3 ms·

Your very own humane interface: Try Jef Raskin's ideas at home

130 points by zdw 1y ago

rxhanson 1y ago
Without knowing about Jef Raskin's ideas, I implemented something really similar to one of them in one of my Mac apps, Superkey. This idea in the Canon Cat was that you hold down a key and type text that you want to select anywhere in a document, then let go to select it - typically faster than reaching for a mouse or hitting arrow keys. In the Canon Cat it was an additional key (the leap key), below the space bar. For the implementation in Superkey, you can select a key to use for this, like caps lock. The way I use it is I hold the caps lock key and type text, then the app uses OCR and optionally the macOS Accessibility API to search for matching text. Releasing the key or hitting enter will click (or double or triple click, etc) on a match. Raskin's idea was of course more text-editing focused, and tapping on the leap keys will also move the cursor. I typically use Superkey to navigate UIs quickly, kind of as though UIs all have keyboard shortcut navigation. There are also limitations that Superkey faces, like not having access to offscreen parts of a document.
- bigwheels 1y ago
  Brilliant idea for power users. Are there any comparable apps for Linux or Windows? Edit: Supposedly there isn't one for windows, wow. https://www.reddit.com/r/windowsapps/comments/1cfw3bw/iso_app_like_shortcat_homerow_wooshy_superkey/ https://www.reddit.com/r/windowsapps/comments/1cfw3bw/iso_ap...
  - rxhanson 1y ago
    Not that I'm aware of, but I do have plans to at least bring some version of this to Windows at some point.
- pazimzadeh 1y ago
  what happens if there are multiple matches in the document?
  - rxhanson 1y ago
    In Superkey, all of the matches are highlighted yellow, and the selected one is highlighted green with a line to it from the text field. You can keep typing to narrow down the match, or you can navigate matches using the arrow keys (and optionally, cycle through them with the semicolon key, which is what I use). There's a screenshot at https://superkey.app https://superkey.app. For the Canon Cat, I'm actually not sure as I've only watched videos of this functionality there.
    - pazimzadeh 1y ago
      just downloaded Superkey and am trying it how do I cycle using the arrow keys? currently using the arrow keys moves the cursor for the text in the search box edit: tab seems to work. but sometimes Seek only works on one monitor (the one which has a window is selected), sometimes it finds results on both
      - rxhanson 1y ago
        Up and down arrow keys will cycle matches. At the moment the Accessibility API results are limited to the frontmost window; it's on my todo list to expand this to additional windows and displays. Also, the green line will only be drawn on results on the main display - another item I plan on fixing.
  - classichasclass 1y ago
    (author) Next one in sequence. You can leap forwards or backwards. On the Cat, there is also a LOCAL LEAP for within the current document only.
    - rxhanson 1y ago
      Good to know, that's what I was expecting. I'll have to give the Cat a spin! Also, thanks for this article and the Jef Raskin one - I thoroughly enjoyed them and their depth. I was in the middle of reading the book version of folklore.org (Revolution in the Valley) and these were a pleasant surprise.
