Alt+Space doesn't work from Settings pages #18665

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opened 2026-01-31 06:20:46 +00:00 by claunia · 0 comments
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Originally created by @DHowett on GitHub (Oct 13, 2022).

Originally assigned to: @carlos-zamora on GitHub.

Accessibility issue. Cannot access system menu from keyboard.

Open Terminal to say a command prompt. Hit Alt+Space to open the system menu, and then pick "Settings". Now hit Alt+Space to open the system menu again, say because you want to maximize the terminal.

Expect: System menu opens.
Actual: Nothing happens.

The only way to get Alt+Space to work is to click on a blank space on the title bar (to get focus out of the Settings pane). However, there is no way to get focus onto the title bar via the keyboard. Alt+Up can't go up that high.

Alt+Space is a very common keyboard shortcut and users expect it to work universally. Requiring a click on the title bar defeats the purpose of a keyboard shortcut.

Originally created by @DHowett on GitHub (Oct 13, 2022). Originally assigned to: @carlos-zamora on GitHub. Accessibility issue. Cannot access system menu from keyboard. Open Terminal to say a command prompt. Hit Alt+Space to open the system menu, and then pick "Settings". Now hit Alt+Space to open the system menu again, say because you want to maximize the terminal. Expect: System menu opens. Actual: Nothing happens. The only way to get Alt+Space to work is to click on a blank space on the title bar (to get focus out of the Settings pane). However, there is no way to get focus onto the title bar via the keyboard. Alt+Up can't go up that high. Alt+Space is a very common keyboard shortcut and users expect it to work universally. Requiring a click on the title bar defeats the purpose of a keyboard shortcut.
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Reference: starred/terminal#18665