Several conventions are used throughout jEdit's user interface and this manual. They will be described here. Macintosh users should note how their modifier keys map to the terms used in the manual.
| >> | The command contained in the submenu of the menu. | 
| > | Menu items that end with ellipsis (...) display dialog boxes. | 
| C | The primary modifier key in jEdit. On MacOS X, this is actually the key known as “Command”. On most other keyboards, this key is labelled “Control”. | 
| A | The secondary modifier key in jEdit. On MacOS X, this is actually the key labelled “Control”. On most other keyboards, this key is labelled “Alt”. | 
| S | The standard “Shift” key. | 
| C+o | Refers to pressing and holding the Controlkey, pressing and releasingO, and finally releasing theControlkey. | 
| C+e C+j | Refers to holding down Control,
                    pressingE, pressingJ,
                    and releasingControl. | 
| Default buttons | In many dialog boxes, the default button (it has a
                    heavy outline, or a special border, depending on the current
                    Swing look and feel) can be activated by pressing Enter. Similarly, pressingEscapewill usually close a dialog
                    box. | 
| Alt-key mnemonics | Some user interface elements (menus, menu items,
                    buttons) have a certain letter in their label underlined.
                    Pressing this letter in combination with the Altkey activates the associated user
                    interface widget. The "F10" key can also be pressed to put
                    focus on the menu bar, it has the same functionality as the 
                    Alt key in Windows. Note that this functionality is not
                    available on MacOS X with the “MacOS Adaptive”
                    look and feel. See the section called “The Appearance Pane” for
                    information on changing the look and feel. | 
| Right mouse button | Used in jEdit to show context-sensitive menus. If you
                    have a one button Macintosh mouse, a Control-click has the same effect. | 
| Middle mouse button | Used by the quick copy feature (see the section called “Quick Copy”). True 3-button mice are rare these
                    days. If you have a wheel mouse, press down on the wheel
                    without rolling it. On a Macintosh with a one-button mouse, Option-click. On other platforms without a
                    three-button mouse,Alt-click. |