Can I customize keyboard shortcuts?

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martin
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Can I customize keyboard shortcuts?

Post by martin »

Apple allows you to change shortcuts for apps in the system preferences using basic tools.

Nisus Writer goes further, and offers fully customizable shortcuts and multi-key shortcuts. You can change the shortcut for any menu command or submenu, including user-created elements like styles, macros, and even frequently used documents.

How to Set a Custom Keyboard Shortcut:
1. Open your Nisus Writer preferences.
2. Switch to the "Menu Keys" preference pane.
3. From the list of all menus, select the desired menu command.
4. Using the settings on the right side, enter the desired shortcut and click the "Set" button:

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Once you've clicked the "Set" button your new shortcut will be active immediately.


Submenu Shortcuts:
In additional to setting a keyboard shortcut for a single menu command, you can also set a shortcut for a whole submenu.

For example, you might set the shortcut ⌘R for the "Open Recent" submenu. If you activate the keyboard shortcut that submenu will appear on screen, allowing you to use the up/down arrow keys to choose a particular entry and reopen a recent file.


What Are Multi-key Shortcuts?
Nisus Writer has a novel and immensely helpful feature that allows keyboard shortcuts to use a sequence of keys. We call these multiple key shortcuts (aka "multi-key" shortcuts). For example, you might use ⌘CTF for "Copy to Find". That kind of sequence is a very powerful mnemonic, especially once you have many shortcuts with modifier keys like Shift, Control, etc.

The process for setting a multi-key shortcut is exactly the same as setting a regular shortcut. Just enter multiple characters into your Menu Key preferences (as described above).

You activate a multi-key shortcut by holding down the Command key the entire time as you press and release the other keys. For example, to trigger ⌘H3 (the default shortcut for "Heading 3") you would:

1. Press and hold down the Command key.
2. Type the H key (press down and release up).
3. Type the 3 key (press down and release up).
4. Release the Command key (so it is now up).

Nisus Writer collects together all the keys you type while the Command key is down and then matches the full shortcut at the very end, once the Command key is released.


How Do I Set Shortcuts For My Styles?
Nisus Writer lets you customize keyboard shortcuts for any and all styles. That includes built-in styles like "Heading 1", but also any custom styles you've added to your documents.

To customize a style's shortcut you will need to open the document containing the style, keep the document window frontmost, and then open your Menu Key preferences. You can customize the style's shortcut just as you do for any other menu command (see above). Just choose the appropriate style from the Format menu listed in the Menu Key preferences.

Alternatively you can also customize a style's shortcut using the Style Sheet view:

1. Switch to the Style Sheet, eg: using the menu View > Style Sheet.
2. From the list of styles on the left, select the desired style.
3. From the settings on the right, click to enter the "Shortcut" field.
4. Type the desired keyboard shortcut
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