Share via

Accessing the context menu using keyboard instead of mouse?

Anonymous
2015-08-20T18:25:39+00:00

I'm back to using Windows (7) at my new job after using iOS for 15 years. 

Now I find I want to use the keyboard to do a lot of things that you can only do with the mouse on iOS.

The "accelerator" keys are very handy. So -- if I type <ALT><E> and then <P> - then I activate the paste command in Word, for example.

There are also accelerator keys available through a context menu. However, the only way to access the context menu -- that I can find -- is by right-clicking with the mouse.

So now I'm back to using the mouse AND the keyboard, which sort of defeats the purpose.

I can't find any way to pop open a context menu using the keyboard. Any ideas?

Unfortunately, if there isn't a "built-in" way, it won't help, as I can't make any programmatic changes to my computer whatsoever. IT is very tight around here :(

Thanks for any assistance.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Accessibility

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

  1. Anonymous
    2015-08-20T19:15:27+00:00

    A quick Google search reveals that this is the key to use - if your keyboard has it:

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments

3 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. LemP 74,935 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2015-08-20T20:16:54+00:00

    I don't use Outlook, so I can't experiment to find your two context menus, but generally, you can use the Tab key and/or the arrow keys to change the focus on the screen, which may be what you need.

    If you don't have a keyboard with the "menu" key, you can also use SHIFT+F10 to open "a" context menu.

    See http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/right-click-keyboard-shortcut/

    Was this answer helpful?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2015-08-20T20:05:06+00:00

    I am not surprised about your feedback.

    Please remember to mark my reply as "Answer" to your question.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2015-08-20T20:02:15+00:00

    My keyboard doesn't have that key, so I borrowed a co-worker's and tried it. It worked ... sort of.

    It does bring up *a* context menu, but not *the* context menu I want. The more I think about it, the more I realize the issues involved, and why there's no keyboard-only solution, because the keyboard doesn't know where on the screen I'm trying to invoke a context menu.

    For example, on an Outlook message in my inbox, I can call up two different context menus, depending on where my mouse is at the time. Using that special key, I can call up one of those menus, but not the other.

    Oh well. Thanks anyway.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments