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Hello,

The documentation lists hotkeys for paragraph styles Heading1 through Heading6 in the form of command-H-3, etc.
I have no idea how to type this on the keyboard Hotkeys typically consist of one primary key +/- modifier keys.

By using the Hide command with Command-H, the active window immediately disappears. After this the 3 goes who knows where so...
will someone please explain to what the proper shortcut keys are to apply these heading styles.

Thank you

Hi Dan,
the "hotkeys" you are referring to are also known as multi-key shortcuts. You will need to keep holding the command key while you type them. So press and hold <command>, and type H-3 before you let go. Nisus allows you to define shortcuts of up to 3 keys in length.

[Having said that, my shortcuts for the Heading 1 through 6 styles are set to <option>-<command>-1 etc. But, hey, you can set them to anything you want in the Preferences > Menu Keys. And actually short cuts for styles can be set even more conveniently in the style sheet.]

Thanks, if that’s in the manual, I couldn’t find it. Kind of critical to know however.

I think the documentation and the menus would be clearer if they said “cmd-h cmd-3” because that is really the way the system sees it and it’s more instructive to the user

DoctorDan wrote: ↑2018-11-17 18:46:11 Thanks, if that’s in the manual, I couldn’t find it. Kind of critical to know however.

You're referring specifically to the need to hold the command key while typing the full shortcut? I just checked in the manual, and as far as I can see, it seems you are right. Well that manual is quite a work of art. Kudos to Mark, I believe, or whoever wrote it. But of course for an application as complex as Nisus, it will never be possible to catch every detail that needs to be said.

Just speaking for myself, the multi-key shortcut behavior was always immediately obvious to me. I must have used shortcuts like that for many years before I even realized that this was a problem. I used to have shortcuts that would start with "Q.." only to later realize that when my fingers were too quick, Nisus would quit rather than do what i wanted

DoctorDan wrote: ↑2018-11-17 20:38:13 I think the documentation and the menus would be clearer if they said “cmd-h cmd-3” because that is really the way the system sees it and it’s more instructive to the user

Well no. That is not how it works. That makes it look like you have to press twice.

My only point was that it’s confusing and non-intuitive, tha it, I’ never seen any other app that uses this approach. The closest is emacs but in that case the first key combination shifts the mode to command entry and then the following are either plain or modified keys. I’v been in this business for 50 years and nothing in my experience provided me with a clue as to what to do with the cmd-h3 in the menu.

ihmo

I can understand why multi-key shortcuts like Command + H3 might be initially confusing. It's not standard and most users probably haven't seen them before. I'm not aware of very many apps that have this feature.

As others have said, you activate a multi-key shortcut in Nisus Writer by holding down the Command key the entire time. For example, to trigger Command + H3 (the default shortcut for Heading 3) you would:

1. Press and hold down the Command key.
2. Type the H key (press down and release up).
3. Type the 3 key (press down and release up).
4. Release the Command key (so it is now up).

Basically Nisus Writer collects together all the keys you type while the Command key is down and then matches the full shortcut at the very end, once the Command key is released. We should clarify this in the user guide.

Once you get used to multikey keyboard shortcuts they are really invaluable. I think they're so much easier to remember than obscure shortcuts using multiple modifier keys.

I agaree that " multi-key shortcuts like Command + H3 might be initially confusing". They certainly confused me.
Once explained, they are no problem.
Don't you think a boxed alert in the manual intro and listing it in the index might forestall some of this confusion?

I've attached a sample

Thanks

Multi-key shortcuts are explained on p. 573 in Nisus User's Guide. See "Menu Keys for Menu Commands."

phspaelti wrote: ↑2018-11-17 16:22:02Nisus allows you to define shortcuts of up to 3 keys in length.

That was long time ago. Now this limitation does not apply anymore. You can now use as many characters as you like, which I think is absolutely mind-blowing.