Keyboard Shortcuts

This page lists every keyboard shortcut and pointer gesture in Holarch, grouped by where it works: everywhere, the window, dialogs and menus, the command palette, tables, the Database, documents, the rich-text editor, diagrams, the Traceability Matrix, presentations, whiteboards and Ask AI.

Concepts

• Modifier keys: this page uses Mac symbols. On Windows and Linux, use Ctrl where it shows ⌘ and Alt where it shows ⌥. ⇧ is Shift, ↩ is Return or Enter.
• Typing blocks shortcuts: single-key shortcuts and most ⌘ shortcuts are ignored while a text field, text area, list box or editable text has focus. Exceptions are noted (for example ⌘K also works in plain text fields, and the document keys ⌘↩ and ⌘F work while you edit an item).
• Context: page shortcuts work only while that page is open, and editor shortcuts only while the editor has focus. Dialogs take precedence: while a dialog is open, page shortcuts are paused.
• Focus: keyboard focus is shown by an outline. In Safari, Tab reaches buttons and links only when Press Tab to highlight each item on a webpage is on (Safari Settings → Advanced); otherwise use ⌥Tab.

How to use it

When and why

Use the keyboard when you enter or review many items in a row: writing a specification, walking a traceability matrix, cleaning up a diagram or stepping through a review. The command palette (⌘K) replaces most navigation, and each editor has keys for its most frequent actions.

Learn the shortcuts that matter most

1. Learn the five window keys first: ⌘K (palette), ⌘Z (undo), ⌘\ (rail), ⌘. (focus mode) and ? (help for this page).
2. Point at a button to see its shortcut in the tooltip, for example Undo (⌘Z) or Hide inspector (Esc).
3. In a whiteboard, press ? for the full whiteboard list.
4. Open Help → Keyboard Shortcuts in the rail, or run Keyboard Shortcuts from the palette, for the short in-app list.

Write requirements without the mouse

1. Press ⌘K, type the document name and press ↩ to open it.
2. Click an item (or use ↑ ↓ once one is selected) to choose where to add.
3. Press ⌘↩ to add a sibling after the selected item, or ⌥⌘↩ to add a child under it. The new item opens for editing.
4. Type the name, press ↩ to save it. Press Tab to indent or ⇧Tab to outdent the selected item, and ⌥↑ ⌥↓ to move it.
5. Press Esc to deselect.

Worked example: CubeSat EO-1

1. In the demo project, press ⌘K, type SRS and open EO-1 System Requirements Specification.
2. Click 3.6 Array Deployment under 3 Electrical Power.
3. Press ⌘↩. A new requirement appears after 3.6 and its name opens for editing. Type Array Deployment Telemetry and press ↩.
4. Press ⌥↑ to move it above 3.6, then ⌥↓ to move it back.
5. Press ⌘F, type downlink and press ↩ to step through the matches (5.1 S-band Downlink Rate, 5.3 Downlink Link Margin…), ⇧↩ to step back.
6. Press ⌘Z four times to undo the two moves, the name and the new requirement. Each action above was one undo step.
7. Press ⌘K, type 5.1 and press ↩ to open 5.1 S-band Downlink Rate in the Entity View. Press ⌘. to read it in focus mode and Esc to leave.

Tips and common mistakes

• A key does nothing: a text field has focus. Press Esc or click an empty part of the page, then try again.
• Delete removed more than expected: in a diagram, Delete removes the selected shapes and annotations together. Press ⌘Z to restore them.
• Esc closed the dialog instead of the menu: Esc closes the topmost open thing first: a menu, then a dialog, then the selection.
• ⌘K in rich text adds a link: inside the rich-text editor and while editing whiteboard text, ⌘K links the selected text. Leave the editor to open the palette.
• Windows: Ctrl+Y is redo, and the rail key is Ctrl+\.

How it connects

The palette (⌘K) reaches every page, item and action that the rail and menus reach, so keyboard users never need the pointer to navigate. The window keys come from the shell described in Getting Started; page keys are described with their pages in Documents, Model and Database and Traceability.

Everywhere

Window

Navigation rail

Editor tabs

Dialogs and menus

Command palette

Tables with a selected row

The RVTM, Interface Register, Quality and Risk Register tables:

On the Admin page, Enter on a row shows its details.

Database

See Model and Database.

Documents

See Documents.

Rich-text editor

Used for descriptions, rationale and other rich-text attributes.

See Rich Text Editor.

Diagrams

Diagram list

Diagram editors

Annotations

Notes, free text, shapes, lines, images, legends and title blocks on a diagram:

See Diagram Editor Basics.

Traceability Matrix

See Traceability.

Project Management

Baselines, versions and schema

Presentations

Editing

Presenting

An exported HTML presentation uses the same keys, without Enter and Esc.

Whiteboards

Press ? in a whiteboard for this list in the app.

Tools

Editing

Text

View

Cropping and presenting frames

See Whiteboards.

Ask AI

Limits

• Shortcuts cannot be changed.
• Browser shortcuts that Holarch does not use (for example ⌘W, ⌘T, ⌘L) keep their browser meaning.
• On keyboards without the \ key next to Return, use Cycle Navigation Rail in the palette or the rail toggle button.

Related pages

• Getting Started
• Documents
• Model and Database
• Traceability
• Help: Keyboard Shortcuts, Rich Text Editor, Whiteboards, Diagram Editor Basics