ShortKeys 3. Copyright Insight Software Solutions, Inc.

Transcription

1 ShortKeys 3 Copyright Insight Software Solutions, Inc.

2 Introduction Table of Contents About ShortKeys... 3 ShortKeys Uses... 4 Upgrading from ShortKeys v2.x... 5 What's New in ShortKeys Installing ShortKeys Installing ShortKeys Advanced Installation... 8 Advanced License Information Uninstalling ShortKeys Getting Started Tutorial Tutorial - Prefix Keys Tutorial - Suffix Keys ShortKeys Startup Window Main Window Sorting Shortkey Macros Menu Items File Menu ShortKeys Menu Category Options Configure Bug Reporter Preferences Tools Activation Appearance Dialogs Dictionary File System File System Network Backup Playback Hint General Delays Startup Restore Keyboard Hooks Restore Program Defaults Import Program Settings Export Program Settings Creating a Shortkey Modify Keys

3 Rich Text Menu Commands File Edit Misc Insert Miscellaneous Keys Symbols Dates Times Custom Date/Time Delay Wait for Keypress Shortkey Settings Spell Check Replace Word Scope Network Issues Network Considerations Command Line Parameters Silent Install... 8 License and Support End-User License Agreement Support Upgrade Policy Frequently Asked Questions Portable Version Portable Version

4 About ShortKeys ShortKeys is a text replacement utility to insert blocks of text into other applications by simply typing a few user defined keystrokes. Anytime that keystroke combination (shortkey) is typed, it is replaced with the text assigned to that shortkey. Create virtually an unlimited number of shortkeys per file. More than one file may be loaded at the same time. There is a limit of approximately 65,000 characters of replacement text per shortkey. How it works ShortKeys is easy to use. You can be up and running in no time. There are just three steps to quickly create and play back a shortkey. 1) Select a few characters for the shortkey activation. 2) Type or paste the text to play back into ShortKeys a word, phrase, paragraph or pages of text. 3) Type the shortkey and watch it insert the expanded text into your application. Activation Methods The Prefix Key method allows up to two characters that may be added to the front end of each shortkey. For example, if a prefix of ## was assigned, then type ## plus the shortkey to trigger the replacement text. This makes it unlikely to accidentally trigger a shortkey, since ## would rarely, if ever, be typed before any text. The Suffix Key method requires typing the shortkey and pressing either the Space Bar or the Enter key. Pressing the Space Bar or Enter key instructs the macro to start and insert the replacement text. Punctuation keys such as., : ;?! and - may optionally be used as a suffix key. Playback Options Choose how the shortkey text play backs. 1) Paste text through the clipboard to maximize playback speed of long text strings. 2) Have the text type out through the keyboard. Optionally adjust the playback speed. 3) Play back in rich text format with different font types, sizes, colors, etc. Save time with ShortKeys ShortKeys will pay for itself after just a few hours of increased productivity. Automate tedious and repetitive typing. Insert blocks of text effortlessly. Type a couple of characters to play back many. Eliminate typing errors and the need to go back and make corrections. Reduce boredom and fatigue to make you more productive. Using the help file When running ShortKeys and a program window appears, press the F1 key to activate the help file and view the topic pertaining to the open window. 3

5 Ideas for Using ShortKeys If you do any repetitive typing, then you will immediately recognize the benefits of ShortKeys. Below are just a few of the possible uses for the program. Quickly insert Personal Information such as Name, Address, Phone or into documents, forms, , etc. Auto-correct common typing errors or difficult spellings. Reduce repetitive typing strain and carpal tunnel syndrome. Customer Support/Service Centers Working in a support center, you quickly realize that you receive the same questions over and over. Why keep typing the same information repetitively? Let ShortKeys do it for you. Your productivity will increase immediately. Boilerplate Text Create boilerplate text for professions such as Legal, Medical, Dental, Insurance, Banking or Real Estate. Consolidate all of your standard phrases, terminology, clauses, etc. into a set of shortkeys. A few keys will save a lot of tedious typing. Software developers will find this a real time saver for inserting code. Medical Transcriptionists will love this program for its flexibility and ease of use. Teachers/Professors Simplify online grading, comments and communications to students with ShortKeys. You ll love how much time it saves. Easily insert foreign language and Unicode characters or symbols into documents. Date and time stamp documents by typing a couple of characters. Sales Quotes Type a shortkey when a customer requests a price or service quote. Keep templates in ShortKeys for quick insertion into a letter or . Automate the entry of order forms, Web contests, etc. In summary, use ShortKeys for anything that you type repetitively. 4

6 Upgrading from ShortKeys v2.x By default, ShortKeys 3 is installed in a different folder than ShortKeys v2.x. ShortKeys 3 will read macro files created by ShortKeys v2.x -.shk files. However, when the file is opened by ShortKeys 3, it will be converted to the ShortKeys 3 format. Once converted, ShortKeys v2.x will no longer be able to open and read the file. Note: We recommend copying (backing up) any macro.shk file(s) before opening them in ShortKeys 3. 5

7 What's New in ShortKeys 3 Below is a list of the major changes to ShortKeys 3. New features have been added, but the program is still incredibly simple to use. Rich Text support ShortKeys will play back text in a rich text format into applications that accept rich text. Create shortkeys with varying fonts, sizes, colors, etc. Multiple files open at the same time Now, more than one macro (.shk) file may be open at the same time. For corporate users, one set of corporate macros may be open and users may also have a customized set of shortkeys open as well. Both may be used without having to open and close files. Categories to sort shortkeys Sort the shortkeys into categories to easily find the macros. Larger size limit per shortkey The 3000 character limit per shortkey has been removed. The limit now is approximately 65,000 characters. Wait for Key Press The Wait for Keypress function causes the shortkey to pause during playback to allow for user input. Press the key assigned to resume the macro. Shortkey Delay Feature Insert delays in the shortkey playback to allow for Windows timing issues or to delay for user input. Scope setting Optionally assign the shortkeys to play back in a specific window or windows, rather than defaulting to play back in all programs. Automatic Backups Options are available to automatically back up the shortkey macro (.shk) file. A convenient way to keep the data safe. Shortkey Notes Insert notes about specific shortkeys to provide any additional details required. The notes are displayed in the ShortKeys window with the other shortkey information. Modified Date Information A column in the ShortKeys window displays the last date modified for each shortkey in the file. 6

8 Installing ShortKeys 3 The steps for installing ShortKeys 3 are fairly standard. 1. First download the program from 2. Save the downloaded file to a folder on your hard drive. 3. Locate the downloaded file and double click the.exe file to start the installation process. 4. Follow the on screen instructions to complete the install. If you are not familiar with ShortKeys, you may want to read through the Introduction and the Tutorial sections of the ShortKeys Help. Licensing ShortKeys If you have purchased the license for ShortKeys you will receive a license code. From the ShortKeys window click on Help License ShortKeys to activate the License Information window. Enter your name and code exactly as they appear on the license instructions you received when you purchased ShortKeys. Press OK to save the license information. Your license status will now display in the lower left corner of the ShortKeys window. See the Advanced License Information topic for consideration of Administrator and non-administrator login rights and ShortKeys licensing. 7

9 Advanced Installation Silent Install A silent install means ShortKeys will be installed without the user having to answer any questions during the installation process. This is helpful for installing ShortKeys from within another setup program or installing from a server on a network. The /S command line parameter tells the ShortKeys installer to do a Silent Install. For example: shkey.exe /S Note: The ShortKeys installation file can be named setup.exe or shkey.exe depending on where you obtained the file. In the examples shown, substitute the actual name of your ShortKeys installation file. If you downloaded an installation file in zip format, you must unzip setup.exe or shkey.exe from the zip file before running a Silent Install. Installation options The ShortKeys Install program allows you to use a text file to automatically respond to the install questions during the installation process. By putting entries in the text file, you can choose things such as where to install the program, whether ShortKeys should be put in the Startup folder so it is automatically launched when Windows starts, or whether the Quick Start Guide should be displayed after ShortKeys is installed. To do this you need to create a text file with a name of your choosing and use the /M= command line parameter. For this example, we will name the file SK3Setup.txt. shkey.exe /M=c:\SK3Setup.txt These are the options that may be placed in the setup file: INSTALLPATH is used to override the default installation folder. If included, ShortKeys will be installed in the folder specified by INSTALLPATH. INSTALLPATH=c:\myprograms\ShortKeys STARTMENUFOLDR is used to override the default start menu used to load ShortKeys. If included, the menus to start ShortKeys will be placed in the folder specified by STARTMENUFOLDR. STARTMENUFOLDR=Utilities STARTUP=Y puts ShortKeys in Windows StartUp folder. STARTUP=N does not put ShortKeys in Windows StartUp folder. LAUNCHNOW=Y Launches ShortKeys after installation is completed. LAUNCHNOW=N does not Launch ShortKeys after installation is completed. MACROFILEDEST=Path and filename of where to install the macro file keyinstall.shk, if it exists. Listed below are the rules for installing a shortkey (.shk) file. 1. The shortkey file keyinstall.shk must exist in the same directory as the install file. 2. If the MACROFILEDEST silent install option does not exist, then a) the macro file will be installed in the same folder as the program and b) the name of the macro file is the default name for that program (key.shk). 3. If the MACROFILEDEST silent install option is used, then the macro file will be installed in the folder and filename specified. NOQUICKSTART=Y the Quick Start Guide will not be installed. NOQUICKSTART=N the Quick Start Guide will be installed (default). QUICKSTARTNOW=Y displays Quick Start Guide after installation is completed or when ShortKeys starts (default). 8

10 QUICKSTARTNOW=N does not display Quick Start Guide at the end of the installation. QUICKSTARTNOW=P Prevents the Quick Start Guide from being displayed when ShortKeys starts. QUICKSTARTNOW=NP does not display Quick Start Guide at the end of the installation and also prevents the Quick Start Guide from being displayed when ShortKeys starts. Note: NOQUICKSTART prevents the Quick Start Guide from even being installed. QUICKSTARTNOW just prevents the Quick Start Guide from being displayed. When using QUICKSTARTNOW the Quick Start Guide can be installed but not automatically displayed. RUNQUIET=N the program's default values are used for the preferences. RUNQUIET=Y the preferences are set to install and run quietly. These options apply to the user installing the program and any new users: The Editor is not loaded when the program starts The Quick Start Guide is not displayed The option to display the What's New document is turned off by default Backups are disabled The First Time setup wizard is disabled The dialog asking about file associations is disabled The dialog warning "You must have the Suffix Activation selected in order to use these keys" is disabled The display of periodic messages during 30-day trial is disabled WHATSNEWNOW=Y Displays What's New in this version after install WHATSNEWNOW=N does not display What's New in this version after install NOHELP=Y the Help file will not be installed NOHELP=N the Help file will be installed (default) INSTALLOLDER=Y all files will be installed even if they are older than files already in the destination folder INSTALLOLDER=N newer files in the destination folder will not be overwritten (default) REBOOT=N suppresses the dialog suggesting a reboot after installation is completed, even if the installer has determined that one is needed. LICENSENAME and LICENSECODE are used to license the software during install: LICENSENAME=Name used when ShortKeys was licensed LICENSECODE=Code received when ShortKeys was licensed CONFIGFILEPATH=Path to configuration file. Use this to set the preferences at install time. Create a.wcfg file and include it in the install. The CONFIGFILEPATH option allows for setting the ShortKeys preferences when ShortKeys is installed. This is handy for setting the same ShortKeys preferences on several computers. To use this option, first create a file containing the preferences. To create this file, install ShortKeys and run it. Then set the preferences and click Tools Export Program Configuration. This will create a file with a.wcfg extension. For this example we will use the filename shkey.wcfg. Then put the following line in the Installation Options file: CONFIGFILEPATH=c:\shkey.wcfg Note: Do not include spaces either before or after the = character. Sample Text File Using Notepad, or some other text editor, create the file SK3Setup.txt containing the following: 9

11 INSTALLPATH=c:\Program Files\ShortKeys3 STARTMENUFOLDR=ShortKeys3 STARTUP=N LAUNCHNOW=N QUICKSTARTNOW=N REBOOT=N LICENSENAME=John Smith LICENSECODE=AB3E6-45F Z-34CC2-DF65R Note: The license information is fictitious and is for demonstration purposes only. Use the License Information received upon purchase of ShortKeys 3. This example installs ShortKeys in the c:\program Files\ShortKeys3 folder. The start menu folder is ShortKeys3. ShortKeys will not be launched when Windows is started. ShortKeys will not run at the end of the install. The Quick Start Guide will not be displayed at the end of the install. The setup will not reboot the computer. After the installation is complete, the program will be licensed to John Smith. Note: Only insert valid options into the SK3Setup.txt file. Do not include comments, blank lines or remarked out options. Silent Install with Options The Silent Install may be combined with any of the Installation Options listed above. After creating SK3Setup.txt, install ShortKeys 3 with the following command: shkey.exe /S /M=c:\SK3Setup.txt 10

12 Advanced License Information Windows may be configured to allow different users to log into a single computer. All newer versions of Windows require a user to log in. Normally only one user is logged in at a time. One or more login names have access to the entire computer and are said to have administrative access rights. Other login names do not have administrative access rights. These login names have restrictions about what may be changed on the computer. If the Name and Code are entered into the License Information dialog when logged in as an administrator, ShortKeys 3 will be licensed for all users. If, however, the License Information is entered when logged in as a non-administrator, ShortKeys 3 will only be licensed for that user login. 11

