Editing Keyboard shortcut

{{Short description|Assignments for computer keyboard keys}}
{{for|Wikipedia keyboard shortcuts|Wikipedia:Keyboard shortcuts|selfref=y}}
{{refimprove|date=December 2010}}

[[File:Firefoxshortcuts.png|thumb|300px|right|[[Mozilla Firefox 3|Firefox 3.0]] menu with shortcuts, highlighted with green and mnemonics highlighted with yellow]]
[[File:System 1 File Edit.png|thumb|right|234px<!-- please do not rescale -->|Composite of two [[Finder (software)|Macintosh Finder]] menus with keyboard shortcuts specified in the right column]]
In [[computing]], a '''keyboard shortcut''' (also '''hotkey'''/'''hot key''' or '''key binding''')<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-19 |title=Google Books Ngram Viewer |url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=keyboard+shortcut,hotkey,hot+key,key+binding&year_start=1982&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=1&case_insensitive=true |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=books.google.com |language=en}}</ref> is a [[software]]-based assignment of an action to one or more keys on a computer keyboard. Most [[Operating system|operating systems]] and [[Application software|applications]] come with a [[Table of keyboard shortcuts|default set of keyboard shortcuts]], some of which may be modified by the [[User (computing)|user]] in the [[Settings (Windows)|settings]]. 

Keyboard configuration software allows users to create and assign [[Macro (computer science)|macros]] to key combinations which can perform more complex sequences of actions. Some older keyboards had a physical [[macro key]] specifically for this purpose.

== Terminology ==
The precise words used for these assignments and their meaning can vary depending on the context.

For example, Microsoft has generally used ''keyboard shortcuts'' for [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Keyboard shortcuts in Windows - Microsoft Support |url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/keyboard-shortcuts-in-windows-dcc61a57-8ff0-cffe-9796-cb9706c75eec |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=support.microsoft.com |publisher=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref> and [[Microsoft Office]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Customize keyboard shortcuts - Microsoft Support |url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/customize-keyboard-shortcuts-9a92343e-a781-4d5a-92f1-0f32e3ba5b4d |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=support.microsoft.com |publisher=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref> since the transition to [[64-bit computing|64-bit]] for Windows 7. However, they used ''hot keys'' prior to that and continue to do so in their [[32-bit computing|32-bit]] [[Windows API|API]] for developing 'classic desktop apps'.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-25 |title=About Hot Key Controls - Win32 apps |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/controls/hot-key-controls |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=learn.microsoft.com |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-10 |title=Overview of framework options - Windows apps |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/get-started/?tabs=cpp-win32,net-maui#other-native-platform-options |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=learn.microsoft.com |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=How do I reassign hot keys for my keyboard? - Microsoft Support |url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-do-i-reassign-hot-keys-for-my-keyboard-703f897c-ad72-db5d-8e64-0928873d712f |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=support.microsoft.com}}</ref> Meanwhile, Lenovo and ASUS each have keyboard configuration software made for Windows that are named "Lenovo ''Hotkeys''"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2017-10-19 |title=ASUS Keyboard Hotkeys - Free download and install on Windows |url=https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9pk20dg5fb6b |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=Microsoft Store |publisher=[[ASUS]]}}</ref> and "ASUS Keyboard ''Hotkeys''"<ref name=":0" /> respectively.

The assignment process is referred to as ''mapping'' the actions to the keys, and changing them afterwards is therefore ''remapping''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to Remap Your Keyboard {{!}} Windows Learning Center |url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/learning-center/how-to-remap-your-keyboard |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=Windows |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Shortcuts, Hotkeys, Macros, Oh My: How to Remap Your Keyboard |url=https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/remap-your-keyboard |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=PCMAG |date=24 April 2024 |language=en}}</ref> The assigned action is then said to be ''bound'' to the key, leading to the phrase ''key binding'' being used interchangeably with shortcut and hotkey.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-03 |title=Key Bindings for Visual Studio Code |url=https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/getstarted/keybindings |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=code.visualstudio.com/docs |publisher=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref> 

As other [[Input device|input devices]] became increasingly configurable in the early 2000's, the term ''shortcut'' began to be used to refer to what are essentially keyboard shortcuts being mapped to objects that are not keyboard keys. The most prevalent of these are [[Computer mouse|computer mice]], which went from only having two buttons for left and right clicks to having additional buttons on the around the side, top, and back of the mice (2-4 for common usage and up to 12 extra [[Scripting language|programmable]] buttons for certain types of gaming uses).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Best MMO Mouse - Fall 2024: Mice Reviews |url=https://www.rtings.com/mouse/reviews/best/mmo |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=RTINGS.com |language=en-US}}</ref>  

As [[Internet of things|Internet of things (IoT)]] devices continue to proliferate, ''shortcuts'' are appearing in many other device types such as [[Electronic keyboard|electronic keyboards]], [[home automation]] devices, [[wearable technology]], and more. 

