Multi-key shortcuts

[VincentCuclair]

Revit has multi-key keyboard shortcuts, this is very usable because it greatly increases the amount of 'simple' keyboard shortcuts and reduces the need for the use of cmd/alt/shift key combinations.

It also introduces the option for going straight to specific tabs in a specific dialog window.

eg.

OS could take you straight to the Organization>Stories tab

OD could take you straight to the Organization> Design Layer tab etc.

nice!

[ThreeDot]

I cannot not agree more!

Shortcuts need to be overhauled. Even after years of use, your stupid shortcuts are killing me. The current system is bizarrely antiquated and convoluted. Many of the shortcuts are still based on the toolbar layout from MiniCAD, rotated 90?, and mapped onto the lower-left corner of the keyboard. Really? Who thought that was a good idea? Furthermore, later versions of Vectorworks changed the default toolbar layout. What little sense this nomenclature may have made 15 years ago make no sense at all now.

AutoCAD, Rhino, etc. have all moved to a start-typing popup box. For example:

User types: "M", "MO", "MOV", or "MOVE" and hits Return to activate the move tool. This is a frequently used tool, so simply hitting "M" + Return would activate the tool.

User types: "M", MI", "MIR", etc. and hits Return to active the mirror tool. Mirror is a lesser used command, so if a user types "M", mirror may be the second option. If a user types "Mi", it would become the first option. User can select by hitting Return.

On Mac, there is an superb tool called Alfred (www.alfredapp.com) that works the same way for system-wide commands. The beauty of this shortcut method is that a user never has to remember convoluted or abstract systems of commands. It also bridges the learning gap for ex-command-line AutoCAD users. Users can quickly and easily find tools by typing relevant letters. "M" is far easier to remember than Shift + "M" and "MI" is easier to remember than "=".

Another major UI no-no is the Mode Bar. It requires a user to remember the tool mode from the previous use. For example, when using the mirror tool, I never really know if the tool will mirror or mirror-copy. Every time I use the tool, I have to look at the mode bar to check status. Users are creatures of habit. It's far more intuitive for a user to hit "MI" to mirror and "MI" + Tab to mirror-copy (or "MI" + Tab + Tab for another mode). Because the keystroke it always the same, I never have to look at the Mode bar for this tool. It becomes second nature to hit "MI" + tab to mirror-copy.

Time to let go of MiniCAD. It's okay, really.

[Kevin McAllister]

A great wish. Look at the implementation in Cinema 4D or the new FormZ beta 7. Simpler, fast and more efficient..... that's what's needed.

KM

[grant_PD]

Yep. Totally agree. It's funny, waaaaaay back when I started on CadKEY there were no Icons. It was very AutoCAD command line style. Then everyone got excited about GUI and abandoned it. Now it seems that we are coming full circle where we don't want GUI so much anymore.

[AndiACD]

This might work if your suggestion was an addition to the present shortcuts we already use, but actually, i'm more than happy with what's already in use.

Hitting one or two keys to get a tool and "uiop" to get the mode required seems fine for me but any more than three seems more than should be required.

Anyway, then i'd have to learn to spell!

VW has many "White Elephant" components that really need addressing.

Right now, this isn't one of them.

Might be useful once ALL the 3D Modelling Tools work perfectly, Add, Subtract, Fillet, Chamfer ANYTHING and EVERYTHING without complaints(and Edit without Ungrouping), but for now, i'm better off without it . . . . . . .

Sorry Guys. . . . .

[maarten.]

Funny, I've requested this some years ago and back then everybody declared me mad, we had already enough possibilities they said. (i'm not sure if it was this board or the Dutch one...)

So, yes, Multi-Key shortcuts would be really nice! A preference to disable them would even be nicer .

[Kevin McAllister]

I ultimately think a combination of things are needed to clean up the interface. I can definitely see multi-key shortcuts being part of that. Other programs also allow an index of tools and commands to pop up by hitting a hot key and then the letter of the alphabet. Or favourite tools by right clicking or another hot key.

But I also think the tool options in the mode bar should pop up next to the tool, much like the heads up data display, so you can cycle through them using tab (should be the right click in my opinion). Direct, visual. Like the attached image. So you can quickly change the number of duplicates etc. just as you would anything else in the heads up display.

KM

[mike m oz]

Kevin, having the tool modes pop up at the cursor location is a good idea and I also think it would improve the usability. The U key is the current key for cycling through the tool modes.

[Ozzie]

I think this is a good idea also

U Key Cycles through - is there though another key shortcut to cycle backwards?

[Kevin McAllister]

The challenge is the cycle through key in the instance I am describing needs to be defined as a left hand key. I almost never use the U key because of this (and for some reason I've never reassigned it either). Part of an efficient interface is not having to continually remove your hand from the mouse....

Perhaps Tab as it currently is cycles through the Heads Up Display, CMD Tab or Option Tab to cycle through the tool options....

Kevin

[grant_PD]

If you take a look at c4d's heads up display, it's a cool thing. You hit a key (v I think) and the menu's pop up around the cursor. So navigating to the correct next move is less looking up, less mouse work. I've always wanted the mode bar to do this.