13 Uninstalling ShortKeys 3 To remove ShortKeys from your computer follow the steps below: 1. Click on File Exit Program to close ShortKeys. 2. From the taskbar, click the Start menu button to open the Start menu. 3. Open the Windows Control Panel. 4. Based on the version of Windows you are running, select the option from the control panel used to uninstall applications. 5. Highlight ShortKeys in the list of installed programs. 6. Again, depending on your version of Windows click on the option to remove the program. 7. Follow the on-screen prompts to remove ShortKeys from your computer. *** The steps above are not applicable in the portable version. Use Windows Explorer and delete the files from the portable device. 12

14 Tutorial - Prefix Keys This tutorial steps through the process of creating a shortkey and playing it back, using the Prefix activation method. Prefix Key 1. Run the ShortKeys program. Ctrl + Up Arrow is the default hot key to open the program window. 2. From the program menu click on Options Preferences Playback and select the General tab. 3. Click on "Use Prefix Keys" and enter z as the Prefix Key. Click "OK" to save and return to the ShortKeys window. Create the ShortKey 1. Select Shortkeys Add Shortkey from the menu. 2. Enter "test" (without the quotes and in lower case) into the box titled "Original Shortkey". 3. Tab to the box labeled "Replacement Text" 4. Enter the following: The brown cow jumped over the moon 5. Click on the "Save and Close" button. Run the Macro 1. Run the Windows Notepad program. 2. Place the cursor in the Notepad window and type the following: ztest 3. The ztest is erased and replaced with the text: The brown cow jumped over the moon 4. Test the shortkey in other applications. It will work there as well. 13

15 Tutorial - Suffix Keys This tutorial provides some examples of using the Suffix activation method. Suffix Key 1. To begin this tutorial, first go through the Prefix Keys tutorial to create the shortkey that will be used in this tutorial. 2. Return to the ShortKeys program and from the menu click on Options Preferences Playback and select the General tab. 3. Select "Use Suffix Keys" to activate this option. Click the "OK" button to save. 4. Return to the Windows Notepad program. 5. Type test and then press either the Space Bar or the Enter key. 6. The word test is erased and replaced with the text: The brown cow jumped over the moon Use Punctuation Characters and Hint Mode 1. Return to the ShortKeys program and from the menu click on Options Preferences Playback and select the General tab. 2. Make sure the "Use Suffix Keys" option is still selected. 3. Click on the "Use Punctuation Characters" and "Retype Suffix Key" options. Click on the Apply button. 4. Next click on the Hint tab. 5. Select "Show Hints when using Suffix Keys" and choose a location on the screen where the hint will display. Click on the OK button to save and return to the ShortKeys window. 6. Activate the Windows Notepad program. 7. Type test. You will notice a yellow hint box that appears in the upper left corner of the screen. It displays your shortkey and the first 50 characters of replacement text. 8. Press the? mark. The word test is erased and replaced with the text: The brown cow jumped over the moon? The question mark was added to the end of the replacement text. 9. While in Notepad, type test again. This time press the "." period. 10. The word test is erased and replaced with the text: The brown cow jumped over the moon. The period was added to the end of the replacement text. Replace Word Option 1. Run the ShortKeys program. Make sure that the Suffix Key option is still selected. 2. Select Shortkey Add Shortkey from the main menu. 3. In the box titled "Original Shortkey" enter the following: inv 4. Tab to the box labeled "Replacement Text" 5. Enter the following: invest 6. Click on the Replace Word button. 7. In the Replace Word window that opens, enter the word invest in the Word to Replace field. 8. Select the invd option and click on the ed button. The word invested should appear on the right. 9. Select the invg option and click on the ing button. The word investing should appear on the right. 10. Select the invm option and click on the ment button. The word investment should appear on the right. 11. We could go on and add other endings, but this will suffice for this tutorial. 12. Click the OK button to return to the Modify Keys window. 13. Click on the Save and Close button to return to the ShortKeys window. 14. Your shortkey of inv should be listed with a replacement text of invest. In the suffix column you should see the letters d,g and m. 15. Now let's test what we just created. 16. Return to the Windows Notepad program. 17. Type inv and press the Space Bar. The inv should be erased and replaced with the word invest. 18. Now type invd and press the Space Bar. This time the invd will be erased and replaced with the word invested. 19. Try the same with invg and invm. They will be replaced with the words investing and investment. 14

16 ShortKeys Window The ShortKeys window displays the current active list of shortkeys, the first portion of the replacement text and any suffixes used. It also displays any notes created about the shortkey and the last time the shortkey was modified. More than a single macro file may be open at once. All currently open files are listed, displaying the file name and location. In a work environment a user may have a corporate macro file open as well as a personal, customized file loaded. This window also displays any shortkey categories that have been created. The menu commands, as well as the toolbar buttons, provide a number of options for using the program. A few simple guidelines are described below. To create a new shortkey, click on Shortkeys Add Shortkey, press Ctrl + A or click on the button. To edit an existing shortkey, highlight the shortkey and double click on it, click on Shortkeys Edit Shortkey, press Ctrl + E, or click on the icon. To delete an existing shortkey, highlight the shortkey in the list and click on the Delete Shortkey or press Ctrl + R. icon, click on Shortkeys File The File menu provides options for opening or creating a new set of shortkeys, as well as import and export functionality. Shortkeys Use the Shortkeys menu to add a new shortkey, edit an existing one, delete a shortkey, enable/disable a shortkey or search for text in the list of shortkeys. Category Create, edit or delete categories of shortkeys. 15

17 Create, edit or delete categories of shortkeys. Options The Options menu contains the program preferences for customizing use. Options for sorting the shortkey list are also available. Tools The Tools menu includes options for resetting the keyboard hooks, restoring program defaults and importing/exporting the program configuration settings. Categories Assign the shortkeys to categories. Use the categories to better sort and find individual shortkeys. If more than one macro file is open, then multiple sets of categories will be displayed. One for each file. The file name is displayed next to each All Category listing. Shortkeys Information about each shortkey is listed in the columns as described below. Sort the columns by clicking on the column header. # This column lists the index number associated with the shortkey. Shortkey The abbreviation that is typed to activate the shortkey is shown in this column. Replacement Keys Displays the text saved in the replacement text of the Modify Keys window. Suffixes Any suffixes used with the Replace Word feature are displayed in this column. Modified Shows the date the shortkey was last modified. Scope The scope shows whether the shortkey will play back in all programs or has been set to only work in a specific window. Notes Displays the first 50 characters of any notes that have been attached to individual shortkeys. 16

18 Sorting Shortkey Macros There are four sort options available in ShortKeys. The shortkey macros displayed in the ShortKeys window may be sorted by the index number, the shortkey activation, the replacement text or the modified date. Click on the column header to sort the shortkeys. Click on the same column header a second time to reverse the sort order. Also use the categories to better manage the list of shortkeys. 17

19 File Menu ShortKeys > File New File Select File New File from the ShortKeys menu to create a new set of shortkey and replacement text macros. Multiple sets of macros may be maintained. Potentially maintain different sets of macro files for use with specific applications. Open File Select File Open File from the ShortKeys menu to open another shortkey replacement macros (.shk file). Multiple sets of macros may be maintained. More than one macro file may be open at a time. What would you like to do Either type in the name and path of the file to open or browse to its location and select. Then choose from the two options described below. Add this file to the list of open files When the file is opened, any (.shk) files that are currently in use will remain open. Close all open files before opening this file When the file is opened, any (.shk) files currently in use will be closed. Backup Use this option to immediately create a backup of the file currently open and in use. The backup is created in the location specified in the Backup preferences panel. Restore Use this option to restore from a backup file. A Windows dialog will open prompting to select the backup file. The dialog opens to the folder designated in the Backup preferences panel for file backups. If the backup options were recently changed, then it may be necessary to browse to the location where previous backups were stored. Performing the restore closes the file currently open and replaces it with the backup file selected. Reopen Reopen is a convenient way to open a macro file previously used. The reopen panel displays up to ten of the last macro files that were opened. Click on the file needed to load it into ShortKeys. It also includes any.shk files currently in use. 18

20 Import Import CSV File ShortKeys > File > Import > Import CSV File The.csv (comma separated file) format is supported by a number of other programs, such as Microsoft Excel. This format is a text file where each element is separated by commas. Each record is on an individual line. The replacement text cannot span multiple lines. If the replacement text occupies multiple lines, then use the "Import Text File" option described below. Contents of this.csv file may look similar to the following: phone, name,fred B. Smith address,"123 West Avenue, Small Town, USA 99999" "f,pr",film Project MyComp,"Windows XP, Pentium 4, 1.7 GHz, 512 M RAM, 17"" LCD monitor" Additional notes about the above sample. 1. The replacement text includes commas in line three with the shortkey name of address. Quotations are required at the beginning and end of the replacement text, so that more than just 123 West Avenue is imported. 2. Line four has a shortkey activation that includes a comma. Quotations are required at the beginning and end of the shortkey. 3. Line five includes a quotation mark in the replacement text - 17" and several commas. In this case you would insert an additional quote mark after 17" so that it would look like 17"". Then quotations are required at the beginning and end of the replacement text to account for the additional commas. Import Import ASCII Delimited File ShortKeys > File > Import > Import ASCII Delimited File The ASCII Delimited File format is supported by most other programs with import capabilities. This format is an ASCII text file where each element of the database is surrounded in double quotes and separated by commas. Each record is on an individual line. By its very nature, an ASCII Delimited import is limited to simple text replacement -- replacement text cannot span multiple lines. If the replacement text occupies multiple lines, then use the "Import Text File" option described below. Contents of this file might look something like the following: "phone"," " "name","fred B. Smith" "address","123 West Avenue, Small Town, USA 99999" Import Import Text File Import shortkeys from a text file. The text file must be in a specific format. An improper format will cause unpredictable results. The Exporting of the Text File (below) saves the file in the format that must be used. The format requires an <ITEM NAME> tag followed by the shortkey, both on the same line. The next line or set of lines contains the replacement text. The replacement text can span multiple lines. The next shortkey to be imported begins on a new line with the <ITEM NAME> tag. An example with two shortkeys appears below: <ITEM NAME>issadd Insight Software Solutions, Inc. P.O. Box 106 Kaysville, UT <ITEM NAME> 19

21 <ITEM NAME> ShortKeys > File > Import > Import Text File The duplicates option is available for the Import Text File, Import CSV File, Import Word AutoCorrect File and Import ASCII Delimited File commands. Use this option to determine how to handle any duplicate shortkeys that may be imported. Import as a duplicate This option imports all shortkeys. Any shortkey imported with the same name as an existing shortkey will display as a duplicate. Replace existing Shortkey This option instructs the newly imported shortkey to overwrite the existing shortkey with the same name. Only the replacement text is changed. Prompt for Action Use this option to be prompted for action on each duplicate shortkey being imported. Choose to have the replacement text overwritten, imported as a duplicate or ignored. Note: Any items in the Notes field will not be imported. Import Import Shortkeys File ShortKeys > File > Import > Import Shortkeys File The import and export functions are a convenient way to transfer shortkeys between ShortKeys users. Use the Export command to save the shortkeys to a USB drive or some other medium. On another computer, import the ShortKeys from the USB drive or other medium. Choosing this option first displays an empty Import Shortkeys File window. Click on the Open File button to open a dialog box for browsing to the file to be imported. All ShortKeys files have a file extension of.shk. Highlight the file to import and click on the Open button to display a list of all shortkeys found in that file. Highlight the shortkeys to be imported by clicking on each individual shortkey. Next click on the Import button to display an Import Complete message. Click OK and Exit to return to the ShortKeys window. This finishes the process and the imported shortkeys are now displayed in the current file. To import all of the shortkeys found in the file, click on the Select All button to highlight all shortkeys. Then click the OK button. Pressing the Clear button removes the highlight from any shortkeys already selected. Import Import Word AutoCorrect File ShortKeys > File > Import > Import Word AutoCorrect File 20

22 Microsoft Word includes an AutoCorrect feature that corrects misspelled words when typed, if the misspellings are part of the AutoCorrect file. This option provides a method to import the AutoCorrect list into ShortKeys. The list is contained in an.acl file format. This option prompts to browse for the.acl file. It is recommended that before starting the import, initiate a search of the computer for the.acl file first, so that it may be easily located during the import process. Search for *.acl. After finding the file, browse to the path shown and import the list. Export Export Text File ShortKeys > File > Export > Export Text File Select this option to export the shortkey macros to a text file that can readily be imported back into ShortKeys. The file format is the one displayed above in the "File Import Text File" topic. Note: When exporting the shortkeys to a.txt file, any items in the Notes field will not be exported. Export Shortkeys File ShortKeys > File > Export > Shortkeys File The import and export functions are a convenient way to transfer shortkey macros between ShortKeys users. Use the Export function to save the shortkeys to a USB drive or some other medium. On another computer, import the shortkeys from the USB drive or other medium. Select this option to open a window that displays all shortkeys from the file currently open. Highlight the shortkeys to be exported and click the Save File button. Name the file and select a destination location to create the new shortkey (.shk) file. It may later be opened directly by using the File Open File menu or the shortkey macros may be imported. To export all of the shortkeys in the file, click on the Select All button which highlights all of the shortkeys. Then click the Save File button. Pressing the Clear button will "de-select" any shortkeys already highlighted. Export Export Shortkey List ShortKeys > File > Export > Output Shortkey List Use the Output Shortkey List option to create a text file containing all the shortkey names and replacement text. This text file may be imported into any word processor or text editor so that a hard copy of the shortkeys and replacement text may be maintained for reference if so desired. Print Shortkey List Select this option allows to print out a list of the shortkeys. A maximum of 50 characters of the replacement text is printed. Any carriage returns or line feeds in the replacement text are changed to spaces. Printer Font Use this option to select font settings for printing the shortkey list. Select font size, color, type, etc. Hide This option is only available if the "Place In System Tray" option is being used. Making this selection hides ShortKeys so that it disappears from the desktop and the Windows Task Bar, but is still actually running. To display the program, left click on the ShortKeys icon in the system tray. 21

