whatSnap

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whatSnap Documentation

whatSnap is a native, keyboard-first WhatsApp client for Windows, made for screen reader users. It links to the WhatsApp account on your phone, as WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp for Windows do. It does not use a browser.

whatSnap is in development. Most features are tested with a real WhatsApp account, but some are not yet. See Features Not Yet Tested.

System Requirements

Core Features

Installing

Download whatSnap from the releases page. There are two kinds of release:

Each release has two files:

Updating

whatSnap checks for a new version when it starts. When there is one, it shows what changed and asks if you want to update. If you say yes, whatSnap downloads the update, closes, installs it, and starts again. You don’t need to link your phone again.

To check yourself, use Account -> Check for Updates.... To select stable releases or development builds, or to turn off the check at startup, use the General tab of the settings.

whatSnap installs an update only when its signature is correct. A portable copy updates the files in its own folder. An installed copy runs the new installer.

Linking Your Phone

The first time you start whatSnap, it asks you to link your phone. There are two ways:

After you link, whatSnap gets your recent chats from your phone. This can take a few minutes.

To unlink this computer, use Account -> Log Out. Log Out has no shortcut, so you can’t log out by mistake.

Main Window Layout

The main window has three parts:

Use Tab and Shift+Tab to move between the controls. Use Alt+1 through Alt+7 to go to a section from anywhere. You can see these shortcuts in the Go menu.

To change the order of the sections, select a section in the Main Navigation list and press Ctrl+Shift+Left Arrow or Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow. The Go menu follows the same order. The Alt shortcuts stay with their sections.

Sections

Section Shortcut What it shows
Chats Alt+1 Your chats and groups.
Calls Alt+2 Your recent calls.
Status Alt+3 The status updates of your contacts, and your own.
Starred Messages Alt+4 The messages that you starred, in all chats.
Archived Chats Alt+5 The chats that you archived.
Communities Alt+6 Your communities and their groups.
Channels Alt+7 The channels that you follow.

Chats

The Chat List

Each chat in the list shows its name, the number of unread messages, and the last message. Press Enter to open a chat. Press the Applications key or Shift+F10 to open the actions menu of a chat. The menu has these items, when they apply to the chat:

Search and Filters

Type in the Search chats field to find chats and messages. Press Ctrl+/ to go to the field from anywhere.

The Filters box shows only some chats: All chats, Unread, Favorites, Groups, and your own chat lists. To make, rename, or delete chat lists, use Chats -> Manage Lists.... Your chat lists sync with your phone.

New Chats and Groups

Locked Chats

A locked chat doesn’t show in the chat list. When you have locked chats, a Locked Chats button shows below New Chat. Press it and type your secret code to show them.

Chat Notifications

Notification settings... in the actions menu of a chat sets how this computer tells you about the chat. It does not change your phone. The choices are:

For an archived chat, Archived alerts sets how the chat tells you about new messages.

The Open Chat

The open chat has these controls, in this order:

Press Alt+M to go to the Messages list. Press Alt+E to go to the message box. Press Alt+E again to go back to where you were. Press Alt+T to hear the status of the chat, for example online, or typing. Press Alt+I to open the information of the chat. Press Escape to close the chat.

The Messages List

The newest message is at the bottom. When you go up, whatSnap loads older messages. Date lines between the messages tell you when each day starts.

Key Action
Up Arrow and Down Arrow Move one message.
Page Up and Page Down Move one page.
Home Go to the oldest message of the chat.
End Go to the newest message.
Enter Play a voice message. On a call, call back or join the call.
Space Play or pause a voice message.
Shift+Enter Show the full text of the message in a dialog.
Left Arrow On a reply, read the message that it replies to.
Left Arrow two times On a reply, go to the message that it replies to.
R Reply.
E Edit your message.
S Star or unstar.
F Forward.
V Vote in a poll, or answer an event.
Delete Delete.
Ctrl+C Copy the text or the file of the message.
Ctrl+V Send the files that you copied.
Ctrl+Space Turn selection mode on or off.
Applications key or Shift+F10 Open the actions menu of the message.

While a voice message plays, Left Arrow and J go back 5 seconds, and Right Arrow and L go forward 5 seconds. To change the speed, use the speed button. Its name is the current speed, for example 1.0x.

The actions menu of a message has these items, when they apply to the message: Copy, Reply, Forward..., Edit, Delete, React..., Star or Unstar, Retry send, Request again, Save voice message..., Message Info, Copy all photos, Copy Number, Message Number, and Report.... In a group, a submenu for the sender lets you message or call them. In a channel, a submenu lets you pin a post, or see who reacted or voted.

Selection Mode

In selection mode, Space selects or clears a message. A bar shows how many messages you selected, with Delete and Cancel buttons. To leave selection mode, press Ctrl+Space or Escape.

Writing Messages

Type your message in the message box. If Enter is send is on in the settings, Enter sends the message, and Shift+Enter starts a new line. If it is off, use the Send message button.

Spell Checking

whatSnap uses the spell checker of Windows. Press F7 to select the next misspelled word and hear its suggestions. Press the Applications key on a misspelled word to see its suggestions, Add to Dictionary, and Ignore. To hear when you type a misspelled word, turn on Say when a word you type is misspelled in the settings.

Replace Text With Emoji

When this setting is on, whatSnap changes some text into emoji as you type, for example :-) or (y). Press Backspace immediately after to change it back. For the full list, use Replace Text With Emoji: See Help... on the Chats tab of the settings.

Sending Files

Press Add attachment to open a menu:

Before you send, you can add a caption and more files. To send a photo or video that can be opened only once, select View once.

