Using BootIt NG without a Mouse

There are some circumstances in which it may be necessary or desirable to use BootIt NG with mouse support disabled. Fortunately, it is possible to make full use of BootIt NG with a keyboard alone. This article includes some tips for using BootIt NG in this manner.

Keyboard Accelerator Keys

Many parts of the BootIt NG interface make use of keyboard accelerator keys. An accelerator key is simply an individual key that may be pressed to activate a part of the interface, such as a command button. Accelerator keys are denoted by an underscore that appears under the corresponding letter or number. For example, on the BootIt NG desktop, the following icons appear:

Settings
Boot Edit
Partition Work
Image Set
Resume
Backup
Restore
Help
Reboot

Note that the S in Settings is an accelerator key, as indicated by the underscore. The same is true for the W in Partition Work, and so on. This means that if the BootIt NG desktop has focus, you may simply press the S key to access the BootIt NG Settings dialog, or W to access the Partition Work window.

Although it is not necessary to press the Alt key when accelerator keys are used if the area of the interface containing the accelerator key already has focus, it is not a bad habit to always use the Alt key when invoking accelerator keys. For example, you could use Alt+S on the BootIt NG desktop to access the BootIt NG Settings dialog.

The Help and Reboot icons do not have accelerator keys because they each have their own keyboard shortcuts associated with them (F1 and Ctrl+Alt+Delete, respectively). These keyboard shortcuts will be discussed below.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Some BootIt NG functions may be accessed using keyboard shortcuts. These functions, which work in most areas of BootIt NG, are as follows:

Radio Buttons and Check Boxes

To select a check box using the keyboard, press the Tab key until the desired check box is marked with the selection rectangle. Then, press the Space Bar to toggle the check box.

The method for selecting a radio button is similar to that for a check box. The difference is that to select a particular radio button, you press the Tab key until the group of radio buttons is marked with the selection rectangle, and then you use the arrow keys to select the desired radio button. Finally, the Space Bar can be used to activate the radio button.