Qt3 supports a unique behavior with the Alt key that generally is not supported in non Qt3 apps, which means not supported in non Trinity apps. Specifically, pressing only the Alt key immediately selects the top level of the first menu in the menu bar but does not open the menu. In most non Trinity apps, pressing only the Alt key does nothing.

I believe this behavior feature is common in Microsoft Windows but generally is uncommon in the 'nix world. Thus some people like this feature and others do not. In such cases the preferred solution is to provide a GUI check box control to let users decide.

There is a current work-around that requires manually editing a configuration file. The underlying control is maintained in $HOME/.qt/kstylerc:

[Settings]
MenuAltKeyNavigation=true

The default value is true and therefore the key name probably is not in most user's kstylerc file. The same option applies to global kstylerc files.

This configuration value is read in tdelibs/tdefx/kstyle.cpp.

Currently in (R14 development branch) KControl -> Appearance & Themes -> Style, there is a check box "Hide accelerators when not in use." I recommend adding this new check box control just under that check box:

| | Hide accelerators when not in use
| | Pressing only the Alt key selects the menu bar

What's This help:

When enabled, pressing only the Alt key immediately selects the top level of the first menu in the menu bar but does not open the menu. This is a Trinity/Qt3 feature and generally not available with most non Trinity apps. Disabling this feature means the Alt key must be pressed concurrently with an accelerator key to open a menu from the menu bar in Trinity apps.

I'm tagging this request as an enhancement but there are people who consider this a bug. :)