Has anyone checked through the keyboard shortcuts in the Windows version to see which ones work?
I cant get the Superscript and Subscript shortcuts to work. I tried redesignating it through options and even that did not work. I tried another keyboard too.
Otherwise I am a pretty happy bunny Scrivener wise.
I am using 64 Bit Windows 7
Richard
The superscript and subscript shortcuts aren’t working, no; that’s on the bug list. You should be able to reassign a shortcut key to them and have that work, though. What key combo did you try, and where did you test it? (Most shortcuts won’t work in Full Screen at present.) If it turns red when you put it in, that means the shortcut is already in use, so you may need to get a little creative. I just tried with Ctrl+W for superscript on Win7 and that worked, so this ought to be functional.
Thanks for responding.
I just tried reassigning the Superscript function to Ctrl+Alt+W, Ctrl+Alt+Q, and even tried “reassigning” to Ctrl+Alt+] !
But none worked. I am working in the editor. Win 7 too. So a bit of a puzzle that we get different results.
Maybe you are stumbling over some hurdles in the shortcut-window. It is poorly implemented, in my opinion:
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When you assign a shortcut that already exists, unlike in other programs you will get no dialog telling you: Ctrl Alt W is currently assigned to XYZ. Do you want to re-assign it?
Instead, you’ll have to search through the whole list, looking for red words which indicate double entries. -
When you’ve tracked it down, you cannot delete such a red shortcut, which is really annoying. You MUST assign a shortcut, even for commands you may never use.
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So you assign a random shortcut to a command you never use, just to free the shortcut you had in mind. But your random choice is also already taken by yet another command you may not need. And so you keep chasing your own tail, until you happen to find an unused shortcut.
I don’t know if this strange handling originates from the Mac-version. But in any case, it is totally different from every Windows software I own, and I find it very inconvenient. Changing several shortcuts (back to the Windows default they did not have) was so cumbersome that I gave up on it altogether. I now use AutoHotKey instead.
Thanks for your thoughts Stephan, but this is not the problem I have. I just cant seem to set a Superscript shortcut to work at all.
StefanG, How inconvenient can a system for changing shortcuts really be? I mean, if L&L impliment a system that involves personally phoning one of them everytime you want to change a shortcut, you’d still only have to do it once to set it to something you like and then just forget about it for the rest of your life.
Goforich, it is worth checking that the shortcuts you are trying to assign aren’t doubled up with something else and that is not causing the issues. If you try assigning one to Ctrl-W instead of Ctrl-Alt-W does it then work?
No it is not a doubling up problem, but…
Wow! Thanks for that Ctrl-W suggestion pigfender. I just tried it and Ctrl-W worked and so did Ctrl+Shift+]
But not Ctrl+Alt+]
It seems to be the Alt that is the problem as I tried Ctrl+Alt+6 and that failed too
However I just tried Alt+] and that works, So Ctrl+Alt+“?” is the problem
Anyhow I now have a solution.
Thanks
Cheers
I didn’t know about a free hotline being available worldwide. But I still prefer not having to rely on it, when on some Sunday I need to re-install it or move to a new PC.
You may not change keyboards often, but let me tell you, on some or them you are more likely to accidentally hit special keys than on others. It helps when you can simply delete that shortcut, the way I am used to from other software. I spare you my other scenarios of how useful it can be to quickly assign shortcuts.
But I challenge you to name one Windows software where changing a keyboard shortcut is more cumbersome than on Scrivener. I mean it. This includes graphics programs where a mouse is mandatory and keyboard shortcuts are less important than in a writing software.
By your line of reasoning nothing really matters as long as you have someone available to tell you how to do it. Again, I still prefer an intuitive, easy way of doing things. But maybe that’s just me.
No, my line of reasoning was just that how you set shortcuts is pretty ancilliary to the whole process of using Scrivener. But hey, maybe you personally change shortcuts a lot and therefore this is a higher priority for you. I admit, I personally never change them; I just learn the new ones. This comes from having to work with others on their machines a lot. Changing a programs defalt shortcuts is just a recipe for confusion down the line. I once had to review a document where someone had changed the -V shortcut to print the entire document to the default printer - all 120 pages of it. At that point, I would have happily signed a petition that made it illegal to allow changing default shortcuts.
