Trac 48536 admin add ctrl cmd enter shortcut

[vidushigupta0607]

Problem

The WordPress admin comment reply/edit forms did not support the Ctrl+Enter / Cmd+Enter keyboard shortcut for submitting comments. While this convenient shortcut was available for frontend comment forms (added in ticket #41545), wp-admin users had to reach for the mouse to click the Submit button, creating an inconsistent experience across frontend and backend.

Root Cause

The root cause was that the comment reply/edit form handler in edit-comments.js lacked the necessary keyboard vent logic to detect and handle the Ctrl+Enter (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Enter (Mac) key combination. While the file contained handlers for other keyboard interactions (Escape to cancel, Enter on text inputs), there was no support for the modifier+Enter pattern used to submit the textarea content.

Solution

Added keyboard event detection to the existing contextmenu keydown handler on the #replycontent textarea inside commentReply.open() in src/js/_enqueues/admin/edit-comments.js:

  // Submit the comment when Ctrl+Enter (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Enter (Mac) is pressed.
  if ( e.type === 'keydown' && ( e.ctrlKey || e.metaKey ) && e.which === 13 && ! isComposing ) {
      e.preventDefault();
      commentReply.send();
  }

This addition:

• Detects Ctrl+Enter (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Enter (Mac) on the comment textarea
• Respects IME (Input Method Editor) composition state to prevent accidental submissions during CJK input
• Calls the existing commentReply.send() method to submit via AJAX
• Prevents the default browser behavior to avoid inserting a newline

Example Usage

After this change, users can submit admin comment replies and edits using the keyboard shortcut:

1. Click "Reply" or "Quick Edit" on a comment
2. Type the comment text in the textarea
3. Press Ctrl+Enter (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Enter (Mac)
4. Form submits immediately without requiring mouse interaction

Impact

This enhancement improves the WordPress admin user experience by providing keyboard-savvy users with a faster workflow for managing comments. The implementation maintains consistency with the frontend comment form behavior while following WordPress JavaScript coding standards and accessibility best practices (IME-aware composition detection).

Trac Link

https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/48536

[github-actions]

The following accounts have interacted with this PR and/or linked issues. I will continue to update these lists as activity occurs. You can also manually ask me to refresh this list by adding the props-bot label.

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Props vidugupta.

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[github-actions]

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