Hotkeys: Selection Objects Window

[stevenyhof]

In AutoCAD, you select objects with a window (anything inside), or a crossing "window" (anything the window crosses). A window is made by clicking and dragging to the right, and a crossing is made by clicking and dragging to the left. I hope this can be added some time to Chief as both are used extensively!

 

So in Chief, I set up the hotkeys for these two options. Select Intersected Objects and Select Contained Objects.

Hotkeys for when in select mode...

Select Intersected Objects - SC (S, C = Select Crossing) Intersected

Select Contained Objects - SW (S, W = Select Window) Contained

 

Note that I am not using SI, as I like to keep my keystrokes close and on the left of the keyboard if possible so I do not need to look at my keyboard. If the keys I want are on the right, they will be grouped on the right, but I seldom do that. You of course can use SI (Intersected) and SC (Contained) if you understand from Chief's lingo. I come from AutoCAD so I understand these commands from AutoCAD's lingo.

 

Chief also uses the Shift key (held down) to make multiple selections - very nice!

[joey_martin]

 

On 7/6/2020 at 9:59 AM, stevenyhof said:

In AutoCAD

I stopped reading after that....

[stevenyhof]

44 minutes ago, joey_martin said:

 

I stopped reading after that....

I'm sorry you have a specific perspective on the world by which you expect others to operate within. Us low-life AutoCAD users bow in awe of your "Chiefly" presence! 

 

I just purchased Chief less than 2 weeks ago and have been really impressed with how it works. Yes, I have run into things that I find do not work for me. One big part is the use of AutoLISP, where I spent years learning and programming ADT to work just the way I wanted. This is a huge investment (years of my life) to let go of. One can only wonder why such a great software like Chief would not offer a programming language, and yet the more I learn the more I realize I do not need it. 

 

You may consider backing off a bit on the AutoCAD thing. There is a lot that makes up a life, and I am sure a lot that makes up your life, of which I can appreciate and applaud your accomplishments - I'm sure they are many. But try not to lose sight on others who also have spent their livelihood learning and growing in ways that others would also appreciate and applaud.

 

Im sure you have a lot to offer here in this forum and so I look forward to learning from you!

[stevenyhof]

I will add, that the tip above that I added is very cool and a quick way to change the selection of objects. It's a tip to use with a hotkey instead of finding the tool icon!

[DzinEye]

10 hours ago, stevenyhof said:

You may consider backing off a bit on the AutoCAD thing.

I think you're taking that more harshly than it was meant.  If I recall correctly, I'm pretty sure Joey came from AutoCad once upon a time too.  If you go back in the forum pretty much everyone who comes from AutoCad, myself included, asks why can't this or that or the other work like AutoCad.  I think it just gets tiring to those who've finally moved on.  I confess that 90% of the things I wished were like what I was used to in AutoCad I finally got used to doing differently in Chief and now I just shrug it off... but there are still quite few things in the CAD department that Chief needs to improve.

[DzinEye]

On 7/6/2020 at 6:59 AM, stevenyhof said:

Note that I am not using SI, as I like to keep my keystrokes close and on the left of the keyboard if possible so I do not need to look at my keyboard. If the keys I want are on the right, they will be grouped on the right, but I seldom do that. You of course can use SI (Intersected) and SC (Contained) if you understand from Chief's lingo.

I've done the same as far as keeping nearly all hot keys reachable with my left hand in home position on the keyboard.  From the wish it were like AutoCad dept.... with hot-keys, I often wish it were like AutoCad where you have to 'Enter' (for which I used the spacebar) to input any typed command... thereby allowing single letters to work as hot-keys and still allowing those letters to be used in other multi-key hot-key combinations.   I lost 15-20 single key hot-keys because of that disability.

[stevenyhof]

1 minute ago, DzinEye said:

I've done the same as far as keeping nearly all hot keys reachable with my left hand in home position on the keyboard.  From the wish it were like AutoCad dept.... with hot-keys, I often wish it were like AutoCad where you have to 'Enter' (for which I used the spacebar) to input any typed command... thereby allowing single letters to work as hot-keys and still allowing those letters to be used in other multi-key hot-key combinations.   I lost 15-20 single key hot-keys because of that disability.

