Kex help

Getting started

Kex brings several services into one keyboard-controlled app. An instance is a place for one account or service, such as Telegram, TeamTalk or Radio. A buffer is a list inside that instance, such as an open conversation, a folder of emails or your favorite radio stations.

Use Windows+Alt+Shift+N to add an instance. Choose a service and follow its setup steps. Optional services must be enabled and installed in Settings first. You can keep several conversations and other buffers open, then move between them.

This guide lists default shortcuts. Hold the modifier keys, then press the last key. Windows means the Windows logo key. Apostrophe means the quote key ('). Minus and Equals refer to the main keyboard keys. Some key positions depend on your keyboard layout.

When an action says "toggle", press it to turn the option on, and press it again to turn it off.

If you use a custom KMP keymap or have changed a shortcut, open the current instance's help with Windows+Alt+H (or your replacement shortcut). That help shows your effective shortcuts, including actions added by installed modules. A shortcut can do different things in different instances. Some actions need a selected message, a connected server or permission.

This saved guide is not overwritten by updates. It describes the defaults available when it was created; use in-app help for later changes.

Moving around

These controls work across instances. A buffer is a list inside an instance; switching instances moves to another account or service.

Telegram

Add a Telegram instance and enter your phone number in international format. Follow the sign-in instructions. Telegram decides where to send the code; check the method shown by Kex. Enter your two-step verification password if Telegram asks for it.

Move through the chat list and open a chat with Windows+Alt+Enter. Move through messages with the list shortcuts. Windows+Alt+N opens a message editor; Ctrl+Windows+R replies to the selected message. Check the recipient before sending. Open conversations remain available when you move to another instance.

You can send files and voice messages, manage chats, search messages and handle calls. Chat properties include custom sounds. Reading controls, microphone controls and media controls depend on what you have selected or are playing.

The shared controls are in Moving around. The following actions belong to this instance.

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TeamTalk

Add a TeamTalk instance, then use Windows+Alt+L to add or import servers. On the server list, Kex shows whether a server is connected and whether its output is muted. Expand a server or channel to see its contents. Users are inside their channels.

Windows+Alt+Shift+M controls your microphone. Ctrl+Alt+Shift+M controls the selected server's output. These are different actions: muting your microphone does not mute other people. Use server properties to choose audio devices, speech announcements and other server options.

To move people, select each user with Ctrl+Windows+Alt+Space, prepare the selection with Ctrl+Windows+Alt+X, select the destination channel and press Ctrl+Windows+Alt+V. The server must allow you to move those users. The same selection shortcut also selects files when you are in the file list.

Ctrl+Windows+Alt+Shift+M toggles mono for the selected user. On a server it toggles mono for that server. User actions (Windows+Alt+Enter) also include this setting. Server mono takes priority over individual settings. Server properties let you hide dates and times in messages.

Mono combines received left and right audio. Noise suppression filters your microphone. Echo cancellation is a separate server setting for speaker use. Kex reports when audio options cannot be combined. Account management requires server permissions.

The shared controls are in Moving around. The following actions belong to this instance.

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Mail

Add a Mail instance, then add an IMAP/SMTP, Gmail or Microsoft 365 mailbox. Gmail and Microsoft accounts use their browser sign-in. Do not enter those account passwords into another provider's setup form.

Each mailbox appears in the Mailboxes buffer. Windows+Alt+Enter opens its folders in a buffer; opening a folder creates a message-list buffer. Opening a message creates a line buffer. Use the buffer shortcuts to return to a list you already opened. Open mail buffers and their positions are saved for the next start. Mailbox options also open as a buffer; activate an option to change its value. On IMAP servers supporting IDLE, new mail is fetched when the server announces it. Other servers keep periodic refresh.

There are three ways to read a selected email:

• Windows+Alt+Enter: read one line at a time in a buffer. On a line containing a link, use the same shortcut to open it or choose between links.
• Windows+Alt+V: open a read-only text window.
• Ctrl+Windows+Alt+H: open a separate HTML window with clickable links and images. Remote images need an internet connection. Use Alt+Tab to reach the window and Alt+F4 or Ctrl+W to close it.

Use Ctrl+Windows+Alt+Shift+N to add another mailbox to the same Mail instance. Ctrl+Windows+Alt+Space selects or unselects a message. Select several messages, then use Alt+Windows+Shift+Delete to apply your mailbox's delete action to the selection in the current folder. Other folders are not affected. Permanent deletion still follows your confirmation setting. If an operation fails, Kex reports the confirmed count and keeps unconfirmed messages selected; refresh before retrying. Mail lists follow the message and chat ordering settings; reversed chat order also reverses open mail buffer navigation.