23 Terminate ShortKeys Closes the ShortKeys program. Or right click on the ShortKeys icon in the system tray and left click on Terminate ShortKeys for another way to close the program. 22

24 Shortkeys Menu Items ShortKeys Window > Shortkeys Add Shortkey Create a new shortkey and replacement text by selecting Shortkeys Add Shortkey from the main menu. This action opens the Modify Keys window to enter the shortkey and replacement text. Edit Shortkey Edit an existing shortkey and its replacement text by highlighting the shortkey and then selecting Shortkeys Edit Shortkey from the main menu. Or double click on the shortkey from the list in the ShortKeys window. The Modify Keys window opens to allow editing of the existing shortkey and replacement text. Delete Shortkey Delete an existing shortkey by highlighting the shortkey and then selecting Shortkeys Delete Shortkey from the main menu. Or highlight the shortkey and press the Delete key on the keyboard. A prompt appears to verify that the delete should occur. Enable (Disable) Shortkey Toggle between enabling and disabling an existing shortkey by selecting Shortkeys Disable Shortkey from the main menu. If a shortkey is disabled, it will not execute the replacement text when typed, but the definition is retained for future potential use. This is helpful for those cases in which a shortkey may conflict with a current project, but may be needed in the future. Instead of deleting it and reentering the information later, simply disable the shortkey and enable it when needed. Find To find a specific shortkey from a long list, use the Find option to locate text found in either the shortkey name or in the replacement text. Click on Shortkeys Find to activate the Find window. Type in the text to search for and click the Find Next button. The search scans the shortkey name and replacement text items looking for a match. The first item found is highlighted. If it is not the shortkey needed, press Find Next to continue the search. If no match is found, a message displays indicating no match was found. Place a check in the Match case box to conduct a case sensitive search. Any words spelled the same but with a different upper or lower case combination are ignored. ShortKeys Window> Shortkeys > Find Find Next Click on Shortkeys Find Next or press the F3 key to look for the next item that matches the search criteria as discussed above. Search through the list until a match is found. If no matches are found, a message displays indicating that the entire list has been searched and no match was found. 23

25 Category Use this option to assign shortkeys to categories. For example assign any MS Word specific shortkeys to a MS Word category or financial related shortkeys to a Finance category. The categories provide a simple way to find macros after they have been created. A shortkey may only be assigned to one category. When the program is first installed, there are two default categories - All Categories and Unassigned. These may not be changed, but new categories may be added, or later deleted or renamed. All Categories displays every shortkey in the file. The Unassigned category displays all shortkeys not assigned to a category other than the default All Categories. Create New Category Create a new category using the menu option. Enter the name of the new category into the Name field and select where it should appear in the list, if it is a top level category or a sub-category of an existing category. Or right mouse click on a category from the ShortKeys window and select the New Category option. ShortKeys Menu > Category > New Category Rename Category To change the name of a category already created, highlight the category and click on the Category Rename Category menu option. The category to be renamed is highlighted. Type the new category name to replace the old and click OK to save. Or right mouse click on a category from the ShortKeys window and select the Rename Category option. ShortKeys Menu > Category > Rename Category Delete Category 24

26 Highlight the name of the category to remove and click on Category Delete Category. A warning message appears verifying that the deletion should continue. Click Yes to delete the category and any or all of it's sub-categories. This action does not delete the shortkeys in the category. Those shortkeys will be reassigned to the Unassigned Category. Placing Macros in Categories Once a category is created, there are two methods for moving macros into a category. Highlight the macro to be assigned and click on Macros Move to Category to display a list of categories such as in the example below. Choose the category to move the macro into and press the OK button. The macro is now assigned to the category selected. The other method is to drag the macro from the Macro Explorer list to the desired category. To drag the macro, highlight the macro, hold down the left mouse button and move the pointer to the category listed in the Category column. When the mouse is pointing to the correct category, release the left mouse button. The macro is assigned to the category. Expand the category to view all macros stored in that category. Using either of the above methods, speed the process of moving multiple shortkeys by highlighting a block of macros and moving them all at once to the category of choice. Note: The categories selected are specific to the shortkey (.shk) file that is currently open. When opening a new shortkey file, the categories created for the new file are displayed. If more than one file is open, multiple sets of categories are displayed, one set for each shortkey file. 25

27 Configure Bug Reporter ShortKeys > Options > Configure Bug Reporter The ISS Bug Reporter is called automatically when ShortKeys detects an error. It provides a simple method for sending us the error report. These reports help us identify and correct problems in ShortKeys. Information sent as part of a crash report is only used to fix the problem. The information will be kept confidential and will not be disclosed to anyone else. If an error occurs, the ISS Bug Reporter preferences need to be configured before an error report can be sent. We recommend configuring the preferences before unexpectedly needing to use the Bug Reporter. 26

28 Preferences - Activation ShortKeys is designed to run in the background. It is not necessary to have the program displayed in order to play back a macro. But there are times when it is necessary to have the program open, such as to create or edit a new macro. The various options for activating the ShortKeys window are described below. ShortKeys > Options > Preferences > Activation Activation Options Place in System Tray This option places a ShortKeys icon in the Windows system tray. Left mouse click on the icon to activate the ShortKeys window. Right mouse click on the icon to activate a menu of program options. Close Button Hides or Minimizes With this option selected, clicking on the X in the upper right hand corner of the ShortKeys window hides or minimizes ShortKeys. If the option is not selected, clicking on the X terminates the ShortKeys program. Hot Key to Enable/Disable ShortKeys Use a hot key to disable or enable ShortKeys. Disabling the program prevents the replacement text from playing back after typing a shortkey. This may be desirable when using an application that does not require ShortKeys. Press the default hot key of Alt + ` to disable ShortKeys. Press Alt + ` again to enable the program. The hot key may be redefined to another combination if preferred. This option accepts combinations of Ctrl, Alt, or Shift plus another key. Pressing the Backspace key or the Delete key will set the option to None, meaning there is not a key set to enable or disable the program. An alternative to using the hot key is to right mouse click on the ShortKeys icon in the system tray. Left click on the Suspend ShortKeys or Resume ShortKeys menu item. The system tray icon displays a circle with a line through it when the program is disabled. Activation Key 27

29 Choose from one of seven methods to activate and display the ShortKeys window. None (Do Not Hide) This option places an item in the Windows Task Bar. It resides in the Task Bar until the program is shut down. When the program does not have focus, just click on the Task Bar item to activate the ShortKeys window. Note: When this option is selected, the Show Editor on Startup preference is disabled. The None (Do Not Hide) option causes the ShortKeys window to always display at startup. Hot Key Combinations Five of the activation methods use a hot key combination to open the ShortKeys window. When ShortKeys is minimized, press the hot key combination to display the program window. The hot key combinations may be used in conjunction with the Place in System Tray option. The combinations include: Ctrl + Up Arrow Ctrl + Page Up Ctrl + Page Down Alt + Left Arrow Alt + Right Arrow System Tray Icon Only With this option selected, the only way to activate the ShortKeys window is to click on the icon in the System Tray. 28

30 Appearance Use this option to change the font size and color of the text in the ShortKeys window or the text in the Modify Keys window. ShortKeys > Options > Preferences > Appearance Fonts Explorer Font Use this option to alter the font in the ShortKeys window. It changes the text of all shortkeys listed. Click the Change button to select a different font type, size or color. Replacement Text Font The replacement text font option changes the font in the Modify Keys window, affecting the text entered into the Replacement Text edit box. Click the Change button to select a different font type, size or color. Note: This setting does not affect the font that is played back into another application. The replacement text plays back the font used by the receiving application, unless using the Rich Text option. Menus and Toolbars Style Select different looks for the menu bars and drop down menus in the program. Choose from Standard, Enhanced, Flat, Office 11 or an XP look. The Enhanced menu style is set as the default. Animation The animation changes the way that the drop down menus are displayed in the program. Select from Slide, Unfold, Random, Fade or None (which simply displays the menu without animation). The default option is set to None. 29

31 Preferences - Dialogs ShortKeys > Options > Preferences > Dialogs Remind if Suffix Activation is not enabled when using Replace Word The Replace Word option is only available with the Suffix activation method. If using the Prefix method, the shortkey would play back before typing the last letter of the Replacement Word. This dialog is a reminder that the Suffix Key option must be active when using the Replace Word option. Ask user to add file or close all files when opening a new file Select this option to open a dialog similar to the one below when opening an existing macro file or creating a new one. Since ShortKeys allows more than one file to be open at a time, this dialog provides an option to decide whether to leave existing files open or close all open files before loading in a new one. 30

32 Preferences - Dictionary ShortKeys has two English language dictionaries available for spell checking the replacement text. ShortKeys > Options > Preferences > Dictionary American Dictionary Loads the American Dictionary when spell checking and uses the U.S. spelling of words. British Dictionary Loads the British Dictionary when spell checking and uses the UK spelling of words. Included Words Add words to the dictionary by clicking on the Add Words button. Include words, abbreviations, names, URL's or others that may frequently be used but are not already in the dictionary. This prevents the spell checker from stopping to verify the spelling when it finds one of these items. Clicking on the Add Words button opens a window similar to the one below. Enter the word to be added to the dictionary and click on the Add button. The new word will then be displayed with any other words previously added to the dictionary. To remove a word from the list, highlight the word and click on the Delete button. 31

33 ShortKeys > Options > Preferences > Dictionary > Add Words The names of the files that contain the included words list are InclAmerican.tlx and InclBritish.tlx. The files are stored in the locations designated in this preference panel. Excluded Words At times it may be desirable that a word not be included in the dictionary, possibly to have the spell check process stop on that word to verify the spelling. Click on the Add Words button to open a window similar to the one displayed above, except that it references words to exclude. Enter the word to exclude and click on the Add button to add to the word list. To remove a word from the list, highlight the word and click on the Delete button. The names of the files that contain the excluded words list are ExclAmerican.tlx and ExclBritish.tlx. The files are stored in the locations designated in this preference panel. 32

34 File System In case of a program crash, use this option to determine the location of the crash report. ShortKeys > Options > Preferences > File System > File Paths Tab File Paths Crash Report Directory This option specifies the path and folder where crash reports are saved. Crash reports are generated by an unexpected closing of the program. The details of the problem are saved to a file that begins with 'error' and ends with '.TX' in the folder specified here. File Options Close open macro files before loading another macro file This setting instructs the program to close any shortkey (.shk) files currently open in the program when another macro file is loaded. The setting chosen will be the default when using the File Open File menu from the ShortKeys window. This setting also affects double clicking on a.shk macro file to load it into the program, loading a file from a command line, or the File Reopen menu option. 33

35 Preferences - Network ShortKeys can be set up to run over a network with a number of users sharing the same macro (.shk) file. ShortKeys > Options > Preferences > Network Network File Locking of Macro Files Choosing this option basically enables the networking capabilities of ShortKeys. File locking will be performed preventing overwriting of data by 2 or more users. If a user attempts to change any data in the macro file and the data they currently display has been altered by another user, the user will be notified that the macro data has been changed and the new macro data will be loaded and displayed. Note: If not running ShortKeys over a network, it is recommended that this open be turned off. This will avoid extra overhead required in checking for others using the same macro file. However, no harm will be done if the networking option is left on, as the overhead is minimal. Automatic Synchronization Update This option is available to allow automatic synchronization of data files between users on a network. Any changes made by one user to the ShortKeys (.shk) file will automatically be updated for all users that currently have the file open. Synchronize Every Minutes The updating may be set to occur every minute, every two minutes on up to every 99 minutes. For example, if the interval is set to 5 minutes and another user makes a change to the same macro file that other users have open, then within 5 minutes, the macro data will automatically be synchronized between the networked computers without any manual intervention. When running ShortKeys over a network, it may be desirable to prevent specific users from changing any of the ShortKeys data. This may be accomplished by using Command Line Parameters. Networked Users Save settings as defaults for all users 34

36 The preferences for ShortKeys are stored in each user's profile. An option set for one user will not be available for other users. When a new user begins to use ShortKeys the program's default preference settings are assigned to that user. The 'Save settings as defaults for all users' can be used to assign preference settings for other users of that computer. To do this, adjust the preference settings as desired. Then select the 'Save settings as defaults for all users' checkbox and click the OK or Apply button. From that point on, other users of the computer will use the same default preference settings. Each user may change the preferences to suit their needs. Once changed, the default values will not apply when they are using ShortKeys. *** The "Save settings as defaults for all users" option is not available in the portable version. 35

37 Backup ShortKeys provides several options for automatically backing up the macro file or files currently in use. These options are discussed below. ShortKeys > Options > Preferences > Backup Note: Automatic backups will only occur after the macro (.shk) file has been modified. In the example from the image above, if the file has not been modified, then starting the program or closing the editor will not trigger a backup. Only if the file as been modified, does the automatic backup occur. The date/time stamp of the backup file will match the date/time when the original (.shk) macro file was last modified. Disabling, enabling and deleting shortkeys, as well as creating new or editing existing shortkeys, are considered modifications to the file and will initiate a backup. Schedule There are four backup options to choose from. Or choose to have several backup methods in place at the same time. ShortKeys compares the current file with the latest backup. If no change has been detected, then a new backup is not created. Backup when ShortKeys Starts A backup of the ShortKeys macro file is created when the program loads. If the program is set to run on Windows startup, then the backup file is created at this time. Backup when the ShortKeys Editor Opens Each time the Modify Keys edit window is opened a backup of the ShortKeys file is created. Backup when the ShortKeys Editor Closes A backup of the ShortKey file is created each time the Modify Keys window is closed. After editing or creating a new shortkey, saving the change and closing the window, a backup of the.shk file is generated. No Backup 36

