Context menu using a keyboard key?
 

Hello,

Is there any way I could bring up the context menu (based on the pointer location) by pressing a keyboard key/hotkey?

I'm a windows convert and I used the context menu key (just right of the space bar) a lot. Is there any way I can assign RIGHT CMD key to bring up the context menu?

I'd really appreciate any help or guidance.

Thanks.

it should be default on the apple mouse, go to the mouse and keyboard settings and change the rt. click to want you want it to do.

I realize that's not much help -- you asked for a keyboard shortcut, not a way to do this with a mouse. I'm sure you can already do it with a mouse.

I was interested, too, since I also prefer the keyboard to the mouse.

I tried Butler, and I tried my Natural keyboard's prefs, but neither offers a way to simulate a mouse click.

Good luck!

BTW, I just discovered that the Mouse Keys feature, in Universal Access prefs, also fails to offer a keyboard shortcut for right-clicking. Incredible that something so basic has been left out all these years.

You mean like in: CTRL + click ?

"Any way"? You could do it with Mouse Keys turned on, but it's a longcut to do what you're asking.

Steps:
System Prefs > Universal Access > Mouse > Mouse Keys [on]
Turn on Num Lock (if using a laptop)
Position cursor with mouse or by means of Mouse Keys. Select the desired item with a mouse click or the keypad's 5 (= click).
Press Ctrl-keypad 5 to drop down contextual menu.

It can be done but probably isn't worth the trouble to most people, especially laptop users.

Nope. "Click" means a mouse click.

Right, we found that, but it's not helpful, I'm sorry to say. As you point out, it's a bunch of key presses. What the OP seeks is a single key that can make the context menu pop up.

Maybe there are apps that can emulate that mouse click. I used Youpi Key, many years ago, but haven't needed, nor looked for, such a thing since.

Basically the OP is looking for a Mac equivalent to pressing Shift-F10 on Windows, and as far as we know, the Mac can't do it.

It comes down to a difference in philosophy between Mac and Windows. On the Mac, if it is in a context menu, it's probably a duplicate of something on the main menu, which means there's probably a direct keyboard shortcut for it already.

Single key action possible? Try this...

In System Preferences > Universal Access > Mouse, turn on Mouse Keys and check "Enable access for assistive devices."

Copy the code below and paste it into your AppleScript Script Editor. Choose File > Save As > File Format: application, and leave the Options unchecked:

tell application "System Events"
keystroke tab using command down
key down control
keystroke (ASCII character 53)
key up control
end tell

Assign a function key to open the saved AppleScript using your favorite keyboard shortcut program (I use Spark).

The action should produce a contextual menu when you hover your cursor over a word in a document or on a web page and then press the assigned function key.

Hope this helps... Good luck!

Hi amramr_345,

Doesn't seem to work. :-(

Let me explain what I want exactly: I use "compress" and "open with" from the context menu (pathfinder) all the time. I just want to be able to bring up the context menu when I've a particular file/folder selected so I can perform the same actions with a key (and arrows, for navigation).

I don't really want to open the context menu based on cursor location. Hope that makes sense.

Maybe a solution similar to that of this macosxhint would work for you (an Automator action triggered by a keybaord shortcut):
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.p...60720091325592

Hmm..that opens a menu with sub-folders, right? But I want a 'context' menu.

I didn't look at what the Automator action did - but I assumed that it merely performed the desired action.
I.e. this is not a solution for getting keyboard access to the contextual menu but is instead a solution to at least one of your higher-level goals - being able to compress via the keyboard.

I think I just solved the problem. Now that we know that (a) the actual need is to use the Compress feature in the Finder, and (b) context menu commands are usually duplicates of main menu commands, the solution is easy. I just tested it.

Go to System Preferences and click Keyboard and Mouse.
Click the Keyboard Shortcuts tab.
Click the plus icon below the list of shortcuts.
For Application, choose "Finder" .
For Menu Title, enter "Compress" .
For Keyboard Shortcut, enter anything you want.
Click OK.

Now go to the Finder, select a file you want to compress, and hit the shortcut you made. In my testing, it compresses the file.

How does it work: As I said in the earlier post, Mac context menu commands (when implemented properly) are duplicates of main menu commands. In the Leopard Finder, the command is File/Compress (Open With is up there too.) OS X provides the ability to make a keyboard shortcut for any command on the menu bar. Therefore you just go and make one. Done, and Automator is overkill. I still don't know how to use Automator.

