Description

q2apro

opened on Oct 30, 2026

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Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Coming to HeidiSQL from other tools, the first two shortcuts I reached for did nothing:

• Ctrl+Enter to run the query – only F9 is bound
• Ctrl+W to close a query tab – only Ctrl+F4 is bound

Ctrl+Enter is the de-facto "submit" key in editors and database clients (SSMS, DataGrip, DBeaver, TablePlus, VS Code SQL extensions, phpMyAdmin, pgAdmin – even GitHub's "Create issue" button uses it). Ctrl+W closes tabs in every browser and editor. Both are unassigned in HeidiSQL by default, so a new user's first impression is "the shortcut doesn't work".

Describe the solution you'd like
Keep F9 and Ctrl+F4 as primary shortcuts and add these as default secondary shortcuts (the Shortcuts preferences page already has a secondary binding slot):

• Run: F9, secondary Ctrl+Enter
• Close query tab: Ctrl+F4, secondary Ctrl+W

Nothing changes for existing users; new users get the keys they already know.

Related: "Apply filter" in the Data tab has no shortcut at all. Ctrl+Enter while the filter editor has focus would be the natural choice, but since action shortcuts are global that would need the action to be context-aware.

Describe alternatives you've considered
Assigning them manually in Tools → Preferences → Shortcuts, which is what I did and which works. But every new user has to discover that page first, and most won't – they'll just conclude the shortcut is unsupported.

Additional context
HeidiSQL 12.22.0.7382 on Windows. Checked the shortcut list in the preferences dialog; neither key is bound by default.

Activity

1. ansgarbecker commented on Oct 30, 2026

   

   ansgarbecker

   on Oct 30, 2026

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   I think this undervalues the impact of many long-time users of HeidiSQL, which use the default F9 since more than 10 years. Changing the default shortcut after 20 years is not a good idea. That's what the shortcut customizer was added for.
2. ansgarbecker

   added

   keyboardAffects usage with keyboard or shortcutsAffects usage with keyboard or shortcuts

   on Oct 30, 2026
3. q2apro commented on Oct 30, 2026

   

   q2apro

   on Oct 30, 2026

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   I think there's a misunderstanding – the request is not to replace F9. F9 stays the primary shortcut, exactly as it is today. The proposal is to add Ctrl+Enter in the secondary slot that the shortcut customizer already offers, which is currently empty for "Run". Same for Ctrl+W as secondary to Ctrl+F4.

   So for every long-time user nothing changes: F9 keeps working, and users who customized their shortcuts keep their stored settings. The only effect is that Ctrl+Enter – the run/submit key in SSMS, DataGrip, DBeaver, TablePlus, VS Code, pgAdmin, phpMyAdmin and GitHub's own comment box – stops being a dead key for people coming from those tools. Today they press it, nothing happens, and most of them never find the Shortcuts page; "there is a customizer" only helps the users who already know the feature exists.

   If you'd rather not touch the default, an alternative would be a one-line hint in the empty query tab ("Press F9 to run") – but a free secondary binding seems the smaller change.
4. ansgarbecker commented on Oct 30, 2026

   

   ansgarbecker

   on Oct 30, 2026

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   Thanks for clarification. I'll check the integration of secondary shortcuts in HeidiSQL.

   On a side note: such things will perhaps only come into the new codebase, which will get the default version from v13 on.
5. q2apro commented on Oct 30, 2026

   

   q2apro

   on Oct 30, 2026

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   Small data point for that check: in 12.22.0.7382 the "Secondary shortcut" field on the Shortcuts page is greyed out for every action, so a secondary binding currently can't be set from the UI at all. Screenshot attached.

   One more default in the same spirit, if you are touching this: "Clear query log" is on Ctrl+Q, which is the quit/close key in most applications (browsers, editors, Office, most Linux and macOS apps). Nothing bad happens here when you hit it by reflex, but it's surprising, and the log often matters right after a mistake.

   Ctrl+Shift+L would match the "clear console" convention (Ctrl+L in terminals; Ctrl+L itself is taken by lowercase in HeidiSQL). Not important – just noting it while the shortcut defaults are on the table.

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