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Command menu and search

Everything XLR8 can do is in the command menu. Press CtrlCommand K, type a few letters of what you want, and press Enter. You do not need to remember a single shortcut to use the app this way, and the menu shows each action’s shortcut next to it, so you pick them up as you go.

The command menu open over an issue list, with actions grouped by section and their shortcuts on the rightThe command menu open over an issue list, with actions grouped by section and their shortcuts on the right
  1. Press CtrlCommand K, or click the XLR8 button at the top of the sidebar.
  2. Without typing, the menu shows the most common actions. Type to search all of them: “status”, “board”, “labels settings”.
  3. Press Enter to run the highlighted entry.

The menu only lists what makes sense where you are. “Toggle board / list” appears in a view that has a board, “Edit description” on an issue, “Complete sprint” while a sprint is running.

Actions act on the issues you have selected, or on the focused issue if nothing is selected. The search understands English and German words, so “priority” and “priorität” both work, whatever language the app is set to.

When an issue is focused or selected, the command menu also lists values you can set right away. Type “status: in progress”, “prio urgent”, “label bug” or “due tomorrow” and the matching value shows up as one entry. Enter applies it.

The same values are available as pickers with their own shortcuts:

Keys Picker
S Status
P Priority
L Labels
Shift E Estimate
Shift C Sprint
Shift P Project
Shift D Due date
CtrlCommand Shift P Parent issue
CtrlCommand Shift M Move to another team

A few pickers have shortcuts of their own:

  • Status and priority by digit. In the status picker, 1 to 9 pick the statuses in the order of the team’s workflow. In the priority picker, 0 is No priority, 1 Urgent, 2 High, 3 Medium and 4 Low. So P then 1 makes an issue urgent. Digits work as long as you have not typed anything into the picker.
  • Labels stay open so you can toggle several. If you type a name that does not exist, the last entry creates that label and adds it.
  • Estimate accepts any number you type, not just the listed ones.
  • Due date understands words like “today”, “tomorrow”, “next week”, “in 3 days” or a date like “12.10.”, and shows a calendar.

Press / to search issues. Before you type, the list shows the issues you opened recently. Then:

  • Titles and IDs match right away, also with partial words and small typos. Type ACME-42 to find that issue.
  • From three characters on, hits in descriptions and comments follow a moment later, in their own sections with the matching text.
  • Knowledge pages show up too, in their own section, when a team has a knowledge area.
  • An old ID still finds the issue after it moved to another team; the result says “formerly ACME-42”.

While you move through the results, a preview of the highlighted issue appears beside the list. Enter opens the issue.

The command menu searches issues as well: from two typed characters on, matching issues appear below the actions.

These keys work in the command menu, the search and every picker:

Keys Effect
Down arrow or Tab or CtrlCommand J or CtrlCommand N next entry
Up arrow or Shift Tab or CtrlCommand P previous entry
Enter run or pick the highlighted entry
Esc go back one level, or close
BackspaceDelete with an empty search field: back to the previous level (for example in the filter menu)

Right-click an issue in a list or on the board to get the same actions as a menu: status, priority, labels and the other pickers as submenus, relations, copy link, select and delete. On an issue’s own page, the More actions button at the top right opens it. On a phone, a long press opens it. Use the arrow keys to move, Right arrow to open a submenu, Left arrow to leave it, and Enter to choose.

If you right-click an issue that is part of your selection, the menu acts on the whole selection. Otherwise it acts only on the issue you clicked.