Cocoa: setting the key equivalent

Question

i want to set the key equivalent of a menuitem with [menuitem setKeyEquivalent:(NSString *)s], how can i do that if i have multiple modifiers ?

i tried:

unichar shift = NSShiftKeyMask, cmd = NSCommandKeyMask;
NSMutableString *keyequiv = [[NSMutableString alloc] init];

[keyequiv appendString:[NSString stringWithCharacter:&shift, 1]];
[keyequiv appendString:[NSString stringWithCharacter:&cmd, 1]];
[keyequiv appendString:@"x"];
[menuItem setKeyEquivalent:keyequivalent];

but that doesnt work.

Any way to setup F1 as the key equivalent? thx – Ben Oct 27 '18 at 11:45 — Ben, Oct 27 '18 at 11:45

score 31 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 03 '11 at 18:01

31

The modifier key masks are just that: masks, not characters. You can't insert them into the key equivalent string. To apply them, use setKeyEquivalentModifierMask:

[menuItem setKeyEquivalentModifierMask: NSShiftKeyMask | NSCommandKeyMask];
[menuItem setKeyEquivalent:@"x"];

As with any other mask, use the bitwise OR operator | to form combinations. See "Setting a Menu Item's Key Equivalent" for more details.

answered Jun 03 '11 at 18:01

jscs

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Note that NSShiftKeyMask, NSCommandKeyMask etc are deprecated. Instead use NSEventModifierFlagShift, NSEventModifierFlagCommand , etc. – Nathan F. May 06 '17 at 21:24

score 15 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 03 '11 at 18:00

The setKeyEquivalent: method is used to specify the character which triggers the command, but not the modifiers. It will set default modifiers by examining the character you pass. If you pass a lowercase character, it will use just command. If you pass an uppercase character, it will use shift+command. Because of this, you simply need to do this for shift+command+x:

[menuItem setKeyEquivalent:@"X"];

If you want to use other modifiers, you then call setKeyEquivalentModifierMask: with the proper constants, chosen from NSShiftKeyMask, NSAlternateKeyMask (option), NSCommandKeyMask, and NSControlKeyMask.

score 4 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 30 '15 at 17:04

Example for Swift 2.0:

let key = String(utf16CodeUnits: [unichar(NSBackspaceCharacter)], count: 1) as String
item.keyEquivalentModifierMask = Int(NSEventModifierFlags.CommandKeyMask.rawValue | NSEventModifierFlags.ControlKeyMask.rawValue)
item.keyEquivalent = key

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 08 '17 at 17:15

2

Example for Swift 3.0:

item.keyEquivalent = "x"
item.keyEquivalentModifierMask = [NSAlternateKeyMask, NSCommandKeyMask]

answered Mar 08 '17 at 17:15

Geoff Hackworth

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score 2 · Answer 5 · edited Sep 29 '21 at 12:59

2

Example for Swift 5:

item.keyEquivalent = "q"
item.keyEquivalentModifierMask = [.command]

edited Sep 29 '21 at 12:59

Rinus Aarts

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answered Jun 03 '20 at 09:47

Demian Turner

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`item.keyEquivalentModifierMask = .option.union(.command)` – Soid May 04 '23 at 03:33

Cocoa: setting the key equivalent

5 Answers5