(Shift) Key + (=) Key Hotkey in Chief Architect X17

[ComputerMaster86]

Sorry to pick your brains on a somewhat silly topic and question but, here it is.  Is it possible to use the hotkey combination (Shift) Key + (=+) Key as a hotkey combination in Chief Architect X17.   I haven't had any luck being able to use that combination inside chief.  I  also tried researching if any other programs on my system might use that combination, hence interfering with its use in Chief.  All to no avail.  If I could somehow figure out how to get the hotkey combination (Shift) Key + (=+) to work inside chief it would allow me 7 to 8 working levels of stacked hotkeys.  My current custom hot key set up makes use of  "Ctrl", "Alt", and "Ctrl + Alt". modifier keys.

Edited Monday at 10:35 PM by ComputerMaster86

[Joe_Carrick]

No, because (=+) is actually "+" and has the meaning of addition.

[Renerabbitt]

6 hours ago, ComputerMaster86 said:

"Ctrl", "Alt", and "Ctrl + Alt".

I would strongly encourage you to stay away from the alt key, this can cause some problems with mnemonic keys. False-positives, and menu initiation may occur. This will change with your system speed as it gets bogged down. The alt key targets Chief Architects main menus. I would stick to ctrl and/or shift for modifiers.
I would also switch to sequential keys if you need more combinations as it greatly increases the possible key combinations 
 

[ComputerMaster86]

34 minutes ago, Renerabbitt said:

I would strongly encourage you to stay away from the alt key, this can cause some problems with . False-positives, and menu initiation may occur. This will change with your system speed as it gets bogged down. The alt key targets Chief Architects main menus. I would stick to ctrl and/or shift for modifiers.
I would also switch to sequential keys if you need more combinations as it greatly increases the possible key combinations 
 

I am aware of this but, the way I do my hotkeys "Alt" doesn't interfere with Chief's main menu's.  If I am understanding what sequential key's are, I am already using them.

Edited Tuesday at 09:01 AM by ComputerMaster86

[Michael_Gia]

14 hours ago, ComputerMaster86 said:

hotkey combination

Not sure if this helps, but I took a page out of Revit’s hotkey philosophy. 
 

That is I mostly use a two letter system. You’ll instantly get more combinations and it’s a lot easier to string together 2 keys that make sense. 
 

examples:

 

m,r for material region

 

t,m tape measure 

d,e end to end dimension 

d,a angle dimension

d,m manual dimension

 

it’s endless. 

[ComputerMaster86]

I am currently using two letter (actually 3 characters total) hotkeys.  I then pair those up with modifier keys "Ctrl", "Alt" & "Ctrl" + "Alt".  Here is an example...

 

= O O                  (Open Object)

Ctrl + = O O        (Open Row Object)

Alt + = O O         (Open View)

 

= P E                     (Edit Page Info)

Ctrl + = P E           (Exchange with Previous Page)

Alt + = P E             (Exchange with Next Page)

Ctrl + Alt + = P E   (Client Designer Information)

 

The only reason for the "=" sign at beginning is it just allows me to make use of the "Alt" modifier key in my hotkey system.  Renee is probably going to strongly discourage  me from using "Alt".  Technically he already has.  I don't use "Shift" for the most part because I have had trouble integrating it into my hotkey setup without running into problems.  So I just use what I have been able to get working and that is Ctrl and Alt Keys.  I have these hot keys mirrored in radial menus for my 3Dconnexion devices.  With all this said, I steel keep thinking about hotkeys and different ways of doing things.  So if I ever have another light bulb moment go off in my head, I am likely to change things up.

[Renerabbitt]

You’re using what I’d call a stack. If you want to avoid interfering with core system hotkeys across apps, you have to respect the base layer:

Ctrl + C → Copy
Ctrl + V → Paste
Ctrl + X → Cut
Ctrl + Z → Undo
Ctrl + Y → Redo (sometimes Ctrl+Shift+Z)
Ctrl + A → Select All
Ctrl + S → Save
Ctrl + P → Print
Ctrl + F → Find
Ctrl + H → Find & Replace
Ctrl + N → New
Ctrl + O → Open
Ctrl + W → Close tab/window
Ctrl + Q → Quit (more cross-platform than Windows)
…there are more

Because of that, the “stack” for something like A is already occupied. If you’re trying to build logical, like-for-like functions that are easy to remember, A isn’t a clean starting point.

That leaves you with safer first keys like:
E, G, J, K, L, R, U, and numbers

From there, you can build out a full stack of combos. Just keep in mind… it’s been a while since I tested everything, and some keys like Ctrl+3 may still conflict depending on the app.

Shift can also get messy. In some contexts it already modifies behavior… like Shift+1 or other number keys… so it’s not always reliable as a clean layer.

And I’d stay away from Alt entirely. It has a tendency to interfere with system-level behavior and menus, which can break consistency fast.
 

