3. hold "a", wait till menu pops up, release "a" freely (waste of an ergonomic effort to require to hold it) and then do whatever you like more - press a symbo

3. hold "a", wait till menu pops up, release "a" freely (waste of an ergonomic effort to require to hold it) and then do whatever you like more - press a symbol label to insert it - use cursor keys, including those bound to your right thumb+ home row to select and enter (or right thumb + another near home key) to insert - use your mouse to pick a symbol - press a key to search by name and have an option to add it to "a" list - press a key to see recent/favorites (and the popup is not a 1-dimensional list, but can show you your keyboard layout so it's easier to find the key that corresponds to a symbol)