How do I disable CTRL+W in Internet Explorer?

How can you be so much stupid by trying to convince a user that his request is stupid, and that he should learnt to type on a kayboard.

Recognize that this is definitely not an unlikely error:
* there's the US Dvorak keyboard where Ctrl+W is next to Ctrl+V
* there's the French AZERTY keyboard Ctrl+W is next to Ctrl+X/C/V for Cut/Copy/Paste
* using an alternative mouse is not the easiest method when you're currently typing text (in fact I almost never use the mouse for editing text because text selection with the mouse is so much imprecise, and slow!!!)
* a mouse is not always present on PCs. There are lots of users using notebooks with just a touchpad and that have difficulties to point things precisely in text with it

Recognize also that this shortcut is dangerous, and really unneeded within the keyboard along with the other keys normally used for editing.
Note also that several softwares are using Ctrl+W for performing text editing tasks.

Recognize that closing a browser window is so dangerous and can be so harmful to users that now browsers are implementing confirmation dialogs when a active script tries to do it... This was added as a security feature to avoid data losses.

More generally, forcing the mapping of such dangerous destructive shortcuts on keyboard is a severe nuisance and is against all usability rules. Your response is also demonstrating that you are not considering usability with accurate view, just because you are too much used to consider only your usual PC and your usual keyboard to type your usual language with your usual abilities. That's the view from a very limited focus to a very small world. Just look farther than you own keyboard, there's an ample world outside there, and many users that are constantly and repeatedly rageing when the software cannot even protect the user data or session.

Now when there's a developer that is trying to explain them that they should learn to type, this is really insultant for those users complaining: do you really, as a developer, never have to correct your own text? Recognize that EVERYONE shoud be able to correct the input text without having to constantly fear loosing his editing session.

Consider the case of someone that is patiently building a Wikipedia page containing complex table data, and many links to verify online before publishing the page, and so many submissions only for preview: the input form should not close immediately loosing possibly a full hour of edits and previews just because the user is accidently pressing Ctrl+W that destroys all the user data (don't think about Cltr+Z to cancel this action and recover: the data and session is defintely and immediately lost).

Microsoft and its supporting developers should really listen users complaining about it when they affirm that this shortcut is effectively:

* HARMFUL/DANGEROUS
* IRRITATING/DESESPERATING/DISCOURAGING...
* COMPLETELY UNNEEDED on the letters block within edit commands (think about using only Alt+F4)
* STUPID when it can't be disabled
* and REALLY NOT UNLIKELY (think about AZERTY keyboards)

Really reconsider the design in terms of usability and support for international keyboards that may also include other visible characters that are entered using Ctrl+letter keys (possibly also with Shift or Alt).

Who needs Ctrl+W to close a browser window fast? Ansolutely nobody! This is the place where you'll use eventually your mouse or touchpad or to use the File or System menu items or Alt+F4.... Why another keybinding there?

"Very unlikely error" you said? That's plain false, and you're really uninformed or misguided. And you know then where your uninformed irritating "suggestions" will go... Please learn usability guidelines, get back to school, look at your documentation, and don't insult users... There has been TONS of complains since years about this DAMNED Cltr+W shortcut in IE (now also copied in other browsers, including Firefox, where it cannot be disabled too!)

Many users are complaining about this stupid presence of this shortcut they really don't want, and that has already caused them to loose many hours when patiently working on an email, or online work candidature or chatting online, or working in Wikipedia or on a blog or forum like this one. Make a basic search in Google about "disable Ctrl+W" and you'll find tens of thousands of messages in various online forums about this. Consider that this indicates a serious problem that you are currently ignoring and not analysing correctly, as you should, because of your too narrow view of the problem in your too narrow world.

Note: my message above was especially intended for the "MS-MVP" users here that are stupdly using the professoral tone here to explain to other users that they are stupid.

My message is there to prove that the "Mister Knows-Everything" is really misguided and uninformed. So You can be a "Most valued certified proferssional" an also give really stupid and insultant answers to users...

However I have doubt that they are expressing even the views of Microsoft itself, and I hope that Microsoft will defintely not use their consulting for such question that they have absoltely no experience about. MS-MVP users are definitely not representative *users* and lack effective experience.

From the above, we can also tell that they even refuse to hear them (or at least some of them, may be there are more respectuous MS-MVP here that are not answering without even thinking about how their reply is SO MUCH wrong and misleading).

And I hope that the MS-MVP that was suggesting such bad things to users like changing their keyboard will apologize for his effective uninformed and non-professional reply.