38 To not schedule any backups, leave the three options unchecked. Manually back up the macro file by opening the ShortKeys window and clicking on File Backup. Options Choose to display a message notifying of a backup and decide how many backup files to keep. Display message while backing up Choose this option to display a message on screen when the backup occurs. If the file is small, this may happen almost instantaneously, so that the display message may not be visible. If the backups are scheduled intermittently, then this may serve as a reminder that a backup is in progress. Keep Backups Specify the number of backup copies to store on the computer. The default number of backup files is 10. Backup Location Specify the location of the backup files from the drop down list. Backup to the Same Folder as the Macro File The backup file is created and saved into the same folder where the original macro file is currently located. Backup to a Specific Path Use this option to store the backups in a folder other than the one where the original file is located. Backup Path If using the Backup to a Specific Path option, click on the Browse button to determine the location where the backup file will be stored. Or type in the full file path in the edit field. Note: To manually back up the macro file at any time, open the ShortKeys window and click on File Backup. 37

39 Preferences - Hint The hint mode displays up to the first 40 characters of the replacement text before the space bar or enter key is pressed to activate the shortkey. Once the shortkey is initiated the hint box closes and the replacement text is inserted. ShortKeys > Options > Preferences > Playback > Hint Tab Show Hints when using Suffix Keys When typing a shortkey, the hint mode displays the shortkey and up to the first 40 characters of the replacement text, similar to the image below. The hint signals that a shortkey will play back if the suffix key is pressed next. It also helps to distinguish between similarly named shortkeys such as "ap", "app", "appr", etc, so that the substitution may be seen before it is actually made. Note: The hints are only available if the Suffix option is selected. Position on Screen Click on the radio button that represents the area of the screen where the hint should appear. Choose from nine screen locations. The hint will appear in one of the corners or midpoints or in the center of the screen, depending on the location selected. 38

40 Preferences - General While ShortKeys runs, it watches everything you type looking for the keystrokes needed to activate a shortkey. As it watches, it needs to distinguish what is and what is not a shortkey, so one is not activated when you do not expect it. ShortKeys has several options that allow you to customize how it detects a shortkey. With the Use Prefix Keys option you type something in front of the shortkey activation. With the Use Suffix Keys option you type something after the shortkey activation. Or you can set the program so that neither a prefix or a suffix is used. ShortKeys > Options > Preferences > Playback > General Tab ShortKeys maintains a buffer containing up to 32 characters used to determine whether a shortkey activation has been typed. It is not necessary to type the leading keystroke when the shortkey buffer is empty. The buffer is emptied when a shortkey plays back or when keys such as Ctrl, Alt, Esc or Arrow Left are pressed. Use Prefix Keys Use Prefix Keys indicates that you must type a prefix key or keys before typing each shortkey. The prefix is what triggers the shortkey playback. For example if the prefix key is set to ## and the shortkey is test, then typing ##test would initiate the macro. The Prefix Keys may contain two keys, one key or may be left empty. Leave the field empty to activate macros by typing the shortkey without any prefix or suffix. The prefix key applies to all shortkeys created. The following characters may be used as a prefix: The letters A through Z (both upper and lower case) The numbers 0 through 9 The following # $ % ^ & _ = < >?. ;, * - / + \ Note: This list may be modified in the Solitary Usage Separator Characters field to prevent certain characters from being used as prefix keys. 39

41 Use Suffix Keys To activate a shortkey when the Use Suffix Keys option is enabled, type the shortkey and then press either Space or Enter. For example, if the shortkey is set to red, then type red and press Space or Enter to activate the macro. Use Punctuation Characters Choose this option to allow punctuation keys such as., : ;?! and - to be used as suffix keys, as well as the standard Space Bar or Enter key options. Additional characters may be added or removed from this list as required. Retype Suffix Key This option plays back the suffix key (Enter, Space or punctuation keys) at the end of the replacement text, except when using rich text. Below are several examples demonstrating the Use Punctuation Characters and Retype Suffix Key options. For this example the Original Shortkey is red and the Replacement Text is A bright color. Example 1 Type red and press the space bar to activate. Retype Suffix Key: On A bright color is typed and the text cursor moves one space to the right of the last character typed. Retype Suffix Key: Off A bright color is typed and the text cursor remains at the end of the text with no space added. Example 2 Type red plus the? to activate the shortkey. Use Punctuation Characters: On Retype Suffix Key: On A bright color? is typed, including the?. Use Punctuation Characters: On Retype Suffix Key: Off A bright color is typed. The? is not typed. Use Punctuation Characters: Off red? is typed. The? does not activate the shortkey. Solitary Usage The Solitary Usage option indicates that a shortkey will be recognized only when it is preceded by a character or a key that empties the shortkey buffer. For example, if you have a shortkey activated when you type hte to correct the common mistyping of the, you do not want it to activate when you type words such as fighter, daughter or brighten. Note: Solitary Usage only applies to the Suffix Key option or when the Prefix Keys are left blank. Solitary Usage Separator Characters The Solitary Usage Separator Characters have two functions. 1) The keys listed in this field will empty the shortkey buffer so that a shortkey will play back. Examples 3 and 4 below describes how this works. 2) The characters listed in this field may not be used as prefix keys. Below are several examples demonstrating the Solitary usage option. For this example the Original Shortkey is red and the Replacement Text is A bright color. 40

42 Example 1 Type Fred and press the space bar to activate. Solitary Usage: On Fred is typed. The replacement did not take place. No character was typed to clear the buffer. Solitary Usage: Off The shortkey activates and types out FA bright color. Example 3 Type F(red to activate the shortkey. Solitary Usage: On F(A bright color is typed. The ( is one of the Solitary Usage Separator Characters and clears the buffer so the shortkey will play back. Solitary Usage: Off F(A bright color is typed. Example 2 Type F, press Space and type red to activate the shortkey. Solitary Usage: On F A bright color is typed. The space clears the buffer and overrides the solitary usage option. Solitary Usage: Off F A bright color is also typed. Example 4 Type F=red to activate the shortkey. Solitary Usage: On F=red is typed. The = character is not one of the Solitary Usage Separator Characters and does not clear the buffer. Solitary Usage: Off F=A bright color is typed. Keys may be added or removed from this list as required. Note: If the same Solitary Usage Separator Character is also defined as a Punctuation character, it will not function as a separator character to clear the shortkey buffer. Initial Default Values for New Shortkeys The following options are the default options used for each new shortkey created. These options can be overridden on an individual shortkey basis. Match Upper Case First Char Between Shortkey & Text This option allows the upper case setting of the first letter in the shortkey to dictate that the first character in the macro will be upper case (if the first thing in the macro is a character). This option is mainly for those doing simple text replacement in documents and facilitates an easy way to capitalize the replacement text in instances where it needs to be, such as the beginning of a sentence. Do not lowercase the first letter Using the option above, if the first letter of the replacement text is a capital letter, and a lower case letter is pressed to activate the shortkey, the first letter of the replacement text will also be lower case. For example, let's say we have a shortkey of "mrr" and a replacement text of "Mr. Roberts ". In the option above, pressing "mrr" would play back "mr. Roberts". Pressing "Mrr" would play back "Mr. Roberts", which most likely is the desired result. Selecting the "Do not lowercase the first letter" option prevents a shortkey from replacing the first capitalized letter with a lower case letter. In the example above pressing "mrr" or "Mrr" would always result in "Mr. Roberts". Require Exact Upper/Lower Case Match on Shortkey This option requires that the shortkey must be typed exactly as it appears (upper and lower case letters) in order to have the replacement work. Without case sensitivity, the shortkey would play back by typing in either upper or lower case. Below are a few examples: ShortKey Case Sensitive Not Case Sensitive Mike Mike mike 41

43 productive productive PrODuctiVe Address Address address None Neither of the above cases apply when this option is selected. The shortkey is not case sensitive. Do Not Remove Keystrokes Typed This option instructs the macro not to erase the shortkey text typed. Typically, backspaces are issued to remove the shortkey from the screen before the macro is executed. When using shortkeys in non text usage programs, this may not be desirable to have "backspaces" issued. For example, using a shortkey in Internet Explorer where focus is not on an edit box will cause the "Back" button to be pressed numerous times due to the backspaces being issued. This option prevents the backspacing problem from occurring. Other Treat CAPS Lock as Off Turn on this setting to have ShortKeys ignore the state of the Caps Lock key during text playback. ShortKeys will consistently insert the text the same way regardless of whether the Caps Lock is on or off. It types back the text exactly as it is saved in the Replacement Text field. If the setting is turned off, the capitalization of the replacement text may be reversed when the Caps Lock key is turned on. Any replacement text in lower case letters will play back in upper case and vice versa when the Caps Lock key is on. The clipboard playback option ignores the Caps lock status. The Treat CAPS Lock as Off option only affects replacement text that is played back through the keyboard. Execution ShortKeys outputs the text to other applications via one of two methods, typing the text or pasting through the clipboard. A comparison below discusses why or when you might choose one method over the other. Use Keyboard for All This is the default setting in the program. All shortkey text playback is sent via keystrokes. Each key is typed individually into the application. Use Clipboard for All All shortkey text replacement is copied to the clipboard and then pasted into the application. Use Individual Settings Use this option to select either the clipboard or keyboard method for each individual shortkey. When creating or editing the shortkey in the Modify Keys window, click on the Options button to select clipboard or keyboard. 42

44 Clipboard vs Keyboard Comparison Which method is best and when is it better to use one method over the other? Some of the advantages and disadvantages of using the clipboard and keyboard methods are listed below. Clipboard Advantages Text replacement is very quick. Best for large blocks of text. No need to worry about timing problems as discussed in the Delays topic. Clipboard Disadvantages The clipboard option may not work with some programs. If a program does not support the clipboard, then the ShortKeys clipboard method will not work. The clipboard option may require an extra step with some programs. If the program does support the clipboard, but does not use the standard "CTRL-V" command for pasting text, then the paste will need to be invoked independently. See Frequently Asked Questions for more information. Any previous content saved to the clipboard will be lost. Keyboard Simulation Advantages 1. Works with any program. 2. Able to slow down the playback of the text if needed. 3. Supports additional keys such as Tab, Enter, Alt, etc. Keyboard Simulation Disadvantages Text replacement is noticeably slower for large blocks of text. Text playback speed may be an issue as discussed in the Delays topic. Stopping a Macro There are two methods to stop a shortkey macro during playback. 1. Press the Scroll Lock + Pause keys. Laptops may require pressing the FN key as well. 2. Left mouse click on the ShortKey icon in the Windows system tray. When a macro is running, the standard icon changes to an icon indicating that a macro is running. Left click on the running icon to stop the macro. 43

45 Preferences - Delays It is possible to overflow the Windows keyboard buffer when playing back long strings of text. The text may be playing back too fast for Windows or for the receiving application to accept the text input. Indications of this occurrence are, among other things, missing or scrambled text, or the computer may play back an odd high pitched sound. The Delay option helps overcome this problem and is a global setting for all shortkeys. Note: The delays are only necessary if executing the shortkeys via the keyboard. If using the clipboard option, then the keyboard is bypassed and the delay is not necessary. ShortKeys > Options > Preferences > Playback > Delays Tab Delays The delay options are used to slow down the playback of the text. These delay options are only applied when playing back shortkeys through the keyboard. They are ignored if the clipboard option is selected. No delay between keystrokes There is no delay between typed keystrokes when this option is selected. All shortkeys use microseconds Use this delay option if the scrambled text or other symptoms previously described occur. The All ShortKeys use Microseconds option is a global setting to slow down the playback of all shortkeys. The default delay is 300 microseconds. If scrambled or missing text occurs or a high pitched sound is emitted when playing back a shortkey, increase the delay and test the results. Use individual settings Use this option to adjust the delay for each individual shortkey. Adjust the setting for an individual shortkey when editing in the Modify Keys window. Click on the Options button in the Modify Keys window and then select the Advanced button. 44

46 Delay after keystroke down Place a small delay after each keystroke is pressed down to improve playback reliability. Use high speed timer for delays Some computers make use of a high speed timer. ShortKeys makes use of this timer in calculating delays. If the system does not use this timer, then it is recommended that this option be turned off. It's possible that the timer may not work properly on some systems. In such cases it is also recommended that this option be turned off. Wait milliseconds between clipboard commands This option inserts a default 250 millisecond delay for each clipboard command in a shortkey macro. Windows requires a little bit of time to process a clipboard command. A 250 millisecond delay is adequate for most systems, but may be adjusted as needed. Backspace Delays When a shortkey is typed and activated with the prefix or suffix key, the program backspaces and erases the shortkey shortcut text. These options provide a means to adjust the rate at which the backspacing occurs. Some applications may require a longer delay than most programs. Wait microseconds before sending backspaces After activating the shortkey, the program will pause the amount of delay time input before starting the backspacing. Wait microseconds between backspaces This setting instructs the program to pause the amount of time specified between each backspace. Wait microseconds after sending backspaces When the backspacing is complete, the program will wait the amount of time designated before starting the playback of the shortkey text. Note: These settings are in microseconds (millionths of a second). The default delay times of 300 microseconds are essentially imperceptible, but may be necessary when running ShortKeys in certain applications. 45

