“A few keys worth knowing”

When I was redesigning Figma’s keyboard panel in 2018, I introduced a special first tab called Essential. It’s still there today, very similar to what it was back then: The notion was for this panel to be a welcome committee for people who don’t use keyboard shortcuts at all, a nice onramp before the avalanche of all the other shortcuts. The panel tried to say “These are the best three shortcuts we have. You might find them useful, maybe rewarding, maybe fun. If we did our job well, they will make you feel awesome. Maybe you’ll get hooked on these, then the others.” I didn’t invent this idea, although I do not remember where I stole it from. But I added – or, remixed – a few things. The panel was at the bottom so you could actually try these shortcuts when looking at them. There was also an animation that played whenever you pressed them, both feedback for you and light “gamification” so that perhaps you were more inclined to “complete” the entire the panel: (Today, I’d steal this…

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