This chapter describes how to navigate the Desktop from the keyboard only. Users who have difficulty using a mouse or other pointing device can navigate and use the Desktop from the keyboard. This section describes the essential keyboard shortcuts to enable you to navigate the Desktop from the keyboard. You can customize some of the keyboard shortcuts that are described in this chapter. The text indicates the shortcuts that you can customize. See for information about how to customize keyboard shortcuts. The following table lists the essential keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate the Desktop. The keyboard shortcuts that you use to navigate specific Desktop elements and controls are described in the appropriate sections of this chapter. Keys Function Tab Give focus to the next Desktop element or control. ShiftTab Reverse the navigation direction and give focus to the previous Desktop element or control. In general, the Shift key reverses the navigation direction. CtrlTab If the Tab key has a specific purpose in a control, press CtrlTab to give focus to the next element or control. For example, if you press Tab in a text box, the system inserts a tab space. To give focus to the previous element or control, press ShiftCtrlTab. arrow keys Navigate within a Desktop element or control. spacebar Activate the element or control that has focus. For example, if the current control is a button, this action is the equivalent of clicking on the button with a mouse. Esc Close a window, menu, or drawer. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use from any part of the Desktop. Keys Function AltF1 Open the Main Menu at the location of your mouse pointer. You can customize this keyboard shortcut. AltF2 Open the Run Program dialog. You can customize this keyboard shortcut. Print Screen Start the screenshot application and take a screenshot of the entire screen. You can customize this keyboard shortcut. This shortcut only works on Solaris systems. AltPrint Screen Start the screenshot application and take a screenshot of the window that currently has focus. You can customize this keyboard shortcut. F1 If the focused Desktop element is an application window or dialog, this keyboard shortcut opens the online help for the application. CtrlF1 If the focused Desktop element is a panel or application window, this keyboard shortcut switches the display of tooltips for the window or panel objects on and off. ShiftF10 Open a popup menu for the Desktop element that has focus, if a popup menu exists. The desktop background is the part of the Desktop where there are no interface items or applications, such as panels and windows. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate the desktop background and the desktop background objects. A desktop background object is an icon on the desktop background that you can use to open files, folders, or applications. Keys Function CtrlAltD Temporarily hide all windows and give focus to the desktop background. To restore the windows, press CtrlAltD again. You can customize this keyboard shortcut. CtrlAltTab Display a popup window with icons that represent the desktop background and the panels. Press-and-hold CtrlAlt and continue to press Tab to switch the focus between the desktop background and the panels. You can customize this keyboard shortcut. Tab When the desktop background or a desktop background object has focus, give focus to the next desktop background object in alphabetical order. arrow keys When the desktop background or a desktop background object has focus, give focus to a neighboring desktop background object. A sequence of characters that matches the first n characters of a desktop background object name. When the desktop background has focus, give focus to the desktop background object whose name starts with the specified sequence of characters. F2 Rename the desktop background object that has focus. ShiftF10 Open the popup menu for the desktop background object that has focus. CtrlF10 Open the Desktop Background menu. A panel is an area on the Desktop from which you can run special programs, applications, and applets. The most common panel is the Menu Panel, which stretches the full width of the top edge of the Desktop. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate panels and panel objects. Keys Function CtrlAltTab Give focus to a panel. This keyboard shortcut displays a popup window with icons that represent the desktop background, panels, and drawers. Press-and-hold CtrlAlt and continue to press Tab to switch the focus between the desktop background, panels, and drawers. You can customize this keyboard shortcut. Tab Give focus to the next object on the panel. When you navigate the Menu Panel, the Tab key skips the Applications and Actions menus and the Window List icon. F10 Open the Applications menu when the Menu Panel has focus. Continue to press F10 to switch focus between the Applications menu and the window list. spacebar Activate a panel object, for example, open a menu or start a launcher. ShiftF10 Open the panel object popup menu. CtrlF10 Open the panel popup menu. You can move a focused panel object to a different location on a panel or drawer, or you can move the object to the next panel. To move a panel object, perform the following steps: Press Tab to give focus to the object. Press ShiftF10 to open the panel object popup menu. Use the arrow keys to select the Move menu item. Use the keyboard shortcuts that are listed in the following table to perform the move operation. Keys Function arrow keys Move the object left and right on a horizontal panel or up and down on a vertical panel. Shift+ arrow keys Move the object and push any objects that you encounter in front of the object. Ctrl+ arrow keys Move the object and swap position with any objects that you encounter in the move. Tab Move the object to the next panel. spacebar Complete the move operation. The following examples demonstrate the effect of different move operations on the objects in a panel. The following illustration shows a panel with three panel objects before a move operation takes place. The following illustration shows the effect of using the arrow keys to move the Geyes applet on the panel. You can use the arrow keys to move the applet left or right until you meet the next panel object. The following illustration shows the effect of using the ShiftGeyes applet on the panel. You can use the Shift+ arrow keys to push the Volume Control and Help panel objects ahead of the object that you are moving. The following illustration shows the effect of using the CtrlGeyes applet on the panel. You can use the Ctrl + arrow keys to swap position with the Volume Control and Help panel objects as you meet the objects. A drawer is a collapsible extension of a panel. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate into and out of drawers. When you open a drawer, you can navigate the contents of the drawer in the same way as you navigate a panel. See for information about how to navigate a panel. Keys Function spacebar Open or close the drawer that has focus. arrow keys Navigate into the drawer that has focus. Esc Close the drawer and give focus to the drawer object on the panel. ShiftEsc Give focus to the drawer object on the panel and leave the drawer open. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate menus on panels. Keys Function spacebar Open the menu that has focus. arrow keys Navigate the menu. spacebar Select a menu item. ShiftF10 Open the popup menu associated with a menu item, if one exists. Esc Close a menu. An applet is a small application that resides on a panel. You can navigate to all applets and open the applet popup menu from the keyboard. However, if the applet does not contain controls that you can give focus to, you cannot navigate the controls in the applet. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate applets. Keys Function spacebar Activate the applet control that has focus, if applicable. Not all applets contain controls that you can activate. If the applet does not contain a control that you can activate, the spacebar does nothing. arrow keys Navigate the controls on the applet. ShiftF10 Open the applet popup menu. To navigate the menu, use the standard keyboard shortcuts for navigating menus. See for information about how to navigate menus. A workspace is a discrete area in which you can work. You can have many workspaces on your Desktop and you can switch from one workspace to another. Each workspace can contain different windows and processes. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate workspaces. Keys Function CtrlAlt + arrow keys Give focus to the next or previous workspace. This keyboard shortcut displays a popup window with icons that represent the workspaces. Press and hold CtrlAlt and continue to press the arrow keys to switch the focus between the workspaces. You can customize this keyboard shortcut. ShiftAlt + arrow keys Move the window that has focus to the next or previous workspace. You can customize this keyboard shortcut. The following sections describe the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate windows. A window is a rectangular frame on your screen that displays an application. You can customize all of the keyboard shortcuts that are associated with navigating windows. See for more information. Before you can use or modify a window, you must give focus to the window. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to give focus to a window. Keys Function AltTab Display a popup window with icons that represent each window. Press-and-hold Alt and continue to press Tab to move through the windows until you reach the window to which you want to give focus. AltEsc Raise each window in turn until you reach the window to which you want to give focus. When a window has focus, you can perform various actions on the window. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to control the window that has focus. Keys Function Altspacebar Open the Window Menu. AltF4 Close the window. Solaris: Open Linux:AltF9 Minimize the window. AltF10 Maximize the window. AltF5 Restore a maximized window to the original size of the window. When a window has focus, you can move the window around the screen. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to move a window. Keys Function AltF7 Start the move operation. The mouse pointer changes to a cross. arrow keys Move the window 10 pixels at a time in the direction of the arrow key. Ctrl+ arrow keys Move the window one pixel at a time in the direction of the arrow key. Shift + arrow keys Move the window in the direction of the arrow key to align it with the edge of the nearest window, panel, or screen edge. spacebar Complete the move operation and leave the window in the current position. Esc Cancel the move operation and restore the window to the original position. When a window has focus, you can increase or decrease the size of the window. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to resize the window that has focus. Keys Function AltF8 Start the resize operation. arrow keys Resize the window in the direction of the arrow keys. spacebar Complete the resize operation and leave the window at the current size. Esc Cancel the resize operation and restore the window to the original size. A paned window is a window that is split into two or more panes. The Help browser and the Nautilus file manager are examples of applications that use paned windows.

