My (for now) Favorite Shortcut Key Combo...

[HumbleChief]

I've had Cntrl 'Q' mapped to "copy and paste in place" for a long time and realized today I use it ALL the time when CAD drawing and for so many other copying/pasting functions.

Chose 'Q' because it's so close of course and can be used so simply as a single gesture. Sweet.

What's your favorite shortcut key?

[amddrafting]

I had set up "Ctrl-A" to open the annotation dialog box before CA implemented the drop down box in the tool bar in X4. I used that all the time.

[gawdzira]

Shift D = Dimension end to end
Ctrl D = Dimension interior
W = line
Ctrl W = Polyline box

Those 4 are my constants.

[HumbleChief]

Shift D = Dimension end to end
Ctrl D = Dimension interior
W = line
Ctrl W = Polyline box

Those 4 are my constants.

LOVE those ideas Alan, I'm setting them up right now!

[perryh]

Sorry to say ,I don't use shortcuts. I just can't remember them all.

[Bradley Boltz]

Sorry to say ,I don't use shortcuts. I just can't remember them all.

Don't be sorry Perry, when Apple obtained (pretty much stole it for $50k) their first Graphical User Interface from Xerox in the late '70's we were forever saved from Bill Gate's DOS.

My brain can only remember a few and if you're away from the program for awhile, I don't know how you would remember a couple dozen keyboard shortcuts. I know a guy using Archicad that uses his mouse very little. He's young but man, when you hit your mid-fifties and start having senior moments, uhhhhhh was that "ctrl R+?

I like to keep me hands on me mouse as much as possible as it "feels" more like drawing with your hands and that's the beauty of programs like Chief. You can use short-cuts and your keyboard like Autocadders have had to do for years or you can draw with your mouse.

Using your mouse and then familiarizing yourself with all the onscreen menus and icons allows you to keep your "heads up on the display". Kind of like paying more attention to the road than the dashboard when driving.
Also, the icon keys your brain to the function needed and reminds you when you forget by just passing your cursor over it for a "written discription" of the function.

More power to the guys that can use the shortcuts but not for me. BB

[gawdzira]

Perry, during the next hour of drafting try to quantify the top 4 commands that you access the most. Then assign hot keys to them that you can do with your left hand easily (if you use your right for the mouse). Write them down on a sticky front an center of your monitor. It should only take about 5 times using the commands before you feel an urgent need to send me $20 for saving you $40 worth of time.

[Jay M]

Perry, during the next hour of drafting try to quantify the top 4 commands that you access the most. Then assign hot keys to them that you can do with your left hand easily (if you use your right for the mouse). Write them down on a sticky front an center of your monitor. It should only take about 5 times using the commands before you feel an urgent need to send me $20 for saving you $40 worth of time.

The building industry is never going to recover with people like you working for half price......

[dshall]

I use the keyboard shortcuts all the time. However I have never added my own for fear of messing something up. Larry's is a good one and I think Alan's dimension is a good idea.

[perryh]

Perry, during the next hour of drafting try to quantify the top 4 commands that you access the most. Then assign hot keys to them that you can do with your left hand easily (if you use your right for the mouse). Write them down on a sticky front an center of your monitor. It should only take about 5 times using the commands before you feel an urgent need to send me $20 for saving you $40 worth of time.

Ok when I get some time I will try some shortcuts, but your list is massive. I don't think my brain has enough size for that. I'm for anything that saves time. I have been putting a lot of things on my toolbars so its very easy to just use the mouse and pick it. With a good toolbar, its just as fast to me but what do I know until I try it.

[gawdzira]

This is an example of the software I was using before moving back to Architecture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeYyKkOOxIo

The vid is only 3 minutes. One thing they do not cover in this vid is the additional customizable zones (N, S, E, W) at the perifery. You can set those up with menus of your choosing. The beauty of this system is speed and the fact that the HotBox appears where your mouse is currently. By not having to adjust your eyes or cursor position you can pick up a lot of time. When working in Maya I probably had about 10 hot keys for my most common commands. Again, all my hot keys are left hand only and two button most of the time.

The difference between hot key usage and not is equivalent to a screw driver and a screw gun.

[Tundara Homes]

I have a lot of commands set up on my mouse (multi button mouse) With my right mouse hand I constantly use - Esc, Delete, Space bar, Control E (open object), tab, control ( for fine movement control) Control c (copy) control v (paste). I am a big fan of hotkeys and am slowly adding more for my other hand to keep busy with. Q,W,E are set up for CAD line trim, Extend, and CAD line input respectively. T is text. Use it all the time. A is arrow. I could go on.

[gawdzira]

Attached is my hot key list. You do know that you can easily output your current hot key list to an HTML file and print it out, right? Then you can study it in your favorite reading place, or at your desk.

Another I forgot to mention that is super handy: Alt-S for door swing change. I use this on almost every door that gets placed.

[Tundara Homes]

Attached is my hot key list. You do know that you can easily output your current hot key list to an HTML file and print it out, right? Then you can study it in your favorite reading place, or at your desk.

Another I forgot to mention that is super handy: Alt-S for door swing change. I use this on almost every door that gets placed.

Alan, did you know that when you place a door, if you hold the mouse button down when you place it, you can drag the door swing the desired direction?

[Joe Carrick]

Alan, did you know that when you place a door, if you hold the mouse button down when you place it, you can drag the door swing the desired direction?

Nice Tip! Thanks Charlie.