On the logic behind inconsistent keymaps

Archive Python API
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I’ve been writing my first add-on, and whilst it works, I had to add my keyboard shortcut to the “Window” keymap, when ideally, it would be in the “Dopesheet” keymap.

So after asking for help here, and also reading this, I started testing around to find out which keymaps let me set shortcuts and which don’t.

I used this example of the add-on tutorial, with the only difference being that I changed the execute function to be just this:

    def execute(self, context):
        print('hello, world')
        return {'FINISHED'}

Then went about replacing “Object Mode” on line 40, by different keymaps name to see which ones work and which don’t:

        km = wm.keyconfigs.addon.keymaps.new(name='Object Mode', space_type='EMPTY')

Here’s what I worked out so far. The followings are the ones that add items to their keymaps, followed by where the shortcut works:

  • Window - works everywhere
  • Frames - works everywhere you can change frame with the arrow (so not in the outliner)
  • Animation - works in all the panels listed under Animation in the Editor Type selector
  • Object Mode - works in 3d view in object mode, but as one would expect, not in edit mode
  • Grease Pencil - works like Object Mode, but funnily enough, also in edit mode.

And these do not add any item to their keymaps:

  • Dopesheet
  • 3D View
  • Outliner
  • Text
  • Console
  • Property Editor
  • Sequencer
  • Image
  • and more…

So my question is: Is there any logic to this or is it random?