47 Preferences - Startup ShortKeys > Options > Preferences > Startup Program Startup Show Quick Start Guide This option displays the Quick Start Guide for ShortKeys when the program loads. This guide contains some basic program information. Show Editor on Startup This instructs the ShortKeys window to display when the program starts up. Otherwise the program starts in a hidden mode or with an icon in the System Tray, depending on the activation method selected. Note: When the None (Do Not Hide) activation is selected, the Show Editor on Startup option is disabled. The ShortKeys window always displays on program startup when None (Do Not Hide) is selected. Windows Startup Run when Windows starts up Selecting this option places a shortcut in the Windows Startup folder so that ShortKeys starts every time Windows starts. Turning off this option removes the ShortKeys shortcut from the Windows Startup folder. In this case ShortKeys must be started manually, which is typically done by clicking on Start Programs and then the folder where the ShortKeys shortcut was placed. Wait for seconds before initializing the program On some computers, Windows is not completely ready for ShortKeys when it tries to load the program. This may be caused by other programs that are loaded when Windows starts. This option instructs ShortKeys to wait the number of seconds specified to ensure Windows is fully loaded. Most computers will not need this delay. If necessary, experiment with the amount of time in order to find an optimal wait. 46

48 Note: The Windows Startup options are unavailable in Windows Vista or later unless running the program as Administrator. To run the program as Administrator, follow the steps below. The steps may vary slightly by operating system. 1. Close ShortKeys - File Terminate ShortKeys. 2. From the windows Start menu right mouse click on the ShortKeys shortcut. 3. Left click on Run as Administrator from the menu that opens. 4. Follow the prompts to start the program. 5. Make the changes in the Startup preferences and save the change. Command Line Parameters ShortKeys provides a number of command line parameters that are available for use at program startup. Enter the parameters in this edit field so that they will be in effect when the program is started at Windows startup. For example, to have the program run in Browse Mode, use the Prefix key, and run in Network mode, insert the following into the edit field: /B /UP /N *** The Windows Startup options are not available in the portable version. 47

49 Restore Keyboard Hooks ShortKeys > Tools > Restore Keyboard Hooks It is possible for other programs which are run after ShortKeys to improperly install themselves into the system wide Windows keyboard hooks. This causes ShortKeys to no longer be able to monitor keystrokes. ShortKeys monitors keystrokes in order to know when to erase the text typed and replace with the shortkey or to allow the text to pass through as typed. This option reinserts the Windows keyboard hooks used by ShortKeys. It allows ShortKeys to have the first look at the keystrokes. 48

50 Restore Program Defaults ShortKeys > Tools > Restore Program Defaults Clicking on this option restores any settings changed in the program back to their default values. This will primarily affect any settings changed in the Options Preferences area of the program. Other things that may be reset are the default shortkey file that opens and the shortkey sort order. 49

51 Import Program Configuration ShortKeys > Tools > Import Program Configuration The Import Program Configuration option loads in all of the ShortKeys configuration settings from a previously exported configuration file. The file replaces the current configuration settings in ShortKeys. This includes any Preference settings selected, macro file in use, etc. Click on Tools Import Program Configuration to open a browse window to navigate to the file previously exported. Highlight the file and import. This is a handy way to save program settings if planning to migrate to another computer. Easily import the settings into the program after installing ShortKeys on the other computer. If more than one user shares a computer, each user could save their own configuration settings and load them in while they are at work on the computer. Another option allows the individual settings to be loaded at startup for each user by setting a Command Line Parameter. Each individual user would need to create their own startup shortcut in order for this to work correctly. **Not available in the portable vers ion 50

52 Export Program Configuration ShortKeys > Tools > Export Program Configuration The Export Program Configuration option saves all of the ShortKeys configuration settings to a file. This includes any Preference settings selected, macro file(s) in use, etc. Click on Tools Export Program Configuration to create the file. A Save File box appears prompting to name the configuration file and select the file location. Use the Tools Import Program Configuration menu option to retrieve the file and reload the settings. This is a handy way to save program settings if planning to migrate to another computer. Easily import the settings back into the program after installing ShortKeys on the other computer. If more than one user shares a computer, each user could save their own configuration settings and load them in while they are at work on the computer. Another option allows the individual settings to be loaded at startup for each user by setting a Command Line Parameter. Each individual user would need to create their own startup shortcut in order for this to work correctly. **Not available in the portable vers ion 51

53 Modify Keys Use the Modify Keys Editor to create new or edit existing shortkeys. New Shortkeys For new shortkeys, enter the name of the shortkey in the Original Shortkey text box and enter the replacement text in the space provided below. Or just copy text from another application to the clipboard and paste the contents into the Replacement Text area. Notes may be added to provide additional data or reminders about the shortkey. Click the Save and Close button to save the shortkey/replacement text combination. Edit Existing Shortkey To edit an existing shortkey, edit or replace the text previously entered in the Replacement Text field and save the change. The Original Shortkey name may also be changed. ShortKeys Window > Shortkeys > Add Shortkey or Edit Shortkey Original Shortkey Enter the name of the shortkey in the box if creating a new shortkey. These are the keystrokes that are typed into other applications, along with any assigned prefix or suffix key, so that the replacement text is inserted. Each shortkey may be up to 32 characters in length. To play back This field displays a representation of what needs to be typed in order to run the shortkey macro. The example above shows that the prefix of // plus the text iss1 must be typed to play back the shortkey. Replacement Text This field contains the text that is played back into another application. Either type the replacement text into this field or copy and paste the text from another source. The Replacement Text field holds up to 65,000 characters of text. Playback Rich Text Select this option to display components that allow for rich text in the Replacement Text edit box. Use the components to create the rich text or copy the rich text from another source and paste into the edit box. The 52

54 components to create the rich text or copy the rich text from another source and paste into the edit box. The rich text will be pasted into applications that accept rich text. Notes Use this field to enter any notes about the shortkey, such as the purpose, usage, etc. The notes also display in the Notes column of the ShortKeys window. Options The options button allows for individual customization of the shortkey already created. Otherwise the ShortKeys options default to the global settings defined. Spell Check Click on this option to run a spell checker to ensure correct spelling of the replacement text. There are two spell checkers provided, a British and an American English language spell checker. Insert Click on the Insert button to choose from the following options: 1. Miscellaneous Keys, 2. Symbols, or 3. Date/Time. Miscellaneous Keys This option inserts a number of different keys to control the movement of the cursor. The options include TAB, Backspace, Insert, Delete, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down or any of the four arrow movements. Also insert Shift, Alt, Ctrl and the left or right Windows keys. These miscellaneous keys allow for text insertion into forms, etc. where it may be necessary to maneuver from field to field. Select the option needed and click on the Insert button. The key selected is inserted into the replacement text to the right of where the text cursor was positioned. To play back an Enter or Carriage Return, position the text cursor where needed in the Replacement Text field and press the Enter key. Note: The Miscellaneous Keys will only work when using the Keyboard method to play back keystrokes. Symbols ShortKeys offers support for over 125 different international symbols and other characters. Click on the Symbols button to bring up a display of all symbols available for use as replacement text. Date/Time Use this option to insert the current date or time into an application as part of the replacement text. Delay Add a delay to the text playback. The shortkey will pause for the amount of delay time scheduled. Wait for Keypress The Wait for Keypress option halts the playback of the text until the key specified is typed. During the wait time, manually type any text required. Once the designated key is typed, the shortkey resumes. Replace Word The Replace Word feature adds one additional letter to the shortkey and changes the ending of a word in the replacement text. For example, consider a shortkey of "sc" with replacement text of "successful". Using this option, add the letter "l" to the shortkey, to create a shortkey of "scl". The replacement text for the shortkey "scl" changes to "successfully". This option is only available for use with the Suffix method of shortkey activation. Scope Scope essentially refers to the window or windows in which the shortkey will play back. The default setting for each new shortkey created is Global. The Global setting allows the shortkey to play back in any window. Use this option to limit the program to only play back in one specific window or several as selected. 53

55 Rich Text ShortKeys has the ability to play back text in a rich text format. Select the Playback in Rich Text option to display the rich text editor options. Use the editor to create the rich text replacement text or copy the rich text from another source and paste it into the Replacement Text edit field. The playback rich text option will also play back Unicode text. Paste the Unicode text into the Replacement text field and save. When the shortkey is typed, the Unicode text is pasted into the application. ShortKeys Window > Shortkeys > Add Shortkey or Edit Shortkey Playback in Rich Text When this option is selected, the edit box supports rich text. Create shortkeys with varying fonts, sizes, colors, etc. Highlight the text in the replacement text edit field and select the rich text option(s) desired. Display text with bold, underline, italics and strike through features. Left, center or right justify the text. Choose from different font colors, sizes or font types. Colors such as clwindowtext, clwindowframe, clscrollbar are assigned to specific parts of the text box window. For example, on different computers clwindowtext may be black, dark gray or white depending on the theme or custom color choices. Things to consider when using Rich Text If the "Playback in rich text" option is selected, the text will always play back through the clipboard. It doesn't matter which settings are defined in the program, it will paste from the clipboard. 54

56 If the "Playback in rich text" option is turned off after creating a rich text shortkey and the macro is saved, the rich text formatting is lost and will need to be reformatted, if desired. If the application that ShortKeys is pasting into doesn't support rich text, such as Notepad, then the text is pasted in plain text format. 55

57 Modify Keys File Menu Modify Keys > File Save Save the changes made to the shortkey. Save and Close Save changes made to the shortkey and close the Modify Keys window. Import Text File Use this option to select a text file and import its contents into the Replacement Text field. Anything previously input in the Replacement Text field is removed and replaced with the contents of the text file. Export as Text File Any text in the Replacement Text field is exported and saved to a text file. Select a file name and location for saving the file in the Windows dialog box that opens. Print This option prints the contents of the Replacement Text. Exit Click Exit to close the Modify Keys window and return to the ShortKeys window. 56

58 Edit Modify Keys > Edit Undo Use this option to undo the last step taken. Click on Edit Undo or press CTRL Z to reverse the last entry made. Cut Standard Windows command. Highlight text in the Replacement Window and click on Edit Cut or use the hot key CTRL X. The cut removes the highlighted text and places it in the Windows clipboard. Copy Standard Windows command. Highlight text in the Replacement Window and click on Edit Copy or press CTRL C to copy the highlighted text into the Windows clipboard. Paste Standard Windows command. Place the cursor in the Replacement Window and click on Edit Paste or press CTRL V to paste text from the Windows clipboard into the Replacement Window. Delete Highlight text in the Replacement Window and either click on Edit Delete, press CTRL D or press the Delete key from the keyboard to delete the highlighted text. Find Use the Find command to locate a key word in the replacement text of the shortkey being modified. Click on Edit Find or Ctrl F to activate the Find window as shown below. Type in the word to be found and click the Find Next button. The search scans the replacement text for a potential match. If one is found, the first item located is highlighted. If no match is found, a message displays indicating that no match was found. Modify Keys > Edit > Find Find Again Click on Edit Find Again or press the F3 key to look for the next item that matches the search criteria as discussed above. Continue using the Find Again feature until a message displays advising that the entire replacement text has been searched and no more matches have been found. Search and Replace Use this feature to quickly replace a word found in the replacement text with another. Click on Edit Search and Replace or Ctrl R to activate the Search and Replace window as shown below. Type in the word or phrase to be replaced in the box next to Find What. Then input the replacement word or phrase in the box next to Replace With. Click the Replace button to replace the first instance of the "Find" word or phrase with the"replace With" word or phrase. To replace all instances of the "Find" word located in the replacement text, click on the Replace All button. 57

59 phrase. To replace all instances of the "Find" word located in the replacement text, click on the Replace All button. Modify Keys > Edit > Search and Replace Select All Click on Edit Select All or press CTRL A to highlight the entire contents of the replacement text. 58

60 Misc Menu Commands Modify Keys > Misc Options The options allow for customization of individual shortkeys such as case sensitivity or playing back the shortkey through the clipboard or keyboard. Symbols ShortKeys offers support for over 125 different international symbols and other characters. Click on Misc Symbols menu command or click on the Symbols button on the Modify Keys window to bring up a display of all symbols available for use as replacement text. Date/Time Click on Misc Date/Time or Date or click on the Date/Time button on the Modify Keys window to insert the current date, time or custom date/time into an application as part of the replacement text. Spell Check The spell checker verifies the spelling of the shortkey replacement text. To invoke the spell checker, select Misc Spell Check from the menu in the Modify Keys window or press CTRL K. Delay Add a delay to the playback of the shortkey to allow for a window to open or similar activities. Wait for Keypress Use the Wait for Keypress function to halt the playback of the shortkey. During the wait, manually insert data or other text. When finished, press the assigned key to continue with the rest of the macro. 59

61 Miscellaneous Keys Modify Keys > Insert > Miscellaneous Keys This option inserts a number of different keys to control the movement of the cursor. The options include TAB, Backspace, Insert, Delete, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down or any of the four arrow movements. Also insert Shift, Alt, Ctrl and the left or right Windows keys. These miscellaneous keys allow for text insertion into forms, etc., where it may be necessary to maneuver from field to field. Select the option needed and click on the Insert button. The key selected is inserted into the replacement text to the right of where the text cursor was positioned. To play back an Enter or Carriage Return, position the text cursor where needed in the Replacement Text field and press the Enter key. Note: The Miscellaneous Keys will only work when using the Keyboard method to play back keystrokes. Below is the complete list of keys available for playback in a shortkey. 60

