Thread: Re: [GD-Windows] disabling windows keys

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Re: [GD-Windows] disabling windows keys

From: Rich <leg...@xm...> - 2002-02-12 02:50:30

In article <002c01c1b36b$7cee2920$7f55533e@aurora>,
    =?iso-8859-1?Q?Ignacio_Casta=F1o?= <cas...@ya...>  writes:

> Ok, I got rid of alt+tab, ctrl+esc, and alt+esc key combinations, but the
> user is still able to switch the task just by pressing any windows keys.
> Does somebody know how to disable them?

Please tell me what title you're working on so I know to recommend
people to stay away from it.  I can't stand games that try to disable
functionality that I -expect- to work on my PC.  This philosophy is
the same one that gives us all those "NetMeeting disabled D3D"
problems.
--
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  Direct3D Book <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/>
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RE: [GD-Windows] disabling windows keys

From: Brian H. <bri...@py...> - 2002-02-12 03:00:25

With all due respect Rich, you're particular world view isn't going to
necessarily match everyone else's.

Sure, disabling Alt-tab as a general rule is a Bad Idea, but there are
at least two valid cases where it makes sense:

- when alt and tab may be used as a key combination in the game.  cf.
Quake.  And if you want to argue that this is "bad UI design", to
paraphrase you -- if the user wants to do something, who are we to say
"No, alt + tab is an invalid key combination".

- "games" where the keyboard needs to be "locked down" because you have
an 18 month old toddler banging on keys to see pretty lights happen on
the monitor

Brian

Re: [GD-Windows] disabling windows keys

From: Rich <leg...@xm...> - 2002-02-12 03:13:18

In article <002701c1b371$6b163b60$0101a8c0@HOOKDELL220>,
    Brian Hook <bri...@py...>  writes:

> - when alt and tab may be used as a key combination in the game.  cf.
> Quake.  And if you want to argue that this is "bad UI design", to
> paraphrase you -- if the user wants to do something, who are we to say
> "No, alt + tab is an invalid key combination".

I think there is a difference between disabling Alt+Tab because the
user has controls mapped to that configuration and the general issue
of disabling alt+tab because programmers don't want to handle lost
devices.  99.999% of the time I see people asking how to disable task
switching its for the latter reason, not the former.  The latter is
-not- an example of the user asking for something, its the programmer
forcing something on the user because they appear to be too lazy to
program the correct solution.

> - "games" where the keyboard needs to be "locked down" because you have
> an 18 month old toddler banging on keys to see pretty lights happen on
> the monitor

Has it yet been established that this is the case here?  This comes up
all the time in DirectX discussion forums.  A certain amount of
laziness is good in a programmer, but when the laziness leads to the
programmer trying to stop the user from doing normal things because
they can't handle it properly that is just shoddy programming IMO.
The world already has enough crappy programs, we should be focusing on
giving users GREAT programs.
--
Ask me about my upcoming book on Direct3D from Addison-Wesley!
  Direct3D Book <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/>
    Don't Support Spammers!  Boycott Fractal Painter 7!
     <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/spammers.html>

Re: [GD-Windows] disabling windows keys

From: Rich <leg...@xm...> - 2002-02-12 03:44:21

In article <OE7...@ho...>,
    "Lachlan Littlemore" <da_...@ho...>  writes:

>     This is just my two cents here, but personally I can't stand it when you
> bump a windows key while playing a game and it jumps right out in order to
> open the start menu or whatever (and it always seems to happen at the most
> unapropriate times =).

So make it a configurable option and everyone is happy.  People who
want the Windows key to work get it to work and people who want to
disable it get it disabled.  Disabling the Windows key is -entirely-
different from disabling task-switching IMO.
--
Ask me about my upcoming book on Direct3D from Addison-Wesley!
  Direct3D Book <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/>
    Don't Support Spammers!  Boycott Fractal Painter 7!
     <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/spammers.html>

Re: [GD-Windows] disabling windows keys

From: <cas...@ya...> - 2002-02-12 17:39:05

Rich wrote:
> So make it a configurable option and everyone is happy.  People who
> want the Windows key to work get it to work and people who want to
> disable it get it disabled.  Disabling the Windows key is -entirely-
> different from disabling task-switching IMO.

I completely agree with that, I will just leave that as an option and handle
task switching correctly. However disabling windows keys would still be
usefull anyway.

Ignacio Castaño
ca...@as...

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Re: [GD-Windows] disabling windows keys

From: Lachlan L. <da_...@ho...> - 2002-02-12 03:30:15

    This is just my two cents here, but personally I can't stand it when you
bump a windows key while playing a game and it jumps right out in order to
open the start menu or whatever (and it always seems to happen at the most
unapropriate times =). If you ask me, as long as the game isn't running in
windowed mode, it should be able to trap the windows keys. If the player
wants to use other windows operations then maybe they can run the game in
windowed mode or something. There should at least be an option to turn
windows keys off.

    Hope I didn't kick up an ant-hill here =)

    - Lachlan

----- Original Message -----
From: Rich <leg...@xm...>
To: <gam...@li...>
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2002 1:50 PM
Subject: Re: [GD-Windows] disabling windows keys


>
> In article <002c01c1b36b$7cee2920$7f55533e@aurora>,
>     =?iso-8859-1?Q?Ignacio_Casta=F1o?= <cas...@ya...>  writes:
>
> > Ok, I got rid of alt+tab, ctrl+esc, and alt+esc key combinations, but
the
> > user is still able to switch the task just by pressing any windows keys.
> > Does somebody know how to disable them?
>
> Please tell me what title you're working on so I know to recommend
> people to stay away from it.  I can't stand games that try to disable
> functionality that I -expect- to work on my PC.  This philosophy is
> the same one that gives us all those "NetMeeting disabled D3D"
> problems.
> --
> Ask me about my upcoming book on Direct3D from Addison-Wesley!
>   Direct3D Book <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/>
>     Don't Support Spammers!  Boycott Fractal Painter 7!
>      <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/spammers.html>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Gamedevlists-windows mailing list
> Gam...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/gamedevlists-windows
> Archives:
> http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?forum_id=555
>

RE: [GD-Windows] disabling windows keys

From: Jon W. <hp...@mi...> - 2002-02-12 04:14:23

>     This is just my two cents here, but personally I can't stand
> it when you
> bump a windows key while playing a game and it jumps right out in order to
> open the start menu or whatever (and it always seems to happen at the most

Buy a Microsoft keyboard. It comes with a special (better) input
control panel which allows you to disable those two Evil Keys of
Death: windows key and caps lock.

At least MacOS and BeOS has/had the decency to treat the key
between control and alt as a modifier, not as a character...

Cheers,

			/ h+