¶ Hotkeys
The hotkeys are one of the most essential tools in PCS for effectively producing vectors. It is highly recommended that users learn how to use the hotkeys. The software does offer a production-tested layout, but the user can customize the hotkeys for each tool.
The software has three hotkey layouts: main hotkey layout, 2D view layout and 3D view layout. The main hotkey layout is global for the whole software. The 2D and 3D view layouts depend on the mouse cursor location: in which window the cursor is located, the respective layout can be used. This means the same hotkey can be used for separate tools in 2D and 3D views.
IMPORTANT! - The software will not highlight hotkey conflict among the separate layouts; it will only highlight within the layout. This can cause errors and confusion for inexperienced users. Crosscheck all assigned hotkeys for all layouts at the Help menu under the Display Hotkeys option!
To adjust the hotkey settings, select the toolbar layout triangle at the end of any toolbar, select Add/Remove Buttons and press the Customize… button. The main layout can be modified from any main toolbar, the 2D layout can be modified from any 2D toolbar, and the 3D layout can be modified from the 3D toolbar.
After selecting the Customize… option, the Toolbar Customizer window will appear. At the bottom, please press the keyboard… button.
The Keyboard button will open the layout settings panel for the selected layout (for our example, the main layout has been used). In this window, the user can browse categories and commands. After the tool has been selected, the assigned hotkey can be seen.
All hotkeys for the current layout can be seen by clicking on the Catalog button.
If the user selects a tool with no hotkey or needs a new one, after clicking on the Specify a Shortcut field, the user can press the button on the keyboard that needs to be assigned. The user can assign nearly all buttons, including combined SHIFT, CTLR or ALT shortcuts (So ALT+T or CTRL+S are valid combinations). Numpad is also allowed. Press the Assign button to store the value if the shortcut is set. The software will present the unassigned text for a hotkey that is available for assignment.
If the assigned hotkey has a conflict WITHIN the layout (so not between the main layout and 2D or 3D layout), the panel will inform the user that the hotkey has already been assigned to some function.
The hotkey layouts can be saved and loaded from a file. Pressing Reset All… will set the hotkeys to "factory default". Once a hotkey is assigned, the tooltip will display the hotkey as well as the tool name when the mouse is hovered over a tool.
