Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Keyboard shortcuts
Raised as a usability problem by 68 people on Hacker News over 19 years (2008–2026), in 64 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
- 1
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Keyboard shortcuts are hard to discover and rememberUnreviewed
20082026- Keyboard shortcuts are hard to discover because users cannot find out what they are2026-08-29
- Hard to remember keyboard shortcuts2026-08-28
- Keyboard shortcuts are hard to discover and remember2026-08-28
Special-character shortcuts fail on non-US layoutsUnreviewed
20082026- Shortcuts are mapped to letters, so they break on non-US keyboard layouts2024-02-16
- Special-character shortcuts fail on non-US keyboard layouts, forcing layout changes2023-07-15
- Some app shortcuts like Shift+CMD+? are hard to reach on default layouts2023-06-15
Websites hijack browser shortcuts and users can't easily stop itUnreviewed
20082026- Websites hijack default browser shortcuts with no prompt, and the user can't easily stop it2025-03-02
- Websites hijack keystrokes unexpectedly, and their hotkeys can't be discovered2021-09-21
- Site keyboard shortcuts are hidden from users and override standard browser navigation keys2011-10-10
Same action uses different shortcuts across programsUnreviewed
20082026- Same action uses different keyboard shortcuts across programs, so users can't predict them2022-09-05
- Editor-specific and plugin hotkeys are inconsistent across apps and computers, causing confusion2020-08-05
- Same keyboard commands mean different things in different apps, so users can't predict them2008-08-27
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Keyboard shortcuts are hard to discover because users cannot find out what they are2026-08-29
- Keyboard shortcuts are hard to discover and remember2026-08-28
- Hard to remember keyboard shortcuts2026-08-28
- Deciding which special-function key to press costs users time and cognitive effort2026-06-06
- Keyboard shortcuts are annoying when the user prefers staying with the mouse or trackpad2026-05-12
- Ctrl-Shift-C opens developer tools or starts calls instead of copying2025-08-15
- Alt+F4 is a painful key combination to press2025-07-02
- Can't remember keyboard shortcuts across different software environments, so prefers mouse2025-03-18
- Websites hijack default browser shortcuts with no prompt, and the user can't easily stop it2025-03-02
- Keyboard shortcuts are hard to discover and accidentally pressed, misbehaving windows2024-05-10
- Hijacked back button and key events break autocomplete, autocorrect and paste2024-04-17
- Ctrl-V keeps source formatting, while plain paste needs a harder shortcut2024-03-08
- Shortcuts are mapped to letters, so they break on non-US keyboard layouts2024-02-16
- Shortcut for paste without formatting differs from app to app2023-11-04
- Games map WASD by position, so on AZERTY the movement keys become unusable2023-10-10
- Ctrl+F opens a custom in-app search bar that doesn't search the page as usual2023-08-05
- Special-character shortcuts fail on non-US keyboard layouts, forcing layout changes2023-07-15
- Some app shortcuts like Shift+CMD+? are hard to reach on default layouts2023-06-15
- Alt+7 requires awkward finger curling and stretching to press both keys2023-06-14
- A keyboard shortcut cannot be triggered on French keyboard layouts2023-03-29
- Shortcuts need two hands or specific hand, awkward when hand is on mouse2023-02-27
- Ctrl+Shift shortcuts strain hands and copy shortcut differs between terminals and apps2023-02-02
- Users must memorize many key combinations to operate window managers2023-01-04
- Each app uses its own shortcuts, a UX disaster for new users2022-12-28
- Shortcuts require knowing layout, keyboard, OS and app, causing frequent mistakes2022-09-06
- Same action uses different keyboard shortcuts across programs, so users can't predict them2022-09-05
- Some shortcuts need extra keys on non-US layouts, and some cannot be pressed at all2022-03-18
- Shortcuts change keys depending on active layout, making them nearly impossible to use2022-03-18
- Single-key shortcuts conflict with screen reader key commands2021-10-23
- Up/down arrow keys skip the Areas checkbox, jumping between options unexpectedly2021-10-18
- Switching between Mac and Linux shortcut layouts causes muscle-memory pain2021-10-18
- Websites hijack keystrokes unexpectedly, and their hotkeys can't be discovered2021-09-21
- Permission setting lets '/' shortcut work but disables Esc for closing search2021-08-04
- Shortcut like alt+/ requires awkward shift combinations on non-US keyboard layouts2021-04-09
- Ctrl+W meant for word deletion in bash closes the browser tab instead2021-03-12
- Hard to remember keyboard shortcut combinations even after weeks of use2021-03-11
- Ctrl-Tab and Ctrl-~ need a hand shift and ring-finger reach2021-03-10
- Keyboard shortcuts inconsistent across apps, no way to click without a mouse2020-10-07
- Arrow keys placed in an inverted T are awkward to reach, so the commenter stopped using the keyboard2020-09-28
- Getting around a desktop with keyboard shortcuts alone is hard and wastes keystrokes2020-08-23
- Editor-specific and plugin hotkeys are inconsistent across apps and computers, causing confusion2020-08-05
- Frequently uses the wrong modifier key when switching between Windows and Mac2020-08-02
- Commenter dislikes having to learn and configure keyboard shortcuts to work efficiently2020-06-26
- Escape on key up cancels what the user was doing when switching windows with Alt+Tab2020-05-16
- Inconsistent shortcuts across apps are impossible to remember and overwhelming2020-02-28
- Shortcuts requiring modifiers on QWERTZ layouts are hard to type and get swallowed2020-01-12
- Left hand must bend wrist awkwardly to press ctrl combinations, causing pain2019-08-10
- Users must memorize arbitrary key combinations for every new app or command2018-12-31
- Hard-to-reach key combos make switching between word navigation shortcuts awkward and error-prone2018-01-28
- Function keys unused; must remember longer Ctrl+Shift combinations instead of single keys2017-11-07