Keyhop help

Getting started

Keyhop lives in the notification area (the tray) at the right of the taskbar. The first time it starts, a short setup lets you practice on a few targets, pick your hint shortcut and label letters.

• Press Ctrl+Alt+Space in any window to show the labels, then type one to click it.
• Left-click the tray icon for the flyout: the Click hints switch, your shortcut, Exclude this app, Quick tips and Settings.
• Right-click the tray icon to Pause Keyhop for an hour, until tomorrow or until you resume it.

If the icon is hidden under the ^ arrow, drag it onto the taskbar so it is always visible.

Clicking with hints

Labels sit at the top-left corner of each element, so they cover as little of its text as possible.

• Type a label to click it. Labels that no longer fit fade as you type.
• Shift + last letter: right click.
• Ctrl + last letter: Ctrl+click, which opens links in a new tab.
• Alt + last letter: moves the pointer there without clicking.
• Last letter twice: double-click.
• Backspace removes the last letter, and Esc closes the hints without clicking.

A single click on a list or tree item selects it; the double-click opens it. Buttons, check boxes and links are never pressed twice by accident.

The hints close after a click, when another app comes to the front, after 60 seconds without a key, or when you press the shortcut again. To keep clicking, choose Stay in hint mode in Settings › Behavior.

Search and scroll

Search: press Space after the hint shortcut, then type part of a name. Typing a letter that no label starts with switches to search too. Enter clicks the first match and Tab picks the next. In Settings › Behavior, choose whether a search matches words that start with the text or anything that contains it. You can also set a separate search shortcut in Settings › General.

Scroll: press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+J, then:

• j and k scroll down and up, h and l sideways.
• d and u move half a page.
• g goes to the top and Shift+G to the bottom.
• Esc stops scrolling.

Scrolling goes to the focused pane, or to the one under the pointer.

Shortcuts and exclusions

In Settings › General, click a shortcut box and press the keys you want. Backspace removes it. Shortcuts that Narrator, NVDA or JAWS use are refused, and Use screen-reader-friendly defaults sets ones that don't clash. Pause has no shortcut until you give it one. If another app already owns a shortcut, Keyhop tells you once and the rest keeps working.

In Settings › Exclusions, list the apps that should never show hints. Remote desktops, virtual machines and common games are there to start with. While an excluded app is in front, Keyhop's shortcuts go to that app. Use Pick running app…, or Exclude this app in the tray flyout. Apps running full-screen exclusive never get hints.

For apps with lots of tiny icons, add a per-app minimum element size on the same page.

Things Windows decides

• Apps running as administrator are kept apart by Windows, so Keyhop can't label their buttons. It says so once, and everything else keeps working.
• Apps that don't share their buttons with accessibility tools get no labels. Keyhop shows a notification once for each such app and suggests search or excluding it. It respects Focus and Do Not Disturb.
• Browsers and similar apps build their list of buttons only when asked, so the first press after such a window opens can take a moment longer.
• Very large windows with thousands of controls can take too long to answer. The status pill says so; try again in a moment.

Keyboard shortcuts

These work from anywhere in Windows while Keyhop is running.

Trial and license

Keyhop is free to try for 14 days, with everything turned on. After that: Hint and search mode keep working for 20 clicks a day (a double-click counts once). Scroll mode needs a license.

Entering your license key

1. Buy a license. Your key appears on screen as soon as the payment goes through, and arrives by email.
2. In Keyhop, open the License page in Settings.
3. Paste the key and choose Activate. The PC needs to be online for this step.

Using it on more than one PC

One key works on up to 3 PCs. To move it to a new PC, deactivate it on the old one from the License page first. If the old PC is gone, free up its place at Manage devices, using the email address you bought with or the key itself.

Once activated, Keyhop works offline. When it's online it checks the license about once a week, so a refunded or revoked key stops working on its next check.

Bought Keyhop in the Microsoft Store? The Store edition is licensed through your Microsoft account instead, and doesn't use a key.

Updates

To get the latest version, choose Check for updates in Keyhop. It asks before installing anything.

Each update is checked against a fingerprint (SHA-256) before it runs, and installs over the current version without touching your data. Updates for the Microsoft Store edition come through the Store.

See what’s new in each version.

Your data and uninstalling

Keyhop keeps its settings and data on your PC, in this folder (paste it into File Explorer’s address bar to open it):

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Hedgerow\Keyhop

To back it up, quit Keyhop and copy that folder.

To uninstall, open Windows Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find Keyhop and choose Uninstall. The uninstaller asks whether to remove your data too.

Still stuck?

Email support@hedgerowapps.com and we’ll get back to you. Mention your Keyhop version (shown in Settings › About) and your Windows version. More answers are on the support page.