Keyboard shortcuts
This page provides a listing of the agreed upon shortcuts for the system at large and for various controls within the activities, which should be referenced for consistency across them. For a high-level philosophical on the usage of various modifier keys, please refer to the HIG.
Please see cheat codes for a list of boot options.
Special keys
- the Ctrl key has a solid diamond on it (♦);
- the Alt key has an open diamond on it (◊);
- the Esc key has a white × inside a black circle (
); - the Tab key has double arrows on it (↹);
- the Tilde key has a tilde on it (~);
- the Frame key has an open rectangle on it (□);
- the F1 key is the same as the Neighborhood view key (
); - the F2 key is the same as the Group view key (
); - the F3 key is the same as the Home view key (
); - the F4 key is the same as the Activity view key (
); - the Delete key is the same as Fn-Erase.
- the Page Up key is the same as Fn-up-arrow (↑).
- the Page Down key is the same as Fn-down-arrow (↓).
- the Home key is the same as Fn-left-arrow (←).
- the End key is the same as Fn-right-arrow (→).
Keyboard shortcuts
| Keystroke | Description |
|---|---|
| Sugar/System | |
| Alt-Tab |
Cycle forward through running activities |
| Shift-Alt-Tab |
Cycle backward through running activities |
| Ctrl-c | Copy to clipboard |
| Ctrl-v | Paste from clipboard |
| Ctrl-x | Cut (and copy to clipboard) |
| Ctrl-a | Select all (current input/dialog/text box ) |
| Ctrl-q | Quit activity |
| Ctrl-Esc | Quit activity |
| Ctrl-Alt-Erase | Restart Sugar |
| Alt-Shift-Q | Quit (shutdown system) see http://dev.laptop.org/ticket/10816 |
| Alt-Enter | Toggle full-screen mode |
| Alt-Space | Toggle tray visibility (works in Browse but not in Record) |
| Ctrl-u | View source in Browse (opens copy of source in Write) |
| Fn-Space | View source (system wide, although not enabled in all applications yet) |
| Alt-1 | Screen capture; saved to Journal as a PNG file named "Screenshot" |
| Ctrl-Alt-F1 (F1 is the Neighborhood key) | Console 1 |
| Ctrl-Alt-F2 (F2 is the Friends key) | Console 2 |
| Ctrl-Alt-F3 (F3 is the Home key) | switch back to Sugar/X Windows from a console |
| Esc-Frame-RightArrow-Fn (the four corners keys on the keyboard) | Recalibrate touchpad (AKA Four finger salute); Fn should be pressed last. 
|
| Fn-UpArrow | Page Up |
| Fn-DownArrow | Page Down |
| Fn-LeftArrow | Home |
| Fn-RightArrow | End |
| Alt-BrightnessDown | Backlight off black & white mode |
| Alt-BrightnessUp | Full brightness color mode |
| Ctrl-VolumeDown | Mute |
| Ctrl-VolumeUp | Full volume |
| Equivalents for special keys (e.g. when emulating the XO) | |
| Alt-Shift-f | Frame (the dedicated frame key) |
| Alt-Shift-o | Open search |
| Alt-Shift-r | Rotate (the rotate screen button) |
| Alt-Shift-s | Say text |
| Alt-Shift-v | View source (system wide, although not enabled in all applications yet) |
| Special keys for emulating the XO) | |
| Alt-Shift-q | quit emulation |
Not in terminal
A terminal window sends Ctrl+key combinations to the program you are running, so most of these key combinations don't work. In release 8.1.0 and subsequent releases, to copy or paste in the Terminal Activity, press Shift-Ctrl-c or Shift-Ctrl-v.
Using modifier keys in combination
Note about the use of modifier keys: there are several (slightly) different ways in which key combinations are indicated in the wiki. Whenever you see combinations separated by either a - or + this means to press these keys together, starting with the modifier keys. The last key in the sequence should be pressed while holding down the modifier key(s). For example:
Shift-A (or Shift+A) means hold the Shift key down and then press the A key while holding down the Shift key. This will create a capital letter A. (The order is important: if you press the A key first, the result will be a lower case a.)
Ctrl-Alt-Erase (or Ctrl+Alt+Erase) means hold down both the Ctrl and Alt keys and then press the Erase key. This will restart Sugar/X Windows. (Again, the order is important: if you press the Erase key first, the result will be a backspace.)