[[Human–computer interaction|Human-computer interaction]] experts also continue to design new types of shortcuts altogether, such as [[Gesture recognition|gestures]] on [[Touchscreen|touchscreens]] and touchless interfaces.

== Description ==
Keyboard shortcuts are typically a means for invoking one or more commands using the [[Computer keyboard|keyboard]] that would otherwise be accessible only through a [[menu (computing)|menu]], a [[pointing device]], different levels of a [[user interface]], or via a [[command-line interface]]. Keyboard shortcuts are generally used to expedite common operations by reducing input sequences to a few [[Typing|keystroke]]s, hence the term "shortcut".<ref name="shortcut_lingo">In the English language a "shortcut" may unintentionally suggest an incomplete or sloppy way of completing something. Consequently, some computer applications designed to be controlled mainly by the keyboard, such as [[Emacs]], use the alternative term "key binding".</ref>

To differentiate from general keyboard input, most keyboard shortcuts require the user to press and hold several keys simultaneously or a sequence of keys one after the other. Unmodified key presses are sometimes accepted when the keyboard is not used for general input - such as with graphics packages e.g. [[Adobe Photoshop]] or [[IBM Lotus Freelance Graphics]]. Other keyboard shortcuts use [[function keys]] that are dedicated for use in shortcuts and may only require a single keypress. For simultaneous keyboard shortcuts, one usually first holds down the [[modifier key]](s), then quickly presses and releases the regular (non-modifier) key, and finally releases the modifier key(s). This distinction is important, as trying to press all the keys simultaneously will frequently either miss some of the modifier keys, or cause unwanted auto-repeat. Sequential shortcuts usually involve pressing and releasing a dedicated prefix key, such as the [[Esc key]], followed by one or more keystrokes.

[[mnemonics (keyboard)|Mnemonics]] are distinguishable from keyboard shortcuts. One difference between them is that the keyboard shortcuts are not localized on multi-language software but the mnemonics are generally localized to reflect the symbols and letters used in the specific locale. In most [[GUI]]s, a program's keyboard shortcuts are [[Discoverability|discoverable]] by browsing the program's menus – the shortcut is indicated next to the menu choice. There are keyboards that have the shortcuts for a particular application already marked on them. These keyboards are often used for editing video, audio, or graphics,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-10409035-248.html|title=Hardware for Gmail: The 'Gboard' keyboard|publisher=[[CNET.com]]|date=3 December 2009|access-date=7 January 2011|first=Josh|last=Lowensohn|archive-date=16 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016172949/http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-10409035-248.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> as well as in software training courses. There are also stickers with shortcuts printed on them that can be applied to a regular keyboard. [[Reference cards]] intended to be propped up in the user's workspace also exist for many applications. In the past, when keyboard design was more standardized, it was common for computer books and magazines to print cards that were cut out, intended to be placed over the user's keyboard with the printed shortcuts noted next to the appropriate keys.

== Customization ==
[[File:Vega strike key bindings chart.svg|thumb|right|Visual chart of the default key assignments for the video game ''[[Vega Strike]]''. These bindings can be reconfigured by editing the relevant [[XML]] file in a text editor.]]
When shortcuts are referred to as ''key bindings,'' it carries the connotation that the shortcuts are customizable to a user's preference and that program functions may be 'bound' to a different set of keystrokes instead of or in addition to the default.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Commands.html#Commands|title=GNU Emacs Manual: Commands|quote=Emacs does not assign meanings to keys directly. Instead, Emacs assigns meanings to named commands, and then gives keys their meanings by binding them to commands.}}</ref> This highlights a difference in philosophy regarding shortcuts. Some systems, typically [[end-user]]-oriented systems such as [[Mac OS]] or [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], consider standardized shortcuts essential to the environment's ease of use. In these commercial proprietary systems, the ability to change the default bindings and add custom ones can be limited, possibly even requiring a separate or third-party utility to perform the task, sometimes with workarounds like key remapping. In macOS, user can customize app shortcuts ("Key equivalents") in system settings, and customize text editing shortcuts by creating and editing related configuration files.<ref>{{cite web|website=Apple Developer Documentation Archive|date=September 9, 2013|url=https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/EventOverview/TextDefaultsBindings/TextDefaultsBindings.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310213842/https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/EventOverview/TextDefaultsBindings/TextDefaultsBindings.html|archive-date=March 10, 2024|title=Text System Defaults and Key Bindings
|access-date=2024-01-18}}</ref> Other systems, typically [[Unix]] and related, consider shortcuts to be a user's prerogative, and that they should be customizable to suit individual preference. In most real-world environments, both philosophies co-exist; a core set of ''sacred'' shortcuts remain fixed while others, typically involving an otherwise unused modifier key or keys, are under the user's control.

