NOTE: this software is for Classic Mac OS (eg: OS 9) and cannot be used on Mac OS X.
Nisus Writer Classic is no longer for sale. This page is only for archival purposes.

Don't Let Your Fingers Leave The Keyboard

As we have mentioned elsewhere (when discussing how to use the Nisus Writer Floating Tool Bars), Nisus Writer is a word processor. We continue to maintain that the best way to get the words from your brain into the computer is by using the keyboard. Therefore we find that most writers like to keep their fingers on the keyboard and not use the mouse unless they absolutely have to.

Actually, back in the early '90s, Apple Computer, Inc. did some studies which indicated that people were able to "mouse" faster than they could "keyboard". These studies suggested that the visual association of a command's position on a menu was easier to process than (what was considered) the abstract association of certain (possibly more or less mnemonic) preset keyboard commands.

Despite that warning, we have learned, also, that, if the user him or herself creates the mnemonic there is a greater likelihood that they will remember it. And, after time, many (if not most) of these commands become "second nature" (as the feel of the location of the gears on a manual shift car). So, in Nisus Writer we have enabled you to assign almost any keyboard shortcut you can imagine (of up to three keys) to any of Nisus Writer's commands (whether they are those that shipped with the application or any of the macros, glossaries, defined styles or other commands you created). Up until version 5.0.x we required that you use the COMMAND key along with the keys you wanted to use. This gave you a maximum of a little more than 125,000 possible "Command Key" equivalents for Nisus Writer's commands. However, with Nisus Writer 5.1.x, we no longer require that the modifier key you use be COMMAND. You can now also opt for using COMMAND, and/or OPTION and/or CONTROL or any of these with or without SHIFT. This increases the number of possibilities significantly as illustrated here. (You can do the math if you'd like.)

To assign your own personalized keyboard shortcuts to any of Nisus Writer's menu commands:

1. Choose Preferences... from the Edit menu.
   
   
2. In the dialog that appears scroll down to the bottom of the column on the left and click Shortcuts.
   
   
   
   
3. The instructions in the dialog indicate for you to choose the menu command to which you want to associate a keyboard shortcut.
   
   So, choose the command.
   
   Note:
   A new menu appears: the Misc. Menus menu. In this menu you can find all the other menus that appear inside Nisus Writer (from commands on the Text and Graphics bars to the Find & Replace window and beyond).
   
   Notice, as you choose the menu command you want, that Nisus Writer enables the various modifier keys. This enables you to associate any or all of these keys to almost any other sequence.
   
   
4. Type the key(s) you want to use.
   
   
5. Click Set.
   
   
6. From here you have a few options:
   1. If you only want to assign one shortcut and you only want it available temporarily, click OK.
   2. If you only want to assign one shortcut but you want it available each time you use Nisus Writer, click Save Preferences and then click OK.
      or
      
   3. If you want to assign more than one shortcut you can continue to choose the menu commands you want, type the key(s) to use, click Set each time and then continue with either [1] or [2].
      or
      
   4. If you decide that this is beyond you and you want to get out, click Cancel.

   It's that easy.

   So, to continue with the previous tip of calling the Graphics Tools Tool Bar from the Keyboard, do the following. [We'll presume that you are still in the Preferences dialog.]

   1. Choose Graphics Tools from the Nisus Macros submenu of the Macros portion of the Gear or Cogwheel menu.
      
      
      
      
   2. Type GT or something similar that you will remember.
      
      
      
      
   3. Click Set.
      
      
   4. Choose Text Editing from the Nisus Macros submenu of the Macros portion of the Gear or Cogwheel menu.
      
      
   5. Type TE or something similar that you will remember.
      
      
   6. Click Set.
      
      
   7. Click Save Preferences.
      
      
   8. Click OK.
      
      Take a look at your Nisus Macros submenu. It should appear something like this:
      
      

   Next time:

   Learn how you can use Nisus Writer's own keyboard shortcuts to call commands outside of Nisus Writer.

   
   
   To the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).
   To the Tips Table of Contents.