• G,A G,B G,C G,D G,E G,F G,G G,H G,I G,J G,K G,L G,M G,N G,O G,P G,Q G,R G,S G,T G,U G,V G,W G,X G,Y G,Z G,0 G,1 G,2 G,3 G,4 G,5 G,6 G,7 G,8 G,9
  K,A K,B K,C K,D K,E K,F K,G K,H K,I K,J K,K K,L K,M K,N K,O K,P K,Q K,R K,S K,T K,U K,V K,W K,X K,Y K,Z K,0 K,1 K,2 K,3 K,4 K,5 K,6 K,7 K,8 K,9
  L,A L,B L,C L,D L,E L,F L,G L,H L,I L,J L,K L,L L,M L,N L,O L,P L,Q L,R L,S L,T L,U L,V L,W L,X L,Y L,Z L,0 L,1 L,2 L,3 L,4 L,5 L,6 L,7 L,8 L,9
  M,A M,B M,C M,D M,E M,F M,G M,H M,I M,J M,K M,L M,M M,N M,O M,P M,Q M,R M,S M,T M,U M,V M,W M,X M,Y M,Z M,0 M,1 M,2 M,3 M,4 M,5 M,6 M,7 M,8 M,9
  R,A R,B R,C R,D R,E R,F R,G R,H R,I R,J R,K R,L R,M R,N R,O R,P R,Q R,R R,S R,T R,U R,V R,W R,X R,Y R,Z R,0 R,1 R,2 R,3 R,4 R,5 R,6 R,7 R,8 R,9
  U,A U,B U,C U,D U,E U,F U,G U,H U,I U,J U,K U,L U,M U,N U,O U,P U,Q U,R U,S U,T U,U U,V U,W U,X U,Y U,Z U,0 U,1 U,2 U,3 U,4 U,5 U,6 U,7 U,8 U,9
  
  0,A 0,B 0,C 0,D 0,E 0,F 0,G 0,H 0,I 0,J 0,K 0,L 0,M 0,N 0,O 0,P 0,Q 0,R 0,S 0,T 0,U 0,V 0,W 0,X 0,Y 0,Z 0,0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9
  1,A 1,B 1,C 1,D 1,E 1,F 1,G 1,H 1,I 1,J 1,K 1,L 1,M 1,N 1,O 1,P 1,Q 1,R 1,S 1,T 1,U 1,V 1,W 1,X 1,Y 1,Z 1,0 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,4 1,5 1,6 1,7 1,8 1,9
  2,A 2,B 2,C 2,D 2,E 2,F 2,G 2,H 2,I 2,J 2,K 2,L 2,M 2,N 2,O 2,P 2,Q 2,R 2,S 2,T 2,U 2,V 2,W 2,X 2,Y 2,Z 2,0 2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6 2,7 2,8 2,9
  3,A 3,B 3,C 3,D 3,E 3,F 3,G 3,H 3,I 3,J 3,K 3,L 3,M 3,N 3,O 3,P 3,Q 3,R 3,S 3,T 3,U 3,V 3,W 3,X 3,Y 3,Z 3,0 3,1 3,2 3,3 3,4 3,5 3,6 3,7 3,8 3,9
  4,A 4,B 4,C 4,D 4,E 4,F 4,G 4,H 4,I 4,J 4,K 4,L 4,M 4,N 4,O 4,P 4,Q 4,R 4,S 4,T 4,U 4,V 4,W 4,X 4,Y 4,Z 4,0 4,1 4,2 4,3 4,4 4,5 4,6 4,7 4,8 4,9
  5,A 5,B 5,C 5,D 5,E 5,F 5,G 5,H 5,I 5,J 5,K 5,L 5,M 5,N 5,O 5,P 5,Q 5,R 5,S 5,T 5,U 5,V 5,W 5,X 5,Y 5,Z 5,0 5,1 5,2 5,3 5,4 5,5 5,6 5,7 5,8 5,9
  6,A 6,B 6,C 6,D 6,E 6,F 6,G 6,H 6,I 6,J 6,K 6,L 6,M 6,N 6,O 6,P 6,Q 6,R 6,S 6,T 6,U 6,V 6,W 6,X 6,Y 6,Z 6,0 6,1 6,2 6,3 6,4 6,5 6,6 6,7 6,8 6,9
  7,A 7,B 7,C 7,D 7,E 7,F 7,G 7,H 7,I 7,J 7,K 7,L 7,M 7,N 7,O 7,P 7,Q 7,R 7,S 7,T 7,U 7,V 7,W 7,X 7,Y 7,Z 7,0 7,1 7,2 7,3 7,4 7,5 7,6 7,7 7,8 7,9
  8,A 8,B 8,C 8,D 8,E 8,F 8,G 8,H 8,I 8,J 8,K 8,L 8,M 8,N 8,O 8,P 8,Q 8,R 8,S 8,T 8,U 8,V 8,W 8,X 8,Y 8,Z 8,0 8,1 8,2 8,3 8,4 8,5 8,6 8,7 8,8 8,9
  9,A 9,B 9,C 9,D 9,E 9,F 9,G 9,H 9,I 9,J 9,K 9,L 9,M 9,N 9,O 9,P 9,Q 9,R 9,S 9,T 9,U 9,V 9,W 9,X 9,Y 9,Z 9,0 9,1 9,2 9,3 9,4 9,5 9,6 9,7 9,8 9,9

  
  this is my G604 mapping
  

  My SpaceMouse mapping is out of date…

  I’ll still use core functions in a stack when they feel like the same operation. For example…
  X = delete
  Ctrl+X = cut (system)
  Shift+X = make wall invisible
  Ctrl+Shift+X = delete layout page

  I try to reserve Ctrl+Shift for layout-related actions, so if I ever have to jump back to the keyboard, there’s at least some logic I can remember.

  The actual letters don’t mean much to me. With a radial menu you’ve got 4 commands per slice, 8 slices, across multiple keys… it’s more about access than memorization. The mouse is kind of the exception to all the rules… it just needs my most-used functions, nothing fancy.

  I’ve got Home and End mapped to the mouse wheel, which makes numeric input really fast. For example… I’ll drag, hit Enter (same behavior as Tab), then hit Home and type something like +24" to offset on the fly.

 

Edited 20 hours ago by Renerabbitt