Beginning Mouse-Free Development in RubyMine

As a long time terminal text editor user, and accordingly not a big fan of the mouse, after switching to RubyMine, I immediately began memorizing the keyboard shortcuts. RubyMine shortcuts can look intimidating, especially the three and four-key shortcuts that resemble guitar chords. However after several months of using RubyMine, I’ve found that efficient, painless, mouse-free development is possible. Here are some suggestions in helping you move away from the mouse.

Choosing a Keyboard

It’s important to choose a keyboard with modifier keys (Shift, Control, Option/Alt, and Command) on both the left and right sides, because RubyMine shortcuts often involve pressing one or more modifier keys. Having a set of modifier keys for each hand allows for more natural shortcut fingerings.

I use RubyMine on a Mac with the apple keyboard with numeric keypad. This keyboard has two sets of nice-sized modifier keys.

Respect the Dividing Line

The dividing line on a keyboard determines which hand types which keys. It usually lies on a diagonal between 5 and 6, T and Y, G and H, and B and N.

Almost all RubyMine shortcuts involve a key combination: pressing one or more modifier keys plus a non-modifier key. For safety and speed, always use the modifier key(s) on the opposite side of the non-modifier key. For example, when typing command-f, the find shortcut, use the right command key.

Touch Typing the Function Keys

RubyMine shortcuts make extensive use of the function keys (F1-F12). Most developers have little experience using these keys because editors often neglect the function keys.

Touch typing the function keys is essential for maximum speed. Extend the dividing line to the function keys between F5 and F6. This may vary depending on how your keyboard lays out the function keys.

Key Combination Fingerings

Finding the optimal key combination fingerings can help make shortcuts comfortable and easy to remember. I’ve found the following fingerings for common RubyMine shortcuts to be intuitive and painless.

• command-option index + ring
• command-control index + pinky
• command-option-control index + ring + pinky
• command-shift index + pinky
• command-option-shift index + ring + pinky
• option-control ring + pinky
• option-shift index + ring
• option-shift-control index + middle + ring
• control-shift pinky + ring

Mouse-free Development

RubyMine publishes keyboard shortcuts for each supported OS. In future posts, we’ll explore each category of shortcuts, moving towards complete, mouse-free development.