Add widgets with a single key

Thirteen everyday widgets each have a single-letter key. Press the letter on a desk and the widget appears straight away, with no menu to open. It is the fastest way to jot a sticky, start a table or drop in a timer while you think.

You can change any of the letters, or turn one off, to match how you work.

The keys

These are the starting keys. If you have changed them, the menus show your own letters instead, as described under Find a widget's key below.

Add a widget with a key

1. Open a desk.
2. Click an empty part of the desk, so that no widget is active and you are not typing anywhere. If you were working inside a widget, you can press Esc instead.
3. Press the letter on its own, without ⌘, Ctrl, Option, Alt or Shift.

The widget appears in a clear space in the middle of what you can see. A new Sticky is yellow.

The keys do nothing while:

• you are typing in a box or inside a widget;
• a widget is active (you have clicked into it and a small blue dot shows beside its name);
• a widget is open in Focus mode;
• a menu or dialog is open, or a button has the keyboard focus.

This is on purpose, so a letter you type is never mistaken for a new widget.

Find a widget's key

• The Add widget menu. In the header's Add widget menu, the grey letter beside a widget is its key. The note at the bottom of the menu reminds you to press it on the desk. See Add a widget to a desk.
• The command palette. Press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows and type add. Each Add command shows its key at the right of the row. See Search and commands.
• The Keyboard shortcuts panel. Press ⌘ / on a Mac or Ctrl / on Windows. The quick-add keys are listed at the bottom.

All three always show the keys you are using now, including any you have changed.

Change a key

1. Click an empty part of a desk, then press ⌘ / on a Mac or Ctrl / on Windows. The Keyboard shortcuts panel opens.
2. Find Canvas quick-add (single letter, when not typing) — click a key to rebind. Each row shows a key chip and the widget it adds, such as Add Sticky.
3. Click the key chip for the widget you want to change. The chip reads press key….
4. Press a letter from A to Z. The chip shows the new letter, and the Add widget menu and the command palette show it straight away.

While a chip reads press key…:

• Press Backspace or Delete to turn that widget's key off. The chip then reads off, and the widget no longer has a quick-add key.
• Press Esc, or click the chip again, to cancel and keep the key you had.

To put every key back to its starting letter, click Reset to defaults at the top right of the quick-add list.

Close the panel with Esc, the close button, or a click outside it.

Good to know

• Your keys are saved on this computer. If you use PlexiDesk on another computer, set your keys there too.
• Only these thirteen widgets have keys. You can change their letters, but you cannot give a key to another widget. Widgets that ask you a question first, such as Document, Spreadsheet, Slides or File or link, are added from the Add widget menu, the tool rail or a right-click.
• Keys with ⌘ or Ctrl stay as they are. Shortcuts such as ⌘ K are fixed. See Keyboard shortcuts.

Common questions

I pressed S and an s appeared in my note. You were typing in a widget. Press Esc or click an empty part of the desk, then press the key again.

Nothing happened when I pressed the key. Check that a desk is open, that no widget is active (no blue dot beside a widget's name), and that no menu or dialog is open. Also check that you have not turned that key off: open the Keyboard shortcuts panel and look for off beside the widget.

Where did my new widget go? Keys place the widget in the middle of what you can see. If you still cannot find it, right-click an empty part of the desk and choose Home — fit all to view.

Can I use a number or a symbol as a key? No. Quick-add keys are single letters from A to Z.

Related tasks

• Add a widget to a desk
• The controls on every widget
• Use a widget's AI button
• Keyboard shortcuts