<details> <summary> Everyone can contribute. [Help move this issue forward](https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/marketing/developer-relations/contributor-success/community-contributors-workflows/#contributor-links) while earning points, leveling up and collecting rewards. </summary> - [Close this issue](https://contributors.gitlab.com/manage-issue?action=close&projectId=278964&issueIid=437987) </details> ### Summary Indent/unindent in plain text editor is unusable on certain international keyboard layouts ### Steps to reproduce 1. Make sure plain text editing is enabled (_not_ rich text editing) 1. Try to press the `Ctrl/Command+]` or `Ctrl/Command+[` shortcut (to unindent/indent content in the text/Markdown editor), when a Swedish keyboard map is being used. 1. `Ctrl+å` and `Ctrl+¨` (the key to the right of `å` on a Swedish keyboard) _might_ work to indent or unindent (it behaves different on gitlab.com vs our local v16.6.1-ee instance, and also seems to vary between Chrome and Firefox), but the feature is not reliably available. With a US keyboard, the feature works as intended. ### Example Project Any project. Try editing a comment right in this issue, for example. ### What is the current *bug* behavior? The indent and unindent keys are not reliably available when using a Swedish keyboard. ### What is the expected *correct* behavior? Both unindent and indent should be available, as on US keyboards. ### Relevant logs and/or screenshots N/A ### Output of checks This bug happens on GitLab.com #### Results of GitLab environment info N/A #### Results of GitLab application Check N/A ### Possible fixes/Background These shortcuts were added in https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/merge_requests/28914: > * `Ctrl/Command+]` indents the current line or selection by 4 spaces > * `Ctrl/Command+[` unindents the current line or selection by 4 spaces The reason why `Tab/Shift+Tab` was not used is this: > Why not use `Tab`/`Shift+Tab`? This would override the native tab-ordering of forms, breaking accessibility and keyboard-only workflows. This is a valid concern. But we need to think about our internal users (like my current employer :joy:) as well. :slight_smile: ### How does the competitors do it? I discussed this with @slovdahl and we realized that GitHub (which uses Tab/Shift-Tab) has chosen an interesting semantic here. It is described on https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/writing-on-github/getting-started-with-writing-and-formatting-on-github/basic-writing-and-formatting-syntax#nested-lists: > Note: In the web-based editor, you can indent or dedent one or more lines of text by **first highlighting** the desired lines and then using Tab or Shift+Tab respectively. (emphasis mine) This approach - only overriding tab/shift tab _if text is selected_ is actually a pretty awesome UX to me. It means: 1. that you **don't** break accessibility and keyboard-only workflows, which is important. When text is not selected, you can still use `Tab` and `Shift+Tab` to navigate to other fields on the web page. 2. that you can still use key combinations (`Tab` and `Shift+Tab`) which are widely used for indent and unindent in IDEs and text editors 3. that it works on international keyboard layouts as well as US layout Point number 2 is an important one. I had been missing this feature in GitLab now for some time, knowing that it was available in GitHub. However, yesterday I [googled](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=gitlab+shift-tab+editor) which led me to https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/issues/59657 and https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/merge_requests/28914, which made me realize that it **is** indeed supported - it just uses different keyboard shortcuts than you would expect. ### What I think we should do I think we should mimic the GitHub behavior in this case. It would make the feature much more discoverable, while still retaining accessibility and keyboard-only workflows. --- ### Update (agreed direction & implementation note) **Agreed approach (consensus among @perlun, @digitalmoksha, @kivikakk):** additive, non-breaking change — **add** `Tab` (indent) / `Shift+Tab` (unindent) **only when text is selected** (GitHub semantics), while **keeping** the existing `Ctrl/Cmd+]` / `Ctrl/Cmd+[` shortcuts. Applies to the plain text editor only; the rich text editor keeps its own semantics and is out of scope. **Implementation note:** the MR quote above says "4 spaces", but the current implementation in `app/assets/javascripts/lib/utils/text_markdown.js` actually uses **2 spaces** (`INDENT_LENGTH = 2`). The new `Tab`/`Shift+Tab` path should reuse that same constant for consistency. **Out of scope:** the Chromium `Cmd+[` / `Cmd+]` Back/Forward history conflict (raised in comments) is tracked separately. _See the Workplan for the full Why/What/How and step-by-step plan._