Navigating the File Manager Customizing Your Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigating Standard Elements and Controls

The following sections describe how to navigate and use standard user interface elements and controls from the keyboard.

3.8.1. To Navigate Menus

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate menus.

Keys Function
up arrow and down arrow Give focus to the next or previous menu item on a menu.
right arrow

If the menu item that has focus is a submenu, open the submenu and give focus to the first menu item on the submenu.

If the menu item that has focus is not a submenu, open the next menu on the menubar.
left arrow

If the menu item that has focus is a submenu item, switch the focus back to the submenu.

If the menu item that has focus is not a submenu item, open the previous menu on the menubar.
Return Select the focused menu item and close the open menus.
access key Select the menu item that is associated with the access key and close the open menus.
spacebar Select the focused menu item and close the open menus except when the menu item is a check box or radio button. If the menu item is a check box or radio button, the menu does not close.
Esc Close the open menus.

3.8.2. To Navigate Buttons

A button is a control that you use to start an action. Most buttons are rectangular and contain a text label.

Figure 3-3 Sample Button

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate buttons.

Keys Function
spacebar Activate the button that has focus. This is the equivalent of clicking on the button.
Return Activate the button that has focus or, if no button has focus, perform the default action for the dialog.

3.8.3. To Navigate Radio Buttons

A radio button is a control that you use to select one of several mutually-exclusive options.

Figure 3-4 Sample Radio Button

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate a set of radio buttons.

Keys Function
arrow keys Select the next or previous radio button and deselect the other radio buttons in the group.

3.8.4. To Navigate Check Boxes

A check box is a control that you use to select or deselect an option.

Figure 3-5 Sample Check Box

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate a check box.

Keys Function
spacebar Select or deselect the check box.

3.8.5. To Navigate Text Boxes

Text boxes are controls in which you type text.

Figure 3-6 Sample Single Line Text Box

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate a single line text box.

Keys Function
left arrow Position the cursor one character to the left.
right arrow Position the cursor one character to the right.
Ctrl+left arrow Position the cursor at the start of the current word. Press-and-hold Ctrl and continue to press left arrow to position the cursor at the start of the previous word.
Ctrl+right arrow Position the cursor at the end of the current word. Press-and-hold Ctrl and continue to press right arrow to position the cursor at the end of the next word.
Home Position the cursor at the start of the line.
End Position the cursor at the end of the line.
Shift+left arrow or right arrow Select one character at a time to the left or right of the cursor.
Shift+Ctrl+left arrow or right arrow Select one word at a time to the left or right of the cursor.
Shift+Home Select all text to the left of the cursor.
Shift+End Select all text to the right of the cursor.

Ctrl+A

(Solaris only)

 Select all text in the text box.

In addition to the keyboard shortcuts listed in the previous table, use the keyboard shortcuts in the following table to navigate multi-line text boxes.

Keys Function
Page Up Position the cursor at the top of the current view. Press Page Up again to position the cursor at the top of the previous view.
Page Down Position the cursor at the end of the current view. Press Page Down again to position the cursor at the end of the previous view.
Ctrl+up arrow Position the cursor at the start of the current paragraph. Press-and-hold Ctrl and continue to press up arrow to position the cursor at the start of the previous paragraph.
Ctrl+down arrow Position the cursor at the end of the current paragraph. Press-and-hold Ctrl and continue to press down arrow to position the cursor at the end of the next paragraph.
Ctrl+Page Up Position the cursor one view width to the left.
Ctrl+Page Down Position the cursor one view width to the right.
Ctrl+Home Position the cursor at the start of the text box.
Ctrl+End Position the cursor at the end of the text box.
Ctrl+Tab Give focus to the next control on the dialog.
Shift+Page Up Select the text to the start of the current view. Press-and-hold Shift and continue to press Page Up to extend the selection to the start of the previous view.
Shift+Page Down Select the text to the end of the current view. Press-and-hold Shift and continue to press Page Down to extend the selection to the end of the next view.
Shift+Home Select the text to the start of the line.
Shift+End Select the text to the end of the line.
Shift+Ctrl+up arrow Select the text to the start of the paragraph, then to the start of the previous paragraph.
Shift+Ctrl+down arrow Select the text to the end of the paragraph, then to the end of the next paragraph.
Shift+Ctrl+Home Select the text to the start of the text box.
Shift+Ctrl+End Select the text to the end of the text box.

3.8.6. To Navigate Spin Boxes

A spin box is a control that allows you to type a numeric value or select a value from a list of all possible values.

Figure 3-7 Sample Spin Box

The keyboard shortcuts that you use to navigate the text box area of a spin box are listed in Section 3.8.5 ― To Navigate Text Boxes. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate the up and down arrows in the spin box.

Keys Function
up arrow or down arrow Increase or decrease the value of the spin box by a small amount.
Page Up or Page Down Increase or decrease the value of the spin box by a large amount.

3.8.7. To Navigate Drop-Down Lists

A drop-down list is a control that you use to select one of several available items. The drop-down list contains a button that you use to display the available items.

