Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus in Windows 10  

    Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus in Windows 10

    Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus in Windows 10

    How to Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus in Windows 10
    Published by Category: General Tips
    17 Apr 2021
    Designer Media Ltd

    How to Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus in Windows 10


    An access key gives you access to a command by pressing a specific key on the keyboard. Access keys appear on the menu by displaying the underscore character under the shortcut letter.

    To use access keys, first press ALT or F10 to highlight the specific menu or dialog box, press the underlined letter of the specific menu or dialog box you want to open, and then press the TAB key to navigate through the menu or dialog box. Alternatively, you can use the arrow keys to navigate through menus, or you can press the specific access key for the menu or command that you want to access.

    To see underlined access keys in context menus, you would normally need to Shift + right click instead of just right clicking.

    This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off always underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys in menus when they are available for your account in Windows 10.


    Contents

    • Option One: Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus in Settings
    • Option Two: Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus in Control Panel
    • Option Three: Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus using a REG file



    EXAMPLE: Underline access keys in menus turned on and off
    Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus in Windows 10-underline_keyboard_shortcuts_in_menus-.png Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus in Windows 10-underline_keyboard_shortcuts_in_menus-off.png





    OPTION ONE

    Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus in Settings


    This option is only available starting with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update version 1709.


    1 Open Settings, and click/tap on the Ease of Access icon.

    Starting with Windows 10 build 21359, the Ease of Access category in Settings has been renamed to Accessibility.


    2 Click/tap on Keyboard on the left side, and turn on or off (default) Underline access key shortcuts in menus when they are available on the right side for what you want. (see screenshot below)

    3 You can now close Settings if you like.

    Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus in Windows 10-underline_keyboard_shortcuts_in_menus-settings.jpg






    OPTION TWO

    Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus in Control Panel


    1 Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click/tap on the Ease of Access Center icon.

    2 Click/tap on the Make the keyboard easier to use link. (see screenshot below)

    Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus in Windows 10-underline_keyboard_shortcuts_in_menus-control_panel-1.jpg

    3 Under Make it easier to use keyboard shortcuts, check (on) or uncheck (off default) Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys for what you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

    Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus in Windows 10-underline_keyboard_shortcuts_in_menus-control_panel-2.jpg






    OPTION THREE

    Turn On or Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus using a REG file


    The downloadable .reg files below will modify the string value in the registry key below.

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Accessibility\Keyboard Preference

    On string value

    0 = Off
    1 = On


    1 Do step 2 (on) or step 3 (off) below for what you would like to do.


    2 To Turn On Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus

    A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

    Turn_ON_underline_keyboard_shortcuts_in_menus.reg

    Download


    3 To Turn Off Underline Access Key Shortcuts in Menus

    This is the default setting.

    A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

    Turn_OFF_underline_keyboard_shortcuts_in_menus.reg

    Download


    4 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

    5 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

    6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

    7 Sign out and sign in to apply.

    8 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.


    That's it,
    Shawn






  1. Posts : 19
    Win 10
       #1

    Can someone suggest, how to add an Underline Access Key Shortcut to a cascading menu item in Desktop Context Menu, whether existing by default, or new item manually added by a user?
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 68,652
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #2

    Hello zamar,

    You could try placing "&" symbol in the entry name before the letter you want to make shortcut from, e.g.: "&Open", "C&lose".
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 19
    Win 10
       #3

    Thanks. It works perfect.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 68,652
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #4

      My Computers


  5. Posts : 2
    Multiple
       #5

    Please, can anyone show a method which works for always for _all_ programs?
    Many many programs still don't show underlined characters after setting above setting. For example, the Brave browser.

    The keys actually work (in many programs), but it is a complete guess to find out which key does what - you might even accidently trigger something harmful, by using the wrong shortcut key.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 42
    Win11 Enterprise 23H2
       #6

    Which registry key do I add/alter the ampersand


    Which registry key do I add/alter the ampersand to? I am unable to find any concrete info. I am using win 10 and win 11. Thanks.
    -Gamma
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 1
    Windows 10
       #7

    Not working in Windows 11. =(. Is a PC restart required?
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 68,652
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #8

    Apocalypse612 said:
    Not working in Windows 11. =(. Is a PC restart required?
    Hello, and welcome.

    A restart shouldn't be required, but here's an updated tutorial below for Windows 11.

    Turn On or Off Underline Access Keys in Windows 11 Tutorial | Windows 11 Forum
      My Computers


 

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