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Use the desk with a keyboard or screen reader

Reach every item on a desk with a screen reader or the keyboard, and make PlexiDesk easier to read with clearer fonts, larger text and less motion.

All plansUpdated

A desk is laid out in space: you see widgets spread across a large canvas and move around it with the mouse. That suits a lot of people, but not everyone, and not all the time. This page covers the other routes PlexiDesk gives you: a list of everything on a desk for screen readers, ways to get around with the keyboard, and settings that make the app easier to read and calmer to look at.

Before you start

  • Plan: everything on this page is available on every plan. The Theme studio, where the font and text size settings live, is free for everyone.
  • These settings are yours. Fonts, text size, density and the canvas navigation settings change PlexiDesk on your computer only. They do not change what anyone else sees.

With a screen reader: the list of everything on a desk

A screen reader cannot move around a canvas the way your eyes do, so every open desk also has a list of the items on it. The list is hidden from view but always there for your screen reader.

  • It is a navigation area called Desk contents, followed by the desk's name and list view.
  • Its heading says Objects on this desk, with the number of items in brackets.
  • Below that is a numbered list. Each item is a button that reads out the item's name, then what kind of item it is in brackets. An item without a name is read out as its kind.
  • On a new desk with nothing on it yet, the list says This desk has no objects yet.

To use it:

  1. Open a desk.
  2. Use your screen reader's commands for moving between landmarks or headings to reach Desk contents.
  3. Move through the list and press a button to choose an item. PlexiDesk makes that item the active widget and brings it to the middle of the screen.

The list includes every item on the desk except ones that have been archived, including widgets inside Sections and widgets pinned to the screen.

Get around with the keyboard

  • Move between widgets with the arrow keys. With nothing selected, the first press lands on the widget nearest the middle of the screen. Each press after that moves to the next widget in that direction and selects it. See Move around the canvas.
  • Leave a widget with Esc. Once you are working inside a widget, its keys belong to it. Press Esc to step back out to the desk. Esc also clears any selection, so the next arrow key starts from the middle of the screen.
  • Search and run commands from the command palette. Press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows, type what you want and press Enter. With a desk open, you can add a widget (type add and the widget's name, for example Add Sticky) or choose Reset canvas view. See The command palette.
  • Add widgets with one key. On a desk, when you are not typing, single letters add widgets. See Add widgets with a single key.
  • See every shortcut. Press ⌘ / on a Mac or Ctrl / on Windows. See Keyboard shortcuts.
  • Zoom with the keyboard. Press ⌘ ] to zoom in and ⌘ [ to zoom out on a Mac, or Ctrl ] and Ctrl [ on Windows.

Use the desk's right-click menu from the keyboard

When you right-click an empty part of the desk, the menu that opens takes the keyboard straight away, so you can carry on without the mouse.

Key What it does
↓ and ↑ Move down and up the menu.
Letters Jump to the item whose name starts with what you type.
Home and End Go to the first or last item.
→, or Enter on an item that has a submenu Open the submenu and move into it.
← Step back out of a submenu.
Enter or Space Choose the highlighted item.
Esc Close the menu.

For everything in the right-click menus, see Right-click menus.

Resize the side menu from the keyboard

The right-hand edge of the side menu can be reached with Tab. Your screen reader announces it as Resize the workspace panel, with its width. Press ← to make the side menu narrower or → to make it wider. See The side menu.

Open a widget full screen

Focus mode shows one widget at a time, full screen. Inside it, ← and → move to the previous and next widget, and Esc closes it. See Open widgets full screen and side by side.

Make text easier to read

The Theme studio has three settings that change how readable the whole app is.

  1. Click the gear at the right-hand end of the header (its tooltip says Appearance settings).
  2. On the Appearance tab, click Theme studio….
  3. Choose your settings. Each one takes effect as soon as you click it.

Interface font

Under Interface font, each option shows a sample line so you can compare them:

  • Inter, the standard font.
  • Atkinson Hyperlegible, a font designed to make each letter easy to tell apart, for people with low vision.
  • Lexend, a font designed to make reading easier.

Text size

Under Text size, choose Compact, Small, Default, Large, Larger or Largest. Every menu, list, label and button grows or shrinks together, the same way zooming works in a web browser.

You can also use the View menu: Zoom In, Zoom Out and Actual Size. On Windows, press Alt to show the menu bar. Each step changes the size by 10%, and Zoom In can go up to twice the normal size, larger than Largest. You can also press ⌘ + or ⌘ - on a Mac (Ctrl + or Ctrl - on Windows).

Density

Under Density, choose Comfortable for roomier spacing or Compact for more room for your desks. Compact trims the space around the side menu, toolbars, menus and buttons. Reading text stays the same size either way.

For the Theme studio's other settings, such as accent colours and the look of the canvas, see Theme studio: fonts, text size, density and canvas look Coming soon. For light and dark themes, see Light, dark and colour themes Coming soon.

Less motion on screen

PlexiDesk follows your computer's setting for reducing motion. When it is on:

  • The soft halo that normally follows your pointer, and brightens over buttons and links, is switched off.
  • Plexii's answers appear as they arrive, rather than fading in word by word.
  • Plexii's thinking mark holds still instead of animating.

To turn it on:

  • On a Mac: open System Settings, click Accessibility and turn on Reduce motion.
  • On Windows 11: open Settings, go to Accessibility > Visual effects and turn off Animation effects.
  • On Windows 10: open Settings, go to Ease of Access > Display and turn off Show animations in Windows.

PlexiDesk checks this setting when it starts, so quit PlexiDesk and open it again after you change it.

On the desk itself, you can also stop the view from moving on its own. In Canvas navigation settings, turn off Momentum (slingshot) so the desk stops as soon as you let go, turn off Pan when the cursor nears an edge so the desk only moves when you move it, and turn off Sonar feedback on grab to remove the ping and pulsing ring.

Common questions

My screen reader does not say where each widget is on the desk. The list gives each item's name and kind, not its position. To move through the desk in space, use the arrow keys: each press moves to the next widget in that direction.

The cursor halo is distracting. The halo has no switch of its own. It follows your computer's reduce-motion setting, so turn that on as described above, then quit and reopen PlexiDesk.

The text got smaller or bigger and I did not change it. The text size is shared by the Theme studio, the View menu and its shortcuts, so a stray key press can change it. Open the Theme studio and choose the size you want, or choose View > Actual Size to go back to the normal size.

Can I use the keyboard to open the right-click menu? Open it with a right-click, then use the keys in the table above. To do the same things without the menu, use the command palette with ⌘ K (Ctrl K on Windows).

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].