And the free hotline is text-based only, I’m afraid. Still, it IS free and - if Jaysen’s imagination is to be believed - pretty hot.
You fear confusion? Scrivener doesn’t adhere to the standard of Alt Left/Right Arrow, which is used for going back to the last view, everywhere, from web-browsers (Firefox, IE etc) to Windows File Explorer to … whatever, you name it.
Your petition only makes sense if programs follow the shortcut-guidelines for Windows-programmers. Scrivener does not. The ability to change its shortcuts was therefore essential to my buying decision.
To justfiy my bad review above Scriv’s shortcut -handling: Try changing the Alt-Left back to the Windows-default.
- You hover the mouse over the top left in the Editor: “Show last document viewed.”
- Then you go into Options > Keyboard, but guess what? There is no “Show last document viewed.”
Go ahead and try it, search for it. You won’t find it. In there it is called “Current Editor Back”
3 totally different words, no chance no matter what you type into the search box.
This kind of sloppy organization threw me off again in Menu Format > Convert
You will see Uppercase underlined, but also Quotes. Now we’re talking confusion, when you want to trigger these commands.
Kludges like these leave a bad impression. This is not about bugs or missing features. This it about poor implementation that could have been done right the first go-around.
What I consider good design does not need hotlines in the first place. Program features, that is, bugs are a different matter.
How I do use it here from Germany? I am not a native speaker, mind you, listening and talking is a far cry from writing, but I think I can manage. Where do I find it?
The options for changing the keyboard shortcuts is going to undergo some refinements; this was built toward the end of the beta and we all agree it could handle things more nicely. (This isn’t from the Mac version at all but had to be drawn up entirely for Windows; the Mac version doesn’t have a feature like this because changing keyboard shortcuts is built into the OS preferences.) Needing to change rather than remove unused shortcuts that you want to give a different commands is definitely an inconvenience and should be addressed in the next update. We’re also looking at ways to assign shortcuts for any menu commands (rather than only being able to change existing ones).
Your point about the access keys is well taken; that would be an oversight from new commands getting added late in the game, and I’ll mark it for changing along with another run through the menus.
goforich - The Ctrl+Alt combo is a nasty beast, so that would be the cause of the problem, yes. I’d used just Ctrl+W in my test, not Ctrl+Alt+W. Ctrl+Alt usually is identified on Windows keyboards as a separate modifier, AltGr, so in combination with letters it will be interpreted differently, and changes made to Scrivener’s recognition of the AltGr key are probably what broke the current shortcuts. I’m glad you’ve got this working now, and we should have the real thing fixed soon!
Thanks Jennifer,
it’s good to know these things are taken seriously.
Pigfender’s reproach made me feel like a killjoy among happy customers. I complain about ingredients that give me severe indigestion and receive hints at the great packaging and a hotline that helps me swallow the pill. What about that hotline, does it exist in Germany too?
Then why does it not comply with Windows standards? Why come up with a behavior that is neither Mac nor Windows? I don’t get it.
Pigfender’s nightmare has come true in this case: " a recipe for confusion." I am glad it will be changed in the next update. Shortcuts are essential in a writing software, IMO.
OKAY, my last post on the subject (I promise):
- There is NO telephone hotline. When I said support was text based I meant using the forum and email.
- Apologies if I made you feel like a killjoy. Any and all feedback that helps the L&L team make Scrivener better for everyone is to be encourgaged. My bluntness stems not from the content of your issues, but from irritation at phrases such as “poorly implimented”; being misquoted to make the opposite viewpoint to my own; derailing threads instead of helping the OP find a solution or workaround to their problem.
goforich, I’m glad you found something that works. Happy writing!
No, you literally said “personally phoning one of them everytime you want to change a shortcut” and you made my request look like an unresaonable demand, in addition to condemning the use of custom shortcuts per se.
But never mind. Apologies accepted. Your strange reaction made me exemplify the “poor implementation” and hopefully these details will serve to remedy the situation.