Hotcakes, no. Hotkeys, yes!
May 20, 2011 9:45 AM Subscribe
Hotkeys! Hotkeys! Get yer hotkeys! Steaming hot and ready for your Windows, Macs and Linuxeses! Even more for Macs! We've got some for your Microsofts and Open Offices! For yer Adobes and Gimps! Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, and Opera! And for the baker's dozen, DOS Shortcuts and a lot more shortcuts that also work for modern Windows systems.
Ah, emacs:
Ctrl+x, then r, then j, then letter of the window state register.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 10:03 AM on May 20, 2011
Ctrl+x, then r, then j, then letter of the window state register.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 10:03 AM on May 20, 2011
Every time Windows came out with a version that was less keystroke friendly and more mouse happy, I was always like why are you making this product less efficient to use? I still use a DOS program for some key parts of my work, because I haven't found anything better. Thanks for this.
posted by Melismata at 10:07 AM on May 20, 2011
posted by Melismata at 10:07 AM on May 20, 2011
Great post -- AutoHotkey, which allows the creation of custom hotkeys, is pretty much my favourite computer program ever.
posted by mattn at 10:12 AM on May 20, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by mattn at 10:12 AM on May 20, 2011 [2 favorites]
AutoHotkey is indeed the shizz for Windows. Also necessary if you want to remap your capslock key as left control, which everyone in the world should do.
On OS X and iOS, you must use TextExpander, which doesn't do hotkeys per se but is nonetheless a game-changer for typing.
posted by middleclasstool at 10:20 AM on May 20, 2011
On OS X and iOS, you must use TextExpander, which doesn't do hotkeys per se but is nonetheless a game-changer for typing.
posted by middleclasstool at 10:20 AM on May 20, 2011
Geekiest Y-U-NO image macro I've seen:
emacs
(Y-U-NO guy)
YY U NO COPY MY LINE?
posted by GuyZero at 10:20 AM on May 20, 2011 [2 favorites]
emacs
(Y-U-NO guy)
YY U NO COPY MY LINE?
posted by GuyZero at 10:20 AM on May 20, 2011 [2 favorites]
tylerkaraszewski: "Ah, emacs:
Ctrl+x, then r, then j, then letter of the window state register."
An emacs key combo is a mnemonic for a narrative, with the general format "prefix - context - action".
C-x (prefix C-x, the most general prefix) r (context - we are acting on a register) j (action - jump to it)
it is a shortcut for 'jump-to-register' which you can run directly if you prefer to type out the command in full. You would only use the shortcut if you knew what it meant, and in that case it is easily derived from the abbreviations of the keywords (eXtended Register Jump).
This makes much more sense than "v means paste".
posted by idiopath at 10:22 AM on May 20, 2011 [3 favorites]
Ctrl+x, then r, then j, then letter of the window state register."
An emacs key combo is a mnemonic for a narrative, with the general format "prefix - context - action".
C-x (prefix C-x, the most general prefix) r (context - we are acting on a register) j (action - jump to it)
it is a shortcut for 'jump-to-register' which you can run directly if you prefer to type out the command in full. You would only use the shortcut if you knew what it meant, and in that case it is easily derived from the abbreviations of the keywords (eXtended Register Jump).
This makes much more sense than "v means paste".
posted by idiopath at 10:22 AM on May 20, 2011 [3 favorites]
I nearly went mad after switching to a Mac because Clover-Tab only switched apps, not windows. Clover-` helped, but not much. Windows is still far more keyboard-friendly* IMHO.
* outside of the shell, of course.
posted by ConstantineXVI at 10:22 AM on May 20, 2011
* outside of the shell, of course.
posted by ConstantineXVI at 10:22 AM on May 20, 2011
Android's <search>+key idiom for moving between applications makes my phone about five times more useful. And don't forget the google chrome hotkeys.
