Keyboard Conventions

Ishmail windows follow Motif conventions for selecting, highlighting, and performing actions on selected items using the keyboard.

You can use certain combinations of keyboard keys to perform many of the functions you would perform with a mouse. These keyboard operations are referred to as mnemonics, keyboard accelerators, and shortcut key sequences.

For example, you can use the cursor motion keys - right arrow, left arrow, up arrow, and down arrow - to position the cursor on an item in a list (such as a mail message in the Main window). Once the cursor is on an item, you can select it by pressing the space bar. This is the keyboard equivalent of moving the mouse pointer to an item in a list and clicking that item to select it.

You can also use specially mapped key combinations (called mnemonics) to perform actions, such as read, reply, forward, delete, and so forth, on highlighted items. You can also perform these actions using certain keyboard combinations, called accelerators, such as the "Control" key and/or the "Meta" key followed by one or more other keystrokes to perform actions similar to clicking and double-clicking menu items with the mouse.

For example, to read a message using the keyboard keys only:

• Use the Tab key to place primary focus in the Folder Contents area of the Main window.

• Use the up arrow or down arrow keys to place the cursor on a mail message you wish to read and press the Space bar to select that message. Then type the appropriate Meta-key combination (in this case Meta-M) to open the Message pull-down window.

• Next, either:
  • Cursor down to the Read option and press the space bar or the Enter key to select it, or

  • Press the a key (the mnemonic for the Read option), or,

  • Type Control-R (the keyboard accelerator sequence for the Read option).

    (The Control-R function works even if the Message pull-down menu is not being displayed.)

NOTES:

1. The Meta-key sequence is used only for activating a menu in a window's menu bar.

2. Keyboard mapping may differ on some keyboards. On certain keyboards, for instance, the Alt-key sequence Alt-M may perform the same function that the Meta-key sequence Meta-M would perform on a different keyboard.

Mnemonics are available for most functions in the pull-down menus. A mnemonic is indicated by the underscored letter in the menu item, such as the a in the Read menu item and the P in the Print menu item. Mnemonics are not case sensitive. You can type either a capital P or a lower-case p to perform the Print function.

Control-key sequences (accelerators) are available for many functions in the pull-down menus. Control key sequences are displayed to the right of each menu item for which the sequence is available. If a Control-key sequence is available for a menu option, you do not have to display the menu first. You can invoke the menu option directly without first displaying the menu.