The Hotkey Editor allows you to modify all the hotkeys described in the default Composite hotkey resource file.
Hotkey Editor Overview
The Hotkey Editor is a browser displaying all the hotkeys grouped into domains. Domains act as folders, and hotkeys as leafs
of these domains.
The hotkeys displayed are those found in the default Composite hotkeys resource file and the current active Hotkey Catalog—see
Hotkey Catalogs.
The active Hotkey Catalog is displayed in the Catalog menu at the bottom of the Hotkey Editor.
Note
You can manage the Catalogs from the File Browser in the hotkeys subfolder of the user home folder, which is similar to how
Color Palettes work.
The browser section of the Hotkey Editor is composed of four columns.
- Represents the name of the domain or the hotkey action. This cannot be modified.
- Represents the keystrokes composing the hotkey. This can be edited by clicking the cell or by typing F2 after selecting the
row.
- Represents the type (Press/Release) of the hotkey. This can be edited by a right-click edit option on the cell or by typing
F2 after selecting the cell.
- Indicates if a hotkey has been user defined. This would be indicated by a mark icon which is read only.
Accessing the Hotkey Editor
The Hotkey Editor can be accessed through the global hotkey Ctrl + H, which may also be changed by the user. The Hotkey Editor can also be accessed through the Composite menu bar (Edit > Hotkeys).
Editing a Hotkey
Editing hotkeys can be done in two ways.
To edit a hotkey:
- Do one of the following:
- Clicking on a VALUE cell representing the hotkey.
- Clicking F2 after selecting the row representing the hotkey.
Either way the Hotkey Editor will switch to “Learn Mode”. Every key pressed will be part of the new hotkey, see Hotkey Format, for the hotkey rule formats.
Note
If the user tries to set a hotkey that already exists in the current domain or in the “Global” domain, they will be notified
with a warning. The hotkey will be set, but remember that a local hotkey has precedence over a Global hotkey.
Conflicting Hotkeys
Conflicting hotkey rows in the Hotkey Editor are displayed in red.
To resolve a conflicting hotkey:
- Right-click a conflicting hotkey to see the “Go To Conflict” option.
- Choosing this option on the menu, or pressing the F3 hotkey will take you to the conflicting hotkey, select it, then turn the learning state ON. This allows you to edit a conflicting
hotkey on the fly.
Hotkey Format
Composite has a hotkey format standard that needs to be followed in order for a hotkey to be valid. When creating and editing
hotkeys, the following keystroke conventions apply:
- All modifiers Ctrl, Alt, and Shift must come before any other keystrokes.
- Modifiers must be entered in the above order.
- A hotkey can be composed of one to three modifiers and one normal key.
- You are limited to four keystrokes per hotkey operation.
- Key strokes in a hotkey operation are pressed at the same time.
- You cannot use a combination of keystrokes more than once.
The formatting will be handled by Composite automatically, meaning that as soon as you release the last key, the hotkey string
is automatically generated, and entered in the value editor.
Resetting Hotkeys
To reset a hotkey:
- Right-click a hotkey in the Hotkey Editor.
- Select Reset.
This will reset to the Composite default and remove the hotkey entry from the active Catalog.
To reset all hotkeys:
- Right-click a hotkey in the Hotkey Editor.
- Select All.
- Select Reset.
All Composite hotkeys are reset and hotkey entries are removed from the active Catalog.