The following table describes the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate windows with panes. Keys Function F6 Give focus to the next pane. The system gives focus to the control that last had focus in the pane. F8 Give focus to the first resize handle in the window. The resize handle is displayed between the panes and enables you to resize the panes. Press F8 again to give focus to the next resize handle. When the resize handle has focus, you can use the keyboard shortcuts that are listed in the following table to modify the paned window. Keys Function arrow keys Move the resize handle by a small amount. Ctrl + arrow keys Move the resize handle by a large amount. Home Reduce the size of the pane to the left of the resize handle for vertical panes, or above the resize handle for horizontal panes, to the minimum size allowed. End Increase the size of the pane to the left of the resize handle for vertical panes, or above the resize handle for horizontal panes,to the maximum size allowed. spacebar Set the position of the resize handle and return the focus to the last control that had focus. Esc Reset the position of the resize handle to the original position and return the focus to the last control that had focus. An application is any program, utility, or other software package that you run on your Desktop. Applications comprise the following standard user interface components: Windows A window is a rectangular frame on your screen that displays an application. See for information about how to navigate windows. Dialogs A dialog is a popup window in which you enter information or commands. See for information about how to navigate dialogs. Controls A control is an instrument that you use to operate or guide the user interface. For example, buttons, check boxes, menus, and text boxes are controls. See for detailed information about how to navigate the different types of controls that are available. This section of the manual describes the essential keyboard shortcuts that you can use to start using applications and dialogs. Since there are many applications that you can use in the Desktop, this manual does not describe the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate all of the different applications. However, the basic keyboard shortcuts are common to all applications. Access keys also provide an efficient way to navigate an application from the keyboard. An access key is identified by an underlined letter on a menu or control. In some cases, you must press Alt in combination with the access key to perform an action. The following table lists the essential keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate applications. Keys Function F10 Open the first menu on the application menubar. Alt + access key Open the menu that is associated with the access key. access keys Select the menu item that is associated with the access key. left arrow and right arrow Switch focus between the menus on the menubar. up arrow and down arrow Move focus into a menu. Esc Close the open menus and give focus to the control that had focus before the menubar. The following table lists the essential keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate dialogs. Keys Function Altaccess key Activate or select a control. Tab Give focus to the next control. CtrlPage Up If a tab name has focus, move to the next tabbed section of the dialog. CtrlPage Down When a tab name has focus, move to the previous tabbed section of the dialog. Esc Close the dialog. Return Perform the default action for the dialog. The default action is usually to apply the changes and close the dialog. The Nautilus file manager window contains several components and there are different keyboard shortcuts defined to navigate each component. The following graphic illustrates the name and location of each component.

