10 Facts About Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are typically a means for invoking one or more commands using the keyboard that would otherwise be accessible only through a 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 keystrokes, hence the term "shortcut".

Sequential Keyboard shortcuts usually involve pressing and releasing a dedicated prefix key, such as the Esc key, followed by one or more keystrokes.

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 GUIs, a program's keyboard shortcuts are discoverable by browsing the program's menus – the shortcut is indicated next to the menu choice.

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In most real-world environments, both philosophies co-exist; a core set of sacred Keyboard shortcuts remain fixed while others, typically involving an otherwise unused modifier key or keys, are under the user's control.

Many Keyboard shortcuts require two or more keys to be pressed simultaneously.

Some keyboard shortcuts, including all shortcuts involving the Esc key, require keys to be pressed individually, in sequence.

These Keyboard shortcuts are sometimes written with the individual keys separated by commas or semicolons.

The Emacs text editor uses many such Keyboard shortcuts, using a designated set of "prefix keys" such as Ctrl+C or Ctrl+X.