Using the Keyboard with Active Menus
When a menu is active, the following keys behave as described below:
The LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys activate the menu to the left and right of the currently active
menu.
The UP and DOWN arrow keys active the menu item above and below the currently active menu
item.
The Enter key chooses the currently active menu.
If the currently active menu is a sub-menu, the Esc key de-activates it and actives it's parent menu.
If the currently active menu is not a sub-menu, the Esc key de-activates it and enters menu bar
mode.
Menu item access keys choose the menu items in which they are located.
Menu Short-Cut Keys
Menu short-cut keys are keys or combination of keys that are associated with some menu items. Those
menu items that have menu short-cut keys associated with them can be choosen by pressing the key or
combination of keys that make up the menu short-cut.
For example in the Edit menu (which is shown below for easy reference):
The Delete Line menu item is associated with the Ctrl+Y menu short-cut key, and this menu item can be
selected by holding down the Ctrl key and pressing the Y key.
NOTE: Unlike menu item access keys, you can use menu short-cut keys even when the menu containing
their menu items are not active. So for example, it is possible to delete the current line, in the active editor
window, using the Ctrl+Y menu short-cut key, without having to activate the Edit menu.
4.7.4 Using dialog boxes
Windows provides a standard keyboard interface for dialog boxes that allows you to manipulate dialog
boxes using the keyboard instead of the mouse. This interface is not specific to the dialog boxes used by
the IDE, so it will not be described in detail, however some of the features of this interface are listed
below:
The Tab key can be used to move the input focus amoung the controls in a dialog box.
The Space bar will toggle, between checked and unchecked, the check box with the input focus.
The Space bar will select the option box with the input focus.
