How to detect Command-Shift-Click for OS X in javascript?

Question

Normally, this combination opens a link as a new tab in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari for Macs. Is there any way to detect this? I know of jquery's event.which, but it gives a value of 1, which is indistinguishable from a simple left click.

The use case is with Backbone HTML5 pushstate, where I want to attach a 'click' event handler that does not trigger a page load for normal navigation, yet still allow users to open a link in a new tab with a ⌘-⇧-click.

Answer 1

You can use the event's metaKey and shiftKey properties:

$(window).click(function(e) {
  if(e.metaKey && e.shiftKey) {
    console.log("Command+Shift+Click");
  } else {
    console.log("Other click");
  }
});

so if, for instance, you are doing #! routing instead of actually following urls, and want command or command+shift to do normal behavior (open up in a new tab), you would have something like

function followLink(e) {
  if(!e.metaKey) e.preventDefault();
  yourApp.navigate('/link');
}