Keyboard Interface Integration

In addition to integrating the menus, you must also integrate the access keys and shortcut keys used in these menus.

Access Keys

The access keys assigned to the primary container's menu, an active object's menus, and MDI workspace menus should be unique. Following are guidelines for defining access keys for integrating these menu names:

• Use the first letter of the menu of the primary container as its access key character. Typically, this is "F" for File. Use "W" for a workspace's Window menu. Localized versions should use the appropriate equivalent.
• Use characters other than those assigned to the primary container and workspace menus for the menu titles of active OLE embedded objects. (If an OLE embedded object has previously existed as a standalone document, its corresponding application avoids these characters already.)
• Define unique access keys for an object's registered commands and avoid characters that are potential access keys for common container-supplied commands, such as Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, and Properties.

Despite these guidelines, if the same access character is used more than once, pressing an ALT+letter combination cycles through each command, selecting the next match each time it is pressed. To carry out the command, the user must press the ENTER key when it is selected. This is standard system behavior for menus.

Shortcut Keys

For primary containers and active objects, follow the shortcut key guidelines covered in this guide. In addition, avoid defining shortcut keys for active objects that are likely to be assigned to the container. For example, include the standard editing and transfer (Cut, Copy, and Paste) shortcut keys, but avoid File menu or system-assigned shortcut keys. There is no provision for registering shortcut keys for a selected object's commands.

Note
For more information about defining shortcut keys, see Chapter 4, "Input Basics," and Appendix B, "Keyboard Interface Summary."

If a container and an active object share a common shortcut key, the active object captures the event. That is, if the user activates an OLE embedded object, its application code directly processes the shortcut key. If the active object does not process the key event, it is available to the container, which has the option to process it or not. This applies to any level of nested OLE embedded objects. If there is duplication between shortcut keys, the user can always direct the key based on where the active focus is by activating that object. To direct a shortcut key to the container, the user deactivates an OLE embedded object — for example, by selecting in the container — but outside the OLE embedded object. Activation, not selection, of an OLE embedded object allows it to receive the keyboard events. The exception is inside-out activation, where activation results from selection.