Menu-driven point-and-click interfaces make modern software a breeze to learn. But when you become more familiar with various functions, navigating through multiple menus and steps can start to seem burdensome. However, there are plenty of alternatives in the form of keyboard shortcuts.
The Basics
To access a menu using keyboard shortcuts, simply press ALT and the underlined letter assigned to the menu that you want to access. For example, press ALT and A to display the Transactions menu or ALT and F to display the File menu. For mnemonic purposes, the underlined letter is often, but not always, the first letter of the word.
Shared Keyboard Shortcuts
Unlike the virtually infinite choices that can be displayed through a menu interface, there are practical limits to keyboard choices; two different commands in a menu can share a common keyboard shortcut. You can switch between commands by continuing to press the underlined letter for those commands. For example, if you display the Transactions menu and select Financial, there are four commands that share the same keyboard shortcut (Batches, Bank Deposits, Bank Transactions, and Bank Transfers). To select the Bank Deposits command, press ALT, A, F, B, B. Each time you press B, the next command (for which an underlined B is assigned) is selected.
Buttons and Keyboard Shortcuts
There are also instances in which a button in an opened window shares the same keyboard shortcut as an item on the menu bar. In that case, the commands available on that menu will be displayed when you use the
keyboard shortcut. However, if you type the keyboard shortcut and then press the underlined letter again, the button in the open window will be selected. For example, the Accounts button in the Customer Maintenance window shares the same keyboard shortcut as the Transaction menu on the menu bar. If the Customer Maintenance window is open and you press ALT and A, the commands that are on the Transaction menu will be displayed. But if the Customer Maintenance window is open and you press ALT, A, A, the Accounts button will be selected and the Customer Account Maintenance window will be displayed. In short, while keyboard shortcuts can be a helpful way to save time, it can take practice to master all the options they provide.
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