Use standard keyboard shortcut terms (EK00053)
Consistent keyboard shortcuts help readers follow steps. Learn how to write full key names and tight key combinations in your documentation.
Consistent keyboard shortcuts use full modifier key names and a tight Control+S format, so readers follow steps without guessing. EkLine flags abbreviated modifier keys and spaced key combinations (rule EK00053) and suggests the standard form.
How do you format keyboard shortcuts in documentation?
Section titled “How do you format keyboard shortcuts in documentation?”Keyboard shortcuts guide readers through real actions, so they need to be unambiguous. Abbreviations like Cmd and Del and inconsistent spacing around the plus sign make shortcuts harder to scan and harder to search. Full key names with a tight Control+S format match platform documentation conventions and read the same way everywhere in your content.
What EkLine flags
Section titled “What EkLine flags”EK00053 matches abbreviated modifier keys — such as Cmd, Ctrl, Del, and Esc — and key combinations with spaces around the plus sign, then standardizes them.
- ❌ Incorrect: Press Ctrl + S to save.
- ✅ Correct: Press Control+S to save.
- ❌ Incorrect: Press Cmd to open the menu.
- ✅ Correct: Press Command to open the menu.
How to fix
Section titled “How to fix”Spell out the modifier key in full and remove the spaces around the plus sign in a key combination.
How do you write a keyboard shortcut?
Section titled “How do you write a keyboard shortcut?”Spell out the modifier key in full and remove the spaces around the plus sign, such as Control+S or Command+K.
Should you abbreviate modifier keys like Cmd or Ctrl?
Section titled “Should you abbreviate modifier keys like Cmd or Ctrl?”No. Full names like Command and Control read the same across platforms and are easier to scan and search than abbreviations.
Rule details
Section titled “Rule details”| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Rule ID | EK00053 |
| Category | Consistency |
| Default severity | Warning |
| Enabled by default | No |
Ignore this rule
Section titled “Ignore this rule”To keep a shortcut’s formatting on one line, add an inline comment with a reason:
<!-- ekline-ignore-next-line EK00053 -- matches the vendor's own label -->Press Cmd + K.To disable the rule across your project, add it to the ignore list in your configuration file.