Note: I will applaude the first software provider (Microsoft IE, Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox) that will propose a way to disable this Ctrl+W binding to close the window, or that will it least show a confirmation dialog before closing the window. And I hope that the others will immediately follow.

Note: it's no longer necessary to have such easy shortcut to fight against repetitive and abusive "popups". But even if you need a shortcut for closing lots of windows, there's still Alt+F4 and /or the mouse click on the [x] button in the top-right corner of the window title bar: such actions do not require confirmation because they are effectively(?) more unlikely to be typed by error.

Remember the two lessons forgotten in the BAD [Ctrl+W] shortcut of almost all browsers (starting by Apple apparently that created it for its Mac...):

* "Keyboard shortcuts ARE considered harmful" when they are forced against the desire of ALL users, and so badly designed that they even completely ignore the internationalization features that are essential to keyboard usability.
* Key bindings to potentially data destructive actions in any software require at least a ***visible*** and ***accesssible*** confirmation dialog if the action cannot be canceled after it has been performed! Even a basic Notepad application will ask you for conformation before effectively closing a window where there's any unsaved data that can't be restored after closure.

Dear Pendan.

I have had exactly the same problem. This morning I spent several hours updating a wiki page at work, and went to paste in some text, but hit Ctrl+W instead of Ctrl+V. IE closed without any confirmation dialogue.

How disheartening.

For those who don't know about this issue, the W and V keys are neighbours on the Dvorak keyboard layout. And that's just asking for trouble when programs don't confirm the closure of a window.

So this happens to me every few months. I usually use Firefox, which at will ask to confirm a window closing, but my employer forces me to use Internet Explorer for some tasks on our intranet.

Needless to say, I lost all of my work.

After some research, it seems that Windows XP does not let you change or disable shortcut keys, unlike Mac OS X, which does. I found the solution to be to download a free open-source tool called HotKeyBind. I have set Ctrl+W to toggle the Windows XP Mute feature. That's nice and benign. As HotKeyBind will automatically start when I log in, I should be protected from now on.

You can download HotKeyBind here:

- http://sourceforge.net/projects/hotkeybind/

And as for those who suggest that we simply learn to type more accurately, they are missing the point. I am a very fast and accurate Dvorak typist, but if you take your hand away from the keyboard, there will always be a chance that you might not put it back in the correct place, even with the alignment bumps on the U and H keys (F and J for Dvorak). As I wrote, this problem hits me every few months. This time it hurt so much that I actively sought out a solution that works for me.

Pendan, I hope this helps you. It's more of a work-around, but it seems to be the best solution. Microsoft usually bends over backwards to be all things for all people, but in this case they appear to have thought that no-one would ever want to change a shortcut key.


Stephen.

You said:
Pendan, I hope this helps you. It's more of a work-around, but it seems to be the best solution. Microsoft usually bends over backwards to be all things for all people, but in this case they appear to have thought that no-one would ever want to change a shortcut key.

But this shortcut bug has been signaled MANY TIMES to Microsoft since YEARS! (even before IE6). When there was the first IE7 Beta, this bug was renewed once again, and never thought seriously.

At least I'm not alone to consider that this shortcut is not only stupid but dangerous, and harmfull.

Note: reopening a closed window in Firefox does not solve the problem: all additions and changes in the typed form data is not restored. This shortcut is as much seriously defective and destructive that I can't understand that Microsoft does not treat it as if a malware (it is!).

I am not asking to remove completely this shortcut, but at least a confirmation dialog would help prevent most accidents. This shortcut, not needed for editing text in any web form, should never exist in a browser where the form inputs have any edit in progress (this should include as well all forms where only a checbox or radio button was selected, or selection boxes: consider filling a large and high table with just these checkboxes or randio buttons, the window should not close as long as there are pendnig .

Unfortunately, about 4 times now I've done a CTRL-W where I meant to do a SHIFT-W.
That may make me stupid and a bad typist (only about 40wpm but some of them are really good ones).
However, as someone who gets involved in a little application design, I find the idea of implementing this almost as ridiculous as putting secret emergency cut-out buttons slightly to the right of accelerator pedals in cars. Yes, no-one should push them, but they will...
I wish MS would listen to their customers - it's not like it's a major programming challenge to allow us to turn this bad design feature off - for the few of us that like to minimise data loss in our computing experience.

A final thought - how many people do this, don't realise and just think IE crashed out on them?