62 Symbols ShortKeys offers support for a number of international symbols and other characters. Clicking on the Symbols button from the Modify Keys window opens a display of all symbols available, as shown below. Modify Keys > Symbols Take the following steps to insert a symbol into the replacement text: 1. Place the text cursor where the symbol should appear in the replacement text. 2. Click on the Symbol button to activate the Insert Symbol window as shown above. 3. Highlight the symbol desired and click on the OK Button or double click on the symbol. 4. The symbol is inserted into the replacement text and the program returns to the Modify Keys window. Click on the Cancel button to return to the Input Window without inserting any symbols. Alt-Key Sequence Use this option to embed an Alt-Key Sequence directly into a macro. The Alt-Key Sequence is a method for inserting symbols into most Windows applications and is done by holding the ALT key down and pressing digits on the keypad. Clicking on the "Alt-Key Sequence" button presents a window asking for the numeric digits that are typically typed via the numeric keypad. Use this functionality to enter characters that may not be present on your keyboard, such as á, Ô,, ¾, or π, or not found in the symbols list represented above. There are three ways to enter special characters using the Alt-Key sequence: to 3 digits Do not type a leading 0 for this method. Modify Keys > Symbols > Alt-Key Sequence For example will insert the Ü character. 61

63 digits This method requires that the first digit typed must be 0. Modify Keys > Symbols > Alt-Key Sequence For example will insert the Å character. Note: Be mindful when to include the leading zero or not, because the outcome may result in different characters. For example, will insert the character but inserts the character. 3. plus hexadecimal value for the character Use this method to have ShortKeys type Unicode characters into your application. The first digit input in the edit field must be the + character. Modify Keys > Symbols > Alt-Key Sequence For example will insert the ç character. Note: To use the hex input method you need to set or create the REG_SZ registry value HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method\EnableHexNumpad and give it a value of 1. You will need to log off and back on or reboot the computer before this setting takes effect. For those unfamiliar with this process, the steps to create the value are listed below. 1. Open the Windows Registry Editor - from the Windows Start menu search for regedit.exe. 2. Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER and then Control panel. 3. Right mouse click on Input Method and select New and then String Value from the menu. 4. Rename the NewValue#1 entry to EnableHexNumpad. 5. Right click on the EnableHexNumpad entry you just created and select Modify from the menu. 6. In the Value Data Field enter the number 1 and click OK. 7. The entry should show EnableHexNumpad as the Name, REG_SZ as the Type, and 1 in the Data column. 8. Log off and back on or reboot for the new setting to take effect. Below is a sample of various characters generated via the three Alt Keypad methods and their associated codes. A quick Internet search will provide the codes and resulting character values for each of these methods. Character Alt Code Character Alt Code + 0 Character Alt + Ç Alt 128 Alt 0128 ç Alt Ñ Alt 165 Alt 0165 ɕ Alt Alt 195 Ã Alt 0195 ʫ Alt Alt 196 Ä Alt 0196 ǿ Alt 62

64 Alt 201 É Alt 0201 齾 Alt Alt 211 Ó Alt 0211 Alt Alt 222 Þ Alt 0222 Alt Θ Alt 233 é Alt 0233 Alt Alt 247 Alt 0247 Alt 63

65 Dates The current date may be included as part of the shortkey replacement text. Or insert a date X number of days into the future or the past. Modify Keys > Insert > Date/Time > Preformatted Date A variety of date formats are available. Scroll to find the format needed. In the image above, the left hand column displays the date formats and the right hand column shows how the date format will appear during playback of the shortkey. Highlight the format needed and click OK to insert into the replacement text. The format is inserted to the right of the cursor position in the Replacement Text field. Use the Custom Date/Time function if the date format needed is not found in the list. Do not show leading zeros Select this option to not display leading zeros in the dates. For example, March 9th would display as 3/9 without the leading zeros. Otherwise it would display as 03/09. Future or Past Optionally select a date in the future or past to be placed in the macro text. Enter the number of days desired beyond today's date or prior to today's date into the Set input box. This field accepts up to 999 days. 64

66 Times Insert the system time into a macro for use as a time stamp. Modify Keys > Insert > Date/Time > Preformatted Time A variety of time formats are available. Use the scroll bar to find the format needed, as shown in the example above. The left hand column shows the time formats while the right hand column shows how the time format appears during macro playback. Highlight the desired option and click OK to save. Use the Custom Date/Time function if the time format needed is not found in the list. Do not Show Leading Zeros Select this option to not have a leading zero displayed before the hours of 1-9. With the option not selected, a leading zero is placed before the hours of 1-9. For example, a time of 3:05 PM would display as 03:05 PM. 65

67 Custom Date and Time The custom date and time may be used instead of the Preformatted Date or Preformatted Time options. It provides additional flexibility in displaying dates and/or times. Use this option to build custom date and time formats. Many of these formats are based on what is defined in the Regional Settings of the Control Panel. When played back, the month, day, etc. display in the language defined in the regional settings of Windows. Modify Keys > Insert > Date/Time > Custom Date/Time Format A number of date and time formats have been predefined. Select one of the formats from the drop down list. Or enter a custom date or time format by using the date/time options detailed in the chart below. Formats may be created for just the date, the time, or both. Date/Time Use Current Date / Time This option uses the date and time from the system clock at the time the macro is run. Specific Date / Time Use this option to play back a specific date or time. Set the value to a specific date or time, either in the past or future. Adjust Current Date/ Time Adjust the date or time to Days, Months, Hours or Minutes into the future or past. The calculations are based on the computer system time and date. List of Format Options Format c Description Displays the date using the Short Date Format defined in the Control Panel - Regional Settings, followed by Time format defined in the Control Panel - Regional Settings. The time is not displayed if the fractional part is zero. d Displays the day as a number without a leading zero (1-31). dd Displays the day as a number with a leading zero (01-31). ddd Displays the day as an abbreviation (Sun-Sat) using the Short Day Name format defined in the Control Panel 66

68 dddd Displays the day as a full name (Sunday-Saturday) using the Long Day Name format defined in the Control Panel Settings. ddddd Displays the date using the Short Date format defined in the Control Panel - Regional Settings. dddddd Displays the date using the Long Date format defined in the Control Panel - Regional Settings. m mm mmm Displays the month as a number without a leading zero (1-12). If the m specifier immediately follows an h or minute rather than the month is displayed. Displays the month as a number with a leading zero (01-12). If the mm specifier immediately follows an h or minute rather than the month is displayed. Displays the month as an abbreviation (Jan-Dec) using the Short Month Names format defined in the Control Settings. mmmm Displays the month as a full name (January-December) using the Long Month Names format defined in the Settings. yy Displays the year as a two-digit number (00-99). yyyy Displays the year as a four-digit number ( ). h Displays the hour without a leading zero (0-23). hh Displays the hour with a leading zero (00-23). n Displays the minute without a leading zero (0-59). nn Displays the minute with a leading zero (00-59). s Displays the second without a leading zero (0-59). ss Displays the second with a leading zero (00-59). z Displays the millisecond without a leading zero (0-999). zzz Displays the millisecond with a leading zero ( ). t tt Displays the time using the Short Time format defined in the Control Panel - Regional Settings. Displays the time using the Long Time format defined in the Control Panel - Regional Settings. am/pm Uses the 12-hour clock for the preceding h or hh specifier, and displays 'am' for any hour before noon, and noon. The am/pm specifier can use lower, upper, or mixed case, and the result is displayed accordingly. a/p Uses the 12-hour clock for the preceding h or hh specifier, and displays 'a' for any hour before noon, and 'p' The a/p specifier can use lower, upper, or mixed case, and the result is displayed accordingly. ampm Uses the 12-hour clock for the preceding h or hh specifier, and displays AM symbol defined in the Control Panel for any hour before noon, and the contents of the PM setting defined in the Control Panel - Regional Settings noon. / Displays the date separator character defined in the Control Panel - Regional Settings. : Displays the time separator character defined in the Control Panel - Regional Settings. 'xx'/"xx" Characters enclosed in single or double quotes are displayed as-is, and do not affect formatting. 67

69 Delay Use this function to add Delay timing to macros. The delay is inserted into the replacement field at the position where the text cursor is located. The delay will look like the following in the Replacement Text field - <IMSD:5000>. This example shows a 5000 millisecond (5 second) delay. Modify Keys > Insert > Delay Delay in Milliseconds Delays are set in milliseconds (thousandths of a second). Enter the number of milliseconds in the edit box. For example, enter 5000 into the edit field to create a 5 second delay. Or enter 500 for a half second delay. Note: To manually stop the shortkey so that it does not continue, press the Scroll Lock + Pause keys or left mouse click on the ShortKeys icon in the system tray. 68

70 Wait for Keypress Modify Keys > Insert > Wait for Keypress The Wait for Keypress option instructs the macro to wait during playback until a specific key is pressed. The user may input text, move the mouse, etc. until that key is pressed. Once the selected key is pressed, the macro resumes. Keypress to Wait for Select the key to use from the drop down list. During playback, the macro stops when it reaches the Wait for Key Press command in the script and waits for the selected key to be pressed. Choices include letters of the alphabet, the function keys or several other common keys such as Enter, Tab, etc. Considerations Below are a number of things to consider when using this function. 1. When selecting a letter of the alphabet or number, that character will type out into the application that has focus. After typing the character the macro continues. 2. If using keys such as F3, F5, etc, make sure that they do not conflict with the application in use. These keys may be defined in the program to perform a specific function and will interfere with the shortkey playback. 3. If looking for a key less likely to conflict with other operations, a key such as ESC may be a good choice. 4. Do not make the last keystroke before the Wait for Keypress the same key as the one to wait for. For example, the shortkey plays back a string of text and presses the Enter key. This is followed by the Wait for Keypress. If Enter is selected as the keypress, ShortKeys sees the previous Enter, considers the wait complete and continues with the macro. To avoid this problem, insert a short Delay before Wait for Keypress or select something other than the Enter key. 5. If using the Any Key option, then a Delay must be placed in the Replacement Text directly before the Wait for Keypress - Any Key function. The longer the string of text before the Wait for Keypress, the longer the delay needs to be. The delay allows the shortkey keyboard buffer to clear before the Wait for Keypress takes effect. Maximum Wait Time Allowed With this option checked, the macro waits the number of hours, minutes and seconds specified for the Wait For action to occur. If that action does not take place within the specified time frame, the macro terminates. During this wait time, another shortkey macro may not be initiated. Note: To manually stop the shortkey so that it does not continue, press the Scroll Lock + Pause keys or left mouse click on the ShortKeys icon in the system tray. The icon in the system tray includes a green arrow indicating that the macro is still running. 69

71 Shortkey Settings Use these options to individually customize the shortkeys already created by selecting the Customize Macro Settings option. Otherwise the shortkey options default to the Global Settings defined in Options Preferences General. Modify Keys > Options Case Sensitivity ShortKeys provides an option to use case sensitivity in the shortkey names. This option only affects the shortkey currently being edited. Click on Options Preferences General to change case sensitivity settings. A check mark beside one of the options listed below indicates which option is active. "None" is the default setting. Match Upper Case First Char Between Shortkey & Text This option allows the upper case setting of the first letter in the shortkey to dictate that the first character in the macro will be upper case (if the first thing in the macro is a character). This option is mainly for those doing simple text replacement in documents and facilitates an easy way to capitalize the replacement text in instances where it needs to be such, as the beginning of a sentence. Do not lowercase the first letter With the option above, if the first letter of the replacement text is a capital letter, and a lower case letter is pressed to activate the shortkey, the first letter of the replacement text will also be lower case. For example, consider a shortkey of "mrr" with a replacement text of "Mr. Roberts ". In the option above, pressing "mrr" would play back "mr. Roberts". Pressing "Mrr" would play back "Mr. Roberts", which is most likely the desired outcome. Selecting this option prevents a shortkey from replacing the first capitalized letter with a lower case letter. So, pressing "mrr" or "Mrr" wound always result in "Mr. Roberts". Require Exact Upper/Lower Case Match on Shortkey With this setting selected, the shortkey must be entered exactly as it appears (upper and lower case letters) in order to have the replacement work. Without case sensitivity, the replacement would work by typing either an upper or lower case letter of the shortkey. Below are a few examples: ShortKey Case Sensitive Not Case Sensitive Mike Mike mike tagline tagline TaGLIne Address Address address None Neither of the above cases apply with this option checked. The shortkey in not case sensitive in this situation. 70

72 Other Do Not Remove Keystrokes Typed This option instructs the shortkey not to erase itself after being typed in. Normally, backspaces are issued to remove the shortkey from the screen before the macro is executed. When using shortkeys in non text usage programs, this may not be desirable to have "backspaces" issued. For example, using a shortkey in Internet Explorer where focus is not on an edit box, will cause the "back" button to be pressed numerous times due to the backspaces being issued. The Do Not Remove Keystrokes Typed option prevents this from happening. Advanced Click on the Advanced button to open the window displayed below. Modify Keys > Options > Advanced Use the Advanced option to determine whether to have the shortkey play back via the Clipboard or through the Keyboard. If selecting Playback using Keyboard, optionally select a delay in microseconds between each keystroke. The delays works to prevent the keystrokes from typing too fast and overflowing the keyboard buffer. Note: This setting is only available if the Use Individual Settings option from Options Preferences General has been selected. Otherwise the options will be grayed out as in the example above. 71

73 Spell Check Use the spell checker to check the spelling of the shortkeys replacement text. To invoke the spell checker, click on the Spell Check button from the Modify Keys window. The spell checker starts at the beginning of the replacement text and works its way through to the end. If there are no spelling errors, a message appears stating that all words were found in the dictionary and the spelling is correct. If a word is not found in the dictionary, then a dialog box entitled Suggestions opens, as shown below. The word in question appears at the top with possible suggestions listed underneath. Note: Using the Spell Checker with Rich Text may result in some of the rich text formatting being lost for any replacement words. Modify Keys > Spell Check Button Not in Dictionary: Displays the word not found in the dictionary. Change To: Shows a word with a potential correct spelling. It defaults to the first word suggestion. Suggestions: A list of suggestions (possible correct spellings) for the word in question display in this box. Add To: This option displays the dictionary that the word is added to when clicking on the Add button. The dictionary selected in Options Preferences Dictionary is displayed as the default and is the one currently in use. Change Highlight the correct spelling of the word in the suggestion box and click on the Change button. The correct spelling of the word is inserted into the Replacement Text and replaces the misspelled word. Ignore If confident that the word questioned by the spell checker is correct, click on the Ignore button. The word is bypassed and the spell checker continues searching for other words. Add If the word listed is not found in the spell checker, click on the Add button to add the word to the dictionary. The 72

