Keyboard Shortcut toggling

Ideas for new features

Moderators: AmigoJack, bbadmin, helios, Bob Hansen, MudGuard

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stewilli
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2003 9:15 pm

Keyboard Shortcut toggling

Post by stewilli »

Keyboard Shortcuts are useful to quickly invoke macros. However, during normal text typing, they can be annoying.

What I would like to have is a way to quickly disable the keyboard shortcuts (e.g., with a button on the icon bar). The same button, once pressed, would toggle back the keyboard shortcuts to "ON".

Regards,
-steve w.
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webmasta
Posts: 169
Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2003 8:16 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by webmasta »

So you assigned Kb cuts to typing keys?? ... because TP doesnt come like that... hmmmm

webM
dfmead
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 10:10 pm
Location: El Cerrito, CA

Keyboard Shortcuts and macros

Post by dfmead »

Steve,

I joined the forum to find out how to store character strings and assign keyboard shortcuts to them. I've learned how to put text clips in the Clip Library, but still don't know if or how I can assign one to a key combo that makes it easy to insert. I'm able to do this in MS Word, and I really miss it in TextPad.

An example is résumé (résumé), which is just long enough to be annoying to spell in an HTML file — and just short enough that opening the clip library, opening the right clip file and double clicking on the clip name is almost as inconvenient as spelling it out. It's very clunky.

Do you, perchance, know of a way to assign a stored character string to a key combo for easy insertion?

Thanks,

Dale Mead
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Bob Hansen
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Location: Salem, NH
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Post by Bob Hansen »

Without using a Clip Library:
1. Record a macro that just types the string.
2. Then assign a hot key to that macro.

Or

If you want to use the Clip Library:
From the Menu Bar: Configure, Preferences.
Keyboard, Clip Library, Commands provides many options that can have a key combination assigned to them.

Hope this was helpful..............good luck,
Bob
dfmead
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 10:10 pm
Location: El Cerrito, CA

Thanks, Bob, for the suggestions...

Post by dfmead »

...but what I was looking for was a way to assign a pasted character string to a keystroke combo. That way, pressing the keys would insert the string rather than launching a macro that duplicates retyping it. The advantage is that one does not have to type a long, complex string perfectly while recording -- a challenging task.

Since we already can store a character string in the clip library, If a person could attach a keyboard shortcut to insert it at the cursor position, that would serve the purpose.

I noted the Configure, Preferences, Keyboard, Clip Library, Commands sequence, but that only allows a person to launch a standard TextPad command with a keystroke combo, not a user-initiated character string.

...which is why I pursued this in the Product Enhancement forum. I'd like to formally suggest and request this capability for future versions of TextPad. I find it invaluable in MS Word, where a person can store any size text strings in the Normal.dot or other template and then assign a keystroke shortcut to each. It makes adding boilerplate, legalese and complex HTML tags a breeze.

Dale
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Bob Hansen
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Post by Bob Hansen »

I haven't tried this, but TextPad has a Replacement Expression that uses the contents of the clipboard when using the Replace command.

Expression Definition

\p Substitute the contents of the clipboard.

Is there any chance that this can be used? Just another thought.....
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