Gmail has taken over an important keyboard shortcut (cmd+<), how can I override this?

I am using Chrome on OS/X, on a Norwegian keyboard. I have set up Cmd+< as an OS/X keyboard shortcut for "Move focus to next window", which I use to cycle between windows in Chrome.

A while ago (maybe 6 months?), I noticed that the keyboard shortcut stopped working while I was in Gmail. Nothing happens in Gmail either. The shortcut is not listed in the Gmail keyboard shortcut list (which is shown if I do Shift+?), and it doesn't work if I disable keyboard shortcuts either. If I do Cmd+L to move focus to the address bar, the shortcut works again..

This is very frustrating since I use Gmail a lot, and I have to do a few extra keystrokes every time I switch window.

Any ideas on how this can be fixed in Gmail??

andersaa

Posted 2013-05-15T13:16:41.250

Reputation: 41

+1 for Swedish. This broke in Chrome more than a year ago. I'm thinking of leaving gmail for a desktop client because of this. I first need to switch tab before I can switch window. Really lame. – Viktor Hedefalk – 2013-09-11T13:28:17.257

Answers

In Settings > Labs section there's an experiment that allows you to set custom shortcuts.
Hope it is what you are looking for.

Andrea Gottardi

Posted 2013-05-15T13:16:41.250

Reputation: 447

Unfortunately, no. It only lists the same shortcuts as shift+? and it doesn't list cmd+<. – andersaa – 2013-05-21T08:35:23.623

The same here with a german keyboard. I did not find any solutions to get back a working CMD-< (or CMD-Backtick on english keyboards) shortcut in GMail. But I came up with a solution that involves getting accustomed to a new shortcut for cycling through application windows.

You can change this shortcut in System Preferences. Just go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts. Then choose "Keyboard & Text Input" on the left and change the shortcut for the "Move focus to next window in application" option to a shortcut you like. I chose ALT-TAB. (Of course, on a non-english system the wording is different.)

Now I can again cycle through the application windows. And I learned that the ALT-TAB shortcut is easier to use than CMD-< on my german keyboard.

z80crew

Posted 2013-05-15T13:16:41.250

Reputation: 101

The OP knows this already, and this doesn't answer the question he's asking – Canadian Luke – 2014-04-16T15:51:36.267

There are two possible answers to his question. The first is: There is no solution, it's a Chrome bug. This may be the most correct answer, but it's completely useless. So I decided to give the second possible answer, which is of course a kind of workaround. I'm not sure the OP knows that he can change the CMD-< shortcut, cause this shortcut is the default on non-english keyboards. – z80crew – 2014-04-17T14:45:46.517

There is a Chrome plugin called Shortcut Manager which can do this.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/shortcut-manager/mgjjeipcdnnjhgodgjpfkffcejoljijf

You can use it to create shortkeys.

vembutech

Posted 2013-05-15T13:16:41.250

Reputation: 5 693