It is, especially when you got something in the other hand or you just get tired of holding the keys down with your left hand, meaning control, option and command.
I find Quick Nav extremely useful. It feels like using the rotor gesture on my iOS devices. Since I learned iOS gestures before keyboard commands, it seems more natural to me. Also, it simplifies the number of keys one has to press to complete certain tasks. That said, I still use VoiceOver keyboard commands that use the ctrl and option keys; and on my Mac, I use the trackpad a lot. Having many options is a good thing.
It is the most useful in web pages where you are going to spend a lot of time browsing. However I have found it to be somewhat unreliable. I often have to switch away from Safari and back again to make it work. So unless I am going to spend a lot of time on a page, I just use the numpad commander keys. If it were a little smarter about form fields, I might use it more. That said it is useful when it is useful and I would not want it to go away.
I agree completely with the other 2 people who commented here. When I first got my MacBook at the end of 2013 and discovered QuickNav, I was a bit thrown off by it. But I've since come to rely on it a lot and I find it most useful indeed.
I don't want to imagine using my Mac without Quick Nav, mostly because of being able to navigate by heading level using the number keys. I would have been very unhappy if I had lost this ability when switching from a PC to a Mac, and it's honestly the number one reason I use quick nav. I think I use it for navigating with the left and right arrows rather than having to hold down VO at the same time - honestly I do it all so unconsciously anymore, I don't really think about it. But I do agree that it'd get a lot more use if it wasn't so buggy, especially in web pages. I would love to see some improvement on that front in future updates.
I always use quicknav. So much faster to navigate through websites or applications without having to use the VO keys. I have always been able to change the rotor options incredibly quick and it has vastly sped up all of my interactions in both macOS and iOS. Why ever would you question it's usefulness?
Someone mentioned being able to navigate using number keys? I am guessing this is only when online?
I am using a Macbook Pro and was trying to figure out when reading a pages document if I want to switch from one paragraph to the next it says to use ctrl plus option plus shift, but this does not work. I have to also use the function key. This is a lot of keys to press at once on top of the down arrow.
Is this an instance where quicknav would be helpful, or is it more keys because I am using the laptop keyboard?
Hi, I'm still very new to the MAC, but I think I have some answers to address some of your questions. You can change the VO modifier keys in el capitan so that you don't need to press control option. Instead, you can use caps lock as your VO key. So, that'll mean you have just caps lock plus whatever else you need to press to perform a command. Second, yes, you can use numbed keys to navigate. On my MAC Mini, 4 on the numeric pad is move left, 6 is move right (so, the same as vo left and right), 5 is activate an item (same as vo space), 8 is move up a line and 2 is move down a line. Hopefully this is helpful and others with far more MAC experience than I can further clarify. :) Good luck!
I do have a question for others, now that we're on this topic. I have noticed that quicknav is quite buggy on websites. I often have to command tab out of a webpage and return for quicknav to be recognized. Is this something wrong on my end or something others have noticed? Is there a work around to fix this problem? Thanks!
Comments
Re: Quick nav: is it useful?
It is, especially when you got something in the other hand or you just get tired of holding the keys down with your left hand, meaning control, option and command.
Couldn't Do Without It!
I find Quick Nav extremely useful. It feels like using the rotor gesture on my iOS devices. Since I learned iOS gestures before keyboard commands, it seems more natural to me. Also, it simplifies the number of keys one has to press to complete certain tasks. That said, I still use VoiceOver keyboard commands that use the ctrl and option keys; and on my Mac, I use the trackpad a lot. Having many options is a good thing.
Good when it works, could be better
It is the most useful in web pages where you are going to spend a lot of time browsing. However I have found it to be somewhat unreliable. I often have to switch away from Safari and back again to make it work. So unless I am going to spend a lot of time on a page, I just use the numpad commander keys. If it were a little smarter about form fields, I might use it more. That said it is useful when it is useful and I would not want it to go away.
Agreed
I agree completely with the other 2 people who commented here. When I first got my MacBook at the end of 2013 and discovered QuickNav, I was a bit thrown off by it. But I've since come to rely on it a lot and I find it most useful indeed.
Headings
I don't want to imagine using my Mac without Quick Nav, mostly because of being able to navigate by heading level using the number keys. I would have been very unhappy if I had lost this ability when switching from a PC to a Mac, and it's honestly the number one reason I use quick nav. I think I use it for navigating with the left and right arrows rather than having to hold down VO at the same time - honestly I do it all so unconsciously anymore, I don't really think about it. But I do agree that it'd get a lot more use if it wasn't so buggy, especially in web pages. I would love to see some improvement on that front in future updates.
Always useful
I always use quicknav. So much faster to navigate through websites or applications without having to use the VO keys. I have always been able to change the rotor options incredibly quick and it has vastly sped up all of my interactions in both macOS and iOS. Why ever would you question it's usefulness?
Quick nav and number keys
Someone mentioned being able to navigate using number keys? I am guessing this is only when online?
I am using a Macbook Pro and was trying to figure out when reading a pages document if I want to switch from one paragraph to the next it says to use ctrl plus option plus shift, but this does not work. I have to also use the function key. This is a lot of keys to press at once on top of the down arrow.
Is this an instance where quicknav would be helpful, or is it more keys because I am using the laptop keyboard?
Thank you.
navigation and quicknav
Hi, I'm still very new to the MAC, but I think I have some answers to address some of your questions. You can change the VO modifier keys in el capitan so that you don't need to press control option. Instead, you can use caps lock as your VO key. So, that'll mean you have just caps lock plus whatever else you need to press to perform a command. Second, yes, you can use numbed keys to navigate. On my MAC Mini, 4 on the numeric pad is move left, 6 is move right (so, the same as vo left and right), 5 is activate an item (same as vo space), 8 is move up a line and 2 is move down a line. Hopefully this is helpful and others with far more MAC experience than I can further clarify. :) Good luck!
I do have a question for others, now that we're on this topic. I have noticed that quicknav is quite buggy on websites. I often have to command tab out of a webpage and return for quicknav to be recognized. Is this something wrong on my end or something others have noticed? Is there a work around to fix this problem? Thanks!