# Keyboard shortcuts

Canonical: https://fairleadhq.com/docs/recorder/shortcuts/

Updated: 2026-10-10
Publication state: published
Product version: Recorder source f6ed5b96

Agent summary: Use Recorder's contextual keyboard controls in the side panel, in-page toolbar, and session viewer. Recorder has no global start, stop, or screenshot shortcut.

## Prerequisites

- Recorder installed in Chrome

## Inputs

- A Recorder control or evidence view with keyboard focus

## Outputs

- Faster keyboard navigation and evidence review

## Limitations

- Recorder has no global start, stop, screenshot, or open-panel shortcut
- Shortcuts act only in the stated context

## Permissions

- Access to the recording or session being reviewed

## Privacy

- Keyboard actions performed in the tested page can become recorded evidence


Use the keyboard to control Recorder, move through evidence, and edit a session.

Recorder's shortcuts are contextual: first move focus to the side panel, in-page controls, or session viewer, then use the keys listed for that control. Recorder does not register a Chrome-wide shortcut to open the panel, start or stop recording, or take a screenshot.

Use **Tab** and **Shift+Tab** to move between controls. Use **Enter** or **Space** to activate the focused button, tab, or button-like evidence row unless a more specific behavior is listed below. Use **Space** to toggle a focused checkbox.

## During recording

### In-page controls

| Focus | Keys | Result |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Move controls** grip | **Enter** or **Space** | Open the menu for docking the controls to an edge. Press the same key again to close it. |
| Dock menu | **Up Arrow** or **Down Arrow** | Move through the four edge choices, wrapping at either end. |
| Dock menu | **Home** or **End** | Move to the first or last edge choice. |
| Dock menu | **Escape** | Close the menu and return focus to **Move controls**. |
| Dock menu | **Tab** | Close the menu and continue to the next focusable control. |
| Area screenshot overlay | **Escape** | Cancel the area selection without creating the screenshot. |

The focused **Capture**, **Area**, **Panel**, **Stop**, and close controls use the usual **Enter** or **Space** activation. There is no single-key screenshot or stop command when focus is elsewhere.

### Side panel setup

| Focus | Keys | Result |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Issue lookup | **Up Arrow** or **Down Arrow** | Move through the visible issue suggestions. |
| Issue lookup | **Enter** | Choose the highlighted suggestion. When no suggestion is highlighted, the stopped-session lookup uses the typed ID. |
| Issue lookup | **Escape** | Close the suggestions without choosing one. |
| **Explore / Test case / Verify fix** choices | Any arrow key | Select and focus the previous or next session type, wrapping at the ends. |
| Result choices | Any arrow key | Select and focus the previous or next available result, wrapping at the ends. |
| Additional MIME type field | **Enter** | Add the typed value to the capture-rule list. |
| Open MIME type list | **Escape** | Close the list and return focus to its button. |
| Send-menu arrow | **Up Arrow** or **Down Arrow** | Open the destination menu and focus an item. |
| Send destination menu | **Up Arrow** or **Down Arrow** | Move through destinations, wrapping at either end. |
| Send destination menu | **Home** or **End** | Move to the first or last destination. |
| Send destination menu | **Escape** | Close the menu and return focus to its arrow. |
| Send destination menu | **Tab** | Close the menu and continue through the page. |

Session-type, result, stopped-session lookup, and send-destination controls depend on the selected session type and project.

## Move around the session viewer

### Tabs, search, and history

| Focus | Keys | Result |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Viewer tab row | **Left Arrow** or **Right Arrow** | Open the previous or next viewer tab, wrapping at either end. |
| Viewer tab row | **Home** or **End** | Open the first or last viewer tab. |
| Viewer content, outside an input or button | **/** | Focus the current view's search field when it has one. |
| Evidence list, outside an open disclosure | **Escape** | Clear that view's active filters. An open menu or popup handles Escape first instead. |
| Viewer content, outside a text field | **Alt+Left Arrow** or **Alt+Right Arrow** | Move backward or forward through evidence you opened inside the viewer. On macOS, the Alt key is labelled Option. |
| Divider between an evidence list and its detail | **Left Arrow** or **Right Arrow** | Make the list pane narrower or wider in 24-pixel steps. |

The history shortcut does not run while focus is in an input, text area, select control, or editable region, so it does not interfere with editing.

