In addition to defining a menu entry hotkey by using a .txt file or a .mnu file, you can define global hotkeys in the MyE2B.cfg file which will act on all menus.

As soon as the user presses a hotkey (e.g. presses the F4 key) in any menu, the command assigned to the hotkey will immediately run.

Some examples can be found in the \_ISO\Sample_MyE2B.cfg files.

Avoid using SHIFT+ P, C, E or B for hotkeys as these are used by grub4dos for password entry and editing, etc. 

Note: Ctrl+M will work correctly if a hotkey has been defined for it, but if no hotkey has been defined it for it then it will generate the same keyboard scan code as the [ENTER] key.

Also, for global hotkeys, it is also best to avoid using the  CTRL key if it causes an OS to boot (e.g. don't use Ctrl+F4 to run a linux ISO from a hotkey because the Ctrl key may modify the behaviour of the ISO when it runs - e.g. some linux ISOs).

Note: Not all key combinations can be used as the keyboard/BIOS does not generate a scan code for certain combinations (e.g. Ctrl+3). See here for a list of valid hotkey combinations.

Tip: It is best to avoid using alt+ hotkeys because some non-USA keyboards use alt+(letter) or alt+(number) and these may be remapped (e.g. alt+v may be remapped to @ on a Hungarian keyboard which means that alt+v would not work as a hotkey.

E2B v1.A8+ has a global hotkey for Ctrl+F8 already defined (Ctrl+F8 reloads E2B).

Run any .iso or payload file from a hotkey

For instance, set up the F11 hotkey to always run a the Ubuntu Live ISO (or any ISO file) from any menu, by adding the line below to your \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file:

(bd)/%grub%/hotkey [F11] "(bd)/%grub%/qrun.g4b force.isodefault  (bd)/_ISO/MyUbuntu.iso ;; boot" > nul

Note that using F11 and F12 as hotkeys may not always work on some notebooks because the keyboard scan codes may vary! Using F1-F10 should be OK.

Global hotkeys do not use a menu entry and so are invisible to the user. If you want the user to know what global hotkeys are available, add text to the HELPTEXT variable in the MyE2B.cfg file or to your background bitmap. The hotkeys that you define will be active for all the menus. See \_ISO\docs\Templates\TextMinimal\MyE2B.cfg for an example.

Another example - press SHIFT+F2 to boot to Hirens:

(bd)/%grub%/hotkey [Shift+F2] "(bd)/%grub%/qrun.g4b (bd)/_ISO/Hirens.isowinvh ;; boot" > nul

When a hotkey is pressed, the commands will be executed. If you don't want  any grub4dos messages to be displayed, precede the command list with @ - e.g.

(bd)/%grub%/hotkey [Shift+F2] "@(bd)/%grub%/qrun.g4b (bd)/_ISO/Hirens.isowinvh ;; boot" > nul