Drew,
> i would suggest this is perhaps true within your sphere, but not part
of a bigger default behaviour, at least in my arena. On the web, i and
my clients look explicitly for the Submit/Save type button.
My experience with Web users is that most of what they do is automatic.
I highly recommend Steve Krug's book "Don't Make Me Think" which makes this and many other useful points.
To clarify, I would say that many users hit the Enter key without thinking, expecting the form to be saved. If it isn't saved, they hit it a few more times. If it still isn't saved, they go looking for a Submit button, and move on happily.
Without getting sidetracked into a discussion of what constitutes thinking, I'm happy to split web users' actions into two groups: conscious and unconscious. I don't think subtle distinctions are needed here.
The Enter key hit is unconscious, so if the next screen they see is a web site crash, they are going to be very disappointed.
Very few of them will think "I must have hit the Enter key while the focus was in a disabled item."
Also, for the record, it was not. In MainDemo, the insertion point can be in an enabled text edit area when hitting the Enter key crashes the app.
Most of them will think "This web site sucks!"
:)
Adam