SHORTCUT MENU PAIN IN THE BUTT
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Hi all
I'm quite new to the forum and this is only my second post but have learned a great deal since I joined.Would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in guiding me into the light
, great job guys.Also wondering if anyone knows of a ruby script, plugin or somehow of getting the shortcut menu to allow users to allocate more than one letter to our custom shortcuts.This thing of having to use Ctrl,Alt,Shift simultaneously with a letter is becoming a pain in the butt.Also starting to run out of combination options.Would be great if SU shortcuts could work similar to the alias commands of Autocad with multiple letters.
looking forward to hearing some feedback on this topic.
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It's one character key with +no modifiers or +shift/ctrl/alt keys [there are a few keys to avoid too like raw numerals, x, etc], and you can also use the Function keys etc - e.g. F2 with modifiers
Assuming you have perhaps 32 keys with 4 modifiers [counting 'none'] that's 128 combos - I'd think that's more than enough for most users. I have just over that number set and I suspect that I use half of them hardly at all and only half of the rest 'frequently'. Obvious ones <space>, Move, Line and so on are frequently used, as are the less obvious ones like Reverse, Orient and Texture - I recommend shortcuts as a good way of speeding up workflow: but do you really need a key do something like toggle a section-cut on/off when there are perfectly good buttons/menus available for such an occasional use ?
You can't use more than one 'normal' key press
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thanks once again for the input TIG
I have set up my shortcut characters with +shift/ctrl/alt keys but i find myself second guessing what the shortcut is, due to the fact that my shortcuts are more associative with the command in autocad.
It would be nice if we could use multiple characters and associate the shortcut with the command.For example in Autocad I use L for line and LO for layout or MA for match and MOD for model but in SU I have L for line and shift+L for layout or T for tape measure and shift+T for text, as apposed to T for text and TM for tape measure.Maybe the guys at SU can look at this for the SU8 release !!!!!!
Excuse the spelling and editing.I just pulled an all day and all nighter with a school design deadline.
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eventually stumbled onto this, loved it !!!!!!! KB CmdConfig and Eventrelay.rb
http://code.google.com/p/eventrelay/ -
meh.. if you have shortcuts containing multiple letters then you have to press return (or something) to signify youre ready to activate the shortcut.
line would be 'L' then <return> instead of just 'L'..
I'll pass... -
@unknownuser said:
meh.. if you have shortcuts containing multiple letters then you have to press return (or something) to signify youre ready to activate the shortcut.
line would be 'L' then <return> instead of just 'L'..
I'll pass...no need for return works as usual
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@quim said:
@unknownuser said:
meh.. if you have shortcuts containing multiple letters then you have to press return (or something) to signify youre ready to activate the shortcut.
line would be 'L' then <return> instead of just 'L'..
I'll pass...no need for return works as usual
how so? what if i wanted a shortcut 'LO' ?
if i pushed the L in LO and it went to my line shortcut, how would i enter the 'LO' shortcut?EDIT- oh.. press & hold 'L' then push 'O' then release?
yeah.. that'd be cool. -
hi Jeff
I now use commands in a very similar manner as I would in ACAD.
for instance gs = gray scale, cm = colour mode, mfo = multiple face offset, pr = protractor and jpp = joint push pullI find this easier than having to make use of alt, shift and ctrl keys.
I also find it easier to associate the keys to the command this way.
also saves me time from looking for the rubys as i don't make much use of icons. -
@unknownuser said:
how so? what if i wanted a shortcut 'LO' ?
if i pushed the L in LO and it went to my line shortcut, how would i enter the 'LO' shortcut?once I have keyed L and draw a line, i just simply key in the next command LO and so on.
there is enough delay to key in multiple keys. -
good job with this ruby Jim Foltz !!!!
Quim
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Hi folks.
Just my humble opinion.
In the past there was DOS (Disk Operating System). I know that many know this but there are young people reading this that may only know Mac OS and Windows. With these DOS you had to enter a lot of commands to do simple actions like copying a file, for example. I was first exposed to a DOS with its first incarnation on the Apple II in 1979.
Then there was the Mac and its OS (Operating System) and later Windows. With these Operating System, it became easy to perform these actions. A few mouse clicks and some drag opeartions are all that is needed. No more need to memorize dozens of complex codes. No more risk of typing errors in entering these codes.
In the past, there was AutoCAD and before more primitive drawing programs.
These required typing a lot of characters just to perform relatively simple operations. One had to memorize hundreds of these. This was taking time. The learning was slow and one had to do it regularly to avoid forgetting all these. I remember seing my technicians typing thousands of characters each day to produce even a simple drawing. They were like piano players. This was in the early 90's. I had a personnal Mac on my desk since 1987 with Mac Draw and later Power Draw. I was able to draw much faster with this that someone with AutoCAD. Granted, the possibilities of these Mac softwares were limited but still powerfull enough for most jobs. BTW, AutoCAD existed on the Mac 2 at this time. Autodesk retired the Mac version in 1992. It is now back on the Mac.
Then there were a few CAD softwares that began to use icons to speed up things. No more need to memorize complex codes, no more intensive typing. One could produce a lot of drawing in much less time.
Then there was SketchUp which continues in the tradition of Mac OS and Windows software in offering icons to access most of its tools. Granted, nearly all softwares offer keyboard shortcuts for many functions, tools and operations.
I personnaly use very little keboard shortcuts since I am used to clicking on icons. Using a lot of keyboards letters to get to functions seems counter productive to me. I prefer to memorize the position of icons than memorize dozens of keystrokes combination. I am not a piano player.
But, like I said, this is just my opinion.
Just ideas.
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+1 Jean!
The simple icon base of SU is what I find so appealling at the moment. I've worked on AutoCAD and ArchiCAD and there comes a point when you realise you can have so many command options and icons that you forget what you were trying to do in the first place while you try to remember how the command works. (I know first sign of altzeimers). Having started on a drawing board, (you know, pencil & paper), there is a lot to be said for SU's simplicity in maintaining design focus. That's not to say I don't have any plugins, I do, but they are a select few that bring instant productivity gains rather than clogging my menu structure with subtle variations that do a similar thing.
Grumpy old man rant over.
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