title: Keyboard Shortcut Descriptor
tags: Definitions

`Keyboard Shortcut Descriptors` are used by the [[KeyboardWidget]] and within Tiddlers tagged <<tag-pill $:/tags/KeyboardShortcut>> to link actions with a keyboard combination

A `Keyboard Shortcut Descriptor` has the following format:

```
	ctrl+enter
	ctrl+shift+alt+A
	alt-shift-T
	alt-Space
```

It can have multiple Key combinations:

```
ctrl+enter alt+shift+A ctrl+alt+9 alt-Space ctrl-Backspace
```

There are ''two ways'' Keyboard Shortcut Descriptors can be used:

* directly
** passing the attribute `key="ctrl-enter"` to the KeyboardWidget
** setting `ctrl-enter` as the ''value'' of the `key` ''field'' in a Tiddler tagged <<tag-pill $:/tags/KeyboardShortcut>>
* with a ''reference'' to a configuration Tiddler
** A ''configuration Tiddler'' for Keyboard Shortcuts follows some naming rules:
*** The title starts with `$:/config/`
*** Followed by either the string `shortcuts` or one of the following ''platform descriptors'':
**** <<.tid shortcuts-linux>>
**** <<.tid shortcuts-not-linux>>
**** <<.tid shortcuts-mac>>
**** <<.tid shortcuts-not-mac>>
**** <<.tid shortcuts-windows>>
**** <<.tid shortcuts-not-windows>>
*** The title ends with another `/` followed by a suffix that can be chosen freely
**** This suffix is the ''identifier'' for the `Keyboard Shortcut Descriptor` (A)
** The ''reference'' to the configuration Tiddler is made of `((` + the ''identifier'' (A) + `))`
*** Example: `((my-shortcut))` is the ''reference'' to these configuration Tiddlers:
**** <<.tid $:/config/shortcuts/my-shortcut>>
**** <<.tid $:/config/shortcuts-linux/my-shortcut>>
**** <<.tid $:/config/shortcuts-not-linux/my-shortcut>>
**** <<.tid $:/config/shortcuts-mac/my-shortcut>>
**** <<.tid $:/config/shortcuts-not-mac/my-shortcut>>
**** <<.tid $:/config/shortcuts-windows/my-shortcut>>
**** <<.tid $:/config/shortcuts-not-windows/my-shortcut>>
** Finally, the referenced configuration Tiddler stores the Keyboard Shortcut Descriptor in its ''text'' field