microsoft / microsoft/PowerToys

Shortcut Guide - Love it

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#48,868 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Needs-Triage Product-Shortcut Guide
Dominant language
C
Stars
139k
Forks
8.6k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

### Description of the new feature / enhancement

Thanks for adding shortcut guide to power toys. It's great.
Always wanting to try for more I have a couple suggestions:

**Grid view**:
A grid/table/matrix display could feature modifier keys at the top, alone and in combination, and the combined keys along the left, and the cells could be populated with the commands. This would be especially helpful for those of us who are constantly trying to figure out what key combination 'real estate' is still available for macros.

**Copy or Export**:
A simple button click or even a nested hotkey could be used to copy the contents of the shortcut guide to the clipboard or to another file.

**App-specific shortcut labels**:
If feasible, breaking down shortcuts by app could be a stretch goal, but would be such a great achievement.

### Scenario when this would be used?

**Grid view**:
This would be especially helpful for those of us who are constantly trying to figure out what key combination 'real estate' is still available for macros.

**Copy or Export**:
A copy/export function would either supplement or be an alternative to the above, as this would allow a convenient way to move the results to another editor like an Excel workbook, where key-combination 'real estate' can be mapped more fully.

**App-specific shortcut labels**:
Allowing for a global registry of sorts for all the shortcuts/hotkeys for the currently-open apps, and where they overlap or diverge, and where their key combination real estate share unused space. Ultimately this would be what I hope for.

### Supporting information

**Context**:
I am a radiologist. Radiology is a field where efficiency in computer-based repetitive action becomes incredibly important. As a result, some of us seek to exhaustively use automation apps, macros and other hacks to minimize lost time. Keyboard shortcuts are a prime way this is done, but with the multiplicity of required programs we need to interact with, it can be difficult to map shortcuts to one context that don't interfere with other applications we are required to use.
For instance, my typical workday involves interactions with a complex PACS application with a host of shortcuts (Visage, currently), dictation software (PowerScribe 360), Electronic medical record (EPIC), Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Logitech's G Hub software, A custom work productivity GUI built in autohotkey, multiple online resources, file explorer, VS code, notes app, and Cisco VPN. Besides these, there are all the native applications and settings for Windows to track

I'll attach a copy of the list of shortcuts I track for only one of these applications:
My PACS software, 'Visage'.

[Keyboard shortcuts (Visage PACS).txt] (https://github.com/user-attachments/files/29344989/Keyboard.shortcuts.Visage.PACS.txt)

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by locating the Shortcut Guide utility in the PowerToys source and reviewing how its current shortcut list is generated. The requested scope includes grid display, copy or export, and app-specific labels; done should be defined after deciding which of these features is feasible and in scope.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
c
Domain
desktop, tooling
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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