The following table describes the keyboard shortcuts that enable you to navigate the list and icon views of the file manager view pane. To navigate the music view of the file manager view pane, see for information about how to navigate standard user interface controls. Keys Function F6 Switch focus between the side pane and the view pane. arrow keys Select the next or previous file or folder in the direction of the arrow key. Ctrl+ arrow keys Give focus to the next or previous file or folder but do not select the item. spacebar Open the focused file or folder. A sequence of characters that matches the first n characters of a filename. In an icon view, select the first file or folder that starts with the specified sequence of characters. The following table describes the keyboard shortcuts that enable you to navigate the file manager side pane in general. Keys Function F6 Switch focus between the side pane and the view pane. ShiftF10 Open the side pane popup menu. arrow keys Give focus to the next or previous tab name. spacebar Display or hide the tab that has focus. The tab name remains in focus. Tab Move the focus from the tab name to the tab contents. The following table describes the keyboard shortcuts that enable you to navigate the History tab in the side pane. Keys Function arrow keys Give focus to the next or previous file or folder in the history list. spacebar Open the file or folder that has focus in the history list. For information about how to navigate the Notes tab of the file manager side pane, see for information about how to navigate multi-line text boxes. For information about how to navigate the Tree tab of the file manager side pane, see . The following sections describe how to navigate and use standard user interface elements and controls from the keyboard. 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. A button is a control that you use to start an action. Most buttons are rectangular and contain a text label.

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

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

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. Text boxes are controls in which you type text.

