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How can I use the keyboard to display the context menu for the current tab?

  • 5 replies
  • 5 have this problem
  • 4 views
  • Last reply by DrHow

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There was a time when I could get there with ctrl-k Tab, but that no longer works. It just seem like there ought to be a way since there are keyboard accelerator keys defined once you get the context menu open. E.g., 'o' works for Close Other Tabs. Why have the accelerator keys if you still have to use the mouse to get the menu?

There was a time when I could get there with ctrl-k Tab, but that no longer works. It just seem like there ought to be a way since there are keyboard accelerator keys defined once you get the context menu open. E.g., 'o' works for Close Other Tabs. Why have the accelerator keys if you still have to use the mouse to get the menu?

All Replies (5)

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Bottom row on the keyboard on most desktop keyboards there is an "Alt" key and a "Windows" key, along with a "Crtl" key on each side of the Spacebar. And on the right side of the Spacbar there is also "Menu" key between the "Windows" key and the "Crtl" key - that will open the Contextual menu for whatever has "focus", usually the webpage. On laptops and netbooks that also have a "Fn" and/or "Gr" key that "Menu" key may not be there or the "Menu" key replaces the right "Ctrl" key.

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You need to press the Tab key until you see a focus ring on the current tab after you have set focus to the location bar or the search bar.

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cor-el said

You need to press the Tab key until you see a focus ring on the current tab after you have set focus to the location bar or the search bar.

That does not work effectively. The focus goes into the Web page and just keeps moving from one link to the next. There are a great many Web pages for which cycling through all the links on the page would be absurdly time consuming. This link-to-link behavior seems to hold whether Caret Browsing is enabled or not.

Nevertheless, I did discover a variation which does work: ctrl-L shift-Tab shift-Tab, after which left and right arrow can be used to move the focus to other tabs. Though it works, it is incredibly non-obvious; and there certainly ought to be a more direct way to achieve this needed capability.

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Sorry. I have the Tab bar on bottom, so I use the Tab key. With the Tab bar on top you need to use Shift+Tab to go backward and thus it will probably be better to set focus to the location bar (Ctrl+L or Alt+D).

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the-edmeister said

Bottom row on the keyboard on most desktop keyboards there is an "Alt" key and a "Windows" key, along with a "Crtl" key on each side of the Spacebar. And on the right side of the Spacbar there is also "Menu" key between the "Windows" key and the "Crtl" key - that will open the Contextual menu for whatever has "focus", usually the webpage. On laptops and netbooks that also have a "Fn" and/or "Gr" key that "Menu" key may not be there or the "Menu" key replaces the right "Ctrl" key.

I know about the application key. (The little laptop I am using at this moment does not have a menu key; but I also know about shift-F10.) The problem is getting the focus onto the tab in the first place. That was what I was referring to when I mentioned that I used to get there with ctrl-k Tab.

cor-el did understand the focus issue, but cor-el's suggested solution did not work (directly).

Ideally, there should be a keyboard shortcut which would immediately bring up the context menu for the current tab with a single modified stroke.