microsoft / microsoft/PowerToys
Hints-style Keyboard Navigation
- Dominant language
- C
- Stars
- 139k
- Forks
- 8.6k
- PR merge metrics
- PR metrics pending
Description
# Feature Request: Add Vimium/Hints-style Keyboard Navigation
## Summary
First apologies if there is already a request for this and i failed to see it but It would be extremely useful to have built-in keyboard hints for interacting with UI elements, similar to the following tools:
https://github.com/philc/vimium
https://github.com/moverest/wl-kbptr
https://github.com/AlfredoSequeida/hints
Instead of relying on mouse movement or manually cycling through controls, pressing a configurable hotkey would overlay short labels (AA, AS, DQ, etc.) on every clickable element or a grid of labels of where a user wishes to move the mouse/click something.
### Scenario when this would be used?
This would significantly improve accessibility and productivity for users who prefer keyboard-driven workflows. (e.g vim enthusiasts 😉)
### Supporting information
## Benefits
* Faster navigation without touching the mouse.
* Improves accessibility.
* Complements existing keyboard shortcuts rather than replacing them.
* Makes large, complex interfaces much easier to navigate.
Contributor guide
Research direction
No files, tests, or entry points are identified. Review the referenced Vimium, wl-kbptr, and hints projects first, then determine the appropriate PowerToys utility and interaction scope for configurable keyboard-triggered labels. Done would require an agreed design for labeling clickable elements or pointer positions, keyboard selection, and accessibility behavior.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Domain
- accessibility, desktop, operating-systems
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 25/100