A panel is an area from which you can run special programs, applications, and panel applications. The most common panel is the panel that stretches the full width of the bottom edge of the desktop. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate panels and panel objects.
Keys |
Function |
---|---|
Ctrl + Alt + Tab |
Give focus to a panel. This keyboard shortcut displays a popup window with icons that represent the desktop background, panels, and drawers. Press-and-hold Ctrl + Alt and continue to press Tab to switch the focus between the desktop background, panels, and drawers. You can customize this keyboard shortcut. |
Tab |
Give focus to the next object on the panel. |
F10 |
Open the Applications menu when the Menu Panel has focus. Continue to press F10 to switch focus between the Applications menu and the window list. |
spacebar |
Activate a panel object, for example, open a menu or start a launcher. |
Shift + F10 |
Open the panel object popup menu. |
Ctrl + F10 |
Open the panel popup menu. |
You can move a focused panel object to a different location on a panel or drawer, or you can move the object to the next panel. To move a panel object, perform the following steps:
Press Tab to give focus to the object.
Press Shift+F10 to open the panel object popup menu.
Use the arrow keys to select the Move menu item.
Use the keyboard shortcuts that are listed in the following table to perform the move operation.
Keys |
Function |
---|---|
arrow keys |
Move the object left and right on a horizontal panel or up and down on a vertical panel. |
Shift + arrow keys |
Move the object and push any objects that you encounter in front of the object. |
Ctrl + arrow keys |
Move the object and swap position with any objects that you encounter in the move. |
Tab |
Move the object to the next panel. |
spacebar |
Complete the move operation. |
The following examples demonstrate the effect of different move operations on the objects in a panel.
Illustration |
Description |
---|---|
Shows a panel with three panel objects before a move operation takes place. |
|
Shows the effect
of using the arrow keys to move the |
|
Shows the effect
of using the Shift + arrow keys to move the |
|
Shows the effect
of using the Ctrl + arrow keys to move the |
A drawer is a collapsible extension of a panel. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate into and out of drawers. When you open a drawer, you can navigate the contents of the drawer in the same way as you navigate a panel. See 3.3 Navigating Panels for information about how to navigate a panel.
Keys |
Function |
---|---|
spacebar |
Open or close the drawer that has focus. |
arrow keys |
Navigate into the drawer that has focus. |
Esc |
Close the drawer and give focus to the drawer object on the panel. |
Shift + Esc |
Give focus to the drawer object on the panel and leave the drawer open. |
The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate menus on panels.
Keys |
Function |
---|---|
spacebar |
Open the menu that has focus. |
arrow keys |
Navigate the menu. |
spacebar |
Select a menu item. |
Shift + F10 |
Open the popup menu associated with a menu item, if one exists. |
Esc |
Close a menu. |
A panel application is a small application that resides on a panel. You can navigate to all panel applications and open the panel application popup menu from the keyboard. However, if the panel application does not contain controls that you can give focus to, you cannot navigate the controls in the panel application. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate panel applications.
Keys |
Function |
---|---|
spacebar |
Activate the panel application control that has focus, if applicable. Not all panel applications contain controls that you can activate. If the panel application does not contain a control that you can activate, the spacebar does nothing. |
arrow keys |
Navigate the controls on the panel application. |
Shift + F10 |
Open the panel application popup menu. To navigate the menu, use the standard keyboard shortcuts for navigating menus. See 3.9.1 To Navigate Menus for information about how to navigate menus. |