key on and this should be the default setting from the windows control panel section for sticky keys).
3. Now activate/press the right sticky shift key, as you do you will note that it makes the same sounds but does not change the display icon in the notifications area.
4. Now attempt to deactivate/press the right key, you will notice the sound is correct to alert you to the deactivation but the display area icon does not change.
5. Now deactivates/press the left key and you will hear the correct deactivation/press sound and see the display area change.
6. This can be proved by trying it with the left or right sticky keys for the first key when the double push option is turned off from the control panel (meaning that the sticky key feature works as a toggle to hold down your selected keys for only one natural symbol on the keyboard as opposed to indefinitely holding down the keys).
The issue or item of the left key overriding the right key:
1. Repeat step one and two from above but using the right shift key this time (with the double press to lock\ modifier key enabled from the control panel. enabled
2. Push the left shift key once and you will note the sound is correct and the display shows the shift stick keys deactivated.
The issue for different disabilities:
1. For physical disabilities, unnecessary movements of great distances from one side to the other side of the keyboard can cause user fatigue and extra time doing computer activities.
2. For cognitive or learning disabilities, the lack of clear functions can cause an inability to perform day-to-day tasks with ease and efficiency
1 comment
-
Thanks for leaving your feedback on Sticky Keys with us Jeffrey, we will make sure to pass this information on to the engineering team. Please continue to leave your feedback here and upvote posts that you agree with.