Shortcut Assignments

[benk]

Just thinking about buying developer and I was wondering if it has the ability to assign keystrokes to scripts/functions. I know about the Command 1 thru 0, but I am hoping for more shortcut key assignments.

[Vaughan]

Nope, Developer does not have that kind of functionality.

Some third-party plug-ins like Menu Magic (?) may be able to do this

[SteveB]

Menu Control 2.0 from Dacons International has just released a beta version that can handle shortcut assignments.

Steve

[QuinTech]

Sweet mother! I've been waiting forever for such a function!

Does anyone else find it a total drag how mouse-dependent FM is?

[Fenton]

Yes, it is too mouse-dependent. But assigning any "shortcut" keys would mean interacting with, hence possibly conflicting with, both the built-in FileMaker keys and the operating system's assigned keys. I imagine it is difficult to do this in such a way that would be totally acceptable to everyone.

For example, say you build in a shortcut key (on Macs we call them "command" keys, conflict already :-), but it is "reserved" by the operating system. We have a lot of those in Mac OS X. Or it conflicts with one I've custom-assigned, which we can also do in OS X; or any system can with 3rd-party tools. Would I want your file to override my operating system keys? I don't know, but how would I be able to choose? It would require the consent of the person using the file, which they give when they install a plug-in, as well as separate keys in some cases for each operating system. I can see why FileMaker stays out of it. It would be cool if they could do it someday, but it won't be that simple.

[benk]

What I can't wait for is what microsoft has done with office. I can custimize any shortcut I want. It would be great if someday filemaker had that same ability...I mean at the user level, not just developer level.

[Oldfogey]

Heaven help us if FMP ever copy Microsoft!

The beauty of FMP is its user-friendliness. For 98.6% of users, customising shortcuts is "programming" - horror!!! If my estimate is correct, 1.4% of users are game to customise shortcuts in Office and my guess is that 20% of those do so.

MS is great at producing features that look good but are essentially useless to the majority of users; FMP is great at producing features that make it easy for users to get things done wthout being scared.