Fix Peek Ctrl+W shortcut not working after clicking preview by MuyuanMS · Pull Request #48293 · microsoft/PowerToys

MuyuanMS · 2026-06-04T09:18:24Z

Summary

When previewing a file with Peek, clicking inside the preview content (PDF, text/code, markdown, HTML) makes Ctrl+W unable to close the window. This happens because the preview controls (WebView2 for most file types, native shell handlers for others) capture keyboard focus in their own message loop, bypassing the XAML keyboard accelerator system entirely.

Problem

Peek defines keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+W to close, Escape to close, arrow keys to navigate) as KeyboardAccelerator elements on the main XAML Grid. These only fire when keyboard input flows through the XAML input system. However:

WebView2 (used for PDF, text/code via Monaco, markdown, HTML): Runs Chromium in a separate process that consumes all keyboard input when focused. Ctrl+W is particularly problematic because Chromium treats it as "close tab."
Shell Preview Handlers (native HWND): Run in a child Win32 window that handles keyboard messages independently.

Once either of these controls gets focus via a mouse click, keyboard shortcuts stop working.

Solution

Added a low-level keyboard hook (WH_KEYBOARD_LL) that intercepts key events at the OS level, regardless of which control has focus:

Ctrl+W and Escape → close the Peek window
Arrow keys (Left/Right/Up/Down without Ctrl) → navigate between files

The hook is installed only while the Peek window is visible and only acts when Peek is the foreground window, so it has no impact on other applications.

As additional defense-in-depth, AreBrowserAcceleratorKeysEnabled is set to false on the WebView2 control, preventing Chromium from consuming browser-specific shortcuts like Ctrl+W.

Changes

File	Change
`Peek.UI/PeekXAML/MainWindow.xaml.cs`	Install/uninstall keyboard hook in Initialize/Uninitialize; hook callback handles Ctrl+W, Escape, and arrow keys
`Peek.UI/Native/NativeMethods.cs`	P/Invoke declarations for `SetWindowsHookEx`, `UnhookWindowsHookEx`, `CallNextHookEx`, `GetAsyncKeyState`
`Peek.FilePreviewer/Controls/BrowserControl.xaml.cs`	Disable browser accelerator keys on WebView2

Validation

Ctrl+W closes Peek after clicking inside PDF preview
Ctrl+W closes Peek after clicking inside text/code preview (Monaco)
Escape closes Peek after clicking inside preview
Arrow keys navigate between files after clicking inside preview
Normal typing/interaction inside previews still works (Ctrl+C, scrolling, etc.)
Shortcuts still work without clicking (existing behavior preserved)

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR addresses Peek shortcuts (Ctrl+W, Escape, arrow navigation) failing after clicking into preview content by ensuring key handling still works when focus is inside WebView2 or native preview handler HWNDs.

Changes:

Installs/uninstalls a low-level keyboard hook while the Peek window is active to handle close and navigation shortcuts regardless of focused child control.
Adds required Win32 P/Invoke declarations for keyboard hook setup and modifier state checks.
Disables WebView2 browser accelerator keys to prevent Chromium from consuming shortcuts like Ctrl+W.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

File	Description
`src/modules/peek/Peek.UI/PeekXAML/MainWindow.xaml.cs`	Adds global low-level keyboard hook wiring and hook callback to close/navigate when Peek is foreground.
`src/modules/peek/Peek.UI/Native/NativeMethods.cs`	Adds `SetWindowsHookEx`/`UnhookWindowsHookEx`/`CallNextHookEx`/`GetAsyncKeyState` P/Invokes and hook struct/delegate.
`src/modules/peek/Peek.FilePreviewer/Controls/BrowserControl.xaml.cs`	Disables WebView2 browser accelerator keys to reduce shortcut conflicts (e.g., Ctrl+W).

