Keyboard shortcuts and accessibility
Checked against Inkling on , 3 min read
Inkling is built to be used from the keyboard and with a screen reader. These are its shortcuts, and what it does for accessibility.
Before you start
On a Mac, ⌘ takes the place of Ctrl and Option the place of Alt. Both are listed below.
Asking
These work on the home page and in a discussion.
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| / | Moves to the ask box, unless you are already typing in a box |
| CtrlK or ⌘K | Moves to the ask box |
| Enter | Asks the question |
| ShiftEnter | Starts a new line |
| Esc | Stops an answer that is being written; otherwise clears the box; in an empty box, leaves it |
| ← → or ↑ ↓ | Moves along the Answer depth switch |
| Home and End | Jumps to Quick or Research |
| CtrlShiftS or ⌘ShiftS | Opens Save to note for the selected or newest answer |
The Save to note shortcut isn’t available in Edge or Firefox, which use that combination themselves. See Save an answer to a note.
Translate
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| CtrlEnter or ⌘Enter | Translates |
| Enter | Starts a new line in the text |
On a phone it is the other way round in the box at the foot of the screen: Enter translates and ShiftEnter starts a new line.
Notes
Formatting
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| CtrlB or ⌘B | Bold |
| CtrlI or ⌘I | Italic |
| CtrlU or ⌘U | Underline |
| CtrlShiftX or ⌘ShiftX | Strikethrough |
| CtrlE or ⌘E | Code |
| CtrlK or ⌘K | Link |
Lines and todos
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| CtrlAlt0 or ⌘Option0 | Text |
| CtrlAlt1 to CtrlAlt4, or ⌘Option1 to ⌘Option4 | Heading 1 to Heading 4 |
| CtrlShift9 or ⌘Shift9 | Checkbox |
| CtrlShift8 or ⌘Shift8 | Bulleted list |
| CtrlShift7 or ⌘Shift7 | Numbered list |
| CtrlEnter or ⌘Enter | Ticks or unticks the todo you are on |
| CtrlShiftD or ⌘ShiftD | Sets the todo’s due date |
| CtrlZ or ⌘Z | Undo |
| CtrlShiftZ, CtrlY, ⌘ShiftZ or ⌘Y | Redo |
Moving around a note
- / on an empty line opens the menu of line types; Esc closes it.
- ShiftEnter breaks the line without starting a new one.
- AltF10 (OptionF10 on a Mac) moves to the toolbar over your selection or, with nothing selected, to the handle beside the current line. Esc returns to the note.
- Tab leaves the note, as it leaves any other field.
- When Inkling suggests lines, each Accept or Reject moves you on to the next line, and a screen reader hears how many are left.
On a keyboard layout with an AltGr key, CtrlAlt is AltGr, so Inkling leaves those keys to type their characters and stops showing those hints in its menus. Use the / menu instead, or type # to #### and a space at the start of a line for a heading.
Accessibility
- Screen readers. While an answer is on its way, a screen reader hears the stage line, such as “Searching”, “Reading 4 sources” and “Writing”, rather than fragments of the answer as they arrive. Read the answer once it has settled.
- Citations. Each numbered chip is a link. Its preview opens when you Tab to it as well as on hover, and its target is padded to 24 px.
- Focus. Skip to content is the first stop on each page, and every stop in the tab order shows a visible focus ring. Actions that appear on hover, such as Hand to Inkling or a note’s delete button, also appear when you Tab to their row.
- Reduced motion. If your system asks for reduced motion, Inkling turns its animations off.
- Checks. Inkling’s automated checks audit every route for serious or critical WCAG 2.0 and 2.1 level A and AA problems, in Porcelain and in Full ink, in Chromium and in WebKit, and measure colour contrast from the live theme colours. These are automated checks, not a certification.
Good to know
- Safari leaves links out of the Tab order unless you ask it not to, so citation chips and Skip to content may be skipped there. Press OptionTab to reach them, or turn on Safari’s setting that makes Tab highlight each item on a page.
- Something doesn’t work for you with a keyboard or a screen reader? Tell Buildersoft; see Troubleshooting and contact.