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When I search this question, all I can get is "What is the keyboard shortcut for right click menu?" But I really wonder "What is the shortcuts for right click menu items", for example, sometimes you can right click the right mouse and press S to save an image, sometimes you need to press V to do that. As I know, the Chinese version Windows shows an underline hint under the single letter to remind the shortcut but English version does not have one. So does anyone know where I can find the shortcuts?

atooy
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1 Answers1

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Answer

To always see the underlined letter, you need to go to the Ease of Access settings in Windows (you can use Win+U to get there quicker).

Windows 10:

  1. Find and click Keyboard on the left-hand side.
  2. Scroll to the bottom on the right-hand side.
  3. Find and turn on Underline access keys when available.

Previous to Windows 10:

  1. Find and click Make the keyboard easier to use link.
  2. Find and turn on Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys.

Why you don't always see them

If you use a keyboard shortcut - a dedicated context menu key on the keyboard or using Shift+F10 - the access key should always be displayed. When using the mouse, they will likely not be visible.

The reasoning is that using the keyboard to open a menu implies continued use of the keyboard, so the keyboard access keys are displayed. When using a mouse (or touchscreen), visual guidance is implied without assistance from a keyboard.

Individual products such as Firefox and even Microsoft's own Outlook deviate from this and, for example, always show the access keys so that you can right-click with the mouse and immediately see which key you can press.

Background

Newer versions of Windows (after XP, I believe) started hiding the mnemonic by default. Mnemonic is the official name of this underlined letter in menus and context menus, but it is commonly called the Access Key.

There is no standard that defines how mnemonics should be assigned. Microsoft has always been very consistent in their use of mnemonics across their products, so it's easier to memorize those and be consistent (such as your example with S for Save, R for Properties, etc.). Every software developer gets to assign their own mnemonics, which causes inconsistency between different software.

More importantly, some UI designing software allow developers to automatically assign non-conflicting mnemonics to their menus and context menus causing even wider inconsistency between software.

Lastly, you can read more technical details about it on Microsoft Docs: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/assigning-access-keys-to-menu-commands

Jesse
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