posted by Estragon at 10:23 AM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Estragon at 10:23 AM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
BUT THEN WHAT DO USE AS YOUR CAPS LOCKS KEY
DON'T WORRY MAN THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS LIKE YOU COULD MAKE YOUR CONTROL KEY BE YOUR CPAS LOCK KEY OR YOU COULD DO SOMETHING REALLY SUPER SECRET LIKE MAKE SHIFT-CAPS BE YOUR CAPS LCOK OR YOU COULD KICK IT OLD SCHOOL AND JUST REALLY LEAN ON THAT SHIFT KEY UNTIL YOU LOOK LIKE POPEYE
posted by middleclasstool at 10:26 AM on May 20, 2011 [10 favorites]
DON'T WORRY MAN THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS LIKE YOU COULD MAKE YOUR CONTROL KEY BE YOUR CPAS LOCK KEY OR YOU COULD DO SOMETHING REALLY SUPER SECRET LIKE MAKE SHIFT-CAPS BE YOUR CAPS LCOK OR YOU COULD KICK IT OLD SCHOOL AND JUST REALLY LEAN ON THAT SHIFT KEY UNTIL YOU LOOK LIKE POPEYE
posted by middleclasstool at 10:26 AM on May 20, 2011 [10 favorites]
CTRL-LEFT-SHIFT CROCKETY BLOAT CROCKETY BLOAT
posted by benzenedream at 10:58 AM on May 20, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 10:58 AM on May 20, 2011 [2 favorites]
The title of this post made me seek out google reader "not interested" keyboard shortcut for greasemonkey. A few short edits later, I now have a hate key (as shipped, the shortcut was shift-L). Now if only this actually seemed to make reader stop showing me stuff I couldn't care less about…
On Linux, I can't recommend enough setting up the "compose" or "multi" key. In short order you'll easily be able to type accented characters like ü and extended punctuation like —. With a little more effort you can define your own compose sequences for characters or sequences you frequently type, like compose-inf for ∞. Here's How to configure compose sequences in ~/.XCompose(Self-link).
posted by jepler at 11:06 AM on May 20, 2011
On Linux, I can't recommend enough setting up the "compose" or "multi" key. In short order you'll easily be able to type accented characters like ü and extended punctuation like —. With a little more effort you can define your own compose sequences for characters or sequences you frequently type, like compose-inf for ∞. Here's How to configure compose sequences in ~/.XCompose(Self-link).
posted by jepler at 11:06 AM on May 20, 2011
This is somewhat timely, because a few weeks ago the Canonical developers finally officially released the latest version of Ubuntu. It has something they call "the Unity desktop" which has rapidly become my favorite desktop ever. (Notice I didn't say "my favorite Linux desktop.") It's extremely user-friendly, it's pretty, and most importantly it comes with a whole slew of awesome keyboard shortcuts for those of us who are kind of power users. Now that I have Unity and Gnome Do, I am a very, very happy Ubuntu person.
posted by koeselitz at 11:17 AM on May 20, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by koeselitz at 11:17 AM on May 20, 2011 [3 favorites]
Ctrl+x, then r, then j, then letter of the window state register.
Just wait until they come out with a Kinect-enabled version. The
posted by schmod at 11:25 AM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
Just wait until they come out with a Kinect-enabled version. The
vi developers developed this gesture, which must be used to quit the program.posted by schmod at 11:25 AM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
I meant to mention, I dedicate this post to my co-workers who think I am some sort of computer magician because of how fast I can jump between programs and fields (Tab is such a useful key), and to my father, who recently learned about copying and pasting text. I'm not sure how he'd handle hotkeys - maybe that'll be a gift for his 62nd birthday.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:01 PM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by filthy light thief at 12:01 PM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
Emacs' keybindings literally crippled my hands for life. At least I'm in good company.
posted by Nelson at 12:21 PM on May 20, 2011
posted by Nelson at 12:21 PM on May 20, 2011
Almost forgot: here's my AutoHotKey script to make CapsLock search Google. Inspired by a photo of a CR-48 netbook. It works pretty well, but I hit CapsLock by accident enough that it's a bit annoying.
posted by Nelson at 12:22 PM on May 20, 2011
posted by Nelson at 12:22 PM on May 20, 2011
I nearly went mad after switching to a Mac because Clover-Tab only switched apps, not windows.
