Default keyboard shortcutsMotivations and general conventionsAlthough Claws Mail is a graphical application and can mainly be commanded with your mouse, it also requires the frequent use of the keyboard. Composing a mail is the most common of the tasks that require the use of the keyboard. For people who write a lot of mails, having to move hands from keyboard to mouse greatly reduces productivity, so Claws Mail provides keyboard shortcuts to allow faster operation.
This not only benefits power users by providing keyboard alternatives and keyboard navigation, it also enables people with disabilities, (who may not be able to properly control a pointing device), to use Claws Mail.
The most general convention is the key. Focused dialogues or windows can be closed by hitting the key.
There are other key combinations which are assigned by default to menu items. We won't list these here, as they are already shown on the righthand side of the menus themselves, so you can easily learn them with usage. Furthermore, if you don't like them, these shortcuts can be changed on the fly by focusing on the menu item and pressing the desired key combination, but only for key combinations that include the , and/or modifier keys; single keys cannot be assigned. (This is a standard behaviour of GTK2 library based programs like Claws Mail. Note that this behaviour may be disabled by default on some desktops.)
In addition to these shortcuts there are others which vary from window to window, which are summarised in the following sections.
Main windowShortcutPrint...Work offlineSynchronise foldersSave as...ExitCopySelect allFind in current message...Search folder...Toggle threaded displayGoes to next mail in Message List. The arrow does the same.Goes to previous mail. The arrow is a synonym.Goes to next unread mail.Goes to previous unread mail.Go to other folder...Show message sourceShow all message headersToggles the message view panel visibility. When invisible, Message List expands itself to fill the full window height and more summary lines are displayed.Positions the cursor on the Quicksearch field, also opening the Quicksearch panel if needed.Update summaryGet mail from current accountGet mail from all accountsCompose a new messageReplyReply to allReply to mailing listForward messageMove...Copy...Move to trashEmpty all Trash foldersMark messageUnmark messageMark message as unreadOpen address bookExecuteOpen log windowCompose windowShortcutSendSend laterAttach fileInsert fileInsert signatureSaveCloseUndoRedoCutCopyPasteSelect allMove a character backwardMove a character forwardMove to end of lineMove a previous lineMove a next lineDelete a character backwardDelete a character forwardDelete lineDelete to end of lineWrap current paragraphWrap all long linesToggle auto wrappingEdit with external editorOpen address book