What is a “Hotkey”?¶
A “Hotkey” is a key or a combination of keys on a computer keyboard that when pressed performs a function or task (such as starting an application) more quickly than by using a mouse or other input device. Hotkeys are sometimes called “shortcut keys” and are supported by many operating systems and applications.
How are “Hotkeys” used in GridTracker?¶
GridTracker Hotkeys allow you to bypass menus to perform functions. However, some GridTracker functions that are available only by using a Hotkey; they aren’t available in the program menus.
So is there a master “Hotkey” list specifically for GridTracker?¶
The GridTracker Hotkey list even has its own specific Hotkey to get to it while using the program. Note: at the bottom of the HotKey menu is a button you can click so you can print out the list.
| Hotkey List (v1.21.0620) |
Key |
Action |
Key |
Action |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Show General Map Layer |
Q |
Cycle Logbook/Live View |
2 |
Show CQ Zones Award Layer |
R |
Open Call Roster Window |
3 |
Show ITU Zones Award Layer |
S |
Open Settings Menu |
4 |
Show Continents Award Layer |
T |
Toggle RX Spots over Grids |
5 |
Show US States Award Layer |
right-clickempty grid, T |
Add TTS Alert |
6 |
Show DXCC Award Layer |
U |
Toggle Award Layer Merge |
7 |
Show US Counties Award Layer |
right-clickempty grid, V |
Add PopUp Alert |
8 |
Show US Continental Grids Award Layer |
W |
Toggle Maidenhead Grid Size |
9 |
Toggle Timezone Overlay |
X |
Toggle Map Position Info |
0 |
Toggle US Nexrad Overlay |
Y |
Toggle Global Lightning |
= |
Cycle Award Layers |
Z |
Center Map on QTH Grid |
A |
Toggle Active Path Animation |
F1 |
Hotkey List (This List) |
B |
Toggle Maidenheadb Grid Overlay |
F5 |
Recall Map Position 1 |
C |
Open Conditions Windows |
Shift-F5 |
Store Map Position 1 |
D |
Toggle Moon Tracking |
F6 |
Recall Map Position 2 |
E |
Toggle 24h Moon Trajectory |
Shift-F6 |
Store Map Position 2 |
F |
Toggle RX Spots Flight |
F7 |
Recall Map Position 3 |
G |
Toggle GridTracker Flags |
Shift-F7 |
Store Map Position 3 |
H |
Toggle RX Spots Heatmap |
F8 |
Recall Map Position 4 |
I |
Open Stats/Info |
Shift-F8 |
Store Map Position 4q |
K |
Capture Screenshot |
F9 |
Recall Map Position 5 |
L |
Open ADIF file |
Shift-F9 |
Store Map Position 5 |
M |
Toggle Audio Mute |
F10 |
Recall Map Position 6 |
right-clickempty grid, M |
Add MapCenter Alert |
Shift-F10 |
Store Map Position 6 |
N |
Toggle Grayline |
F11 |
Toggle Fullscreen |
O |
Toggle RX Spots |
F12 |
Toggle Sidebar Menu |
P |
Toggle Grid/PushPin Modep |
Hotkey Details¶
[1] Show Base Map Layer
Shows the base GridTracker map layer without any overlays. Pressing the “1” on the keyboard will clear any previously selected overlays (no data will be lost).
[2] Show CQ Zones Award Overlay
Shows the CQ Zones map overlay. This layer shows all the individual CQ zones around the world. Specific zones that are listed as “confirmed” in your GridTracker log file are highlighted on the map for use when hunting this award. Note: “Confirmed” as used here and for all the other award overlays means you “confirmed” the QSO within WSJT-X. It does not necessarily mean that the QSO’s have been confirmed by the other station(s) involved!
[3] Show ITU Zones Award Overlay
Shows the ITU Zones map overlay. This layer shows all the individual ITU zones around the world. Specific zones that are listed as “confirmed” in your GridTracker log file are highlighted on the map for use when hunting this award. See explanation of what “confirmed” means under the CQ Zones Award Layer explanation above.
[4] Show Worked All Continents Award Overlay
Shows the Continents map overlay. This layer shows all the individual Continents around the world. Specific continents that are listed as “confirmed” in your GridTracker log file are highlighted on the map for use when hunting the “Worked All Continents” award. See explanation of what “confirmed” means under the CQ Zones Award Layer explanation above.
