Shortcuts#

Register named keyboard shortcuts with platform-agnostic patterns, bind them to your app, and let menus display the resolved shortcut text. A pattern like Mod+S becomes Ctrl+S on Windows and Linux and ⌘S on macOS, so you write the shortcut once and it reads correctly everywhere.

A shortcut has three parts: a key (your own identifier, e.g. "save"), a pattern (the key combination), and a command (the function to run).

The shortcut service#

get_shortcuts() returns the shared service. Register your shortcuts, then call bind_to(app) once to make them live. register() returns the created Shortcut, and raises ValueError if the key is already taken — so each key is registered exactly once:

from bootstack.shortcuts import get_shortcuts

import bootstack as bs

with bs.App(title="Editor") as app:
    shortcuts = get_shortcuts()
    shortcuts.register("save", "Mod+S", save_file)
    shortcuts.register("find", "Mod+F", open_search)
    shortcuts.register("quit", "Mod+Q", app.quit)

    shortcuts.bind_to(app)        # activate the bindings on the app window
app.run()

Shortcuts registered after bind_to are bound to that window automatically, so you can register more as your app grows without binding again.

Patterns#

A pattern is modifier names joined to a key with +. Use Mod for the primary modifier and the framework picks the right one per platform:

Mod — the primary modifier: Ctrl on Windows/Linux, Command on macOS.
Shift, Alt (Option on macOS), Ctrl.
Function keys (F1–F12) and ordinary letters/digits, with or without modifiers.

shortcuts.register("new",        "Mod+N",        new_doc)
shortcuts.register("new_window", "Mod+Shift+N",  new_window)
shortcuts.register("refresh",    "F5",           reload_data)
shortcuts.register("close",      "Alt+F4",       close_window)

Showing shortcuts in menus#

display(key) returns the platform-formatted label for a registered key, so menus and tooltips can show the shortcut alongside the action:

shortcuts.display("save")     # "Ctrl+S"  (Windows/Linux)  ·  "⌘S" (macOS)

Menu items accept a registered key directly and format it for you — no need to call display yourself:

menu.add_command(text="Save", shortcut="save", command=save_file)

Inspecting and removing shortcuts#

Look a shortcut up by key, enumerate everything registered, or remove one. A Shortcut exposes its key, pattern, command, and the read-only display label:

sc = shortcuts.get("save")     # the Shortcut, or None if unregistered
sc.pattern                     # "Mod+S"
sc.display                     # "Ctrl+S" / "⌘S"

for key, sc in shortcuts.all().items():
    print(key, "→", sc.display)

shortcuts.unregister("find")   # remove one (KeyError if not registered)
shortcuts.unbind_from(app)     # detach every binding from a window

API reference#

The complete reference — the Shortcuts service, get_shortcuts(), and the Shortcut record — lives in Shortcuts. At a glance:

`get_shortcuts`	Get the global Shortcuts service instance.
`Shortcuts`	Singleton service for managing keyboard shortcuts.
`Shortcut`	A registered keyboard shortcut.