Limelight
What is Key Press Display?
A key press display is an on-screen indicator that shows each key or key combination you press, so viewers can follow your keyboard actions.
A key press display is a visual readout, layered over your screen, that reveals the keys you press in real time. It is a common companion to screen recordings, demos, and presentations, where the audience needs to understand the keyboard input behind the actions they see.
A key press display is not the same as a keyboard tester, which checks whether keys physically work, nor a typing logger that captures text. A focused key press display highlights shortcuts and command keys so the display stays clear and the audience can keep up rather than being buried in characters.
In screen presenting, a key press display makes keyboard-driven steps visible and repeatable. Limelight includes a key press display on macOS as part of its menu-bar toolkit: press ⌃⌥2 to show your shortcut combinations and special keys as tidy badges, with normal typing intentionally hidden to keep recordings clean.
Why Limelight
- ▸Shows each key or shortcut you press on screen in real time
- ▸Helps viewers understand and reproduce keyboard-driven steps
- ▸Best when limited to shortcuts and special keys for readability
- ▸Limelight's key press display is toggled with the global hotkey ⌃⌥2
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FAQ
- What is a key press display used for?
- It shows keyboard input on screen so audiences can follow your actions in recordings, demos, and talks. Limelight provides one on macOS via ⌃⌥2.
- Does it show every key?
- Limelight's key press display shows shortcuts and special keys, not ordinary typing, keeping the display uncluttered.