[5] Show U.S. States Award Overlay
Shows the U.S. States map layer outlining each of the 50 States individually. Specific states that are listed as “confirmed” in your GridTracker log file are highlighted on the map for use when hunting the “Worked All States” award. See explanation of what “confirmed” means under the CQ Zones Award Layer explanation above.
[6] Show DXCC Award Overlay
This map layer individually outlines every single DXCC entity around the world. Specific DXCC locations that are listed as “confirmed” in your GridTracker log file are highlighted on the map. This layer is especially useful for those hunting the coveted DXCC Award. See explanation of what “confirmed” means under the CQ Zones Award Layer explanation above.
[7] Show U.S. Counties Award Overlay
Shows the U.S. States map layer by individual counties. This layer shows all the individual 50 U.S. States. Specific states that are listed as “confirmed” in your GridTracker log file are highlighted on the map for use when hunting the “Worked All States” award. See explanation of what “confirmed” means under the CQ Zones Award Layer explanation above.
[8] Show U.S. Continental Grids Award Overlay
Shows the U.S. States map layer by individual Grid Squares for the 48 Contiguous States (which does not include Alaska or Hawaii). Specific grid squares that are listed as “confirmed” in your GridTracker log file are highlighted on the map for use when hunting this award. See explanation of what “confirmed” means under the CQ Zones Award Layer explanation above.
[9] Toggle Timezone Overlay
Pressing this Hotkey toggles the world time zones overlay on and off.
Important Note: the time zone overlay cannot be used on top of or in conjunction with award overlays.
[0] Toggle U.S. NEXRAD Overlay Pressing this Hotkey toggles the NEXRAD overlay on and off for the 50 U.S. States. NEXRAD or Nexrad (Next-Generation Radar) is a network of 159 high-resolution S-band Doppler weather radars operated by the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) and other U.S. entities.
[=] Cycle Award Overlays
Pressing the “=” on the keyboard will continuously cycle the map views to show the awards layers discussed above and back to the base map view. To clear any overlay immediately simply press the [1] key to return to the base map view.
Note: You can’t turn on any award overlays (or cycle the awards) while the time zone overlay is in use.
[A] Toggle Active Path Animation
Pressing this Hotkey toggles the GridTracker QSX and QRZ path animations on or off. When off, the paths shown on the map will become solid lines instead of actively animated paths. This is a user preference and has no impact on making a contact.
[B] Toggle Maidenhead Grid Numbering Overlay
Pressing this Hotkey toggles the world wide grid squares overlay on and off. Depending on the map’s zoom level it will show either major (2 digit) or minor (4 digit) grid square information. As you zoom in and out on the map, the grid information will fill or reduce as space is available.
[C] Open Conditions Window
Pressing this Hotkey opens the Solar-Terrestrial Data window. This information is useful for those seeking more detailed information on solar-terrestrial interactions and associated Amateur Radio band conditions. The data is taken from http://www.hamqsl.com/. Close the window by clicking the corner “x”.
[D] Toggle Moon Tracking
Pressing this Hotkey toggles the moon icon on the map either on or off. The icon shows the moon’s relative current location in its rotation around the Earth. This is especially useful for those wanting to work digital EME (Earth-Moon-Earth) contacts.
[E] Toggle 24 Hour Moon Trajectory – Function Available Only Via Hotkey
Pressing this Hotkey toggles the moon trajectory line on the map either on or off. The trajectory line shows the moon’s predicted position around the Earth over the next 24 hours. This is especially useful for those wanting to work digital EME (Earth-Moon-Earth) contacts.
Note: this key functions only when the the moon tracking icon is turned on.
[F] Toggle Spots Flight
Pressing this Hotkey toggles PSK Spots flight paths on or off. When on, the flight paths for all spots will be shown. Spot paths are not animated.
[G] Toggle GridTracker Flags
Pressing this Hotkey toggles the GridTracker Flag icon to show “live GT/Log4OM users”, “live GT/Log4OM users on your current band”, or off. When toggled to “live GT/Log4OM users”, the flags shown on the map denote all the users that are currently using GridTracker and are connected to the OAMS network. When cycled to “live GT/Log4OM users in band”, only those currently using GridTracker or Log4OM in the current band you are working will have flags shown. Off is self-explanatory.
[H] Toggle Spots Heatmap– Function Available Only Via Hotkey
Pressing this Hotkey toggles the Spots heatmap on or off. When its on, the heatmap for all spots will be shown. You have a choice of seeing the heatmap or the PSK dots/lines but not both. If you turn the heat map on via the hotkey H then when you click on the SPOTS function (or Hotkey “O”) you see the heat map. You have to go back and hit the Hotkey “H” to turn the heat mapping off.
