Editing Keyboard shortcut (section)

== Notation ==

The simplest keyboard shortcuts consist of only one key. For these, one generally just writes out the name of the key, as in the message "Press F1 for Help". The name of the key is sometimes surrounded in brackets or similar characters. For example: [F1] or &lt;F1&gt;. The key name may also be set off using special formatting (bold, italic, [[capital letters|all caps]], etc.)

Many shortcuts require two or more keys to be pressed simultaneously. For these, the usual notation is to list the keys names separated by plus signs or hyphens. For example: "Ctrl+C", "Ctrl-C", or "{{keypress|[[Ctrl key|Ctrl]]|[[C]]}}". The Ctrl key is sometimes indicated by a caret character (^). Thus [[Control-C|Ctrl-C]] is sometimes written as ^C. At times, usually on [[Unix]] platforms, the case of the second character is significant – if the character would normally require pressing the [[Shift key]] to type, then the Shift key is part of the shortcut e.g. '^C' vs. '^c' or '^%' vs. '^5'. ^% may also be written "{{keypress|[[Ctrl key|Ctrl]]|[[shift key|Shift]]|5}}".

Some keyboard shortcuts, including all shortcuts involving the {{keypress|[[Escape key|Esc]]}} key, require keys (or sets of keys) to be pressed individually, in sequence. These shortcuts are sometimes written with the individual keys (or sets) separated by commas or semicolons. The [[Emacs]] text editor uses many such shortcuts, using a designated set of "prefix keys" such as {{keypress|[[Ctrl key|Ctrl]]|[[C]]}} or {{keypress|[[Ctrl key|Ctrl]]|[[X]]}}. Default Emacs keybindings include {{keypress|[[Ctrl key|Ctrl]]|[[X]]}} {{keypress|[[Ctrl key|Ctrl]]|[[S]]}} to save a file or {{keypress|[[Ctrl key|Ctrl]]|[[X]]}} {{keypress|[[Ctrl key|Ctrl]]|[[B]]}} to view a list of open [[Data buffer|buffers]]. Emacs uses the letter C to denote the Ctrl key, the letter S to denote the [[Shift key]], and the letter M to denote the [[Meta key]] (commonly mapped to the [[Alt key]] on modern keyboards.) Thus, in Emacs parlance, the above shortcuts would be written C-x C-s and C-x C-b. A common [[backronym]] for Emacs is "Escape Meta Alt Ctrl Shift", poking fun at its use of many modifiers and extended shortcut sequences.