Several conventions are used throughout jEdit's user interface and this manual. They will be described here. Macintosh users should note how their modifier keys map to the terms used in the manual.
| >> | The command contained in the submenu of the menu. |
| > | Menu items that end with ellipsis (...) display dialog boxes. |
| C | The primary modifier key in jEdit. On MacOS X, this is actually the key known as “Command”. On most other keyboards, this key is labelled “Control”. |
| A | The secondary modifier key in jEdit. On MacOS X, this is actually the key labelled “Control”. On most other keyboards, this key is labelled “Alt”. |
| S | The standard “Shift” key. |
| C+o | Refers to pressing and holding the Control key, pressing and releasing O, and finally releasing the Control key. |
| C+e C+j | Refers to holding down Control, pressing E, pressing J, and releasing Control. |
| Default buttons | In many dialog boxes, the default button (it has a heavy outline, or a special border, depending on the current Swing look and feel) can be activated by pressing Enter. Similarly, pressing Escape will usually close a dialog box. |
| Alt-key mnemonics | Some user interface elements (menus, menu items, buttons) have a certain letter in their label underlined. Pressing this letter in combination with the Alt key activates the associated user interface widget. The "F10" key can also be pressed to put focus on the menu bar, it has the same functionality as the Alt key in Windows. Note that this functionality is not available on MacOS X with the “MacOS Adaptive” look and feel. See Section 8.3.3, “The Appearance Pane” for information on changing the look and feel. |
| Right mouse button | Used in jEdit to show context-sensitive menus. If you have a one button Macintosh mouse, a Control-click has the same effect. |
| Middle mouse button | Used by the quick copy feature (see Section 6.11.2, “Quick Copy”). True 3-button mice are rare these days. If you have a wheel mouse, press down on the wheel without rolling it. On a Macintosh with a one-button mouse, Option-click. On other platforms without a three-button mouse, Alt-click. |