Alt+Windows+Shift+Y opens a settings buffer for the selected mailbox. Use the ordinary list navigation shortcuts to choose an action and Windows+Alt+Enter to activate it. Use the close-buffer shortcut to return. Settings keep their mailbox and selection when you switch buffers or instances. New mail buffers use the normal opening and closing sounds from your sound pack; refreshing a buffer does not replay them. Inboxes refresh automatically every minute. Mailbox settings let you refresh other folders, sign in again and choose sounds. Mailbox options let you turn off spoken new-mail notifications, choose whether Alt+Windows+Shift+Delete opens a menu, moves to Trash or deletes permanently, and turn off permanent-deletion confirmation. The message actions menu lets you move mail to Trash or restore it. Permanent deletion depends on the provider and granted permissions.

The shared controls are in Moving around. The following actions belong to this instance.

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Radio

Search for stations, open a stream address or add a favorite. Select a station and press Windows+Alt+Enter to start or stop it. Playback can continue while you use other instances.

Favorites can be sorted alphabetically, by the time they were added or in a manual order. Open Favorites before using its sort and move commands. You can also import stations from a supported session JSON file.

Station properties let you turn on automatic announcements when the current song changes. The station must send this information. When enabled, announcements can be heard while you are elsewhere in Kex. Recording is a separate action from playback.

The shared controls are in Moving around. The following actions belong to this instance.

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Media player and IPTV

Open local audio or video files, a stream address or an M3U playlist. Playlist categories open as separate buffers. Moving to another buffer does not stop playback. Player settings include playlist import, sorting, video and Windows default-player setup.

Video is off by default: you hear audio without a video window. Turn video on when you want the picture. Alt+Tab reaches that window; Alt+F4 closes the picture while audio continues.

Switch audio tracks when the current channel or file provides more than one, for example another language or audio description. Kex reports when no other track is available. Removing an item from a playlist does not delete the original media file.

The shared controls are in Moving around. The following actions belong to this instance.

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RSS

Add an RSS instance, then add feed addresses or import subscriptions from an OPML file. Open a feed to read its articles. Use the text command to read an article's text and the link command to open its page. For articles with supported media, the activation command downloads or plays the media.

You can search articles, mark a feed as read and control automatic reading. Removing a feed removes the subscription from this instance; it does not delete the website.

The shared controls are in Moving around. The following actions belong to this instance.

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Mastodon

If Mastodon is available and enabled in your installation, add an instance and sign in to your Mastodon server. Open a timeline and select a post to read it or use its actions.

The social menu opens notification, conversation and profile-related buffers. It also gives access to followers, followed accounts and your activity. Profile actions depend on whose profile you opened. You can write posts, reply, edit your own posts and sign in again.

Mastodon direct messages are posts with restricted visibility, not end-to-end encrypted chats. Check the recipients and visibility before sending.

The shared controls are in Moving around. The following actions belong to this instance.

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Settings and updates

Use the instance-switching shortcuts to reach Settings. Use the buffer shortcuts to move between settings categories, the list shortcuts to choose an item and Windows+Alt+Enter to change it.

Settings include language, speech, sounds, devices, shortcuts and updates. Each provider also has its own options. For example, TeamTalk server properties apply to that server, while mailbox sound choices belong to the selected mailbox.

Use Windows+Alt+Shift+U to check for module updates. Read the changes and follow the update and restart prompts. Client updates are in Settings, under Updates. A module update adds or fixes a service; a client update changes shared parts of Kex.

To use a custom KMP file, select it in the shortcut settings. Missing actions fall back to their defaults. If keys conflict, Kex offers choices instead of silently replacing your bindings. In-app help shows the active shortcuts for the current instance.

Inside a normal editor or dialog, Tab and Shift+Tab move between controls. Enter activates a focused button. Use the named Send button when you are ready to send. Alt+Tab switches between separate message windows. Global Kex shortcuts are different from plain Enter.

Tips and troubleshooting

• If a shortcut does nothing, check the active instance and selected item, then open its help.
• If sound is missing, check the output device, volume and mute state. In TeamTalk, also check your microphone and the selected server's output.
• If a sign-in code does not arrive, follow the delivery information shown in Kex. Do not repeatedly request new codes.
• If mail folders look out of date, use Refresh in the mail settings. Returning to an already open buffer does not necessarily fetch everything again.
• If something fails, note what you were doing and the time. Use the feedback action or the log tools in Settings when reporting it. Never include passwords or sign-in codes.

New installations include this guide. After an update or restart, Kex restores help.html only when it is missing. To replace an old guide with the version bundled with your installed client, rename the old file and restart Kex.

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