2.8 Alpha Discussion - Default Hotkey Reversions: Pie Menus, Mode Switching & Workspace Tabs

Pie Menu & Mode Switches

I understand tapping Tab is the fastest way to enter/edit Edit Mode, but it feels inconsistent with certain aspects of the interface & non-blender tab conventions.

Certain aspects of the interface:

• Ctrl Tab/ Ctrl Shift Tab - In the Properties Editor & User Preference these shortcuts allow back & forth tab alternations.

By non-blender tab conventions:

• Many applications integrating tabs into their interface usually delegate Ctrl Tab as a means to switch between tabs. Eg. web browsers, Notepad++, Krita, etc.

If Blender is moving towards integrating pie menus as a workflow main stake, isn't it counter-intuitive by default to access pie menus via Ctrl Tab instead of simply tabbing? Because eventually users will be naturally using pie menus to switch to various modes other than Object/Edit Mode (these two modes already available in the pie menu). By only using the Tab key for this one particular function, doesn't it defeat the purpose of the pie menu workflow? I'm aware Tab just for Object/Edit Mode is convenient since entering Edit Mode is the most common thing to do in Blender but by having the Ctrl Tab relegated to the pie menu mode instead of Tab it affects:

Pie menu workflow:

• Isn't it the point for users to get into the habit of pie menus as they allow greater access to many tools & interaction of the software than any complex hotkey combinations which are limited to? Tab for only Object/Edit Mode reduces discoverability of other mode switching via pies & eventually users will be using the pie for all modes naturally since they are all together.

Workspace tabs:

• Dissociating Ctrl Tab shortcut with tab related switching in this case, the Workspace tabs.

Workspace Tabs

The purpose of Workspace tabs provides the users to:

Dedicated tasks:

• Stating the obvious but to have interface layouts & specified tools for pipeline task. Eg. animation, modeling, etc. There is no point to have certain editors wasting screen space if you are not using their toolsets for the current task at hand.

Window splitting disadvantages & always on top window popup aversion:

• Although a major advantage of splitting windows allows flexible customization, the inherit problem is you can't fit many different editors into an optimal display without sacrificing each editors own capacity (scaling, squishing, cutting off readability - constantly fiddling with the interface). Workspace tabs at least will compensate & alleviate this issue to an extent, but removing the Ctrl Tab/ Ctrl Shift Tab you remove the easeability to alternate quickly through these tabs.
• As for floating windows (more so for Window users) if you can't have always on top windows, then having the quick switch between Workspace tabs resolves the split windows compression.

Additional:

• If Ctrl Tab isn't reverted, It would be interesting if pies menus can be integrated into other editors. Eg. the Properties Editor (switching between the MANY tabs), Shade Editor (pie menu would be very nice switching quickly between object & world for example) etc.

Any thoughts, criticisms, new ideas, anything really.