Command ReferenceMenu CommandsCommandsMenuFile Menu&Ctrl;NFileNew WindowOpen another &kstars; window &Ctrl;WFileClose WindowClose &kstars; window &Ctrl;DFileDownload Data...Open the Download Extra Data tool &Ctrl;OFileOpen FITS...Open a FITS image in the FITS Editor tool &Ctrl;IFileSave Sky Image...Create image on disk from current display &Ctrl;RFileRun Script...Run the specified KStars script &Ctrl;PFilePrint...Send the current sky map to the printer (or to a PostScript/PDF file) &Ctrl;QFileQuitQuit &kstars; Time Menu&Ctrl;ETimeSet Time to NowSync time to system clock&Ctrl;STimeSet Time...Set time and dateTimeStart/Stop ClockToggle whether time passesPointing MenuZPointingZenithCentre the display at the Zenith point (straight up) NPointingNorthCentre the display above the North point on the horizonEPointingEastCentre the display above the East point on the horizonSPointingSouthCentre the display above the South point on the horizonWPointingWestCentre the display above the West point on the horizon&Ctrl;MPointingSet Focus Manually...Centre the display on specific sky coordinates &Ctrl;FPointingFind ObjectLocate an object by name using the Find Object Window&Ctrl;TPointingEngage/Stop TrackingToggle tracking on/off. While tracking, the display will remain centred on the current position or object.View Menu+ViewZoom inZooms view in-ViewZoom outZooms view out&Ctrl;ZViewDefault ZoomRestore the default Zoom setting&Ctrl;&Shift;ZViewZoom to Angular Size...Zoom to specified field-of-view angle&Ctrl;&Shift;FViewFull Screen ModeToggle full-screen modeSpaceViewHorizontal/Equatorial CoordinatesToggle between the Horizontal and Equatorial Coordinate SystemsDevices MenuDevicesTelescope Wizard...Opens the Telescope Wizard, which provides a step-by-step guide to help you connect to your telescope and control it with &kstars;.DevicesCapture Image Sequence...Acquire images from a CCD camera or webcam deviceDevicesDevice ManagerOpens up the device manager, which allows you to start/shutdown device drivers and connect to remote INDI servers.DevicesINDI Control PanelOpens up INDI Control Panel, which allows you to control all the features supported by a device.DevicesConfigure INDIOpens up a dialogue to configure INDI-related features such as automatic device updates.Tools Menu&Ctrl;CToolsCalculator...Opens the AstroCalculator Tool, which provides full access to many of the mathematical functions used by &kstars;. &Ctrl;VToolsAAVSO Light Curves...Opens the AAVSO Light Curve Generator Tool, which allows you to download a light curve for any variable star from the American Association of Variable Star Observers. &Ctrl;AToolsAltitude vs. Time...Opens the Altitude vs. Time Tool, which can plot curves representing the altitude of any object as a function of time. This is useful for planning observing sessions. &Ctrl;UToolsWhat's Up Tonight...Opens the What's Up Tonight Tool, which presents a summary of the objects which are observable from your location on a given date. &Ctrl;BToolsScript Builder...Opens the Script Builder Tool, which provides a GUI interface for building &kstars; DCOP scripts. &Ctrl;YToolsSolar System...Opens the Solar System Viewer, which displays an overhead view of the solar system on the current simulation date. &Ctrl;JToolsJupiter's Moons...Opens the Jupiter Moons Tool, which displays the positions of Jupiter's four brightest moons as a function of time. Settings MenuSettingsInfo BoxesHide/Show Info BoxesToggle display of all three Info Boxes SettingsInfo BoxesHide/Show TimeToggle display of the Time Info Box SettingsInfo BoxesHide/Show FocusToggle display of the Focus Info Box SettingsInfo BoxesHide/Show LocationToggle display of the Location Info Box SettingsToolbarsHide/Show Main ToolbarToggle display of the Main Toolbar SettingsToolbarsHide/Show View ToolbarToggle display of the View Toolbar SettingsStatusbarHide/Show StatusbarToggle display of the Statusbar SettingsStatusbarHide/Show Az/Alt fieldToggle display of the mouse cursor's horizontal coordinates in the statusbar SettingsStatusbarHide/Show RA/Dec fieldToggle display of the mouse cursor's horizontal coordinates in the statusbar SettingsColour SchemesThis submenu contains all of the defined colour schemes, including your custom schemes. Select any item to set that colour scheme. SettingsFOV SymbolsThis submenu lists the available field-of-view (FOV) Symbols. The FOV Symbol is drawn at the centre of the display. You may choose from the list of predefined symbols (No symbol, 7x35 Binoculars, One degree, or HST WFPC2), or you may define your own symbols (or modify existing symbols) using the Edit FOV symbols... item. &Ctrl;GSettingsSet Geographic Location...Select a new geographic location SettingsConfigure &kstars;...Modify configuration optionsHelp Menu
