Hotkeys
| Hotkeys, also called keyboard shortcuts, mean that you can interact with Alexandria more with your keyboard and less with your mouse! |
Table of Contents
To use a keyboard shortcut, or key combination, you press a modifier key with another key on your keyboard. For example, pressing the Command key (⌘) and the “C” key at the same time copies whatever is currently selected (text, graphics, and so forth) into your operating system clipboard.
A modifier key alters the way other keystrokes or mouse clicks are interpreted by your computer.
Here are some of the modifier key symbols you can find in a Mac macOS menu:
- ⌘ (Command key) – On some Apple keyboards, this key also has an Apple logo.
- ⌃ (Control key)
- ⌥ (Option key) – “Alt” may also appear on this key.
- ⇧ (Shift key)
Often, Mac and Windows operating system keystrokes are similar, where the Command on Mac is substituted for Control on Windows.
Accelerator and Hotkey Commands
(This part is technical. It’s ok if you skip to the next section.)
Hotkeys. Hotkeys are the underlined characters in a menu item or dialogue box that allow users to access the item or control by pressing that character’s key on the keyboard. In the case of dialogue controls, the user may have to hold down the <alt> key before pressing the hotkey. Hotkeys are sometimes referred to as shortcut keys, access keys, or mnemonic keys.
Accelerator keys. An accelerator key is a keyboard shortcut that is accessed by holding down modifier keys (<shift>, <ctrl>, <alt>, or combinations of these) and pressing another key on the keyboard. Accelerator shortcuts appear to the right of a menu item text.
 | You can navigate most Alexandria interfaces using the Tab key to go to the next field/selection, and shift-tab to go back. Note that Safari has a Preferences > Advanced option for “Press Tab to highlight each item on a webpage” — it’s OFF by default, but must be turned ON for proper user interaction with the software. |
Standard Hotkeys
These hotkeys are standard for browsers running on macOS or Windows Operating Systems. They also work in most Alexandria interfaces! NOTE: Use Command on macOS and Ctrl on Windows.
| keys | description |
|---|---|
| Command / Ctrl + C | Copy selected text |
| Command / Ctrl + V | Paste copied text |
| Command / Ctrl + X | Cut selected text |
| Command / Ctrl + A | Select all |
| Command / Ctrl + P | Prints the current window |
| Command / Ctrl + N | New Window or Tab |
| Command / Ctrl + click | Select multiple lines or records |
All Alexandria Modules
| key | function |
|---|---|
| ESC | Dialog – Closes any dialog that doesn’t require acknowledgment. |
| Enter | Dialog – Executes the primary option unless input is required. |
Librarian
Navigation
| mac | windows | go to… |
|---|---|---|
| ⌘ 1 | Ctrl 1 | Dashboard |
| ⌘ 2 | Ctrl 2 | Circulation |
| ⌘ 3 | Ctrl 3 | Items |
| ⌘ 4 | Ctrl 4 | Patrons |
| ⌘ 5 | Ctrl 5 | Operations |
| ⌘⌥ 5 | Ctrl⌥ 5 | Reports |
| ⌘ 6 | Ctrl 6 | Tools |
| ⌘ 7 | Ctrl 7 | Builder |
| ⌘⇧ 7 | Ctrl⇧ 7 | Researcher |
| ⌘ 8 | Ctrl 8 | Preferences |
Record Manipulation
In Patrons and Items Management.
| mac | windows | what’s it do? |
|---|---|---|
| ⌘ L | Ctrl + L | Toggles window lock |
| ⌘ A | Ctrl + A | New record |
| ⌘ S | Ctrl + S | Saves current record _if_ the record is dirtied. |
| ⌘ DEL | Ctrl + DEL | Removes current record(s). If multiple records are selected, will remove multiple records. |
| ⌘ D | Ctrl +D | Duplicates current record |
| ⌘ E | Ctrl E | Items – Quick export (exports single record) |
| ⌘ F | Ctrl + F | jumps the cursor to the basic search field |
| ⌘ ⇧ F | Ctrl + Shift + F | opens Advanced Search (where it exists) |
| ⌘ [ / ] | Ctrl + [ / ] | Selects previous/next record in list. |
| ⌘⇧ [ | HOME | Selects FIRST record in list |
| ⌘⇧ ]END | END | Selects LAST record in list |
| ESC | ESC | Clear the currently selected record in Items or Patrons to get back to the “zero results” card view. |
Advanced Search
In Patrons and Items Management.
| mac | windows | what’s it do? |
|---|---|---|
| ⇧ + click | Shift + click | Expand/collapse all areas. |
Item Management
| mac | windows | what’s it do? |
|---|---|---|
| ⌘ ⌃ M | Ctrl M | Switch to MARC view |
| ⌘ A | Ctrl A | Opens SmartMARC Title dialog for adding an item. |
| ⌘ ⇧ A | Ctrl + Shift +A | Adds a copy and opens the copy tab to the new copy. |
| ⌘⇧ DEL | Shift + DEL | Removes the selected copy(s). (ONLY when in copies tab!) Can remove multiple records. |
| ⌘ D | Ctrl D | Duplicate a title. |
| ⌘⇧ D | Ctrl + Shift + D | Duplicate a copy. |
Editors
MARC editor and mini editors.
| shortcut | what’s it do? |
|---|---|
| Return / Double-click / long press | Lets you edit the selected tag. |
| Shift + Return | Activates add menu in MARC view, certain tabs (subjects, terms, notes, other), and editor dialogs from Publication tab (title, author, series, and genre). User can use arrow keys to highlight a tag (enter to confirm adding it) or ESC to exit the menu. |
| DEL | Removes the selected tag |
| Up/down arrow | Moves between selected fields |
| Return / Enter | “OK” out of add/edit and returns back to the tag view |
| ESC | Cancels out of add/edit and returns back to the tag view |
| Alt + Enter | Creates a new subfield |
Calendars
Click a day = closes the clicked day.
Click a day of the week name = closes that day for the month.
Bulletins Builder
| mac | windows | what’s it do? |
|---|---|---|
| ⌘ A | Ctrl A | Adds a bulletin board |
| ⌘ ⇧ A | Ctrl + Shift +A | Adds a bulletin to the board (or the board of the bulletin) the user is on. |