Keyboard shortcuts
The complete list of about a dozen keyboard shortcuts in the Private.Ki web app — for switching between Email and Chats, moving through lists and locking.
The web app has a small set of keyboard shortcuts. They cover switching workspace, starting a new message, moving through lists, opening search and locking your account. There is no shortcut editor and no way to change them. Shortcuts do not fire while you are typing in a text field (with the exceptions noted), and they do nothing in the iPhone and Android apps.
Everywhere
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| Esc Esc (twice, quickly) | Lock your account. Closes any open composer windows and clears your unlocked keys; you unlock again with your passphrase or, with Password only, by signing in. Same as Lock account in the account menu. See Lock and log out. |
| g + e | Switch to Email |
| g + h | Switch to Chats |
| c | New email in Email, New chat in Chats |
| Tab | Move focus between the list (left) and the reading pane (right) |
| ← | Focus the list |
| → | Focus the reading pane |
For the two-key shortcuts, hold g and press the second key.
In a list (Email folder or chat list)
Focus the list first (← or Tab).
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| ↑ / ↓ | Select the previous / next email thread or chat |
| Esc | Close the open email or chat and return to the empty Select an email to view / Select a chat to view pane |
In the reading pane
Focus the reading pane first (→ or Tab).
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| ↑ / ↓ | Scroll the open email or chat |
| PageUp / PageDown | Scroll the open email by a page (email only) |
| Esc | Close the open email or chat. In a chat this works even while the cursor is in the message field. In an email, Esc does nothing while you are typing a reply, so it cannot close the mail under you. |
Search (Email only)
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| / | Open mail search |
| ⌘ + K (Mac) / Ctrl + K (Windows, Linux) | Open mail search |
| Esc | Close search |
Search covers subject and people, not message text — see Search. There is no chat search, so these do nothing in Chats.
While writing
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| Enter (in a chat) | Send the message |
| Shift + Enter (in a chat) | New line without sending |
| Esc | Close an open image viewer, emoji picker or menu without closing the message behind it |
The email composer has no send shortcut; click Send.
Things that do not have shortcuts
Archive, trash, star, mark as read, reply, forward and move-to-folder have no keyboard shortcuts. Use the row's context menu (right-click), the buttons in the reading pane, or drag the email to a folder.
Common questions
A shortcut does nothing
Check two things: your cursor is not in a text field (click on empty space first), and no dialog, menu or composer window is open — those take over Esc until closed. The list and reading-pane shortcuts assume the wide two-pane layout; in a narrow window there is only one pane to focus.
Esc closed my email instead of locking
A single Esc closes the open item. Press it twice in quick succession to lock: the first press closes the email, the second completes the lock sequence.
Why isn't "/" opening search?
/ only works in Email and only when the search icon is visible in the sidebar. It is also matched on the character, so it works on any keyboard layout — but not while you are typing in a field, so that you can still type a slash.