Accessing the menus using the keyboard

[richardyates]

I've just downloaded v 2.3 for Mac OS X (X11) version).

As a long term PC user, I switched to a Mac 2 years ago and haven't really looked back except that, as a long term excel user, I can achieve pretty much whatever I want using keystroke combinations.

Judging from the way File has the F underlined, Edit has the E underlined and so on, it looks as though I could probably move over to openoffice relatively easily, if only I could find out how to select the menu using keystrokes.

So that's my complete beginner question. in excel I can go <alt>f, s to paste special something, is there an equivalent way to access the menus and options under them from the keyboard

[floris v]

Use the command key (with the Apple logo on it) instead of the alt key.

If this solves your problem, please edit the first post of this thread (Edit button) and add [Solved] to the subject line. And while you are at it, please add something about the Mac to the title to make it more informative for other new Mac users with the same question.

[Hagar Delest]

please add something about the Mac to the title to make it more informative for other new Mac users with the same question.

I move the thread to the Mac forum.

[richardyates]

Thanks for the quick replies and sorry for the delay in getting back to you

Pressing the apple key doesn't produce the behaviour I'm looking for - for example pressing <apple>F doesn't give me the "File" menu - it gives "find and replace"; similarly pressing <apple> E gives me a capital E in the middle of the top line, not access to the "Edit" menu.

I was just hoping that since various menus and options have underlined letters, that this mean t there was some way of getting to them via keystrokes.

That said on my 2GB Ram Intel Mac Mini I'm having problems getting the program to run with anything like convincing speed, so it might be a case of looking elsewhere

Is there any way to get the menus using keystrokes?