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  "identifier" : "/documentation/AppKit/NSResponder/contextMenuKeyDown(_:)",
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  "title" : "contextMenuKeyDown(_:)"
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# contextMenuKeyDown(_:)

```
func contextMenuKeyDown(_ event: NSEvent)
```

## Parameters

`event`

The key down event that matches the system-wide context menu hotkey combination.

## Discussion

\abstract Handle a key event that should present a context menu at the user focus.
\discussion Most applications should not override this method. Instead, you should customize the context menu displayed from a keyboard event by implementing `menuForEvent:` and `selectionAnchorRect`, or `showContextMenuForSelection:`, rather than this method.

You should only override this method when you do not want the system-provided default behavior for the context menu hotkey, either for a specific key combination, or for the hotkey in general. For example, if your application already provides a different behavior for control-Return (the default context menu hotkey definition), and you want to preserve that behavior, you should override this method to handle that specific key combination, and then return without calling `super`. Note that the user may customize the hotkey to a different key combination, so in this example, if any other key combination is passed to your method, you would call `super`.

An implementation of this method should call `[super contextMenuKeyDown:event]` to pass the request up the responder chain. If the message reaches the application object, NSApplication’s implementation of this method will send `showContextMenuForSelection:` to the responder chain. If you do not call `super`, then no further handling of the key event will be performed.

\note In some cases, `showContextMenuForSelection:` will be called without a prior call to `contextMenuKeyDown:`. This occurs when a view receives an Accessibility ShowMenu action, or when the user has created a Cocoa Text key binding to map a different key combination to the `showContextMenuForSelection:` action.

---

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