74 If the word listed is not found in the spell checker, click on the Add button to add the word to the dictionary. The next time that word is used, the spell checker will skip it and not question the spelling again. Cancel Clicking on the Cancel button stops the spell check process and returns to the previous window. 73

75 Replace Word The Replace Word feature requires typing one additional letter to the shortkey to change the ending of a word in the replacement text. This option is only available for use with the Suffix method of shortkey activation. Modify Keys > Replace Word The best way to explain this feature is by going through a few examples. In the example above, a shortkey of "wk" has been created. The replacement text is "work". Several suffixes that apply to the word "work" have been added. The very first example adds the letter "b" to the shortkey "wk". So when "wkb" is typed into another application, the text is expanded to "workable" instead of "work". Similarly, selecting the "g" option creates a shortkey of "wkg" and the replacement text is "working". The above screen shows examples of other possible words that may be created from the root word. To create a new shortkey and replacement text, place a check in the suffix option box desired. Then click on the word ending that is appropriate for the shortkey word. < or + Entries 1. Buttons with the < sign in front of the letters remove the last letter of the Word to Replace before adding the new ending. Example For example, consider a shortkey of "tr" with the replacement text, or in this case replacement word, of "treaty". Selecting the "s" ending creates a plural of the word treaty. To do this, click on the "<ies" button. This option removes the "y" from "treaty" and creates the replacement word of "treaties".typing "trs" into another application plays back the word treaties 74

76 2. Buttons with a + sign in front of the letters duplicate the last letter of the Word to Replace before adding the new ending. Example For example, consider a shortkey of "ft" with the replacement text, or in this case replacement word, of "format". Selecting the "g" option creates a word with an "ing" ending. To do this, click on the "+ing" button. This option adds another "t" to the end of "format" and creates the replacement word of "formatting". Typing "ftg" into another applications plays back the word formatting. Custom This option allows for the custom creation of word endings and replacement words. With this option, add an additional letter, such as "z" in the image above, and then enter what the replacement word should be. In this case typing the shortkey of "wkz" plays back the word "workforce". When finished creating the word variations, click OK to save the changes and return to the Modify Keys window. Click the Save and Close button to return to the listing of all shortkeys. Using the example shown in the screen shot above, the program window displays the shortkey of "wk". The replacement text shows as "work". The suffixes column displays b,d,g,r,s,z. It shows the suffixes selected and the endings that can be added to the "wk" shortkey to play back a different replacement text. Changing the i suffix to j 75

77 Scope Scope essentially refers to the window or windows in which the shortkey will play back. The default setting for each new shortkey created is Global. The Global setting allows the shortkey to play back in any window. Use the Scope setting to limit where the shortkey may play back. T Some shortkeys may be created for a specific application and may possibly conflict with everyday typing in other programs. One option would be to change the shortkey abbreviation to avoid problems. The other option would be to change the shortkey scope to window specific, so that it only plays back in a specific window or windows and not anywhere else. To use the scope option, remove the check next to "Shortkey runs in all windows". Modify Keys > Scope Clicking on the Scope button from the Modify Keys window opens the window as depicted above. It displays all windows that have been added to the scope setting. Pressing the Add or Modify buttons opens a window similar to the one shown below. It lists all windows currently open on the computer. 76

78 Modify Keys > Scope > Add or Modify Modify Highlight an entry made in the scope window and click on the Modify button to open the Select Window dialog and modify the window title previously selected. Add Click on the Add Window button to view all windows that are currently running on the computer. If the window is currently running, scroll through the list and click on the title desired. The window selected is placed in the Window Title edit field. If the window is not currently running, type the window name in the Window Title edit field. Exact Match/Partial Match The exact match option requires that the Window title match exactly before the macro plays back. A partial match only requires a portion of the window title in order to work. For example, "notep" would be sufficient to find the "notepad" window. A Window with this Title Must Be on Top This option plays the macro back only if the window is the current top-most window (the one that is showing on top of all other windows). If this option is not selected, the macro will start if the window is running in the background and play back in whatever window has focus. After making a selection, click OK and the title is listed in the Scope window. Repeat the process to add additional windows if necessary. Remove Highlight a window title from the list in the Scope window to remove it. Remove all titles from the list to change the setting back to Global, so that the shortkey will play back in all programs. 77

79 Networking Considerations ShortKeys can be set up to run over a network with no ill effects. The options to ensure ShortKeys runs smoothly over a network can be accessed via the Options Network menu command. The following options are found there. File Locking of Shortkey Files Choosing this option basically enables the networking capabilities of ShortKeys. File locking is performed to prevent overwriting of data by 2 or more users. If a user attempts to change any data in the shortkey file and the data they currently display has been altered by another user, the user will be notified that the data has been changed and the new data will be loaded and displayed. Note: If not running ShortKeys over a network, it is recommended that this option be turned off. Automatic Synchronization Updating This option is available to allow automatic updating of the data displayed for a given user. This updating can be set to occur every minute, every two minutes, on up to every 99 minutes. For example, if the interval is set to 5 minutes and another user makes a change to the same macro file that is currently open, the macro data changes are automatically displayed on the computer within 5 minutes. When running ShortKeys over a network, use the Command Line Parameters options to prevent users from changing any of the shortkey data. Note: Please note that multi-user networking of this product requires site licensing. 78

80 Command Line Parameters Command Line Parameters are commands that can be passed to the program when the program is first run. The following options are available: /B (Browse Mode) Places ShortKeys in a browse mode where the macro data cannot be modified. Changes can be made to the configurations such as program activation key, screen size etc. In addition, different macro files can be loaded in. This option can be especially helpful in administrating uniformity of macros over a network. /BA (Browse All Mode) Places ShortKeys in a browse mode where nothing can be changed. The only option given to the user is to terminate the program. This option can be especially helpful in administrating uniformity of macros over a network. /C (Case Sensitivity) Turns on the Case Sensitivity option /CC (Clipboard) Sets the shortkey playback setting to Use Clipboard For All /CI (Individual Settings) Sets the shortkey playback setting to Use Individual Settings /CK (Keyboard) Sets the shortkey playback setting to Use Keyboard For All /F<FileName> (Load Macro File) Specify a specific macro file for loading on startup of ShortKeys. <Filename> is replaced with the macro file name. A full path along with the "SHK" extension on the file name must be used. /HIDE Prevents the ShortKeys window from running on program startup. /IC<File Name> (Imports Program Configuration) Load in the program configuration settings on startup of ShortKeys. If more than one user shares a computer, each user could have their configuration settings loaded in when they start up ShortKeys. Each individual user would need to create their own startup shortcut in order to do this. /N (Network) Turns on the program's Network Mode. /Pxx (Prefix Key) This option sets the current Prefix Key where "xx" should be substituted with a valid prefix key. Invalid prefix keys are ignored. /S (Synchronize Network) This option is functional only if the Network Mode is active. It turns on the network synchronization option. /SMxx (Synchronization Minutes) This option is functional only if the Network Mode is active. "xx" should be substituted with the number of minutes (frequency) that macro file synchronization should take place. Valid values are from 1 minute to 99 minutes. /SOL (Solitary Usage) This option turns on the Solitary Usage option 79

81 /T (System Tray) This option places an icon in the Windows system tray /UP (Prefix Key) This option turns on the Prefix Key usage /US (Suffix Key) This option turns on the Suffix Key usage Note: Each of these options allows for a quick and easy setup for network considerations. For example, users can be restricted from changing ShortKey data utilizing one of the browse modes. This allows manageable uniformity across the network. All users can access the same ShortKey file using the "Load Macro File" option so that no configuration is required by first running the program. Network usage can be enforced using the "Network" option, etc. The Options Preferences Startup panel provides a method for inserting any of the command line parameters required at startup. 80

82 End-User License Agreement (EULA) for ShortKeys Agreement The use of this Software indicates your understanding and acceptance of the following terms and conditions. If you do not understand or accept these terms you must cease using this product immediately. Copyright This product is Copyright by Insight Software Solutions, Inc. and is protected by United States copyright law and various international treaties. All Rights Reserved. License You may use an unlicensed copy of this Software for up to 30 days for evaluation purposes only. After the 30 day evaluation period you must purchase a license to continue to use the Software. Once you have purchased a license you will receive a license code that will enable you to continue using the Software on a non-exclusive basis. This license will not expire. The Software is licensed, not sold. Ownership of the Software, Documentation and all intellectual property rights therein shall remain at all times with Insight Software Solutions, Inc. In licensing the Software you do not acquire any rights beyond the right to continue to use the Software on the system for which you purchased the license. Personal License: A single-user ("Personal") License may either be used by a single user who uses the Software personally on one or more computers, or installed on a single computer used by multiple people, but not both. Multi-User License: A multiple-user ("Multi-User") License may be purchased based upon either (a) the number of users who have access to the Software on any number of computers, or (b) based upon the number of computers on which the Software will be installed for use by any number of users. You may not use the Software in excess of either (a) the number of purchased users or (b) the number of purchased computers, whichever is applicable. A Multi-User License may not be used by your subsidiary companies, customers, or any other third parties. You shall be responsible for maintaining the License in a safe location and are specifically prohibited from distributing the License, intentionally or unintentionally, to any third party. Upon loss or distribution of the License, Customer shall be required to pay a reinstatement fee at Insight Software Solution's discretion. License Transfer You may not sell, rent, lease, or transfer the Software to any third party and may not lend the Software other than as authorized by this EULA. You may transfer the product to another party only if the other party agrees to all the terms and conditions of this agreement and if you provide Insight Software Solutions notice of the transfer including your name, company (if applicable), and address and the name, company (if applicable), and address of the person to whom you are transferring the rights granted herein. If you transfer the program you must at the same time transfer or destroy any back-up copies. You may not retain any portion of the program, in any form, under any circumstance. If the Product is an upgrade, any transfer must include all prior versions of the Product. You must secure written approval and a personalized license code from Insight Software Solutions, Inc. The license code issued to the initial user will be invalidated. If the Software was purchased as part of a Multiple User license, you may only sell or transfer the entire multiple user license; you may not sell or transfer a portion of a Multiple User license. You may not sell or transfer any Trial Version or Not For Resale Version of the Software. The sale or transfer of the Software does not transfer the 30 day money back guarantee offered to the original purchaser. Restrictions You may not copy, modify, translate, loan or create derivative works based upon the Software or any part thereof. You may not reverse engineer, decompile, adapt, or disassemble the Software, nor shall you attempt to create the source code from the object code of the Software. You may not attempt to unlock or bypass any licensing algorithm 81

83 source code from the object code of the Software. You may not attempt to unlock or bypass any licensing algorithm utilized by the Software. You may not distribute the license code you received when purchasing the Software or post this information to discussion forums, web sites, messages or servers. You may not remove or modify any copyright notices. Violations will result in termination of this license. Limited Warranty Insight Software Solutions, Inc. warrants that the Software will perform substantially in accordance with the user documentation for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of receipt. This limited warranty is void if failure of the Software has resulted from accident, abuse, or misapplication. Any replacement Software will be warranted for the remainder of the original warranty period or thirty (30) days, whichever is longer. Disclaimer of Warranty THERE ARE NO OTHER WARRANTIES RESPECTING THE SOFTWARE, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR ENDORSEMENTS REGARDING THE USE OF, THE RESULTS OF, OR PERFORMANCE OF THE PRODUCT, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR THAT THE SOFTWARE IS ERROR FREE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE IS ASSUMED BY THE USER AND/OR LICENSEE. INSIGHT SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS, INC. DOES NOT ASSUME LIABILITY FOR THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE BEYOND THE ORIGINAL PURCHASE PRICE OF THE SOFTWARE. IN NO EVENT WILL INSIGHT SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS, INC. BE LIABLE FOR ADDITIONAL DIRECT OR INDIRECT DAMAGES INCLUDING ANY LOSS OF PROFITS OR OTHER INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY DEFECTS, OR THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE, EVEN IF INSIGHT SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS, INC. HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS, SO LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS, AND YOU MAY HAVE OTHER LEGAL RIGHTS THAT VARY BY JURISDICTION. Customer Remedies The entire liability of Insight Software Solutions, Inc. and your exclusive remedy shall be, at the option of Insight Software Solutions, Inc., either (a) return of the original purchase price paid for the Software, or (b) repair or replacement of the Software that does not meet the Limited Warranty and that is returned to Insight Software Solutions, Inc. with a copy of your receipt. Export Controls None of the Software, Documentation or underlying information or technology may be downloaded or otherwise exported or re-exported (i) into (or to a national or resident of) Cuba, Iraq, North Korea, Iran, Syria or any other country to which the U.S. has embargoed goods; or (ii) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Commerce Department's Table of Denial Orders. By downloading or using the Software, you are agreeing to the foregoing and you are representing and warranting that you are not located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of any such country or on any such list. High Risk Activities The Software is not fault-tolerant and is not designed, manufactured or intended for use or resale as on-line control equipment in hazardous environments requiring fail-safe performance, such as in the operation of nuclear facilities, aircraft navigation or communication systems, air traffic control, direct life support machines, or weapons systems, in which the failure of the Software could lead directly to death, personal injury, or severe physical or environmental damage ("High Risk Activities"). Insight Software Solutions, Inc. specifically disclaims any express or implied warranty of fitness for High Risk Activities. Terms This license is effective until terminated. You may terminate it by destroying the Software, the documentation and copies thereof. This license will also terminate if you fail to comply with any terms or conditions of this agreement. You agree upon such termination to destroy all copies of the Software and of the documentation, or return them to Insight Software Solutions, Inc. Other Rights No amendments or modifications may be made to this Agreement except in writing signed by both parties. If one or more provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid or unenforceable, this Agreement shall not be rendered inoperative but the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. 82