Thank you! I was a big space bar user also and miss the single keys, but I have to admit that as I work and set up my defaults and draw a test plan at the same time, I am assigning hotkeys and I am beginning to enjoy the flow. From what I have drawn and and fine tuned to produce what I want, I am feeling overjoyed with Chief and how it will produce documents in what I believe will be faster than in AutoCAD. I could produce a simple 1500 sq.ft. home in maybe 4 to 6 hours - Done! So I will be using that reference to see how Chief performs with how I am getting things in place. Mind you that while I place some furniture for the client to see in 2D, I am now looking forward to showing them a realistic model. I have accepted most of the Chief defaults in many areas, and so my plans will look different than before, but I am very happy with what will be produced. 

[glennw]

It's amazing how fast you can things built by just  using the auto features of Chief

20 minutes ago, stevenyhof said:

in AutoCAD. I could produce a simple 1500 sq.ft. home in maybe 4 to 6 hours - Done! So I will be using that reference to see how Chief performs

.

ie, my template plan allows me to draw 3 or more closed walls and without doing another thing I get a 3D model that has floor and ceiling platforms, a roof, external dimensions, the room has a fill (confirmation it is a closed room), wall, ceiling, floor and roof framing, foundation, attic walls, etc...etc, as well as things like auto elevations......and these are just the basics.....

As I start to edit the basic plan, things auto update and rebuild...like external dimensions, foundation, roof.......

 

[stevenyhof]

37 minutes ago, glennw said:

It's amazing how fast you can things built by just  using the auto features of Chief

.

ie, my template plan allows me to draw 3 or more closed walls and without doing another thing I get a 3D model that has floor and ceiling platforms, a roof, external dimensions, the room has a fill (confirmation it is a closed room), wall, ceiling, floor and roof framing, foundation, attic walls, etc...etc, as well as things like auto elevations......and these are just the basics.....

As I start to edit the basic plan, things auto update and rebuild...like external dimensions, foundation, roof.......

 

I knew it worked this way but it is exciting to see it all happen by my hand . Thank you for the encouragement 

[glennw]

1 hour ago, DzinEye said:

I often wish it were like AutoCad where you have to 'Enter' (for which I used the spacebar) to input any typed command... thereby allowing single letters to work as hot-keys and still allowing those letters to be used in other multi-key hot-key combinations.

Mark,

You CAN do this.

You can have single letter shortcuts followed by the Spacebar.

You can then us that single letter shortcut in another 2 or more letter command.

ie, you can have "A,Space" for one command and "A,X" for another command.

Is that what you want?

 

Shortcuts can get quite complicated.

You can use either sequential shortcuts or simultaneous shortcuts (using the Control Keys+letters).

Or... you can even use a combination of both in the same shortcut.

[DzinEye]

1 hour ago, glennw said:

You can have single letter shortcuts followed by the Spacebar.

You can then us that single letter shortcut in another 2 or more letter command.

Thanks Glenn. 

For a quick second you gave me a good chuckle as I thought how dumb am I !!!...  but it's not quite the same as what I'm getting at:   If a true <Enter> were needed to initiate a command, (whether or not I had Spacebar mapped to be the <Enter> key)  then I could use "A" as a hot-key, but also "AA", "AAA", "AAB", "AAC", "ABB" etc... just loads more hot key combo's become available that make it much easier to create key patterns that have a relationship to the actual command name or function and are easy to remember.   I've managed okay with what we have... but I still really do miss that ability. 

I actually did do something similar to your suggestion though, I added the Shift key to my hot-keys....which is essentially replacing the Spacebar in your suggestion.  The reason I don't use the Spacebar per your suggestion is that early-on I mapped it to be my Escape key!  

 

I never ventured to using Ctrl or Alt keys, as I cannot reach those reliably or quickly enough without looking and feeling like I'm uncomfortably contorting my hand.

