# Add widgets with a single key

> Press one letter on a desk to add a Sticky, Note, Table or ten other widgets without opening a menu, and change the letters to suit you.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/quick-add-keys
Section: Widgets > Widget basics
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-10

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

| Key | Adds | Key | Adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `S` | Sticky | `C` | Calc |
| `N` | Note | `I` | Timer |
| `P` | Page | `B` | Browser |
| `M` | Markdown | `O` | Color |
| `D` | Card | `R` | Section |
| `T` | Table | `G` | Shape |
| `F` | Field | | |

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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/add-a-widget).
- **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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/command-palette).
- **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.

> **Tip:**
> Give each widget its own letter. If two widgets share a letter, pressing it adds only one of them.

> **Note:**
> Inside a document, spreadsheet or deck, `⌘` `/` (`Ctrl` `/` on Windows) shows that editor's own shortcuts instead. Click an empty part of a desk first to reach the quick-add keys.

## 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/add-a-widget)
- [The controls on every widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-title-bar)
- [Use a widget's AI button](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-ai)
- [Keyboard shortcuts](https://plexiidesk.com/help/keyboard-shortcuts)