What is the difference between a keyboard accelerator and a shortcut key?

Question

What is the difference between a keyboard accelerator and a shortcut key?

Answer 1

John - I don't believe that is correct.

MSDN defines menus as having:
'Menu access keys' - the underlined letters in the menu item name.
'Menu shortcut keys' - the key combination to the right of the menu item.

It is menu shortcut keys (text to the right of the menu) that are identified as synonymous with keyboard accelerators, not menu access keys - see paragraph on Menu Shortcut Keys in the 'about menus' MSDN page - it is this section directs towards information on Keyboard accelerators, not the section on Menu Access Keys.

As far as I am concerned a keyboard accelerator is a 'shortcut key'. They may be used regardless of the visibility of a menu, and are only included in the menu as a reference for the user and a way for the user to pick up on shortcuts for menu items that they may regularly use. Hence they may be defined without being displayed in the menu at all.

See MSDN page on Keyboard Accelerators:

Typically, users rely on an application's menus to learn the command set and then switch over to using accelerators as they become more proficient with the application. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms646335(v=VS.85).aspx

Although accelerators typically generate commands that exist as menu items, they can also generate commands that have no equivalent menu items.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms646335(v=VS.85).aspx