Make the Mac-App more Mac-like -e.g. shortcuts,improve the use of the return key

Hello dear iDoceo-Team,
I just bought the Mac App of iDoceo since I love doing my grading and planning on the Mac - I am way faster than on any Tablet using my trackpad and keyboard.

Even though I like the great functionality of iDoceo, I am a bit disappointed in the usability of it. The Mac App does not really feel like a native Mac-App but rather as a 1:1 copy of the iPad-App. Here's what I mean:
- there are no shortcuts (e.g. to add a new column or delete a grade) and no ways to define any
- if I press the return key after having entered a grade, it does not go to the next grade. Instead, I have to press the tabulator key. This is actually quite annoying and costs me a lot of time when entering grades.
- why do I need to click the blue "Finish" button when I type in grades or check attendance? It is a bit annoying doing that. I would rather just click anywhere in the window to dismiss icons or other options.
- the menus and all the pop-up windows feel very iPad-like. Why is there no "cancel" and "okay/save" button at the bottom of a window. Why do I always need to click the x at the top right corner to save/close a window?
- the classical menu bar used in iDoceo is very minimalistic and could use some more options (e.g. like add grade which then could be used as shortcuts (see above).

I hope you see my points. I really love your app, but would love to use it more efficiently. Simple things like changing the behaviour of the return key (even if it is just offered as an option in the settings) would greatly improve my use of iDoceo!
Let me know what you think and what is planned!
Many greetings
Sebastian

Thanks for the feedback Sebastian. Many of these limitations are due to Apple's lack of tools (mainly keyboard handling) and we will keep improving the Mac version as soon as is technically possible.

We have to keep working first on all the new compatibility issues introduced each year with iOS13,14, Big Sur, Catalina and a long etc!

You should have no trouble tapping on enter and moving to the next grade. It depends on the edit direction button you see in this image. Is it properly set?

Hello Bert, thank you for your swift reply. I can only imagine how hard all these technical and compatibility issues might be! Thanks for putting in the work, as a teacher I really appreciate it. It is good to know you will keep improving the Mac version.

Of course I am aware of the edit direction button, but even if it is turned on it does not really work. First of all, it only seems to work if the numeric keypad is activated. If I have another edit mode like "Text", "Text with icons" or "Grade Selector" pressing return does not work very well - yes, it does move to the next grade, but I can't type anything into the grade. I have to move my mouse to the right field, press it and then I can press return again. If you don't believe me, check it out yourself. Basically I would love to type in grades like an Excel list - grade → return -> grade → return etc.

If you're not working with icons, did you try to type text as you need it and move to the next cell with the arrow keys?
The main point was to avoid the using the mouse at all. Let me know if you can give it a try.

Yes, the arrow keys do work as a replacement for enter. Using them instead of the return key is a bit annoying because it does not feel natural/normal to me when using two hands.
On a more positive note: "Text with Icons" does seem to work the way I want it. I can't really tell what changed, but now I can just type, return, type, return. I'm really happy about this

Just five more little additions/ wishes concerning the Mac:
1. It would be grade if grade selector would also respond to numbers or letters typed on the keyboard (e.g. A → A; 2 → 2),
2. When adding a column, it would be great if the cursor is already in the title. I have to do this manually, even though I guess 90% of the people would also want to add a title when adding a column.
3. You should change some of the wording on the Mac. I often read the word “tap” or see a hand gesture - these things confirm my suspicion that the Mac app seems very iPad-based/ iPad-like.
4. CMD+A for selecting all does not seem to work.
5. The escape key would be awesome when I just want to get rid of/close a window/ cancel (e.g. when adding a column and then changing my mind)

But these are minor things. Actually I have to say the more I get used to the app, the more I like it. I just found out about the magical integration of iDoceo Connect assessment grades into my gradebook. How cool is that? I definitely want to try this out and let my students write a digital vocabulary test on our school iPads.

Looking forward to more changes on the Mac soon and thanks for the great app! I will recommend it to my fellow-teachers )

sorry for annoying again, but for some strange reasons typing in grades directly after pressing return does not work anymore. I see the text box active (visible by the orange line around it) for a split second only to be inactive (and thereby unable to receive grades directly) directly after. Yesterday the box remained active, today it does not. I think this might be a bug. Hope you can fix it in the next release.

Sure, looks like a bug by Apple. If you have a chance send me a short screen recording at support @ idoceo.net so we can notify them.

I just did that! Thanks for looking into that. Let me know if the recording helps. It is hard to see, but if you pay close attention you can see the orange border for a split second.

I still have the same problem with "text with icons" which I use for German grades (2+,2,2- etc.). However, I was able to narrow down the problem: Whenever iDoceo automatically scrolls down (when you have typed in some grades and it makes the next student the top one of the screen, if you know what I mean...), then the cursor is not in the text box anymore. When the app does not scroll, then it works just fine. So a workaround would be to just "zoom out" (e.g. 50%) just so the app does not scroll anymore.
I wrote this for people who have similar problems and for the developers to look into it if possible