Monday, February 07, 2011

Windows vs. Macintosh

As I prepared course materials for Stellarium 0.10.6 training, I captured the shortcuts required on an Apple MacBook. Now, for your reference, a Windows or Macintosh keyboard shortcut guide. Thanks to Sharmin!

controlling the surroundings

show Location window
F6

Fn F6
toggle cardinal compass points qq
toggle compass marks †*

Ctrl c
⌘ c
toggle ground and buildings

g
g
toggle ground fog
f
f
toggle atmosphere or air

a
a





controlling sky appearance

toggle stars
s
s
toggle constellation lines
c
c
toggle constellation boundaries
b
b
toggle constellation labels
v
v
toggle constellation artwork
r
r
toggle planet labels and circles
p
p
toggle planet orbits

o

o
toggle planet trails

Shift t

Shift t
toggle nebula labels and circles
n
n
show Sky and Viewing Options

F4

Fn F4





controlling gridlines

toggle alt/az grid lines
z
z
toggle equatorial grid
e
e
toggle ecliptic line
, (comma)
,
toggle celestial equator
. (period)
.
toggle meridian line

;

;





changing image presentation

toggle horizontal flipping
Ctrl Shift h
⌘ Shift h
toggle vertical flipping
Ctrl Shift v
⌘ Shift v





controlling "regular" time

show date/time window
F5

Fn F5
set date/time to now

8
8
set time rate to zero

7

7
increment forward time speed

l (lower case L)
l
increment reverse time speed

j
j
run time at normal speed
k
k
decrease time speed a little

Shift j

Shift j
increase time speed a little

Shift k

Shift k
jump forward 1 hour
Ctrl = (equal)
⌘ =
jump backward 1 hour
Ctrl - (hyphen)
⌘ -
jump forward 1 day
= (equal)
=
jump backward 1 day
- (hyphen)
-
jump forward 1 week

]
]
jump backward 1 week

[
[





controlling sidereal time

forward 1 sidereal day
Alt = (equal)
Option =
backward 1 sidereal day
Alt - (hyphen)
Option -
forward 1 sidereal week
Alt ]
Option ]
backward 1 sidereal week
Alt [
Option [





zooming

quickly zoom in/out

mouse wheel

mouse wheel
zoom in
PgUp or
Ctrl Up Arrow

Fn Up Arrow
zoom out
PgDn or
Ctrl Dn Arrow

Fn Down Arrow
zoom close to selected object
/ (slash)
/
zoom out fully

\ (backslash)
\





panning

quickly pan celestial sphere

left-drag

drag
pan right
Right Arrow
Right Arrow
pan left
Left Arrow
Left Arrow
pan up
Up Arrow
Up Arrow
pan down
Dn Arrow
Down Arrow
toggle EQ or alt/az mount
Ctrl m
⌘ m





working with objects

select an object visually
left-click
click
centre on selected object
spacebar
spacebar
toggle tracking of object
t
t
deselect object
right-click
⌘-click
display search dialog box
Ctrl f or F3

⌘ f or Fn F3
travel, i.e. go to a planet
Ctrl g
⌘ g
toggle angular measurement †*

Ctrl a
⌘ a





working with satellites

configure artificial satellites *

Alt z
Option z
toggle satellite display *

Ctrl z
⌘ z
toggle satellite labels *

Shift z
Shift z





controlling the application

show configuration window
F2

Fn F2
show help/about window

F1

Fn F1
show script console window

F12

(untested)
toggle fullscreen/window
F11
(none)
toggle GUI toolbars/menus

Ctrl t

⌘ t
save screenshot to desktop
Ctrl s
⌘ s
close a window *

Esc
Esc
quit from Stellarium
Ctrl q
⌘ q

* Recently new or changed shortcuts are marked with an asterisk.

† Keyboard shortcuts noted with a dagger are associated with a plug-in. They may not function if the plug-in is not active.

Most quick reference listings (including the one inside Stellarium's help) are improperly designed. They show the key first then the action, forcing you to think about a key combination, even if you're not interested in it. You'll see I've done the opposite!

Finally, when using Stellarium on the Apple Macintosh computer, the keyboard shortcuts shown in the help window and toolbar tip pop-ups are incorrect. For example, there are references to using the Ctrl key. This references to Windows. In general, on a Mac, substitute the Command key for the Ctrl...

1 comment:

SharminC said...

Very well prepared list! I don't have to refine my own one now, am copying this one. Thanks Blake!