Keyboard Shortcuts
Desktop POS can run a complete sale from the keyboard and barcode scanner — scan, adjust quantities, take payment and fiscalize without touching the mouse. This page lists every shortcut and walks through a keyboard-only sale.
Quick Reference
A short legend of the most-used keys is always visible at the bottom of the sales screen. The full list:
Sales screen
Key | Action |
|---|---|
F1 | Cancel the current sale (asks for a manager PIN). With an empty cart, jumps to the search box |
F2 | Take payment — opens the payment dialog |
F3 | Hold the current sale. With an empty cart, shows the held sales |
F4 | Recall a held sale |
F5 | Shift summary (cash in/out, close shift) |
F6 or Ctrl+F | Jump to the search box |
F7 | Attach a customer |
F8 | Discount the selected cart line |
Shift+F8 | Discount the whole sale |
F9 | Add a custom item (name, price, tax label) |
↑ / ↓ | Select the previous / next cart line |
NumPad + / NumPad − | Increase / decrease the quantity of the selected line |
NumPad * | Type an exact quantity for the selected line |
Del | Remove the selected line (when the search box is empty) |
Enter | Add the product typed in the search box |
Esc | Clear the search box |
Note: The sales-screen shortcuts above are ignored while a dialog is open, so a stray key press never jumps away from a payment in progress. From any other page, F1–F4 bring you back to the sales screen.
Dialogs
Key | Action |
|---|---|
Enter | Confirm — the dialog's main button (Apply, Add Item, Search, Send, …) |
Esc | Close the dialog without changes |
Tab / Shift+Tab | Move between fields and buttons; focus stays inside the open dialog |
Space or Enter on a button | Press that button |
Payment dialog
Key | Action |
|---|---|
Type an amount | Replaces the pre-filled amount with the cash received |
Enter or F12 | Charge and fiscalize |
Esc | Close the payment dialog and return to the cart |
Tab | Reach Cash / Card, quick-cash amounts, split payment and the other options |
A Sale Using Only the Keyboard
Add products — scan each barcode, or type a name, PLU or barcode in the search box and press Enter. When your search narrows the grid down to a single product, Enter adds it.
Fix quantities — the line you just added is selected (highlighted in the cart). Use ↑ / ↓ to pick another line, NumPad + / NumPad − to change the quantity, or NumPad * to type an exact quantity and press Enter.
Discounts and customer (optional) — F8 discounts the selected line, Shift+F8 the whole sale, F7 attaches a customer.
Take payment — press F2. The amount field is ready for typing: enter the cash the customer handed over (for example
50) and the change is calculated. For an exact amount, just press Enter.Fiscalize — press Enter (or F12). The invoice is signed and the receipt screen appears.
Next customer — press Enter or Esc on the receipt screen, or simply scan the next customer's first item to start the new sale straight away.
Tip: The receipt screen ignores keys for a moment after it opens, so a held-down Enter can't skip past the change amount before you've read it.
Working With Cart Lines
The selected line has a coloured bar on its left edge. Adding a product selects its line; removing a line keeps the selection at the same position.
To… | Press |
|---|---|
Add one more | NumPad + (or scan / add the same product again) |
Remove one | NumPad − — at quantity 1 the line is removed |
Set an exact quantity | NumPad *, type the quantity, Enter |
Remove the line | Del |
Discount the line | F8 |
In the quantity dialog, the first digit you type replaces the current quantity. Use . or , for decimals (for example 0.75 for items sold by weight), Backspace to correct, Enter to confirm and Esc to cancel.
Dialog Tips
Customer search (F7) — type a name or TIN and press Enter to search, then Tab to a result and press Enter to attach it. Esc closes the dialog and keeps the current customer.
Custom item (F9) — the cursor starts in the name field; Tab to the price and tax labels (Space ticks a label), then Enter to add.
Held sales (F4) — Tab to Restore on the sale you want and press Enter.
Fiscalization failed — Esc returns to the payment dialog. Enter does nothing here, so a repeated key press can't resend the invoice; Tab to Retry and press Enter when you're ready.
Sales history — the search box is ready when the page opens; type an invoice number or TIN and press Enter. Esc closes an invoice's details. In the Refund and Cancel dialogs the cursor starts on the safe button, so Enter backs out — Tab to the confirm button to issue the document.
PIN Entry
The sign-in screen, the manager approval prompt and the SDC PIN prompt all accept the number keys (top row or NumPad):
Key | Action |
|---|---|
0–9 | Enter a digit |
Backspace | Delete the last digit |
Enter | Submit the PIN |
Esc | Sign-in screen: clear the PIN. Manager or SDC prompt: cancel |
Shifts and Signing Out
Open Shift — the opening float field is selected when the dialog appears; type the amount and press Enter.
Shift summary — press F5 from the sales screen (the shift timer in the top bar opens the same page).
Cash in / Cash out — after the manager PIN, the amount field is selected; press Enter to record or Esc to cancel.
Close Shift — the counted cash field is selected when the page opens; Esc goes back. Closing the shift itself always needs the Close Shift button (Tab to it, then Enter), so a stray key press can't end a shift.
Logout — if the cart still has items, Desktop POS asks before signing you out, because the unfinished sale would be lost. Press F3 first to hold it.
Restaurant Tables
With the restaurant module, the table plan works from the keyboard too. A legend of these keys is shown below the floor plan.
Key | Action |
|---|---|
Table number, then Enter | Open that table — for example |
Backspace / Esc | Correct or clear the typed table number |
F3 | Add items to the open order |
F2 | Pay & close the table |
F6 | Split bill |
F7 | Transfer the order to another table |
F8 | Merge with another table |
Esc or F1 | Close the order and return to the table plan |
In Add Items, the search box is ready for typing: press Enter to add the only matching product (or scan a barcode), F2 to add the selected items to the order, and Esc to clear the search — a second Esc closes the panel without adding anything.
The payment dialog works as on the sales screen, except that the amount field starts empty: type the amount received (or Tab to a quick-cash amount) and press Enter to fiscalize. On the receipt screen, Enter or Esc returns to the table plan.
Barcode Scanners
Desktop POS works with any USB or Bluetooth scanner that acts as a keyboard (often called HID or keyboard wedge mode).
Set the scanner to send Enter (carriage return) after each barcode — this is the factory default on most models.
Scans are recognised anywhere on the sales screen, even when a button or the search box has focus. You never need to click into a field first.
Scanning on the receipt screen starts the next sale with that item.
Keyboards Without a Number Pad
Laptop and compact keyboards often have no NumPad. The NumPad +, NumPad − and NumPad * shortcuts need a numeric keypad; without one, use the − / quantity / + buttons on the cart line, or press F8 / Del on the selected line. A low-cost USB numeric keypad gives cashiers the full set.
On macOS and many laptops the top-row keys control brightness and volume by default — hold Fn while pressing F1–F12, or switch the keyboard setting to use them as standard function keys.
Next Steps
Making a sale — The full sale flow, step by step
Payment types — Payment methods and split payments
Printing — Print or email a fiscal receipt