&help.menu.documentation; Popup MenuPopup MenuDescriptionThe right click popup menu is context-sensitive, meaning its content varies depending on what kind of object you click on. We list all possible popup menu items here, with the relevant object type [in brackets].[All]Identification and type: The top one to three lines are devoted to the name(s) of the object and its type. For stars, the Spectral Type is also shown here. [All]Rise, Transit and Set times for the object on the current simulation date are shown on the next three lines. [All]Centre and Track: Centre the display on this location, and engage tracking. Equivalent to double-clicking. [All]Angular Distance To...: Enter "angular distance mode". In this mode, a dotted line is drawn from the first target object to the current mouse position. When you invoke the popup menu of a second object, this item will read Compute Angular Distance. Selecting this item will display the angular distance between the two objects in the statusbar. You can press the Esc key to exit angular distance mode without measuring an angle. [All]Details: Open the Object Details window for this object. [All]Attach Label: Attach a permanent name label to the object. If the object already has a label attached, this item will read Remove Label. [All]Show ... Image: download an image of the object from the internet, and display it in the Image Viewer tool. The "..." text is replaced by a short description of the image's source. An object may have multiple image links available in its popup menu. [All]... Page: Display a webpage about the object in your default web browser. The "..." text is replaced by a short description of the page. An object may have multiple web links available in its popup menu. [All Named Objects]Objects in the SkyInternet LinksCustomisingAdd Link...: This allows you to add your own custom links to the popup menu of any object. It opens a small window in which you enter the &URL; of the link, and the text you want to appear in the popup menu. There is also a pair of radio buttons which allow you to specify whether the &URL; is an image or an HTML document, so &kstars; knows whether to launch the web browser or the image viewer. You can use this to add links to files on your local disk, so this feature could be used to attach observing logs or other custom information to objects in &kstars;. Your custom links are automatically loaded whenever &kstars; starts up, and they are stored in the folder ~/.kde/share/apps/kstars/, in files myimage_url.dat and myinfo_url.dat. If you build an extensive list of custom links, consider submitting them to us, we would like to include them in the next version of &kstars;! Keyboard CommandsCommandsKeyboardNavigation KeysNavigation ControlsKeyboardArrow KeysUse the arrow keys to pan the display. Holding down the &Shift; key doubles the scrolling speed. + / -Zoom In/Out&Ctrl;ZRestore the default Zoom setting&Ctrl;&Shift;ZZoom to specified field-of-view angle0–9Center Display on a major Solar System body: 0: Sun1: Mercury2: Venus3: Moon4: Mars5: Jupiter6: Saturn7: Uranus8: Neptune9: PlutoZCentre the display at the Zenith Point (straight up)NCentre the display above the North point on the horizonECentre the display above the East point on the horizonSCentre the display above the South point on the horizonWCentre the display above the West point on the horizon&Ctrl;FOpen the Find Object window, for specifying a sky object on which to centre&Ctrl;MOpen the Set Manual Focus tool, for specifying RA/Dec or Az/Alt coordinates on which to centre&Ctrl;TToggle tracking mode<Advance the simulation clock backwards by one time step>Advance the simulation clock forwards by one time stepMenu Shortcuts&Ctrl;NOpen a new &kstars; window&Ctrl;WClose a &kstars; window&Ctrl;DDownload extra data&Ctrl;OOpen a FITS image in the FITS Editor&Ctrl;IExport sky image to a file&Ctrl;RRun a &kstars; DCOP script&Ctrl;PPrint the current sky map&Ctrl;QQuit &kstars;&Ctrl;ESync the simulation clock with the current system time&Ctrl;SSet the simulation clock to a specified Time and Date&Ctrl;&Shift;FToggle full-screen modeSpaceToggle between the Horizontal and Equatorial Coordinate Systems F1Open the &kstars; HandbookOpening Tools&Ctrl;GOpen the Set Geographic Location window&Ctrl;COpen the AstroCalculator &Ctrl;VOpen the AAVSO Lightcurve Generator&Ctrl;AOpen the Altitude vs. Time tool&Ctrl;UOpen the What's Up Tonight? tool &Ctrl;BOpen the Script Builder tool&Ctrl;YOpen the Solar System Viewer &Ctrl;JOpen the Jupiter Moons toolMouse CommandsCommandsMouseNavigation ControlsMouseMoving the mouseThe sky coordinates (RA/Dec and Az/Alt) of the mouse cursor are updated in the status bar "Hovering" the mouseA temporary name label is attached to the object nearest to the mouse cursor. Left-clickingObjects in the SkyIdentifying
The object nearest the mouse click is identified in the status bar. Double-clickingObjects in the SkyCentring
Centre and track on the location or object nearest the mouse click. Double-clicking on an Info Box will shade it to show/hide extra information. Right-clickingObjects in the SkyInvoking Popup Menu for
Open the popup menu for the location or object nearest the mouse cursor. Scrolling the mouse wheelZoom the display in or out. If you do not have a mouse wheel, you can hold the middle mouse button and drag vertically. Click-and-draggingDragging the sky mapPan the display, following the drag motion. &Ctrl;+dragging the sky mapDefine a rectangle in the map. When the mouse button is released, the display is zoomed in to match the field-of-view to the bounds of the rectangle. Dragging an Info BoxThe Info Box is repositioned in the map. Info Boxes will stick to window edges, so that they remain on the edge when the window is resized.