- treetalker 1y ago
  > you can select a key to use for this Might be a good use for a foot pedal I have lying around!
- drivers99 1y ago
  I made a PCB for a keyboard and built it with forward and backward leap keys, “use front” keys etc, copying the Canon Cat. Now I “just” have to write the actual text editing software/OS for whichever microcontroller I end up using, and a case to hold it all together.
  - hackshack 1y ago
    Consider checking out this fellow's project. He's making an e-ink text editor: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5jL92TrQ803IKtdFwmUCKCjp15ejfAv7 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5jL92TrQ803IKtdFwmUC...
    - drivers99 1y ago
      Oh yeah I’m subscribed to that channel and have been following along. That has some characteristics I’m interested in, but using my own hardware lets me make different decisions, like adding the leap keys I mentioned, and use full sized keys.
- Philpax 1y ago
  Hmm, I think I'd want that to be a toggle, not a hold; it seems like it would be difficult to type a longer search keyword/phrase while holding down a key.
  - rxhanson 1y ago
    You can also set a keyboard shortcut to activate it as a toggle.
OhMeadhbh 1y ago
Ha ha ha, suckers! I still have my Canon Cat from '87 and use it most days. I don't have to use emulation! Seriously though... I did a contract for Jef in the early 80s and he showed me the Swyft card. Was happy to buy one of these things when it hit the shelf (though figuring out where to buy it from was kind of difficult.) The keyboard doesn't have as good a feel as you might expect, so emulation will let you use a decent, modern keyboard. I still have a large box of floppies so that's not an issue. In the 90s I hacked together some FORTH code to read / write documents over the serial port, but it's a bit fragile. Anyway... It's worth checking out. The only thing I would change would be up and down arrow keys. I think Jef had a philosophical problem with this which is why it never shipped with them. It's usable without them, it just seems a bit weird. Surprised the article didn't mention the book "The Humane Interface" which was the book Jef wrote with the philosophical underpinnings of Swyft and IA/Canon Cat. Worth a read. Might be up on the Internet Archive.
- pavlov 1y ago
  Ars published an earlier long article about Raskin’s work which does discuss the book too: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/09/jef-raskins-cul-de-sac-and-the-quest-for-the-humane-computer/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/09/jef-raskins-cul-de-s...
- ddingus 1y ago
  My take on his book is it contains many tools one can use to reason about UX issues effectively. Parts of the book are dated, but that does not seem to take away from otherwise solid user interface discussion.
- oliverchan2024 1y ago
  Honestly, I'm looking forward to hearing your experience with the Canon Cat, and does it match what's said in this article? It's very difficult to find specific operation videos of the Canon Cat, and they are also quite hard to understand.
  - OhMeadhbh 1y ago
    Oh. Okay. I should do some videos.
pevcr 1y ago
[flagged]
kragen 1y ago
A shame THE/Archy and RCHI aren't mentioned!

