Oracle^® Solaris 11 Desktop Accessibility Guide

Navigating Windows

The following sections describe the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate windows. A window is a rectangular frame on your screen that displays an application.

Giving Focus to a Window

Before you can use or modify a window, you must give focus to the window. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to give focus to a window.

Table 17  Keyboard Shortcuts to Give Focus to a Window

Keys Function Alt+Tab Displays a pop-up window with icons that represent each window. Press and hold Alt and continue to press Tab to move through the windows until you reach the window to which you want to give focus. Alt+Esc Raises each window in turn until you reach the window to which you want to give focus. Alt+F6 Cycles between windows belonging to the current application, for example, a multiple document interface application like “Text Editor”.

Controlling a Window

When a window has focus, you can perform various actions on the window. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to control the window that has focus.

Table 18  Keyboard Shortcuts to Control the Window

Keys Function Alt+Spacebar Opens the Window menu. Alt+F4 Closes the window. Open Minimizes the window. Alt+F10 Maximizes the window. Alt+F5 Restores a maximized window to the original size of the window.

Moving a Window

When a window has focus, you can move the window around the screen. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to move a window.

Table 19  Keyboard Shortcuts to Move a Window

Keys Function Alt+F7 Starts the move operation. The mouse pointer changes to a cross. Arrow keys Moves the window 10 pixels at a time in the direction of the arrow key. Ctrl+Arrow keys Moves the window one pixel at a time in the direction of the arrow key. Shift+Arrow keys Moves the window in the direction of the arrow key to align it with the edge of the nearest window, panel, or screen edge. Spacebar Completes the move operation and leaves the window in the current position. Esc Cancels the move operation and restores the window to the original position.

Resizing a Window

When a window has focus, you can increase or decrease the size of the window. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to resize the window that has focus.

Table 20  Keyboard Shortcuts to Resize a Window

Keys Function Alt+F8 Starts the resize operation. Arrow keys Resizes the window in the direction of the arrow keys. Spacebar Completes the resize operation and leaves the window at the current size. Esc Cancels the resize operation and restores the window to the original size.

Navigating Paned Windows

A paned window is a window that is split into two or more panes. The Help browser and the File Manager are examples of applications that use paned windows.

The following table describes the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate windows with panes.

Table 21  Keyboard Shortcuts to Navigate Paned Windows

Keys Function F6 Gives focus to the next pane. The system gives focus to the control that last had focus in the pane. F8 Gives focus to the first resize handle in the window. The resize handle is displayed between the panes and enables you to resize the panes. Press F8 again to give focus to the next resize handle.

When the resize handle has focus, you can use the keyboard shortcuts that are listed in the following table to modify the paned window.

Table 22  Keyboard Shortcuts to Modify the Paned Window

Keys Function Arrow keys Moves the resize handle by a small amount. Ctrl+Arrow keys Moves the resize handle by a large amount. Home Reduces the size of the pane to the left of the resize handle for vertical panes, or above the resize handle for horizontal panes, to the minimum size allowed. End Increases the size of the pane to the left of the resize handle for vertical panes, or above the resize handle for horizontal panes, to the maximum size allowed. Spacebar Sets the position of the resize handle and returns the focus to the last control that had focus. Esc Resets the position of the resize handle to the original position and returns the focus to the last control that had focus.