[I] Open Stats / Info Window
Pressing this Hotkey opens the GridTracker Statistics window. This window shows all the GridTracker statistics that are captured under your callsign including logbook info, award hunting status, live contact and decode info, and much more in the “Scores” stats. This window is especially useful for anyone looking for more detailed information of how they have been using GridTracker.
[J] (no function assigned to J as of 7/15/2021)
[K] Capture Screenshot
This Hotkey captures a screenshot of the current GridTracker view. Can be used for personal historical purposes (like if you made an especially hard contact that you want to capture the GridTracker map view info for), or for more routine things such as submitting to the GridTracker.org team as part of a support request (which helps us immensely when working on bug fixes). It creates a .png that is placed in ~Documents/GridTracker/screenshots and copied to your clipboard for easy pasting.
[L] Open ADIF File
This Hotkey opens a dialog where you can select any .ADIF / .ADI logbook available on your local computer or network to load into GridTracker.
If you are running a windows system the default file directory that’s opened is:
C:\Users\[name]\OneDrive\Documents\GridTracker\*.*
If you are running a Mac the default file directory that’s opened is:
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
If you are running a Linnux system…..
If you are running a Raspberry Pi system……….
[M] Toggle Audio Mute
This Hotkey toggles the audio settings in GridTracker on or off. When off, any audio alerts or audio sounds produced by GridTracker will be disabled. Toggling this back on will re-enable all audio sounds.
[Right-Click a grid, M] - Add Map Center Alert
This Hotkey combination is performed by right-clicking an empty grid square and then pressing the M-Key. This will add a visual alert if WSJT-X detects a transmission from a station in the grid square you selected. If a transmission comes through the GridTracker map will move to recenter the map on that grid. (This is useful for hunting specific grid squares without using the Call Roster.) Any alerts created by this Hotkey can be seen in the “Settings” window under the “Alerts” tab.
Note: This alert can be set only for those grid where you have no QSO’s yet
[N] Toggle Grayline
This Hotkey turns the GridTracker’s “Grayline” band either on or off. The “gray line” is a band around the Earth that separates daylight from darkness.
[O] Toggle PSK Spots
Pressing this Hotkey toggles the PSK Spots on or off. When on, the location of all PSK Spots will be shown for the period of time defined in the sidebar menu.
[P] Toggle Grid / Push Pin Mode
This Hotkey toggles the view for each live contact from the standard Grid Square colored blocks to an individual Push Pin for each individual callsign. Push pin colors are set by band in MH6 mode and default ‘red’ in MH4. This mode is a tribute to the “PSK-Reporter.info” display style.
[Q] Cycle Logbook / Live View
This Hotkey cycles your map view (in either Grid or PushPin mode) to show one of three data settings; all of the live decodes that GridTracker contains for the current mode and band, all of the contacts that your GridTracker logbook contains overall for that mode and band, or a combination of both. Changing modes or bands will change the data that is shown.
[R] Open Call Roster Window
This Hotkey opens the Call Roster window in GridTracker. The Call Roster and its uses are explained in the “What is the Call Roster” Section of this manual.
[S] Open Settings
This Hotkey opens the Settings window in GridTracker. The various tabs listed in the Settings window are explained in other sections of this manual, and these sections should be referenced prior to making any changes you may be unfamiliar with.
[T] Toggle SPOTS over Grids
Pressing this Hotkey toggles the Spots on or off as an overlay of the standard Grid View. When on, the location of all Spots will be shown for the period of time defined in the sidebar menu.
[Right-Click a grid, T] Add TTS (Text-to-Speech) Alert
This Hotkey combination is performed by right-clicking an empty grid square and then pressing the T-Key. This will add an audio alert if WSJT-X detects a transmission from a station in the grid square you selected. (This is useful for hunting specific grid squares without using the Call Roster.) Any alerts created by this Hotkey can be seen in the “Settings” window under the “Alerts” tab.
Note: This alert can be set only for those grid where you as yet have no QSOs
[U] Toggle Award Layer Merge
Pressing this Hotkey while an Award Layer is active allows the Award Layer to overlay the active map information (live decodes, logbook data, SPOTS, etc.). This is useful when searching a specific area on the map for a contact and can show the award that a contact in that area may provide input to.
