Tutorial 2: Own the keyboard

Goal: move anywhere in QUILL without the mouse, and set up the keys the way you like them.

1. The QUILL key (prefix commands)

QUILL has more commands than convenient key combinations, so it uses a prefix: press the QUILL key (Ctrl+Shift+Grave by default; Grave is the key with the tilde on it), then one more key.

Try these:

1. QUILL key, then S: insert a snippet.
2. QUILL key, then X: open the Copy Tray (a twelve-slot clipboard).
3. QUILL key, then Shift+M: the remote sites manager.

Press the QUILL key twice and Browse Mode locks on: letters and arrows act as navigation commands until you press Escape. It works like your screen reader's virtual cursor. One press is for just one command (Quick Nav); two presses keep the mode on.

2. Deep navigation

• Jump by heading in Markdown documents; move by section; set and jump to named marks (palette > mark).
• Bookmarks are per-document and survive restarts, and QUILL reopens every saved file at your last cursor position.
• Ctrl+Tab cycles document tabs; the tab name is announced on switch.

3. The Keymap Editor

Preferences > Keyboard opens the editor. Three things to try:

1. Reverse lookup. In the search box, type a shortcut, such as ctrl+alt+m, or even Control + Shift + K. It does not mind how you spell it or what order you type the keys in. QUILL tells you which command owns it, or that it is free.
2. Record Keys. Select a command, choose Record Keys, press the keys you want. Done. If those keys are already in use, QUILL tells you which command has them and offers to move them for you. It never takes them without asking.
3. Run Diagnostics. Checks all your keys for problems: a key given to two commands, a key for a command that no longer exists, or a key that does nothing. Heal fixes what it can in one step.

Export your keymap as a .kqp keyboard pack to share it or carry it between machines.

4. Ask, don't wait: status queries

You can ask QUILL about where you are whenever you like. These are all in the palette: Where am I?, What changed?, Speak Status, and Describe Formatting at Cursor ("Arial, 14 point, centered, bold").

5. Exercise

1. Rebind GLOW Audit Current Document to a key of your choice.
2. Use reverse lookup to find out what Ctrl+Shift+Z does.
3. Enter Browse Mode (QUILL key twice), navigate a long document by heading, press Escape.
4. Open the Spoken Echo (Alt+Shift+E) and review what all of that announced.

Next: Rescue a scanned PDF.