How to start with KeyCue

Get to know the interface

When you launch KeyCue by pressing the Command (⌘) key, the KeyCue shortcut table appears. On the main screen, you will see two primary sections:

• On the left side, you will find the shortcuts available for the currently active application (e.g., Safari).
• On the right side, the general macOS system shortcuts are displayed.

Before diving in, uninstall outdated drivers on Mac to prevent conflicts.

Search for shortcuts

You can search in two simple ways:

• If you know how the shortcut starts:
  For example, if it begins with Shift + Command, just press those keys, and KeyCue will instantly highlight all shortcuts that start with that combination. This helps you quickly narrow down your options.

• If you don’t know the shortcut:
  Simply type what you’re looking for — like “screenshot” — into the search bar at the bottom of the KeyCue window. KeyCue will then highlight all matching shortcuts right away.

KeyCue settings

• If the KeyCue main screen is open: You can find the settings button in the bottom-right corner.
• Using a shortcut: Set up your shortcut to open the settings. In the general tab of KeyCue’s settings, you can customize various aspects of the shortcut table, including its appearance and position:
• Display settings: If you use multiple monitors, select whether to show the shortcut table on your main screen or a secondary display. You can also choose its position, near the mouse pointer or on a specific display for better accessibility. Additionally, customize how shortcuts are displayed: either with the command first (e.g., ⌘S) or the action first (e.g., Save).

Trigger settings

A trigger in KeyCue is the action you use to open the shortcut table and see the list of keyboard shortcuts. It can be a single key press or a combination of keys. 

1. First trigger:
   The command is set to activate when you hold down the Command key for about one second. You can customize this to use other key combinations, such as Shift + Command, and choose how long the keys must be held before the command is executed.

2. Second trigger:
   The KeyCue icon appears in your Mac’s menu bar. In this example, a short click on the icon activates the command. However, this is fully customizable, you can change it to a long press or a right click instead.
   You can also assign modifier keys to your click action. For instance, you could require holding Shift or Command while clicking the icon to trigger the action.

3. Third trigger:
   The command activates when you press the assigned key — in this case, the Option key — twice in a row.
   Like the other settings, this too is customizable. You can choose a different key, such as Shift, Control, or Command, to be pressed twice instead.

Action settings

In KeyCue, the action refers to what happens when a specific trigger is activated. The trigger determines how you initiate a command, and the action defines what KeyCue does as a result.

1. First action:
   It allows you to display the KeyCue table, which shows all the keyboard shortcuts for the current application as well as system-wide shortcuts.
2. Second action: 
   It lets you customize your URL settings, allowing you to open your frequently used URLs.
3. Third action:
   You can set it to open a folder of your choice. 
4. Fourth action:
   It automatically displays the abbreviations set up in Typinator and their expanded text. 
5. Fifth action:
   When PopChar is running on your Mac, this action shows the last characters used from PopChar. You also have the option to display your favorites by ticking the checkbox.
6. Sixth action:
   It directly opens the emoji table, allowing you to easily search for and insert emojis.
7. Seventh action:
   The last action opens the last accessed page in the KeyCue settings.

Hands-free mode and shortcut display options

Hands-Free Mode: Normally, the shortcut window appears only while you press and hold the activation key. With hands-free mode turned on, the window stays visible until you close it manually.

Menu and System-Wide Shortcuts: You can choose which types of shortcuts KeyCue displays:

• If you enable menu shortcuts and disable other options (like system-wide shortcuts or macro hotkeys), KeyCue will show only the shortcuts from the selected app’s menu.

• If you enable system-wide shortcuts as well, you’ll see both the app’s menu shortcuts and general macOS shortcuts.

Change the theme

In KeyCue you can customize the appearance and switch between light and dark modes.

To change the theme, simply follow these steps:

1. Open the KeyCue settings.
2. Look for the Theme section.
3. Choose from the available themes, such as the light and dark modes.