The motivations for customizing key bindings vary. Users new to a program or software environment may customize the new environment's shortcuts to be similar to another environment with which they are more familiar.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EGzrJ4UPElYC&q=customize%20shortcuts%20other%20program&pg=PA373|title=Macromedia FreeHand 10 for Windows and Macintosh|isbn=9780201749656|last1=Cohen|first1=Sandee|year=2002|publisher=Peachpit Press }}</ref> More advanced users may customize key bindings to better suit their [[workflow]], adding shortcuts for their commonly used actions and possibly deleting or replacing bindings for less-used functions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/customizing_your_keyboard_shortcuts|title=Customizing your keyboard shortcuts}}</ref> [[Hardcore gamers]] often customize their key bindings in order to increase performance via faster reaction times.

=== Reserved Keyboard Shortcuts ===
The original Macintosh [[User Interface Guidelines]] defined a set of keyboard shortcuts that would remain consistent across application programs.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://interface.free.fr/Archives/Apple_HIGuidelines.pdf#page=152 |title=Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines |page=128 |last=Apple |author-link=Apple Inc. |location=Reading, Massachusetts |publisher=Addison-Wesley| isbn=0-201-62216-5 |date=November 1992}}</ref> This provides a better [[user experience]] than the then-prevalent situation of applications using the same keys for different functions. This could result in [[user error]]s if one program used {{keypress|[[Command key|⌘ Command]]|D}} to mean ''Delete'' while another used it to ''Duplicate'' an item. The standard bindings were:
* {{key press|⌘ Q}} : [[exit (system call)|'''Q'''uit]]
* {{key press|⌘ W}} : Close [[window (computing)|'''W'''indow]]
* {{key press|⌘ B}} : [[boldface|'''B'''old]] text
* {{key press|⌘ I}} : [[italic type|'''I'''talicize]] text
* {{key press|⌘ U}} : [[underline|'''U'''nderline]] text
* {{key press|⌘ O}} : [[File operation|'''O'''pen]]
* {{key press|⌘ P}} : [[Printing|'''P'''rint]]
* {{key press|⌘ A}} : [[Selection (user interface)|Select]] '''A'''ll
* {{key press|⌘ S}} : [[Persistence (computer science)|'''S'''ave]]
* {{key press|⌘ F}} : [[text searching|'''F'''ind]]
* {{key press|⌘ G}} : Find A'''g'''ain (the G key is next to the F key on a [[QWERTY]] keyboard)
* {{key press|⌘ E}} : '''E'''nter search string from selection (allowed searching a document by selecting text and typing {{key press|⌘ E}}{{key press|⌘ G}} ([[e.g.|exempli gratia]])
* {{key press|⌘ Z}} : [[Undo]] (represents the do-undo-redo cycle)
* {{key press|⌘ X}} : [[Cut, copy, and paste|Cut]] (resembles scissors or a general sign for removal – and the X key is next to the C key on a QWERTY keyboard)
* {{key press|⌘ C}} : [[Copy and paste|'''C'''opy]]
* {{key press|⌘ V}} : [[Copy and paste|Paste]] (resembles the proofreader's mark for "insert" – and the V key is next to the C key on a QWERTY keyboard)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://studylib.net/doc/16057899/past-to-future--various-undo-models--interaction-historie|title=Larry Tesler email Past to Future: Various Undo Models, Interaction Histories, and Macro Recording Lecture 21}}</ref>
* {{key press|⌘ N}} : '''N'''ew [[Electronic document|Document]]
* {{key press|⌘ .}} ([[full stop]]): [[Abort (computing)|User interrupt]]<ref group="notes" name="cancelOperation"/>, it can be used to close dialogs, search bars, and context menus.
* {{key press|⌘ ?}} : [[Help (command)|Help]] ([[?]] signifies a question or confusion)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/question|title=Definition of QUESTION|website=www.merriam-webster.com}}</ref>

Later environments such as Microsoft Windows retain some of these bindings, while adding their own from alternate standards like [[Common User Access]]. The shortcuts on these platforms (or on [[macOS]]) are not as strictly standardized across applications as on the early Macintosh user interface, where if a program did not include the function normally carried out by one of the standard keystrokes, guidelines stated that it should not redefine the key to do something else as it would potentially confuse users.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/AppleHIGuidelines/KeyboardShortcuts/KeyboardShortcuts.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40002725-CHDIGFBH|title=OS X Human Interface Guidelines|quote=If your app does not perform the task associated with a recommended shortcut, think very carefully before you consider overriding it. Remember that although reassigning an unused shortcut might make sense in your app, your users are likely to know and expect the original, established meaning.}}</ref>

== 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.

== See also ==
{{Wiktionary}}
* [[Table of keyboard shortcuts]]
* [[Access key]]
* [[Accelerator table]]
* [[Common User Access]] (CUA)
* [[Human interface guidelines]]

== Notes and references ==
{{reflist|group=notes|refs=<ref name="cancelOperation">Technical note: it calls the AppKit method "cancelOperation:"</ref>}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Keyboard keys}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:User interface techniques]]