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Red Guitar Pick
The FATpick Blog

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NOTE: This post was last updated on 26 April 2021.

We'd like this to be a frairly complete list of the keyboard navigation options available in the FATpick app, and we frequently update this post as new features — and therefore new shortcuts — are introduced. But we add new features in virtually every release — and we release a new version on average every couple of weeks — so sometimes it's hard to keep up. The exact keyboard navigation shortcuts available may vary slightly in the verison of the application you are using.

Please note that in addition to the shortcuts explicitly listed here there are a number of in-app cues that can be used to identify keyboard navigation controls. In particular be sure to look for the letters that are underlined on menu-button labels. These mark the keys you can press on your keyboard to activate the corresponding button. You can also review the "app usage tips" found on various loading screens and in the "About FATpick" dialog. Several of the tips describe keyboard navigation controls.

We also try to follow generally applicable keyboard navigation conventions where appropriate, so your muscle memory regarding shortcuts used in your web browser or other common apps may be relevant.

Contents

General Controls

  • Whenever a menu button label has an underlined character - like the u in the word "underlined" - you can use that key to activate the button

  • The ESC key will dismiss most dialog or popup windows. Or, in the case of a multi-screen dialogs such as the Settings or Tools menu, ESC will go back to the previous dialog. E.g., from the settings sub-menus, press escape twice to close the dialog - once to go back to the main settings menu and a second time to close the main settings menu.

  • Keyboard Focus

    • Pressing the TAB button will select the next active control (button, link, form element, etc.) as the one with "keyboard focus". Pressing TAB repeatedly will cycle through the various controls available on screen. (Shift+TAB will reverse the direction, giving keyboard focus to the previous control.)

    • Pressing ENTER will activate the control with the current keyboard focus - "clicking" a button or link, toggling a checkbox, triggering a drop-down menu, etc.

    • Note that the "Show Keyboard Focus" option in the "General Settings" menu (Settings > General Settings) can be used to add a visual indication of the element with the current keyboard focus.

Main Screens

Header Navigation

A collection of navigation buttons can be found at the top of most screens in the app. These buttons provide direct access to the major components of the application. With rare exceptions, the following shortcuts can be consistently used from any of the main (non-dialog) views in the application:

  • H - go to the Home screen (main application menu) - equivalent to clicking on the "house" button in the header navigation

  • M - go to the My Account screen (user profile menu) - equivalent to clicking on the "person" button in the header navigation

  • S - open the Settings menu (modal dialog) - equivalent to clicking on the "gear" or "cog" button in the header navigation

  • T - open the Tools menu (modal dialog) - equivalent to clicking on the "toolbox" button in the header navigation

  • B - go Back to the previous screen if available - equivalent to clicking on the "back" button in the header navigation (when it is enabled)

Home Screen (Main Application Menu)

  • P - invoke the Play menu button, opening the song search/browse screen

  • M - invoke the My Account menu button, opening the user profile screen

  • S - invoke the Settings menu button, opening settings dialog

  • X - invoke the Exit menu button, closing the application

  • also see the generic header navigation shortcuts

My Account

  • H - invoke the Home menu button, returning to the main application menu

  • E - invoke the Edit Profile menu button, opening the edit profile dialog

  • C - invoke the Change Password menu button, opening edit password dialog

  • L - invoke the Log Out menu button, logging out of the current account and returning ot the main application menu as an anonymous user

  • B - invoke the Back header navigation button, returning to the main application menu

  • also see the generic header navigation shortcuts

Song Search / Browse

  • A - invoke the Add Song menu button, triggering the song import process

  • B - invoke the Back header navigation button, returning to the main application menu

  • also see the generic header navigation shortcuts

Song Player / Tab Viewer

  • Media Controls

    • R - invoke the Restart media control, re-starting the song from the beginning

    • P also space - invoke the Play or Pause media control, starting or stopping the playback (depending on whether or not the song was playing to begin with)

    • E - invoke the Eject media control, returning to the song search/browse view so you can select a new song

  • Song Navigation

    • Also see the blog post "Moving Around Within a Song" for a more in-depth discussion.

    • Note-by-Note (Arrow)

      • → (Right Arrow) - move the playhead to the next (later) note (beat)

      • ← (Left Arrow) - move the playhead to the previous (earlier) note (beat)

    • Small Time Intervals (Shift + Arrow)

      • shift+→ (Shift + Right Arrow) - move the playhead to slightly later in the song

      • shift+← (Shirt + Left Arrow) - move the playhead to slightly earlier in the song

    • Big Time Intervals (Alt + Arrow / Option + Arrow)

      • alt+→ (Alt + Right Arrow) - move the playhead to later in the song

      • alt+← (Alt + Left Arrow) - move the playhead to earlier in the song

    • Jump to Begin / End (Win + Arrow / Cmd + Arrow)

      • win+→ (Win + Right Arrow) or cmd+→ (Cmd + Right Arrow) - move the playhead to the end of the song

      • win+← (Win + Left Arrow) or cmd+← (Cmd + Left Arrow) - move the playhead to the start of the song

  • Zoom In/Out

    • Win++ (Cmd++) - zoom in (make the notes on the tab larger)

    • Win+- (Cmd+-) - zoom out (make the notes on the tab smaller)

    • Win+0 (Cmd+0) - restore default zoom

  • Dialogs / Popups

    • ESC - close the track mix panel or performance summary pop-up when open

  • also see the generic header navigation shortcuts

Dialogs

Settings Menu

  • G - open the General Settings

  • P - open the Gameplay Settings

  • A - open the Audio Settings

  • N - open the Audio Analysis Settings

  • C - open the Calibrate Latency menu

  • ESC - close the dialog

Tools Menu

Stand-Alone Metronome Tool

The metronome tool is described in more detail here.

  • P also space - invokes the Play / Pause media control, starting or stopping the metronome (depending on whether or not the song was playing to begin with)

  • Beat Count

    • → (Right Arrow) - increase the number of beats per measure/phrase/pulse

    • ← (Left Arrow) - decrease the number of beats per measure/phrase/pulse

  • Tempo (BPM)

    • ↑ (Up Arrow) - increase the tempo by 10 beats per minute

    • ↓ (Left Arrow) - decrease the tempo by 10 beats per minute

  • ESC - invokes the back button in the dialog header to return to the main tools menu

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