Why is j the standard keyboard shortcut to move forward and k the standard shortcut to move backward (for example, in Gmail)? For most people, left is associated with backward and right is associated with forward, but in this case j is to the left of k and yet associated with moving forward.
Asked
Active
Viewed 268 times
0
ChaimKut
- 553
2 Answers
4
It came from VI where HJKL keys are used to move left/down/up/right. Old keyboards didn't always have arrow keys, including the one that VI's author used
All of them are placed in the home row, but J is the main key on the right with the bump for touch typing and is where the index finger is. Since moving down is the most common operation and index finger is the most versatile finger (along with thumb), J is used to move down (or forward in places where we only move in one axis)
phuclv
- 30,396
- 15
- 136
- 260
3
The answer is on the help page you've linked.
Newer conversation: k
Older conversation j
k goes forward in time, j goes backwards in time.
You perceive them as reversed because your inbox is in reverse chronological order.
gronostaj
- 58,482