4 ms·

This is most annoying. I have used this for the past twenty years and have not lost form data using it. In any event, chrome seems to remember form contents u

by gjvc 10y ago

This is most annoying. I have used this for the past twenty years and have not lost form data using it. In any event, chrome seems to remember form contents upon navigating back to a form page. Leave my muscle memory alone please.

oneeyedpigeon 10y ago
I think I use backspace about half the time and cmd-left (osx) the other half. I quite like the cmd-left/right because of the symmetry; as far as I know, there is no backspace equivalent for forward. What's still really annoying is that cmd-back doesn't work if a text input is focussed, so navigating back through several pages becomes a game of repeated cmd-left, interspersed with left clicks on a 'non-active' part of the page, or a series of TABs to leave all inputs.
- bprosnitz 10y ago
  Shift backspace goes forward
  - oneeyedpigeon 10y ago
    So it does. Presumably, not for long, though.
- mkozlows 10y ago
  I use Cmd-[ on OSX, and it works regardless of focus.
- jankiel 10y ago
  Shift-backspace is for going forward, I use it all the time
rayiner 10y ago
I lose form data by accidentally using backspace like once a month. Glad to see it go. It's the worst kind of UI modality because it does different things depending on whether you've reached the beginning of the form. I like to mash backspace to clear out a form. Imagine if pressing "CTRL-S" saved if there were edits, but deleted your file if you'd already saved. People who mash "CTRL-S" habitually would be screwed. It's especially pointless now that everyone has a touchpad or touchscreen and can swipe back and forth.
- unlinker 10y ago
  >everyone has a touchpad or touchscreen No?
- jamespo 10y ago
  Well apart from the millions of desktop PCs out there. One thing I like about my venerable x220 is the dedicated forward & backward keys that can also be used to switch buffers in emacs etc.
  - rayiner 10y ago
    Even those often have a mouse with back and forward buttons.
- jhildings 10y ago
  once a month is not that much...
- stephenr 10y ago
  > I lose form data by accidentally using backspace like once a month Use a browser that will warn you about losing un-submitted form contents before navigating away? > It's especially pointless now that everyone has a touchpad or touchscreen and can swipe back and forth. I think we have very different definitions of "everyone".
  - kijin 10y ago
    > Use a browser that will warn you about losing un-submitted form contents before navigating away? Most browsers don't do this. If you see a warning like that, it's usually triggered by javascript on the web page itself.
    - stephenr 10y ago
      Safari added protection for 'unsaved forms' when closing a window/tab in v3, which was released about 9 years ago.
mrweasel 10y ago
I actually find Google search annoying to use because the search box hijacks backspace. I'll search for something, decide to go back, and now I'm deleting my search term instead. And the fact that Google searches based on what's in my search box (without having to hit enter) I've actually "lost" search results that way.
- lstamour 10y ago
  I would expect the opposite behaviour to be annoying though, I've "lost" searches by hitting backspace and unexpectedly going back when I thought I selected the URL bar and waited to delete what was inside. Try to use alternative shortcuts rather than the overloaded Backspace.
- Daneel_ 10y ago
  Luckily, there's an extension which fixes this: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/reclaim-backspace-google/hfaimiefgdoaobgfphnmjffaikedkgmo https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/reclaim-backspace-... I'm an avid backspace-as-back user, so I went searching for a solution as soon as they introduced focus-stealing.
pmarreck 10y ago
I'm pretty sure it was Internet Explorer that started this horrible, terrible user interface fiasco. Backspace (despite the name) is for deletion, should only be for deletion, and avoids confusion by only being for deletion. Period. I don't see what's so hard about control/command-leftbracket or left arrow or whatever you want to assign to "go back". At least you won't accidentally wipe a form. Anyway, this isn't about you or me, as someone else said, because forward state could be theoretically preserved. The problem is the 99% of "regular people" who will hit Backspace, not realize that they DIDN'T just lose their form and can just hit Forward again, and will redo the work and get frustrated.

by gjvc 10y ago

oneeyedpigeon 10y ago

I think I use backspace about half the time and cmd-left (osx) the other half. I quite like the cmd-left/right because of the symmetry; as far as I know, there is no backspace equivalent for forward. What's still really annoying is that cmd-back doesn't work if a text input is focussed, so navigating back through several pages becomes a game of repeated cmd-left, interspersed with left clicks on a 'non-active' part of the page, or a series of TABs to leave all inputs.

bprosnitz 10y ago
Shift backspace goes forward
- oneeyedpigeon 10y ago
  So it does. Presumably, not for long, though.
mkozlows 10y ago
I use Cmd-[ on OSX, and it works regardless of focus.
jankiel 10y ago
Shift-backspace is for going forward, I use it all the time

rayiner 10y ago

I lose form data by accidentally using backspace like once a month. Glad to see it go. It's the worst kind of UI modality because it does different things depending on whether you've reached the beginning of the form. I like to mash backspace to clear out a form. Imagine if pressing "CTRL-S" saved if there were edits, but deleted your file if you'd already saved. People who mash "CTRL-S" habitually would be screwed. It's especially pointless now that everyone has a touchpad or touchscreen and can swipe back and forth.

unlinker 10y ago
>everyone has a touchpad or touchscreen No?
jamespo 10y ago
Well apart from the millions of desktop PCs out there. One thing I like about my venerable x220 is the dedicated forward & backward keys that can also be used to switch buffers in emacs etc.
- rayiner 10y ago
  Even those often have a mouse with back and forward buttons.
jhildings 10y ago
once a month is not that much...
stephenr 10y ago
> I lose form data by accidentally using backspace like once a month Use a browser that will warn you about losing un-submitted form contents before navigating away? > It's especially pointless now that everyone has a touchpad or touchscreen and can swipe back and forth. I think we have very different definitions of "everyone".
- kijin 10y ago
  > Use a browser that will warn you about losing un-submitted form contents before navigating away? Most browsers don't do this. If you see a warning like that, it's usually triggered by javascript on the web page itself.
  - stephenr 10y ago
    Safari added protection for 'unsaved forms' when closing a window/tab in v3, which was released about 9 years ago.

mrweasel 10y ago

I actually find Google search annoying to use because the search box hijacks backspace. I'll search for something, decide to go back, and now I'm deleting my search term instead. And the fact that Google searches based on what's in my search box (without having to hit enter) I've actually "lost" search results that way.

lstamour 10y ago
I would expect the opposite behaviour to be annoying though, I've "lost" searches by hitting backspace and unexpectedly going back when I thought I selected the URL bar and waited to delete what was inside. Try to use alternative shortcuts rather than the overloaded Backspace.
Daneel_ 10y ago
Luckily, there's an extension which fixes this: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/reclaim-backspace-google/hfaimiefgdoaobgfphnmjffaikedkgmo https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/reclaim-backspace-... I'm an avid backspace-as-back user, so I went searching for a solution as soon as they introduced focus-stealing.

pmarreck 10y ago

I'm pretty sure it was Internet Explorer that started this horrible, terrible user interface fiasco. Backspace (despite the name) is for deletion, should only be for deletion, and avoids confusion by only being for deletion. Period. I don't see what's so hard about control/command-leftbracket or left arrow or whatever you want to assign to "go back". At least you won't accidentally wipe a form. Anyway, this isn't about you or me, as someone else said, because forward state could be theoretically preserved. The problem is the 99% of "regular people" who will hit Backspace, not realize that they DIDN'T just lose their form and can just hit Forward again, and will redo the work and get frustrated.