Figure 3-8 Sample Drop-Down List Box

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate a drop-down list.

Keys Function
spacebar

This key performs one of the following functions:

  • If the drop-down list is not open, this key opens the drop-down list.
  • If the drop-down list is open, this key accepts the current selection and closes the list.
up arrow Select the previous list item.
down arrow Select the next list item.
Esc Close the list without changing the selection.

3.8.8. To Navigate Drop-Down Combination Boxes

A drop-down combination box is a text box with a drop-down list attached.

Figure 3-9 Sample Drop-Down Combination Box

When the text box has focus, use the keyboard shortcuts that are listed in Section 3.8.5 ― To Navigate Text Boxes to navigate the text box area. When the text box has focus, you can also use the keyboard shortcuts in the following table to navigate the drop-down list area.

Keys Function
up arrow Select the previous item from the drop-down list without displaying the list.
down arrow Select the next item from the drop-down list without displaying the list.

Ctrl+down arrow

(Solaris only)

 Open the drop-down list.

When the drop-down list has focus, you can use the keyboard shortcuts that are listed in the following table to navigate the drop-down list.

Keys Function
up arrow Select the previous list item.
down arrow Select the next list item.
Home Select the first item on the list.
End Select the last item on the list.
Page Up Select the item at the top of the current list view.
Page Down Select the item at the bottom of the current list view.
spacebar Accept the current selection and close the drop-down list.
Ctrl+Page Up Scroll to the left of the list, if required.
Ctrl+Page Down Scroll to the right of the list, if required.

3.8.9. To Navigate Sliders

A slider is a control that you use to set a value in a continuous range of values.

Figure 3-10 Sample Slider

The following table describes the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate a slider.

Keys Function
left arrow or up arrow Move the slider left or up by a small amount.
right arrow or down arrow Move the slider right or down by a small amount.
Page Up Move the slider left or up a large amount.
Page Down Move the slider right or down a small amount.
Home Move the slider to the maximum value.
End Move the slider to the minimum value.

3.8.10. To Navigate Tabbed Sections

Figure 3-11 Sample Dialog with Tabbed Sections

Windows and dialogs are sometimes divided into logical sections that are displayed one section at a time on the window or dialog. The divisions are called tabbed sections that are identified by a tab with a text label.

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate the tabbed sections of a window or dialog when a tab name has focus.

Keys Function
left arrow Give focus to the previous tabbed section.
right arrow Give focus to the next tabbed section.
Tab orCtrl+down arrow Give focus to the first control on the active tabbed section.

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate the tabbed sections of a window or dialog when a control on a tabbed section has focus.

Keys Function
Ctrl+Page Up

Give focus to the previous tabbed section.

This keyboard shortcut does not work if the focused control uses Ctrl+Page Up for another purpose.
Ctrl+Page Down

Give focus to the next tabbed section.

This keyboard shortcut does not work if the focused control uses Ctrl+Page Down for another purpose.
Ctrl+Tab Give focus to the next control outside the tabbed sections.

3.8.11. To Navigate Lists

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate multi-column lists when a column header has focus.

Keys Function
left arrow or right arrow Give focus to the previous or next column header.
spacebar Activate the header. This action usually sorts the list by the column header.
Tab Give focus to the list contents.

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate lists when the contents of the list has focus.

Keys Function
arrow keys Select the next or previous row or column.
Page Up Select the top row of the list contents that are in view. Press Page Up again to select the top row of the previous view.
Page Down Select the bottom row of the list contents that are in view. Press Page Down again to select the bottom row of the next view.
Home Select the first row in the list.
End Select the last row in the list.
Shift+arrow keys

For lists that support multiline selections, add the next or previous row or column to the current selection.

For lists that only allow single line selections, select the next or previous row or column.
Shift+Page Up Select all the rows between the current selection and the top row of the view.
Shift+Page Down Select all the rows between the current selection and the bottom row of the view.
Shift+Home Select all the rows between the current selection and the first row in the list.
Shift+End Select all the rows between the current selection and the last row in the list.
Ctrl+arrow keys Give focus to the next row or column but do not extend the selection.
Ctrl+Page Up Give focus to the top row in the view but do not extend the selection.
Ctrl+Page Down Give focus to the bottom row in the view but do not extend the selection.
Ctrl+Home Give focus to the first row in the list but do not extend the selection.
Ctrl+End Give focus to the last row in the list but do not extend the selection.
Return Activate the item.
Ctrl+A For lists that support multiline selections, select all rows in the list.
Shift+Tab Give focus to the column header, if applicable.

3.8.12. To Navigate Trees

A tree is a user interface control that contains sections that you can expand and collapse. A tree usually represents a hierarchical structure.

Figure 3-12 Sample Tree Structure

To navigate trees, you can use the same keyboard shortcuts that are listed in Section 3.8.11 ― To Navigate Lists. In addition, the following table lists the keyboard shortcuts you can use for the tree items.

Keys Function
+ (plus) Expand the focused item.
- (minus) Collapse the focused item.
Back Space Select the parent item.
Navigating the File Manager Customizing Your Keyboard Shortcuts