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. Ctrlleft 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. Ctrlright 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. Shiftleft arrow or right arrow Select one character at a time to the left or right of the cursor. ShiftCtrlleft arrow or right arrow Select one word at a time to the left or right of the cursor. ShiftHome Select all text to the left of the cursor. ShiftEnd Select all text to the right of the cursor. CtrlA (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. Ctrlup 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. Ctrldown 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. CtrlPage Up Position the cursor one view width to the left. CtrlPage Down Position the cursor one view width to the right. CtrlHome Position the cursor at the start of the text box. CtrlEnd Position the cursor at the end of the text box. CtrlTab Give focus to the next control on the dialog. ShiftPage 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. ShiftPage 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. ShiftHome Select the text to the start of the line. ShiftEnd Select the text to the end of the line. ShiftCtrlup arrow Select the text to the start of the paragraph, then to the start of the previous paragraph. ShiftCtrldown arrow Select the text to the end of the paragraph, then to the end of the next paragraph. ShiftCtrlHome Select the text to the start of the text box. ShiftCtrlEnd Select the text to the end of the text box. 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.

The keyboard shortcuts that you use to navigate the text box area of a spin box are listed in . 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. 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.

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

When the text box has focus, use the keyboard shortcuts that are listed in 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. Ctrldown 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. CtrlPage Up Scroll to the left of the list, if required. CtrlPage Down Scroll to the right of the list, if required. A slider is a control that you use to set a value in a continuous range of values.

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.

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 orCtrldown 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 CtrlPage Up Give focus to the previous tabbed section. This keyboard shortcut does not work if the focused control uses CtrlPage Up for another purpose. CtrlPage Down Give focus to the next tabbed section. This keyboard shortcut does not work if the focused control uses CtrlPage Down for another purpose. CtrlTab Give focus to the next control outside the tabbed sections. 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. ShiftPage Up Select all the rows between the current selection and the top row of the view. ShiftPage Down Select all the rows between the current selection and the bottom row of the view. ShiftHome Select all the rows between the current selection and the first row in the list. ShiftEnd 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. CtrlPage Up Give focus to the top row in the view but do not extend the selection. CtrlPage Down Give focus to the bottom row in the view but do not extend the selection. CtrlHome Give focus to the first row in the list but do not extend the selection. CtrlEnd Give focus to the last row in the list but do not extend the selection. Return Activate the item. CtrlA For lists that support multiline selections, select all rows in the list. ShiftTab Give focus to the column header, if applicable. A tree is a user interface control that contains sections that you can expand and collapse. A tree usually represents a hierarchical structure.

To navigate trees, you can use the same keyboard shortcuts that are listed in . 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. Use the Keyboard Shortcuts preference tool to display the default keyboard shortcuts that you use to navigate the Desktop. You can customize the default keyboard shortcuts to meet your requirements. You can also create hot keys. Hot keys are keyboard shortcuts that start applications. To start the Keyboard Shortcuts preference tool, choose ApplicationsDesktop PreferencesKeyboard Shortcuts. The Desktop shortcuts table lists the keyboard shortcut that is associated with each action. To customize a keyboard shortcut, perform the following steps: Click on the action for which you want to customize the keyboard shortcut. The row is highlighted. Click on the keyboard shortcut in the Shortcut column. The text Type a new accelerator, or press Backspace to clear is displayed in the Shortcut column. Press the keys that you want to associate with the action. The new keyboard shortcut is displayed in the Shortcut column. To disable a keyboard shortcut, perform the following steps: Click on the action for which you want to disable the keyboard shortcut. The row is highlighted. Click on the keyboard shortcut in the Shortcut column. The text Type a new accelerator, or press Backspace to clear is displayed in the Shortcut column. Press Back Space. The keyboard shortcut is disabled. To customize a keyboard shortcut, perform the following steps: Click on the action for which you want to customize the keyboard shortcut. The row is highlighted and the text Type a new accelerator, or press Backspace to clear is displayed in the Shortcut column. Press the keys that you want to associate with the action. The new keyboard shortcut is displayed in the Shortcut column. To disable a keyboard shortcut, perform the following steps: Click on the action for which you want to disable the keyboard shortcut. The row is highlighted and the text Type a new accelerator, or press Backspace to clear is displayed in the Shortcut column. Press Back Space. The keyboard shortcut is disabled.