130 points by zdw 1y ago

Without knowing about Jef Raskin's ideas, I implemented something really similar to one of them in one of my Mac apps, Superkey. This idea in the Canon Cat was that you hold down a key and type text that you want to select anywhere in a document, then let go to select it - typically faster than reaching for a mouse or hitting arrow keys. In the Canon Cat it was an additional key (the leap key), below the space bar. For the implementation in Superkey, you can select a key to use for this, like caps lock. The way I use it is I hold the caps lock key and type text, then the app uses OCR and optionally the macOS Accessibility API to search for matching text. Releasing the key or hitting enter will click (or double or triple click, etc) on a match. Raskin's idea was of course more text-editing focused, and tapping on the leap keys will also move the cursor. I typically use Superkey to navigate UIs quickly, kind of as though UIs all have keyboard shortcut navigation. There are also limitations that Superkey faces, like not having access to offscreen parts of a document.

bigwheels 1y ago
Brilliant idea for power users. Are there any comparable apps for Linux or Windows? Edit: Supposedly there isn't one for windows, wow. https://www.reddit.com/r/windowsapps/comments/1cfw3bw/iso_app_like_shortcat_homerow_wooshy_superkey/ https://www.reddit.com/r/windowsapps/comments/1cfw3bw/iso_ap...
- rxhanson 1y ago
  Not that I'm aware of, but I do have plans to at least bring some version of this to Windows at some point.
pazimzadeh 1y ago
what happens if there are multiple matches in the document?
- rxhanson 1y ago
  In Superkey, all of the matches are highlighted yellow, and the selected one is highlighted green with a line to it from the text field. You can keep typing to narrow down the match, or you can navigate matches using the arrow keys (and optionally, cycle through them with the semicolon key, which is what I use). There's a screenshot at https://superkey.app https://superkey.app. For the Canon Cat, I'm actually not sure as I've only watched videos of this functionality there.
  - pazimzadeh 1y ago
    just downloaded Superkey and am trying it how do I cycle using the arrow keys? currently using the arrow keys moves the cursor for the text in the search box edit: tab seems to work. but sometimes Seek only works on one monitor (the one which has a window is selected), sometimes it finds results on both
    - rxhanson 1y ago
      Up and down arrow keys will cycle matches. At the moment the Accessibility API results are limited to the frontmost window; it's on my todo list to expand this to additional windows and displays. Also, the green line will only be drawn on results on the main display - another item I plan on fixing.
- classichasclass 1y ago
  (author) Next one in sequence. You can leap forwards or backwards. On the Cat, there is also a LOCAL LEAP for within the current document only.
  - rxhanson 1y ago
    Good to know, that's what I was expecting. I'll have to give the Cat a spin! Also, thanks for this article and the Jef Raskin one - I thoroughly enjoyed them and their depth. I was in the middle of reading the book version of folklore.org (Revolution in the Valley) and these were a pleasant surprise.
treetalker 1y ago
> you can select a key to use for this Might be a good use for a foot pedal I have lying around!
drivers99 1y ago
I made a PCB for a keyboard and built it with forward and backward leap keys, “use front” keys etc, copying the Canon Cat. Now I “just” have to write the actual text editing software/OS for whichever microcontroller I end up using, and a case to hold it all together.
- hackshack 1y ago
  Consider checking out this fellow's project. He's making an e-ink text editor: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5jL92TrQ803IKtdFwmUCKCjp15ejfAv7 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5jL92TrQ803IKtdFwmUC...
  - drivers99 1y ago
    Oh yeah I’m subscribed to that channel and have been following along. That has some characteristics I’m interested in, but using my own hardware lets me make different decisions, like adding the leap keys I mentioned, and use full sized keys.
Philpax 1y ago
Hmm, I think I'd want that to be a toggle, not a hold; it seems like it would be difficult to type a longer search keyword/phrase while holding down a key.
- rxhanson 1y ago
  You can also set a keyboard shortcut to activate it as a toggle.

OhMeadhbh 1y ago

Ha ha ha, suckers! I still have my Canon Cat from '87 and use it most days. I don't have to use emulation! Seriously though... I did a contract for Jef in the early 80s and he showed me the Swyft card. Was happy to buy one of these things when it hit the shelf (though figuring out where to buy it from was kind of difficult.) The keyboard doesn't have as good a feel as you might expect, so emulation will let you use a decent, modern keyboard. I still have a large box of floppies so that's not an issue. In the 90s I hacked together some FORTH code to read / write documents over the serial port, but it's a bit fragile. Anyway... It's worth checking out. The only thing I would change would be up and down arrow keys. I think Jef had a philosophical problem with this which is why it never shipped with them. It's usable without them, it just seems a bit weird. Surprised the article didn't mention the book "The Humane Interface" which was the book Jef wrote with the philosophical underpinnings of Swyft and IA/Canon Cat. Worth a read. Might be up on the Internet Archive.

pavlov 1y ago
Ars published an earlier long article about Raskin’s work which does discuss the book too: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/09/jef-raskins-cul-de-sac-and-the-quest-for-the-humane-computer/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/09/jef-raskins-cul-de-s...
ddingus 1y ago
My take on his book is it contains many tools one can use to reason about UX issues effectively. Parts of the book are dated, but that does not seem to take away from otherwise solid user interface discussion.
oliverchan2024 1y ago
Honestly, I'm looking forward to hearing your experience with the Canon Cat, and does it match what's said in this article? It's very difficult to find specific operation videos of the Canon Cat, and they are also quite hard to understand.
- OhMeadhbh 1y ago
  Oh. Okay. I should do some videos.

pevcr 1y ago

[flagged]

kragen 1y ago

A shame THE/Archy and RCHI aren't mentioned!