Company
Date Published
Author
Andreas Eldh
Word count
1106
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

Linear has recently integrated contextual menus to enhance user experience, particularly for those who prefer using a mouse. These menus, which are widely used in applications like Microsoft Word, allow users to perform various actions quickly by right-clicking, aiming to streamline workflow efficiency. In addition to speeding up tasks, these menus serve as a tool for onboarding and helping users learn keyboard shortcuts. Initially, Linear's sub-menu navigation required users to move their cursor in a counterintuitive upside-down L shape, which was inefficient. To address this, Linear redesigned their contextual menus to allow for diagonal navigation by creating a "safe area" using a triangular path, ensuring the sub-menu remains open during selection. This update, implemented with a React component, aims to make the application faster and more intuitive by reducing the navigational time and minimizing user frustration.