What is the difference between a keyboard accelerator and a shortcut key?

accelerator, keyboard, keyboard-shortcuts

Solution

For Windows, a keyboard accelerator is represented by an underlined letter on a button, menu or other label:

keyboard accelerator http://content.screencast.com/users/TreefortJohn/folders/Jing/media/70d5002f-5832-448a-9379-256b7a8c4fd7/2009-01-12_2304.png

On recent versions of Windows, they are hidden until you press the Alt key. Then you can hit that letter to select the menu, button or other input control.

A shortcut key typically does not have a visual representation, except for when they're listed in menus. Ctrl-C, Ctrl-X, Ctrl-V are examples of common shortcut keys, which you can see listed next to their respective menu items.

About Keyboard Accelerators

Problem

What is the difference between a keyboard accelerator and a shortcut key?

Original source