Witch is a great little app that does just that, but it's $14.
posted by robinhoudt at 1:11 PM on May 20, 2011
Witch is a great little app that does just that, but it's $14.
posted by robinhoudt at 1:11 PM on May 20, 2011
Shouldn't that say Linuxeseses?
posted by hypersloth at 1:25 PM on May 20, 2011
posted by hypersloth at 1:25 PM on May 20, 2011
(actually this is neat, as always FLT)
posted by hypersloth at 1:27 PM on May 20, 2011
posted by hypersloth at 1:27 PM on May 20, 2011
I use Win7 at work. Is there a way to tell Windows and Office that I always, always want underlined characters for hotkeys, don't want to have to press Alt, and don't want the frickin boxes with the key character. It worked really well, so they borked it. Most people won't know/care what I mean, but maybe 1 person will, and will have the answer.
If only there were some sort of site where one could ask these sorts of questions....
posted by theora55 at 1:59 PM on May 20, 2011
If only there were some sort of site where one could ask these sorts of questions....
posted by theora55 at 1:59 PM on May 20, 2011
grubi:
Linuxeseses?
What are you? Gollum?
I don't know how to pluralize Linux. Linuxes? Lini? So I tacked on a few Es's.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:39 PM on May 20, 2011
Linuxeseses?
What are you? Gollum?
I don't know how to pluralize Linux. Linuxes? Lini? So I tacked on a few Es's.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:39 PM on May 20, 2011
> If only there were some sort of site where one could ask these sorts of questions....
*points over there*
posted by The Lurkers Support Me in Email at 3:30 PM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
*points over there*
posted by The Lurkers Support Me in Email at 3:30 PM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
My favorite shortcut: Ctrl-Shift-R in Eclipse. Any file in your workspace is a few keypresses away. There's an extension to get the same effect in Visual Studio for any file in your solution.
Where are you going? I haven't told you about my favorite Maven command line switch yet!
Second favorite shortcut: Windows+Break. Hello System Properties!
posted by tomcooke at 3:47 PM on May 20, 2011
Where are you going? I haven't told you about my favorite Maven command line switch yet!
Second favorite shortcut: Windows+Break. Hello System Properties!
posted by tomcooke at 3:47 PM on May 20, 2011
My favorite overlooked key: the Application key, only because I access file properties in Windows with some frequency. [AppKey] + R = Properties; + [Space] = toggle Read Only.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:23 PM on May 20, 2011
posted by filthy light thief at 4:23 PM on May 20, 2011
I install Namely on any Mac I can get my hands on. Small fry in these contacts, maybe, in only being able to open applications, but it's allowed me to eliminate everything from the Dock. Man, I hate trackpads.
posted by Earthtopus at 6:47 PM on May 20, 2011
posted by Earthtopus at 6:47 PM on May 20, 2011
C-x (prefix C-x, the most general prefix) r (context - we are acting on a register) j (action - jump to it) [...]
This makes much more sense than "v means paste".
But in Emacs, isn't it "y means paste"?
Maybe you can also take the action "Paste" in the context of "Here", with the most general prefix, for the more easily-remembered "C-xhp means paste"?
posted by springload at 2:47 AM on May 21, 2011
This makes much more sense than "v means paste".
But in Emacs, isn't it "y means paste"?
Maybe you can also take the action "Paste" in the context of "Here", with the most general prefix, for the more easily-remembered "C-xhp means paste"?
posted by springload at 2:47 AM on May 21, 2011
But in Emacs, isn't it "y means paste"?
Y means yank from the kill ring.
posted by middleclasstool at 5:38 AM on May 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Y means yank from the kill ring.
posted by middleclasstool at 5:38 AM on May 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I thought "v means paste" was justified because the "V" is similar to the caret used to denote a pint of insertion in standard proofreading marks, but only requires one keystroke instead of the caret's two (shift-six).
And when I did paste-up on the top line of a text block, sometimes I used my blue pencil to make a "V" coming down from above. And I wore an onion on my belt.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:01 AM on May 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
And when I did paste-up on the top line of a text block, sometimes I used my blue pencil to make a "V" coming down from above. And I wore an onion on my belt.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:01 AM on May 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
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posted by Avenger50 at 9:56 AM on May 20, 2011