This does not solve the question of how to make a context menu pop up with the keyboard, but it solves the requirement of compressing via the keyboard. Probably saves a step too, you don't have to pop up the menu first.

Great, but I use "open with" a lot too. Anything for that?

(And I use pathfinder btw).

Thanks

The reason I mentioned the presence of the Open With command in my last post was so that a shortcut could be made for that one as well. Yes, I understand that it would be better to have one shortcut for one menu where you choose things, but we might not get there. As for Pathfinder, I don't use it, but the OS X keyboard shortcut maker is supposed to support any app. The Finder was just an example. I've used it to add a shortcut to Apple Mail.

{bump}

I would also love to have this functionality. It's one of the things I miss from Windows.

Has anyone found a way to get the context menu to pop up with a keyboard shortcut?

Setting specific actions -- as suggested above -- doesn't help, because the context menu varies wildly from (duh) context to context! Sometimes I want to choose which app to "open with", sometimes which app to "edit with" from within an ftp client, sometimes I want to use my DropBox submenu.

Setting up a separate key for each action would defeat the whole purpose.

The closest thing I've found is using access keys (Ctrl-F2 by default) to open the menu bar, then arrow your way over and down ... but this also defeats the purpose.

As styrafome said, I and the OP are "looking for a Mac equivalent to pressing Shift-F10 on Windows."

Anyone?

I know this can be done with the older version (2.1.3) of Keyboard Meastro. I haven't upgraded to the latest version (3.3), so I'm not certain the ability remains. However, based on their online demo movies, it would seem the ability to accomplish this is still there.

At $36 this might be an expensive means to getting the ability to create a keyboard shortcut for right-clicking, but if the other capabilities are appealing (and it is a piece of software I would have trouble working without), it may be worthy of consideration, especially for those who prefer the keyboard to the mouse.

Using it to create a right-click keyboard shortcut isn't something I'd ever considered, nor had I realized it could do this, and I utilize Keyboard Maestro hundreds of times each day for launching programs and scripts, opening specific Finder folders, setting keyboard shortcuts in programs and dialog boxes, arranging Finder windows, and automating repetitive tasks. Quite simply, it's one of those programs that is often only constrained by the user's imagination for thinking of how it can be utilized.

While I've always been an Apple user, the Windows feature I always liked was the ability to click the Task Bar icon to immediately show the desktop. I re-created this with Keyboard Maestro. Instead of using the keyboard to switch to the Finder and Hide Others (this command I changed with Keyboard Maestro), now I simply press Control+Space Bar and it's done. My point is that Keyboard Maestro is such a powerful and customizable program that most anything can be accomplished and it's well suited to those who prefer initiating actions with the keyboard instead of the mouse. On top of that, the version I'm using has a small memory footprint: the background process uses about 3.5 MB of memory.

To NaOH:

I actually use KM regularly; but I do not see where you can generate a shift-F10 equivalent. How would you do it?

In my version (2.1.3), I created a New Macro. Then...

• Click and hold on New Action.
• Select Move or Click Mouse.
• In the box that appears, select the radio button next to Click Mouse.
• Check the box for the Control key modifier.
• Set the Relative To drop-down menu to Current Position.
• The setting for the Measured From drop-down menu is irrelevant as long as the Vertical & Horizontal positions are both set to zero.

Since you're familiar with KM, I presume you know how to assign your desired keyboard shortcut. Save it. And your done.

Yes, but that would require that I first position my mouse over the item in question.
Which defeats the purpose! I want to be able to select an item with the keyboard (by moving up and down with my arrow keys) and then pull the context menu for whatever item is highlighted.
Your suggestion requires that I move the mouse!
The point is to NOT have to use the mouse at all.
NEXT! ;-)

My bad.

I guess the question is this: Can a script be written to move the cursor over whatever item is selected? I'm a few rungs below a novice with AppleScript, so I'm not qualified to answer that.

If it can be done, such a script, added to the above Keyboard Maestro macro, would solve the problem.

There's already a key for doing this. By default, it's F11. And pressing it again returns you to whatever application you were previously using.

I suppose Ctrl+Space may be easier/quicker to hit for some people (less hand travel).

You're right, and I do use Exposé, but I don't like the fact that when invoking that command my already open Finder windows are moved aside.

The confusion here is that in my mind the Windows desktop area isn't a convenient place for performing tasks whereas I find the Finder, overall, pretty good. Thus, in my little head, the Windows idea of Show Desktop has an Apple equivalent of switch to Finder and hide others.

sorry to revive this old thread, but i am still looking for a solution to this problem.

i really can't believe that apple doesn't include this in it's universal access prefs. it's not in snow leopard either in case people are hoping. being able to use mouse keys and the '5' key makes it seem oh-so-close...

i've already written to apple, but it's clearly not a priority. maybe if more people wrote they would at least consider it for 10.7?

Most contextual menu items are readily available in the regular, top-of-the-screen menus. I think the big exception is the contents of the More submenu when in the Finder. Actually, some of the contextual menu items in Safari would be another set of exceptions.

As long as what you seek is in Menubar menus (File, Edit, etc.), the free Deja Menu may be of use.

Change spelling
 

I don't think this topic has been fully answered. What if I want to just access the context menu in any program with spell checking to change a word. Can I do this without using the mouse?

To access all menu items just like windows using ALT keys this is what I have done
1) Create applescript for each of the menu items (File, Edit, View, Window, Help etc)
2) Assign shortcut keys for each of these in quick silver
3) No matter which application I am in, if I press alt + F it expands File menu for me provided that application has a File menu)

tell application "System Events" to ¬
tell (first application process whose frontmost is true) ¬
to click menu bar item "File" of menu bar 1 of it

This AppleScript might be useful.
In Finder, you can bring up the context menu of selected item by keyboard shortcut.
I'm using it everyday since I found it.

http://homepage.mac.com/tkurita/scri.../2009/06.xhtml

See the article '2009-06-01'.
This page is in Japanese so you may not understand...

1. Save the AppleScript as a script file.
2. Use your favorite launcher utility to assign keyboard shortcut.(I'm using Butler)

Note: You have to 'enable access for assistive devices'.
System Preferences > Universal access

ctrl-space works for Mozilla apps
 

I also would love to see a keyboard shortcut to bring up the context menu for the item currently selected by the keyboard. As others have mentioned this is ideal for spell checking.

Mozilla apps implement ctrl-space to bring up the context menu. So if you use Thunderbird for mail this is a solution. Unfortunately while Firefox brings up the context menu, it does not always seem to be in the context of a misspelled word in a form. There is a bug report on this: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=346930

We should advocate adoption of this to application developers. Email your favorite software company and ask them to implement a context menu key shortcut. The script keiyam linked to indicates this is not difficult to implement for Cocoa apps. Obviously it would be nice if Apple adopted it as a standard.

openoffice.org also has a keyboard shortcut, shift-F10. This took me years to discover, mostly because it won't work on macbooks out of the box. To get this to work I had to disable Expose Application windows in Sys Prefs > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts and then press fn-shift-F10. I definitely prefer ctrl-space as the context menu shortcut key.

hey hey
i have found a work-around, if not a solution using quicksilver and the service menu shortcuts:
*in the keyboard prefpane add a new shortcut with the application designation 'all applications', make it whatever key combo that works for you

*for the menu title write "Send To Quicksilver"

this will pop open a qs window for whatever file/s you have selected and give you the same thing you get from the context menu without have to use a mouse

SOLVED: Spelling correction, keyboard only, with Mac OS X Lion
 

SOLVED?!

Like others on this thread, I couldn't believe that there was no way to access the contextual menu for misspellings using only the keyboard. I came here hoping to find an answer. And in doing so, I think I discovered the answer myself, in Mac OS X Lion.

If you type a word incorrectly and then use the arrow keys to position yourself at the beginning/end of that word, a little menu will appear with suggested spellings. Press "down" and then left/right to select the correct spelling.

It's a similar interface you see if you are typing and hold down a vowel (for instance) for several seconds.....

Context menu using a keyboard key App!
 

I was looking for exactly the same thing for months, and I finally found the answer! It's a little app from the appstore called Keymo link below.

However one small problem for me, it brings up the context menu from wherever the mouse curser is, not from where the blinking insertion point. I was going to use it for programs like Microsoft Word where I can quickly fix spelling mistakes without using the mouse.

manytricks.com/keymo