hotkeys

Assign hotkey combinations to functions in your add-on.

Usage

To define a hotkey combination, create a Hotkey object, passing it the combination and a function to be called when the user presses that combination. For example, this add-on defines two hotkey combinations, to show and hide a panel:

// Define keyboard shortcuts for showing and hiding a custom panel.
var { Hotkey } = require("sdk/hotkeys");

var showHotKey = Hotkey({
  combo: "accel-shift-o",
  onPress: function() {
    showMyPanel();
  }
});
var hideHotKey = Hotkey({
  combo: "accel-alt-shift-o",
  onPress: function() {
    hideMyPanel();
  }
});

Choosing Hotkeys

Hotkeys should be chosen with care. It's very easy to use combinations that clash with hotkeys defined for Firefox or for other add-ons.

The following commonly used hotkey combinations will not pass AMO review:

accel-Z, accel-C, accel-X, accel-V or accel-Q

If you choose to use a key combination that's already defined, choose one which makes sense for the operation it will perform. For example, accel-S is typically used to save a file, but if you use it for something completely different, then it would be extremely confusing for users.

No matter what you choose, it's likely to annoy some people, and to clash with some other add-on, so consider making the combination you choose user-configurable.

Globals

Constructors

Hotkey(options)

Creates a hotkey whose onPress listener method is invoked when key combination defined by hotkey is pressed.

If more than one hotkey is created for the same key combination, the listener is executed only on the last one created.

Parameters

options : Object
Required options:

"accel-s"
"meta-shift-i"
"control-alt-d"

Hotkey

Methods

destroy()

Stops this instance of Hotkey from reacting to the key combinations. Once destroyed a Hotkey can no longer be used.