An ASCII character code or a virtual-key code can be used to define the accelerator. An ASCII character code makes the accelerator case sensitive. The ASCII "C" character can define the accelerator as alt+c rather than alt+c. Case-sensitive accelerators can, however, be confusing to use. For example, the alt+c accelerator will be generated if the caps lock key is down or if the shift key is down, but not if both are down.
Typically, accelerators don't need to be case sensitive, so most applications use virtual-key codes for accelerators rather than ASCII character codes.
Avoid accelerators that conflict with an application's menu mnemonics, because the accelerator overrides the mnemonic, which can confuse the user. For more information about menu mnemonics, see Menus.
If an application defines an accelerator that is also defined in the system accelerator table, the application-defined accelerator overrides the system accelerator, but only within the context of the application. Avoid this practice, however, because it prevents the system accelerator from performing its standard role in the user interface. The system-wide accelerators are described in the following list:
| Accelerator | Description |
|---|---|
| alt+esc | Switches to the next application. |
| alt+f4 | Closes an application or a window. |
| alt+hyphen | Opens the window menu for a document window. |
| alt+print screen | Copies an image in the active window onto the clipboard. |
| alt+spacebar | Opens the window menu for the application's main window. |
| alt+tab | Switches to the next application. |
| ctrl+esc | Switches to the Start menu. |
| ctrl+f4 | Closes the active group or document window. |
| f1 | Starts the application's help file, if one exists. |
| print screen | Copies an image on the screen onto the clipboard. |
| shift+alt+tab | Switches to the previous application. The user must press and hold down alt+shift while pressing tab. |