Keyboard shortcuts

Every key used by GView (the main window, every viewer, the type plugins, their panels and the generic plugins) is a named shortcut that can be listed and changed from one place: the Keyboard shortcuts window.

Opening the window

  • Press F1 in a file window, or

  • use the Help → Keyboard shortcuts menu (it also works when no file is opened and when F1 is taken by the operating system or by the terminal).

The window takes 80% of the screen and shows two lists:

  • Plugin & GView (top) - the keys of the current type plugin (its commands and the keys of its panels), the commands of the generic plugins (Hashes, Dropper, SyncCompare, …) and the GView keys (GoTo, Find, change viewer, …).

  • Viewer (bottom) - the keys of the current viewer: its commands and its Navigation & editing keys.

Use the Show box to switch between This file (only the keys that are active for the current file and viewer) and All keys (every viewer, every generic plugin and the commands of every type plugin). Each list has its own search: just start typing. Tab moves between the lists.

Columns

  • Key - the key you have to press (with the current keyboard profile applied, see below).

  • Command - the name of the shortcut (this is also the name used in the settings file).

  • Description - what it does.

  • Status:

    • custom (default X) - the key was changed by you;

    • changed (unsaved) - the key was changed in this window and not saved yet;

    • Conflict: … - another shortcut that can be active at the same time uses the same key (only one of them works);

    • unassigned - the shortcut has no key;

    • fixed - the key is handled by a UI control (list, tree, grid) and is listed only for reference.

Changing a key

Select a shortcut and press Enter (or the Edit button). In the edit dialog you can:

  • press the new key in the Press the new key field - it shows exactly what your terminal sends, which is also a quick way to check if a key combination reaches GView at all; or

  • compose the key with the Ctrl / Alt / Shift boxes and the key list (useful for keys your terminal can not send, e.g. when preparing a configuration for another computer).

The dialog shows the default key and any conflict. Unassign removes the key (the command stays available from the menus and the command bar), Default restores the built-in key.

Other actions: F3 / Reset restores the default key of the selected shortcut, F4 / Delete / Unassign removes it, Reset all restores every default and the standard keyboard profile.

Nothing is applied until you press F2 / Save. Saved keys work immediately, in every opened window. The shortcuts of the main menus (Windows manager, Exit, Keyboard shortcuts) are used after GView is restarted.

Navigation keys marked Shift extends selection also work with Shift to extend the selection, so Shift can not be part of their key.

Keyboard profile (Ctrl / Alt)

The Ctrl key acts as and Alt key acts as boxes choose what the physical Ctrl and Alt (Option on macOS) keys mean for GView. The two possible profiles are:

  • Standard - Ctrl is Ctrl and Alt is Alt (default on every operating system).

  • Swapped - Ctrl acts as Alt and Alt acts as Ctrl.

The profile is applied to every key (including menus, lists and dialogs) and every key label is shown as you have to press it. The profile is stored in the [AppCUI] section (Keyboard.Ctrl / Keyboard.Alt).

macOS and Linux terminals

  • Cmd is never sent to terminal applications.

  • Option is sent as Alt only when the terminal is configured for it: Terminal.app → Settings → Profiles → Keyboard → Use Option as Meta key; iTerm2 → Profiles → Keys → Left Option key: Esc+. Without it, either use the Swapped profile or the combo mode below.

  • Function keys may require Fn (macOS uses some of them for system functions).

  • Combo mode: press the backtick key (left of 1), then a / c / s to toggle Alt / Ctrl / Shift and finally the key (a letter, or 1-0 for F1-F10). Space keeps the combo mode active, Escape leaves it.

  • The command bar of a terminal only shows the commands without modifiers - use F1 to see all of them.

Settings file

Only the changed keys are stored, one section per owner:

[Keys.View.Buffer]
ChangeColumnsCount = Ctrl+F6

[Keys.Type.PE]
DigitalSignature = Alt+F9

[Keys.Generic.Hashes]
Hashes = None            ; unassigned

[AppCUI]
Keyboard.Ctrl = Ctrl
Keyboard.Alt  = Alt

The sections are Keys.GView, Keys.View.<Buffer|Text|Image|Grid|Dissasm|Container|Lexical>, Keys.Type.<plugin> and Keys.Generic.<plugin>. Removing a line restores the default key. The Command.* values of the [Type.*] and [Generic.*] sections are the defaults declared by the plugins and should not be edited. Keys stored by older versions (Key.* values in [GView] and [View.*]) are still read; they are moved to the new sections the first time the shortcuts are saved.