
For these users, efficiency and consistency are crucial comprehensiveness is important only for the most frequently used commands. For these users, comprehensive command coverage is crucial.Īccess keys make your app more usable for power users who preferĮxperienced users often have a strong preference for using the keyboard because keyboard-based commands can be entered more quickly and don't require them to remove their hands from the keyboard. Such users might not be able to operate a mouse and instead rely on various assistive technologies such as keyboard enhancement tools, on-screen keyboards, screen enlargers, screen readers, and voice input utilities. It enables users with vision impairments or who have certain motor disabilities to navigate an app and interact with its features.
DUPLICATE WINDOWS KEY SOFTWARE
We recommend that you specify access keys wherever appropriate in your UI, and support access keys in all custom controls.Īccess keys make your app more accessible for users with motor disabilities, including those users who can press only one key at a time or have difficulty using a mouse.Ī well-designed keyboard UI is an important aspect of software accessibility. The value of this property specifies the access key sequence, the shortcut (if a single alphanumeric), and the Key Tip. To add an access key to a control, use the AccessKey property.

KeyTip badges for access keys in Microsoft Word The following image shows the Home tab of Word with access keys activated (note the support for both numbers and multiple keystrokes). Microsoft Office apps provide extensive support for access keys. Subsequent keystrokes are handled by the access key framework, which rejects invalid keys until either a valid access key is pressed, or the Enter, Esc, Tab, or Arrow keys are pressed to deactivate access keys and return keystroke handling to the app.

Pressing the Alt key initializes access key functionality and displays all currently available key combinations in Key Tips. For example, simultaneously pressing Alt+F in Word opens the File menu without displaying Key Tips. Keyboard shortcuts are automatically supported for access keys with a single alphanumeric character.