### Evidence lists

| Focus | Keys | Result |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Network or Timeline row | **Up Arrow** or **Down Arrow** | Focus and open the adjacent row. The list stops at its first and last row. |
| Console row | **Up Arrow** or **Down Arrow** | Focus and open the adjacent row. |
| Console row | **Enter** or **Space** | Open the row's detail. |
| Request or log nested under an action | **Enter** or **Space** | Open that related evidence beside the action. |
| Annotatable action, request, log, or field | **Right-click**, or **Control-click** on macOS | Open the field actions. Choose **Pin** to mark the evidence without a comment, or **Note** to write one. If you selected part of a value first, Recorder uses that selection as the note excerpt. |
| Annotatable evidence field | **Shift+F10** or the **Context Menu** key | Open the same **Pin**, **Note**, and available privacy actions without using a pointer. |
| Open field-action panel | **Escape** | Close it and return focus to the field. |

Buttons and button-like rows elsewhere in Actions, Screenshots & Attachments, Notes, Tests, and Overview use **Enter** or **Space**. On a narrow window, activating a row also opens its detail pane; arrowing through a list only changes the selected row.

On macOS, use **Control-click**, not Command-click, for the contextual field actions. Command-click is not assigned to Pin or Note.

## Edit session content

| Focus | Keys | Result |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Title | **Enter** | Save the edited title and leave the field. |
| Title | **Escape** | Restore the current saved title and leave the field. |
| Action-name editor | **Escape** | Cancel the rename and return focus to **Rename**. |
| Delete-action confirmation | **Escape** | Cancel deletion and return focus to **Delete**. |
| Description editor | **Tab** | Indent the current line or selected lines. |
| Description editor | **Shift+Tab** | Remove one indentation level from the current line or selected lines. |
| Description editor | **Escape**, then **Tab** | Let the next Tab leave the editor. Typing another non-modifier key restores Tab indentation. |
| **Add** or **Improve** menu button | **Down Arrow** | Open the menu and focus its first item. |
| Open Description menu | **Up Arrow** or **Down Arrow** | Move through items, wrapping at either end. |
| Open Description menu | **Home** or **End** | Move to the first or last item. |
| Open Description menu | **Escape** | Close the menu and return focus to its button. |
| Open Description menu | **Tab** | Close the menu and continue through the page. |

## Privacy preview

| Focus | Keys | Result |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Source or record row | **Enter** or **Space** | Open that source or record. |
| Privacy search | **Escape** | Clear the search text when it is not empty. |
| Expanded original-value control | **Escape** | Collapse the original value. |

**Enter** and **Space** open the same record that a pointer click opens; the keys do not change whether a value is hidden or visible in the export.

## Keyboard actions in the application under test

Recorder does not reserve the application's shortcuts. During recording it captures **Enter**, **Escape**, and **Tab**; shortcuts that combine another key with **Control**, **Meta** (such as Command on macOS), or **Alt/Option**; supported slider keys; and supported arrow-key movement in tabs, menus, list boxes, and similar widgets. It can also capture an unmodified printable shortcut when the page handles it outside a text-entry or sensitive field.

A held key is recorded once rather than once per repeat. Recorder does not record a modifier pressed by itself as a meaningful action. When reviewing keyboard evidence, turn **Key actions only** off in Actions because that filter hides keydown events.

For the full Viewer workflow, see [Open the session viewer](https://fairleadhq.com/docs/recorder/session-viewer/). For captured-key limits and protected values, see [Capture support and limits](https://fairleadhq.com/docs/recorder/developers/capture-support/) and [How redaction works](https://fairleadhq.com/docs/recorder/redaction-rules/).