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

src/modules/peek/Peek.UI/PeekXAML/MainWindow.xaml.cs:414

MainWindow now owns an unmanaged global hook handle; Dispose() currently only disposes themeListener. If Dispose() is ever called without going through Uninitialize() first (e.g., shutdown/crash paths), the hook may remain installed until process exit. It’s safer for Dispose() to always uninstall the hook as part of cleanup.

        public void Dispose()
        {
            themeListener?.Dispose();
        }

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

MuyuanMS

Addressed all feedback in 4bd5cdf: log Win32 error codes on hook install/uninstall failure, validate UnhookWindowsHookEx return value, pass IntPtr.Zero to CallNextHookEx per low-level hook convention, and reworded BrowserControl comment to clarify defense-in-depth role.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 6 comments.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 7 comments.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

When the user clicks inside a file preview in Peek (PDF, text/code files, markdown, HTML), the WebView2 control or shell preview handler captures keyboard focus. Since these controls handle input in their own process/ message loop, the Ctrl+W KeyboardAccelerator defined on the parent XAML Grid never fires, making it impossible to close the Peek window with the keyboard shortcut. This fix adds a low-level keyboard hook (WH_KEYBOARD_LL) that intercepts Ctrl+W, Escape, and arrow navigation keys at the OS level when the Peek window is in the foreground. This works regardless of which child control has focus (WebView2, native shell preview handlers, etc.). Additionally, browser-level accelerator keys are disabled on the WebView2 control (AreBrowserAcceleratorKeysEnabled = false) as defense-in-depth, preventing Chromium from consuming shortcuts like Ctrl+W internally. Fixes #48274 Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

… for CallNextHookEx, fix comment - Log Marshal.GetLastWin32Error() when SetWindowsHookEx fails - Check UnhookWindowsHookEx return value before clearing handle - Pass IntPtr.Zero to CallNextHookEx (standard for low-level hooks) - Reword BrowserControl comment to clarify defense-in-depth role Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

The XAML accelerators are defined without Shift, so the hook should not intercept Shift+key combos (e.g., Shift+Arrow for text selection in Monaco, Shift+Escape, Ctrl+Shift+W). Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

- Remove/re-add Content_KeyUp to prevent accumulating duplicate handlers when Initialize() is called multiple times - Cache the HWND once during Initialize() and reuse it in the hook callback to avoid per-keypress allocations Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

- Early-return for keys we never handle, avoiding GetAsyncKeyState and GetForegroundWindow calls on every system keypress - Remove 'using' on ProcessModule (unnecessary disposal) and add null- forgiving operator on _keyboardHookProc to suppress nullable warning Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Define VK_CONTROL, VK_ALT, VK_SHIFT, and KEY_PRESSED_MASK as named constants for readability and maintainability. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

- Check foreground window before marshaling KBDLLHOOKSTRUCT to avoid per-keystroke overhead when Peek is not active - Only swallow the key if TryEnqueue succeeds, so if the dispatcher is shutting down the key passes through instead of being lost Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Add VK_LWIN/VK_RWIN check so Win+Arrow (window snapping), Win+Ctrl+W, and other Win-key combos pass through to the OS instead of being intercepted by the hook. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Use _keyboardHookHandle instead of IntPtr.Zero in all CallNextHookEx calls to match other hook implementations in the repo (e.g., ColorPickerUI MouseHook). Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

- Wrap hook callback in try/catch to prevent exceptions from escaping into the Win32 hook chain (which could crash the process) - Guard against null lParam before marshaling - Pass keys through when delete confirmation dialog is active - Only intercept arrow keys when multiple items are available for navigation (single item or CLI mode lets arrows reach the preview) - Re-check _isDeleteInProgress inside close lambdas to handle race between enqueue and execution - Clear _keyboardHookProc on install failure for consistent state Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Preserves stack trace and inner exceptions in hook error logging. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.

MuyuanMS · 2026-06-08T08:18:43Z

/azp run

azure-pipelines · 2026-06-08T08:18:52Z

Azure Pipelines successfully started running 1 pipeline(s).

MuyuanMS requested a review from Copilot June 4, 2026 09:21

MuyuanMS added the Product-Peek Refers to Peek Powertoys label Jun 4, 2026

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of MuyuanMS June 4, 2026 09:21 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Jun 4, 2026

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Comment thread src/modules/peek/Peek.UI/PeekXAML/MainWindow.xaml.cs

Comment thread src/modules/peek/Peek.UI/PeekXAML/MainWindow.xaml.cs

MuyuanMS force-pushed the issue/48274-peek-ctrl-w-fix branch from 22ae8b5 to 6e073d5 Compare June 4, 2026 09:36

MuyuanMS requested a review from Copilot June 5, 2026 02:42

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of MuyuanMS June 5, 2026 02:42 View session