You can also paste files with Ctrl+V in the message box or the Messages list.

Voice Messages

Key Action
Ctrl+Shift+R Start recording.
Alt+P Pause or continue the recording.
Ctrl+Enter Send the voice message.

You can also use the Record voice message, Pause recording, Send voice message, and Discard voice message buttons. Select View once before you send, to send it as a view once voice message.

Other Chat Actions

The Conversation menu has more actions for the open chat. It shows only the ones that fit that chat:

Calls

To call, open a chat and use Call or Video call. You can also call from the Calls section, or press Enter on a call in the Messages list.

When a call comes in, the call window opens and whatSnap plays the ringtone. Press Alt+Shift+Y to answer, or Alt+Shift+N to reject. These two shortcuts work from all programs, but only while a call rings. If another program uses one of them, whatSnap tells you.

The call window has these buttons:

In the call window, Ctrl+Shift+V turns the camera on or off, and Ctrl+Shift+S starts or stops sharing your screen. In the main window, Ctrl+M mutes or unmutes your microphone, and Ctrl+W ends the call.

In a group call, the People list shows who is in the call. Use Mute to ask the selected person to mute. When you can remove people from the call, a Remove button also shows. In a call from a call link that you made, Approve new participants makes people wait until you let them in. Use Let in and Don't let in for each one. You can also select your microphone, speaker, and camera in the call window.

Status

The Status section shows the status updates of your contacts. Press Enter on an update to open the status viewer. The viewer plays the updates one after another.

Key Action
Left Arrow Go to the previous update.
Right Arrow Go to the next update.
Space Pause or continue.
Escape Close the viewer.

In the viewer, you can reply, react, open the chat, and mute the person. For your own updates, you can see who viewed them and delete them.

To post a status, use Post Status Update... for text, or Post Photo/Video Status....

Channels and Communities

Video Player

Videos and the status viewer use the video player of whatSnap. These keys work in the player:

Key Action
K or Space Play or pause.
J Go back 10 seconds.
L Go forward 10 seconds.
M Mute or unmute.
T Announce the current time.

On the Position slider, the arrow keys move 5 seconds, Page Up and Page Down move 30 seconds, and Home and End go to the start or end. On the Volume slider, the arrow keys change the volume by 10%.

Connection

whatSnap tells you when it loses the connection to WhatsApp, and when it connects again. To try to connect immediately, press F5 (Account -> Reconnect Now).

Window Visibility and Tray

Settings

To open the settings, press Ctrl+, (Account -> Settings...). Some settings sync with WhatsApp on your phone and your other linked devices. You can’t change these settings until whatSnap gets them from WhatsApp.

General Tab

Notifications Tab

Chats Tab

Profile & Privacy Tab

The choices for the “Who can” settings are Everyone, My Contacts, My Contacts Except…, and Nobody. When you select My Contacts Except…, use the button below it to select the contacts.

Input & Output Tab

Keyboard Shortcuts

You can change the shortcuts in the tables below with Keyboard Shortcuts... on the General tab of the settings. The dialog has a tab for each menu, and a Messages tab for the keys of the Messages list. You can set a new shortcut, remove a shortcut, or set the default again.

Fixed Keys

You can’t change these keys:

Default Shortcuts

Action Menu Default
Settings… Account Ctrl+,
Reconnect Now Account F5
Chats Go Alt+1
Calls Go Alt+2
Status Go Alt+3
Starred Messages Go Alt+4
Archived Chats Go Alt+5
Communities Go Alt+6
Channels Go Alt+7
New Chat Chats Ctrl+N
New Group Chats Ctrl+Shift+N
Search Chats Ctrl+/
Chat Info Conversation Alt+I
Jump to Message Field Conversation Alt+E
Jump to Messages List Conversation Alt+M
Announce Chat Status Conversation Alt+T
Emoji… Conversation Alt+Shift+E
Stickers… Conversation Alt+Shift+S
Next Spelling Error Conversation F7
Search in Chat Conversation Ctrl+Shift+F
Mute Chat Conversation Ctrl+Shift+M
Archive Chat Conversation Ctrl+Shift+E
Pin Chat Conversation Ctrl+Shift+P
Lock Chat Conversation Ctrl+L
Mark as Unread Conversation Ctrl+Shift+U
Star Message Conversation Alt+8
Start Recording None Ctrl+Shift+R
Pause Recording None Alt+P
Send Voice Message None Ctrl+Enter
Toggle Mute Call Ctrl+M
End Call Call Ctrl+W
Answer Incoming Call Call, global Alt+Shift+Y
Reject Incoming Call Call, global Alt+Shift+N
Reply Messages R
Edit Messages E
Star or unstar Messages S
Forward Messages F
Vote in poll Messages V
Delete Messages Delete
Voice message: back 5 seconds Messages J
Voice message: forward 5 seconds Messages L
Selection mode on or off Messages Ctrl+Space
View Message Text Messages Shift+Enter

The keys of the Messages list work only when the list has the focus. They need the exact modifiers. For example, R replies, but Ctrl+R does not.

Sharing Files Into whatSnap

whatSnap opens whatsapp:// links, such as the “Share on WhatsApp” buttons on web pages and wa.me pages. If another app, such as WhatsApp for Windows, also opens these links, select whatSnap in Settings -> Apps -> Default apps of Windows.

Data Folder

When you uninstall whatSnap, the uninstaller asks if you want to delete your data. It deletes only the files that whatSnap made. Files that you saved to other folders, such as Downloads, stay.

Features Not Yet Tested

These features are built, but nobody has tested them with a real WhatsApp account yet. They can have problems:

If you test one of these, please tell us if it works.