Menu Cells

Preferences -> Keyboard Setup

The Preferences -> Keyboard Setup commands are available in all modules except Tools. They let you create a new Swift key, save changes to an .sks file, or load a different .sks file.

The keyboard setup for a work session is contained in the currently loaded .sks file, which contains the currently defined Swift keys as well as Supra key definitions.

The default SIKeys.sks file - containing default Supra/Swift key settings - is automatically loaded when you start SOFTIMAGE 3D. However, you must load an .sks file manually to show Swift keys in menu cells.

For example, you may have one set of Swift keys called model.sks, one called motion.sks, and so on. When beginning a modelling session, you could load the model.sks file.

To edit existing Swift Key settings, see Info -> User Swift Keys .

To edit Supra key settings or reset them to the defaults, see Info -> Supra Keys.

Load

The Preferences -> Load command lets you load previously saved .sks files. This permits you to use different sets of Swift/Supra keys, depending on the task you're doing. For example, if you switch from a modelling task to an animating session, you can load the appropriate .sks file when you switch tasks.

1. Choose Preferences -> Load.

2. A Load browser is displayed from which you can select the .sks file you want to load.

Note:: You can also start SOFTIMAGE 3D using the command line option -k with the path and name of the keyboard setup file you have saved.
: For example:

soft -k /usr/people/elmo/model.sks

Save

When you create a new Swift key combination, you can save it to an .sks file.

Note:

This saves all current key mapping, including both Swift keys and Supra keys.

1. Choose the Preferences -> Save command. The Save File browser is displayed.

2. You can save the current Swift keys to an existing .sks file or save it to a new file name.

3. Click Ok to accept the settings or Cancel to quit the browser.

Learn

The Preferences -> Learn command lets you create Swift key combinations for such actions as choosing a menu cell command or selecting a window title bar option (see the Window Title Bar Options section for more information).

For example, you can map the g and p key combination to the menu cell command Get -> Sphere. This brings up the Create Sphere dialogue box, just as if you had chosen this menu cell command using the mouse.

You can create or edit a Swift key with or without saving it to an .sks file. Without saving, the key mapping is only valid for the current work session and is lost as soon as you exit SOFTIMAGE 3D.

Conflicts

When you try to define a Swift key which conflicts with a Supra key, a warning appears:

"WARNING: Conflicts with: (name of Supra key)"

If you continue, the Swift key overwrites the Supra key. For example, if you define z as a Swift key, it no longer acts as the Supra key for zooming.

When you try to define a Swift key combination which conflicts with an existing Swift key, a warning appears:

"WARNING: Added to: (name of Swift key)"

In this case, the latest definition is added to the previous one. When you subsequently use the Swift key, all the operations are performed successively in the same order as you added them.

You cannot use a key combination of an Alt key with a function key (F1 to F12), such as Alt-F3. These combinations are used by the operating system.
You cannot create a Swift key for EXIT, Scaling, Rotation, or Translation menu cells.

Swift Keys and Window Title Bar Options

You can map a Swift key to an option in a window title bar, such as the OPEN/CLOSE option, or the CLEAN_ALL option in the Schematic window title bar.

If the title bar option normally opens a menu or a dialogue box, the Swift key does the same. However, you cannot invoke an item contained in such a menu with a Swift key.

The Swift key is valid only for that window. If you program a Swift key such as o-c to mean "Open/Close" for window A, it does not work in window B.

Swift Keys for Custom Effects

Setting a Swift key to a custom effect in a shared menu cell in one module sets the same Swift key to whatever custom effect is present in the other modules at that position.

For example, in the Model and Motion modules, the CopyCenter custom effect and the AnimateCenter custom effect occupy the same position in the Duplicate menu: they will share the same Swift key.

Procedure

To create a Swift key:

1. Choose the Preferences -> Learn command or press Left Shift-F1 on the keyboard.

2. An icon shaped like a graduation cap appears (for learning, of course!) and the status line at the bottom of the screen shows you that you are in "Learning Swift Key" mode.

3. Choose the menu cell command you want (such as Save -> Scene) or select an option from a window's title bar (such as the Layout option).

4. The Key Sequence Setup dialogue box is displayed when the command or option has been selected.

5. Click in the letter's check box(es) or press the desired key(s) on the keyboard.

6. A warning appears if the key(s) are already used by either a Supra key or another Swift key.

7. If you want the changes to exist only for the current work session, click Ok. The key is updated in the User Defined Swift Keys list, which can be viewed with the Info -> User Swift Keys command.

Note:

If you have used Preferences -> Load to load an .sks file, the updated key or key combination is also shown beside the related menu command, in parentheses.

8. If you want to save your changes to a file, click Save.

9. This opens the Save File browser where you can select or name the .sks file in which to save your changes.

10. When saving Supra or Swift keys to a new file, enter the .sks suffix.

Deleting or Editing a Swift Key

To delete or edit a Swift key, see the Deleting or Editing a Swift Key section of the Working with SOFTIMAGE 3D User's Guide.

SOFTIMAGE 3D Reference - 19 APR 1996