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| Hotkeys - Customisable? 23/06/2013 at 19:42 #45956 | |
RainbowNines
272 posts |
I've got a broken keyboard on my laptop which means the A and S keys are very hit and miss. I use a keyboard to type when I have work to do... I don't want to be limited to using SimSig at my desk though... Are the hotkeys customisable? Cheers. Log in to reply |
| Hotkeys - Customisable? 23/06/2013 at 20:16 #45958 | |
Steamer
3925 posts |
No. A and S are only used to focus the display on a certain location on some simulations, but most are set up so that the number keys scroll accross the area in roughly equal steps.
"Don't stress/ relax/ let life roll off your backs./ Except for death and paying taxes/ everything in life.../ is only for now." (Avenue Q) Log in to reply |
| Hotkeys - Customisable? 23/06/2013 at 20:18 #45960 | |
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RainbowNines
272 posts |
Er... A answers the telephone - which is why I find it important!
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| Hotkeys - Customisable? 23/06/2013 at 20:31 #45961 | |
Peter Bennet
5362 posts |
Un-shifted keys are within the core-code but there should be a clickable button option somewhere for each one. Shifted keys are hard-coded by the developer. Neither can be user customised. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| Hotkeys - Customisable? 23/06/2013 at 20:33 #45962 | |
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RainbowNines
272 posts |
Thanks Peter. Will struggle on regardless!
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| Hotkeys - Customisable? 23/06/2013 at 20:48 #45964 | |
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AndyG
1835 posts |
F6 will give direct access to the telephone window.
I can only help one person a day. Today's not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look too good either. Log in to reply |
| Hotkeys - Customisable? 23/06/2013 at 21:26 #45968 | |
BarryM
2158 posts |
" said:Er... A answers the telephone - which is why I find it important!You can answer the telephone using F6. Barry Barry, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Log in to reply |
| Hotkeys - Customisable? 24/06/2013 at 10:16 #45975 | |
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maxand
1637 posts |
Any hotkeys can be customized if you take the trouble to learn how to use and apply a macro language. This can be useful for physically disadvantaged keyboard users. Although some other, widely used applications contain enormous lists of hotkeys that seem to have become embedded over time, they are still cumbersome. The most appropriate hotkeys are ones you create for yourself. This is not difficult to learn to do, and relieves the programmer of the need to do anything more than supply hasic keyboard shortcuts, as SimSig does. As many of you already know (did I just hear a chorus of groans?) I advocate the use of macros. As each sim is different, I have created a separate script to match the one I'm currently playing, but they all contain some common code applicable to all sims. There are free programming languages to do this. You are welcome to PM me for further help in this. 
Log in to reply The following user said thank you: Peter Bennet |
| Hotkeys - Customisable? 24/06/2013 at 10:59 #45977 | |
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Peter Bennet
5362 posts |
I've stuck it on the ideas board in case it's possible to tweak the core-code. Max, if you have something that people can easily use and you want to make it available it can probably go on the download area. Peter P.S. that's assuming it's not contrary to the user T&Cs relating to hacking into the .exe. I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Last edited: 24/06/2013 at 11:00 by Peter Bennet Log in to reply |
| Hotkeys - Customisable? 24/06/2013 at 14:29 #45981 | |
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maxand
1637 posts |
Thanks Peter. There was a time in the past when I prevailed on developers of programs I used frequently to add more and more customization to the hotkeys they selected for their user interfaces. Some have indeed done that, but it can easily turn into a "Rob Peter to pay Paul" situation where giving the user the ability to swap hotkeys is time-consuming to develop/debug and under-appreciated by users, who clamour for more and more customization as soon as the developer relents. I have no idea to what degree SimSig attempts to copy the hotkeys used in real-life IECC panels, and to what degree the hotkeys we use represent a necessary concession. Certainly I don't and wouldn't use a trackball, for example. For me, SimSig is a great way to wind down after a long day, once I get to know my sims well. It's then that little irritations make themselves felt, and I begin looking for ways to condense three mouse clicks into one, or update a sticky note with a single keypress. Now, I'm right handed, not missing any digits and recently changed to a HP Pavilion DV7 with a much wider keyboard than my previous machine. This machine makes it impossible for me to press concert pianist-like chordal macros such as Shift+Win+Alt+F with the ease I enjoyed in the past, nor do I find myself willing to remember as many as I wrote back then, but the best have survived and still add pleasure to each hour of play. Each user's customization requirement is different. I'm not entirely sure that posting macro scripts for each sim I play would be useful or welcome, since a macro is as individual as a BIOS. I don't have problems with A or S on my keyboard, though the left arrow key on my old machine is a pain and I have had to work around that. Furthermore, it would fall to me to update them as soon as a new sim update is released. But the basic principle is unchanged. It constantly amazes me how far macro languages have progressed and how easy it is to customize an interface, even when the programmer has omitted to provide native shortcut keys, or failed to foresee the potential difficulty of a design. Take for example the current right-click function in SimSig's main panel. Right-clicking can be set to either display a signal number (with an accompanying context menu) OR cancel a route. Since each may be frequently used, it would be better to access them using different hotkeys (which includes different mouse functions). I understand this mod is being considered, but in the meantime it is remarkably simple with the right software to create a macro relying on a key combination (such as Shift+R-click) which sends a R-click to open the context menu (provided this has been set in SimSig Options), then jumps down to Cancel Route, and cancels it. Then, right-clicking on a signal displays its number, but Shift+R-clicking it cancels the route. Instant satisfaction. Like all great things in life, a little learning curve is required, which immediately divides simmers into those who will and those who won't. Last time I promulgated this notion, my karma sank unfathomably low, reflecting the inherent conservatism of the rank and file (a necessary survival trait, methinks). For the few who welcome the opportunity to make a great pastime (SimSig) even more enjoyable, let me assure you that the macro programming community is flourishing, with free software, forums and chat rooms. Their forums are better places to post the script files with your macros (no, I'm too old to be a script kiddie) for discussion and refinement, for you walk among the converted. Last edited: 25/06/2013 at 08:17 by maxand Log in to reply |
| Hotkeys - Customisable? 24/06/2013 at 16:42 #45989 | |
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Peter Bennet
5362 posts |
I've flagged up the question of user defined hot-keys on the bug-board. Whether or how it can be done I don't know but at least if it's flagged it can be addressed one way or another in the fullness of time. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply The following user said thank you: maxand |