[glennw]

Mark,

I am not 100% sure that we are understanding each other - but I could be wrong.

When I say you can have a shortcut using "A+Space", this means that when creating the shortcut, you press the Spacebar this still requires you to press A and then the Spacebar when executing the shortcut.

This does not preclude you from have shortcuts like "AA", "AAA", "AAB", "AAC", "ABB".

Is the one thing that is precluding you from doing this, the fact that you have mapped your Spacebar to your Escape key?

I guess that means that you don't use you Spacebar as Select. 

If so, and if it were me, I would leave the Spacebar as the Spacebar. 

How did you add the Shift key to your shortcuts without using a simultaneous shortcut?

[SNestor]

Using hotkeys with Chief is one of the best ways to increase your efficiency with the program.  I made this video related to Hotkeys a while ago but you may still find it interesting.  
 

 

[stevenyhof]

7 hours ago, glennw said:

Mark,

I am not 100% sure that we are understanding each other - but I could be wrong.

When I say you can have a shortcut using "A+Space", this means that when creating the shortcut, you press the Spacebar this still requires you to press A and then the Spacebar when executing the shortcut.

This does not preclude you from have shortcuts like "AA", "AAA", "AAB", "AAC", "ABB".

Is the one thing that is precluding you from doing this, the fact that you have mapped your Spacebar to your Escape key?

I guess that means that you don't use you Spacebar as Select. 

If so, and if it were me, I would leave the Spacebar as the Spacebar. 

How did you add the Shift key to your shortcuts without using a simultaneous shortcut?

This is a great tip! I'm going to give it a try - thank you!

[dshall]

If I am not mistaken you can have one key,  two key,  three key and 4 key short cuts.

 

 Every single key can be a single hot key......  EXCEPT  a key YOU CHOSE that is the key that will tell CA the hot key sequence will be a two key hot key.....  similar to you SPACE BAR key.  CA's method is even better because you do not need to hit the space bar for a single stroke hot key..  

 

Back in the day all hot keys were single stroke.  And then the Great Glenn Woodward advocated for multiple key hot keys.  We finally got them a few years ago.

 

"This does not preclude you from have shortcuts like "AA", "AAA", "AAB", "AAC", "ABB"."

 

The above bold statement is not correct. You can not have the AA if you want the AAA and AAB.  Think about it....  how would CA know that after you type in AA you that another keystroke is next.

 

Below is an example.  For CABINET hot keys I use a 2 stroke hot key starting with a "C".  If I want to use a single keystroke of a "C" I get the following message.  IOW,  if I want to use a single stroke hot key,  the keystroke cannot be used to begin a multiple hot key operation.

 

 

So to restate the point of the post,  you can have a single stroke hot WITHOUT using the space bar as a select key which in effect makes CA's hot key method better than the ACAD method.

 

Glenn,  please correct me if I am mistaken.

 

 

[stevenyhof]

1 minute ago, SNestor said:

Using hotkeys with Chief is one of the best ways to increase your efficiency with the program.  I made this video related to Hotkeys a while ago but you may still find it interesting.  
 

 

This is excellent! Thank you!

 

 

[dshall]

BTW,

you cannot use SPACE BAR,C. as a hot key,

 but you can use C,SPACE BAR as a hot key.

 

[Renerabbitt]

You could also just have an ipad with 10 different hotkey pages containing over 600 Tools . 

 

 

 

[DRAWZILLA]

21 hours ago, stevenyhof said:

I'm sorry you have a specific perspective on the world by which you expect others to operate within. Us low-life AutoCAD users bow in awe of your "Chiefly" presence! 

 

I just purchased Chief less than 2 weeks ago and have been really impressed with how it works. Yes, I have run into things that I find do not work for me. One big part is the use of AutoLISP, where I spent years learning and programming ADT to work just the way I wanted. This is a huge investment (years of my life) to let go of. One can only wonder why such a great software like Chief would not offer a programming language, and yet the more I learn the more I realize I do not need it. 

 

You may consider backing off a bit on the AutoCAD thing. There is a lot that makes up a life, and I am sure a lot that makes up your life, of which I can appreciate and applaud your accomplishments - I'm sure they are many. But try not to lose sight on others who also have spent their livelihood learning and growing in ways that others would also appreciate and applaud.

 

Im sure you have a lot to offer here in this forum and so I look forward to learning from you!

you can't even expect Chief to offer anything close to Autocad, just look at the price difference. That tells you everything.  I choose Chief many years ago because I didn't need all the features of AC . And I didn't want to take out several mortgages to do it. My son went to AC school for 4 years, he now owns the business and has many people draw for him.  I still like Chief much better for what I do, residential.

[stevenyhof]

1 hour ago, DRAWZILLA said:

I still like Chief much better for what I do, residential.

This is a bit of a bias community - LOL - but I am very excited to be learning Chief. I think I spent so much time (years of programming) and money on ADT that it was my investments that I felt obligated to. Three weeks ago I deleted the demo I was testing and told the sales guy I wasn't interested. He replied with something that made me want to at least spend an hour with him on a demo. So I downloaded it again, and things like hotkeys would not save in the demo so I purchased Chief a few days before my demo meeting. I have been having so much fun setting things up and testing everything that I am truly hooked and wish I checked it out years ago. 

[DzinEye]

12 hours ago, glennw said:

Mark,

I am not 100% sure that we are understanding each other - but I could be wrong.

When I say you can have a shortcut using "A+Space", this means that when creating the shortcut, you press the Spacebar this still requires you to press A and then the Spacebar when executing the shortcut.

This does not preclude you from have shortcuts like "AA", "AAA", "AAB", "AAC", "ABB".

Is the one thing that is precluding you from doing this, the fact that you have mapped your Spacebar to your Escape key?

I guess that means that you don't use you Spacebar as Select. 

If so, and if it were me, I would leave the Spacebar as the Spacebar. 

How did you add the Shift key to your shortcuts without using a simultaneous shortcut?

Hey Glenn... I had no idea you had responded... and now I see a whole load of other responses too.
@dshall also responded with what I 'think' is supporting what I am saying, but sorry Scott, I'm not quite sure!

 

My understanding and my point is simply this:   I can make a hot key combo like "SSS".... but if I have that, I cannot ALSO have "SS" or just "S" as hot-keys... or vice-versa.
Please of course correct me if I am wrong, because I would love to be wrong in this case!

 

BTW...for select I use Shift-S ... but 99% of the time Escape (spacebar) gets me back to select when I want it.

[DzinEye]

5 hours ago, dshall said:

Back in the day all hot keys were single stroke.  And then the Great Glenn Woodward advocated for multiple key hot keys.  We finally got them a few years ago.

@glennw  Thanks for advocating for this!  It's always been an option since I became a Chiefer... but I'd of been miserable without combo's being an option.

[dshall]

15 minutes ago, DzinEye said:

@glennw  Thanks for advocating for this!  It's always been an option since I became a Chiefer... but I'd of been miserable without combo's being an option.

 

Do you understand the following statement?

 

Below is an example.  For CABINET hot keys I use a 2 stroke hot key starting with a "C".  If I want to use a single keystroke of a "C" I get the following message.  IOW,  if I want to use a single stroke hot key,  the keystroke cannot be used to begin a multiple hot key operation.

 

The above statement is the key to understanding hotkey options.

 

[DzinEye]

5 hours ago, SNestor said:

Using hotkeys with Chief is one of the best ways to increase your efficiency with the program.

Nice video as always Steve.  Nothing at all to disparage the other video makers here, they're all great, but yours are definitely the cream of the crop. 

Definitely not having to search for an icon to click-on for everything is a huge time-saver.  

[dshall]

BTW, if you can wait about 5. hours,  Glenn should be rising out of bed from his beach view Manse in Northern Sydney  Australia where the rich and famous lives and he can probably set us all straight.