Keys Help

The following keys are active in the main star window:
Key Function
z Zoom in
Shift-z Zoom out
p Previous view
Shift-p Previous zoom
Ctrl-s Show the Solar System window
n North (Alt-Az mode)
e East (Alt-Az mode)
s South (Alt-Az mode)
w West (Alt-Az mode)
0 0 hours RA (0°) (RA-Dec mode)
9 6 hours RA (90°) (RA-Dec mode)
8 12 hours RA (180°) (RA-Dec mode)
7 18 hours RA (270°) (RA-Dec mode)
Ctrl-z Zenith (or 90° Dec in RA-Dec mode)
Ctrl-h Horizon (or 0° Dec in RA-Dec mode)
Ctrl-n Nadir (or -90° Dec in RA-Dec mode)
Up arrow Navigate in toolbar
Down arrow Navigate in toolbar
Right arrow Navigate in toolbar
Left arrow Navigate in toolbar
Tab Navigate in toolbar
Shift-Tab Navigate in toolbar
Space Activate selected button in toolbar
Shft-Up arrow Shift Altitude (or Dec in RA-Dec mode) up 1°
Shft-Down arrow Shift Altitude (or Dec in RA-Dec mode) down 1°
Shft-Right arrow Shift Azimuth right 1° (or RA right 4 minutes in RA-Dec mode)
Shft-Left arrow Shift Azimuth left 1° (or RA left 4 minutes in RA-Dec mode)
Shft-Page Up Shift Altitude (or Dec in RA-Dec mode) up 15°
Shft-Page Down Shift Altitude (or Dec in RA-Dec mode) down 15°
Ctrl-Up arrow Shift Altitude (or Dec in RA-Dec mode) up 15°
Ctrl-Down arrow Shift Altitude (or Dec in RA-Dec mode) down 15°
Ctrl-Right arrow Shift Azimuth right 15° (or RA right 1 hour in RA-Dec mode)
Ctrl-Left arrow Shift Azimuth left 15° (or RA left 1 hour in RA-Dec mode)
Ctrl-c 0° view rotation (when View Rotation scrollbar shows)
F1 Show help
F10 Activate menubar
Escape Cancel move/zoom (when dragging mouse); cancel menu

The Shift and Ctrl keys alter operation of the mouse. If either are pressed before pressing mouse button 1 and dragging the mouse, then a zoom rectangle is drawn rather than moving the view. When the mouse button is released the center of the rectangle is moved to the center of the window at a zoom level based on the area of the rectangle. If mouse button 1 is simply clicked with the Shift or Ctrl key down then the point clicked on will move to the center of the window.

The following keys are active in secondary windows and the help window:
Key Function
Tab Navigate forward through controls
Shift-Tab Navigate backward through controls
Space Activate button or select/deselect a checkbox
Enter Activate default button (in most cases)
Down arrow Move down in list
Up arrow Move up in list
Alt-Down arrow Show/retract list in drop-down listbox (combo-box)
Alt-Up arrow Show/retract list in drop-down listbox (combo-box)
F1 Show help
Ctrl-Home Go to top of help page
Ctrl-End Go to bottom of help page
Escape Cancel/Close window

'CapsLock' is ignored.

Although a mouse facilitates most operations, nearly all functions can be done with the keyboard. A few notable exceptions: