I’d like to use alternative keybinds to open menu items since some of the common Alt+X combos are more useful for something else, for example, if I wanted to use
to open the File menu (targeted via id:file), how would I do that?
Menues are native OS GUI elements and thus can only be opened by given OS specific techniques, which is mnemonics or mouse.
Can’t these components be extended to react to ST’s commands in the same way they react to WM_SYSKEYUP etc. types of messages (if I understand correctly, these convey alt-key actions)?
perhaps they could be - you could even use AutoHotKey or it’s ilk to achieve that if you’re on Windows, but in ST land, generally the Command Palette is superior to the menus anyway
What would I do with autohotkey?
If I send Alt+X with another combo, that Alt-X is already taken for another command, so that command will run instead of the menu being opened.
Or do you mean send the alt wm message directly? Interesting 
, thank you!
And menus have this great benefit over command palette - predictability - so you can “fly blind”. With command palette you’re never certain what a given combo you type will select. Also for some rarely used commands (or for exploring) you mind not even remember/remember a name, but you could remember/find the visual menu category or position.
These are complementary UI navigation methods, they don’t fully replace one another,