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Function keys for keyboard shortcuts


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Am I missing something or is it not possible to use the "function" keys for menu keyboard shortcuts? If not, why not?

V-G.

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VW 13.0.0 (78970), WinXP Pro [sP2]

Dell Dimension DXP051 (Pentium D, 3GHz)

2GB RAM, NVidia GeForce 7300LE

1974 Ford Pinto (Green)

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This has been discussed numerous times over the years, to no effect.

Personally, I couldn't operate VectorWorks if I had to choose between shift-key combinations and pull-down menus. Both methods are too slow, and the shift-keys would take a heavy toll on my wrist (unless I were to use two hands for them, which would be extremely slow).

I use a macro utility to map the 24 commands I use most to unshifted function keys, and a special keyboard that has that many function keys. Between that and the letter keys for tools, my mouse hand rarely has to do anything except pick objects and points in the drawing window.

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It's not built into VW, so you would have to buy a separate macro utility, which you can then use to customize all your software. There are lots of them available, some free, most others with a 30 day free trial. I use MacroExpress, though I might as well have gone with its cheaper sibling KeyboardExpress, since I never use the extra features.

It's very easy to learn and use. For any shift-key combination, or any sequence of shift-keys and other keystrokes that I use a lot, I simply record, or "capture" it while doing it once. I press Ctrl-Alt-Shift-X, then do the operation I want to capture, then Ctrl-Alt-Shift-X again, then name it and assign a hotkey to it on the window that pops up, and choose whether I want it to work only in this program or globally in all programs. That's it. From then on, whenever I press that hotkey I get a playback of that sequence of keystrokes.

In VW I just use it to assign menu commands to my 24 unshifted function keys. But many or most of the special features people request in the Wish List could be done with a keyboard macro. in MS Word I often capture a long sequence involving search/replace and other editing, and then use the macro to make some revision to a whole file in a few seconds.

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