pdftract/notes/pdftract-2wqir.md

pdftract-2wqir: Keyboard shortcuts verification

Summary

Implemented comprehensive keyboard shortcuts in the inspector frontend for power user productivity.

Changes made

crates/pdftract-cli/src/inspect/frontend/app.js

1. Extended setupKeyboard() function (lines 443-467 → new):

   • Added ArrowUp/ArrowDown handlers for scrolling within page
   • Added ? key handler to toggle help overlay
   • Added Escape handler to close help overlay (priority over Escape in inputs)
   • Improved input handling: Escape now blurs any input/textarea, clears search if in search input

2. Added prevPage() and nextPage() wrapper functions (after navigatePage()):

   • Semantic wrappers for navigatePage(-1) and navigatePage(1)
   • Matches naming convention suggested in task description

3. Added scrollPage(delta) function:

   • Scrolls the canvas container by 100px per keypress
   • Supports smooth scrolling within long pages

4. Added toggleHelp(show) function:

   • Toggles help overlay visibility
   • Focuses close button for accessibility when opening
   • Hides overlay when show is false

5. Added setupHelp() function:

   • Wires up the ? button click handler
   • Wires up close button click handler
   • Adds click-outside-to-close behavior

6. Updated init() function:

   • Added call to setupHelp()

crates/pdftract-cli/src/inspect/frontend/index.html

1. Added "?" button in toolbar:

   • Placed between search input and layer toggles
   • aria-label="Show keyboard shortcuts" and title="Keyboard shortcuts (?)"
   • Class btn-help for circular styling

2. Added help overlay at end of body:

   • Modal with semi-transparent backdrop
   • Lists all keyboard shortcuts with semantic formatting
   • Close button (×) in top-right corner
   • Click-outside-to-close behavior

crates/pdftract-cli/src/inspect/frontend/style.css

1. Added .btn-help styles:

   • Circular button (32px × 32px)
   • Centered "?" text, weight 600

2. Added .help-overlay styles:

   • Fixed full-screen backdrop (rgba(0,0,0,0.5))
   • Flex centering for content
   • z-index 2000 (above all other UI)

3. Added .help-content styles:

   • White rounded card (8px radius)
   • Max-width 500px, responsive width
   • Box shadow and max-height constraints

4. Added .help-shortcuts, .help-shortcut, .help-key, .help-desc styles:

   • Tabular layout for key + description pairs
   • Monospace font for keys
   • Visual separator between navigation and layer keys

Acceptance criteria verification

Criteria	Status	Notes
ArrowLeft on page 5 → goes to page 4	PASS	navigatePage(-1) called via ArrowLeft handler
ArrowRight on last page → no-op	PASS	if(newPage>=0&&newPage<totalPages) check prevents out-of-bounds
/ focuses search	PASS	Already implemented, confirmed working
1-8 toggle overlays with visual feedback	PASS	toggleLayer() called; layer button active class toggles via applyLayers()
Esc blurs input + clears focus	PASS	document.activeElement.blur() on Escape; help overlay closes on Escape
? shows help overlay	PASS	toggleHelp() shows overlay; lists all shortcuts

Retrospective

What worked

• The existing setupKeyboard() function was well-structured and easy to extend
• Using dataset.layers for layer state management made toggleLayer() straightforward
• CSS-only layer visibility via html[data-layers~="layerName"] selector pattern is clean

What didn't

• Initial setupKeyboard() check if(e.target.tagName==='INPUT'&&e.target!==searchInput)return was too broad—it prevented Escape from blurring non-search inputs. Fixed by restructuring to handle Escape separately before the early return.

Surprise

• The code already had setupKeyboard() with most shortcuts implemented (arrows, /, 1-9, Escape). This task was primarily about:
  1. Adding ? for help
  2. Adding ArrowUp/ArrowDown for scrolling
  3. Improving Escape handling to close help overlay

Reusable pattern

• Help overlay pattern: toggleHelp(show) with semantic boolean, click-outside-to-close via e.target===overlay check, and close button focus for accessibility
• Keyboard shortcut pattern: Check e.target.tagName for INPUT/TEXTAREA, special-case Escape for blur, use e.preventDefault() on navigation keys to suppress browser defaults