Let’s say your mouse fails all of a sudden and the nearest batteries are at a convenience store a mile from your house. Well now you’re screwed right?
No, if you know some handy keyboard shortcuts.
Most applications like your web browser will have a menu bar of some sort. It may not be a bar so to speak, but some kind of a drop-down, navigation pane, dashboard, where you can control the application. Fortunately, most menus are navigable via keyboard, and there’s at least one neat trick that will speed up your navigation.
Let’s get started. For most applications, pressing Alt will toggle between the menu and the application window. I’ll be using the audio editing software Audacity for demonstration.
Notice how “File” is highlighted.
We have two options here. Either we can navigate with the directional keys (up-down-left-right), or make an observation. In each menu item there is a letter underlined. Let’s zoom in and observe:
These aren’t just for decoration. Try pressing one of the keys indicated by one of the underlined letters, and BAM! The menu expands!
Notice how the drop down menu has more underlined letters. You can do the same thing again. Press an underlined letter and you’ll get to the menu item with that underlined letter.
To exit a menu, press the trusty Esc key. To exit the menu bar completely and return to the application, press Esc until none of the letters in the Menu bar are underlined, or press Alt once.
This will work in almost any application with a menu, and it can be a lot quicker than using the directional keys.