84 inoperative but the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. No Insight Software Solutions, Inc. dealer, distributor or agent is authorized to make any modification or addition to this Agreement. All other rights not specifically granted in this license are reserved by Insight Software Solutions, Inc. Governing Law This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Utah. The application of the United Nations Convention of Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly excluded. 83

85 Support Important: Before requesting support, please ensure that the answer to your question is not already contained in the Help File, the Frequently Asked Questions or the web based Knowledge Base for ShortKeys. For questions or comments regarding ShortKeys please visit our support page at If you are experiencing an issue with ShortKeys, please provide the following: The product name and version number. (Click on Help About for version information.) The version of Windows you are running (XP, Vista, 7, 8.1, etc.) including service packs. The sequence of actions that produces the problem. Any other relevant details. Before contacting us for technical support, please make sure that you are using the latest version of ShortKeys, as the problem may have been fixed in a later update. Information about the latest release may be found at 84

86 Upgrade Policy A license key is supplied when ShortKeys is purchased. Please keep this key in a secure place as it will be needed if reinstalling ShortKeys. This license key is valid for any version 3.x of ShortKeys. Future revisions that bear the "3.x" identifier version will generally be for minor enhancements and bug-fixes. Any release containing major new functionality will bear a different version identifier (e.g., 4.x) and an upgrade fee will be chargeable. The prime location for new releases of ShortKeys is our web site download page at If installing a newer version of the product, install it over top of the existing version (into the same folder). Note: Un-installing and then re-installing ShortKeys will not affect any existing macro file(s). The macro file(s) will remain intact. However, as always, we recommend backing up the macro (.shk) file(s) before un-installing or reinstalling. 85

87 Frequently Asked Questions I typed out the shortkey in my program, but the replacement did not work? Why not? There are a number of possibilities. Below are the most frequent causes. 1. Make sure ShortKeys is running. 2. If another key was pressed during the middle of typing the shortkey then the shortkey will not activate. For instance, pressing down the CTRL key or the ALT key will interrupt the sequence of keystrokes that ShortKeys sees. 3. Check the Prefix Keys and Suffix Keys settings found under Options Preferences General. For example, if Use Prefix Keys is selected, the prefix keys are set to ## and a shortkey of sk is defined, then ##sk must be typed in order for the shortkey to run. If using the Solitary Usage option, a shortkey will be recognized only when the shortkey is preceded by a character or key that is not valid as part of the shortkey name. 4. It is also possible that another program started, after running ShortKeys, that installs itself improperly into the Windows Keyboard Hooks. This usually exhibits itself most often when ShortKeys and other programs are loaded in the startup group. One of the other programs is being loaded after ShortKeys and is effectively blocking access to the keyboard. After determining the program causing the conflict, there are three solutions. - Make sure ShortKeys is loaded after the program that is causing the problem loads. - Select 'Tools' and 'Restore Keyboard Hooks' from the main menu of ShortKeys. - The real solution is to get an updated copy of the problem program from the manufacturer (or have them correct it if they haven t already). 5. If the program was working earlier in the day and just quit responding, press the Ctrl key once and release. Type the shortkey again. 6. Some malware such as viruses, trojans, and worms can prevent the activation of shortkeys. Make sure that the anti-virus, anti-adware and anti-spyware utilities are up to date on the computer and perform a scan. 7. If the shortkeys do not work in Internet Explorer (IE), but function correctly in other programs, then the problem may be a Browser Helper Object (BHO). A BHO is a small program that runs when Internet Explorer is running and modifies its behavior in some way. While many are helpful and are typically installed by other programs, some will interfere with applications such as a macro program. There are several options for handling Browser Helper Objects: - There are programs available that will search the computer for Browser Helper Objects. IE7 and later display what add-ons are installed and running. - Uninstall the program that created the Browser Helper Object. As there is no simple way to detect which program installs these Browser Helper Objects, it is important to keep a log of dates that new software is installed. If the shortkeys worked for some time, and then stopped working, it is most likely a recently installed program. - Other browsers such as Firefox, Netscape and Opera do not support Browser Helper Objects. 8. The Java Runtime Engine (JRE) can cause ShortKeys to fail with Internet Explorer. To correct this: - Open IE, click on Tools and then select Internet Options. Click on the Advanced tab. Scroll through the list to find Java (Sun). Uncheck the option: Use Java. You will need to restart your computer for this setting to take effect. - Update to the latest Java Runtime Environment (JRE). 86

88 9. ShortKeys will no longer function once the 30-day trial has expired. A license must be purchased to use beyond the 30 day trial period. I typed out the shortkey in my program. The shortkey was removed, but the replacement never appeared. Why? It is likely that ShortKeys is pasting the text using the "Use Clipboard" option and the receiving application does not support the standard "CTRL-V" function for pasting. There are two options to try and overcome this problem. 1. ShortKeys will have copied the replacement data to the Windows clipboard. After the shortkey text is erased, manually invoke the clipboard paste command that is supported by the program. 2. Use the "Keyboard" option in ShortKeys and the replacement text will be typed into the application. When my text is replaced, it comes out garbled and/or I hear some beeping noises? What's wrong? The Windows keyboard buffer is overflowing. The text is being sent to the keyboard too fast. The text really isn't being garbled, but some of the text is getting lost, giving the appearance of garbled text. There are two solutions to this problem: 1. Use the clipboard option to immediately paste the entire text string and bypass the keyboard. 2. If it is necessary to use the keyboard for longer strings of text, then increase the delay between each keystroke that is typed. Click on the Options button while editing the shortkey to adjust the delay timing. Or set a global delay through the Options Preferences Delays menu to adjust all shortkeys at once. Yesterday the ShortKeys icon appeared in the system tray, but after rebooting the icon does not appear. Nothing happens when I try to restart the program. There are several possible solutions to this issue. 1. First, make sure that the icon is not hidden by Windows XP or later. Click on the < or ^ arrow button to expand the tray. 2. It's possible that the program has been set to a hidden mode. There are several possible hot key combinations to activate the ShortKeys window. Try pressing Ctrl + Up Arrow, Ctrl + Page Up, Ctrl + Page Down, Alt + Left Arrow or Alt + Right Arrow. The default activation is Ctrl + Up Arrow. Click on Options Preferences Activation and select the System Tray option. 3. It is also possible that another program is interfering with ShortKeys on Windows startup and preventing the icon from being placed in the system tray. Use one of the hot keys mentioned above to open the program window. Click on Options Preferences Startup. The Run on Windows Startup option should already be selected. Select the Wait for Seconds option and enter 10 in the field. This instructs ShortKeys to wait for 10 seconds at Windows startup before trying to load the icon in the system tray. You may need to experiment with this wait time, based on your system. Every half hour or so, ShortKeys just stops working! It is still on, but the shortkeys no longer respond! It's possible that some other application on the computer is interfering with ShortKeys. After the program stops responding, press the CTRL key once, then release it and try the shortkey again. The tool bar and/or file menu disappeared from the ShortKeys window? How do I get them back? 87

89 First close the ShortKeys window so just the icon in the system tray is visible. Right click on the ShortKeys icon in the tray and select Tools and then Restore Toolbars & Window Positions. Open the program window and the tool bar and/or file menu should be restored. The ShortKeys window does not open. I click on the icon in the system tray and nothing happens. Right mouse click on the icon in the system tray. Select Tools and then Restore Toolbars & Window Positions. Left click on the icon in the tray to open the program window. It should be restored to the center of the screen. There are funny looking boxes showing under the replacement keys in the list box on the main window. What are these? If the replacement text contains special characters such as the "Enter" key, then these will show up as little boxes in the list box. Normally, there should be no concern that these show up. My replacement text is quite long, yet only the first 50 characters show up in the list box on the ShortKeys window. Is there any reason for this? Yes. The list box showing the shortkeys only contains the first 50 characters of the replacement text. My ShortKeys do not work in Internet Explorer, but they work everywhere else. What is happening? The problem may be a Browser Helper Object (BHO). A BHO is a small program that runs when Internet Explorer is running and modifies its behavior in some way. While many are helpful and are typically installed by other programs, some will interfere with applications such as a macro program. There are several options for handling Browser Helper Objects: There are programs available that will search the computer for Browser Helper Objects. IE7 and IE8 both display which add-ons are installed and running. Uninstall the program that created the Browser Helper Object. As there is no simple way to detect which program installs these Browser Helper Objects, it is important to keep a log of dates that new software is installed. If the shortkeys worked for some time, and then stopped working, it is most likely a recently installed program. Other browsers such as Firefox, Netscape and Opera do not support Browser Helper Objects. Just before a shortkey replacement is made, I see strange things happening such as the cursor disappearing or the cursor moving to a different area in my program. What's happening? This can occur in some programs if using the "Suffix" option and the "show hints" option is turned on. The "show hints" is a small box that shows that a replacement is about to occur and what that replacement will be. To show this box, we temporarily take control and then return control back to the program that had focus. Some programs do not remember well where the cursor was positioned and the problem arises. The only recourse is to turn off the "Show Hints" option while using such a program. 88

90 Portable Version A portable version of ShortKeys is available for use on a USB drive or similar portable device, essentially any drive that you can connect and disconnect from the computer. Install ShortKeys Portable on the device and run it from that device rather than the local computer. This version will not leave traces of the program on the hard drive of the machine where the program is run. ShortKeys Portable includes the following differences from the standard version. No 30-day trial available. The options to import or export the program preferences have been removed. There is no uninstaller. Use Windows Explorer to delete the files. The "Run when Windows starts up" preference option is not available. The "Save settings as defaults for all users" preference option has been removed. The.shk file association is not linked to ShortKeys Portable. You cannot double-click on a.shk file to load it into the program. Default locations for the.shk macro file, temp directory, etc. are stored on the portable drive. To Run ShortKeys Portable When a portable drive is connected to the computer, the AutoPlay menu will typically appear. Click on Open folder to view files in the AutoPlay menu. Double click on LaunchApps to display a menu similar to the one shown below. The menu displays the programs you have installed that are recognized by LaunchApps. Click on the program that you want to load. Or open Windows Explorer to the portable drive and double click on LaunchApps to open the menu. AutoRun for Windows XP and prior On Windows XP and prior, you may be able to specify a program to automatically run when the portable drive is inserted into your computer. The file autorun.inf allows this to happen (if it is supported by your version of Windows). Autorun.inf will only load one program at a time and may be disabled if the AutoRun feature in Windows is disabled. When ShortKeys Portable is installed it will create an autorun.inf file in the root directory of your portable drive if one does not already exist. If your portable drive already contains an autorun.inf when you install you may choose to edit it. The autorun.inf file will load the program LaunchApps. LaunchApps may be configured to automatically load more than one program. The file autorun_iss.inf demonstrates how autorun.inf could be set to load LaunchApps. 89

91 To close ShortKeys Portable Before instructing Windows to eject the portable drive, close ShortKeys Portable and any other open programs. ShortKeys interfaces with Windows at a low level and each program that is running loads the ShortKeys hook into its memory space. Even after closing ShortKeys other programs may still have the hook loaded. If this is the case, Windows will display a message saying the drive is currently in use when you attempt to eject the drive. If closing all open programs does not release the hook you will need to log off of Windows and then remove the portable drive. 90

92 Index A Aborting a Macro, 68, 69 Activation, 27 Add Shortkey, 23 Adjust Font, 29 Alt-Key Sequence, 61 AutoCorrect, 18 B Backup, 18, 36 Browse Mode, 79 Bug Reporter, 26, 33 C CAPS Lock, 39 Case Sensitivity, 39, 70 Category, 24 Clipboard Playback, 39 Colors, Command Line Parameters, 46, 79 Copyright, 81 Create a Shortkey, 13, 14, 23 Custom Date Formats, 66 Custom Time Formats, 66 D Dates, 66, 52, 64 Delay, 44, 52, 68 Delete Shortkey, 23 Dictionary, 31, 72 Disable Shortkeys, 23 E Enable Shortkeys, 23 EXE Download, 89 Explorer Font, 29 Export Program Configuration, 51 Export Shortkeys File, 18 Export Text File, 18 F File Locking, 34 Find, 23, 57 Find and Replace, 57 Fonts, 29 H Hide ShortKeys, 27 Hint Mode, 38 I Import.CSV File, 18 Import ASCII File, 18 91

93 Import AutoCorrect, 18 Import Program Configuration, 50 Import Shortkeys File, 18 Import Text File, 18 Individual Settings, 70 Installing ShortKeys, 7, 8 K Keyboard Hooks, 48 Keyboard Playback, 39 Keystroke Speed, 44 L License Agreement, 81 Licensing ShortKeys, 7, 11 Lower case, 70 M Match Upper/Lower Case, 39 Menu Styles, 29 Misc Keys, 52, 60 Modify Keys, 52, 54 N Network Options, 11, 8, 78, 34 New ShortKey, 23 Notes, 52 O Overview, 3 P Portable Version, 89 Prefix Characters, 39 Prefix Keys, 13, 39 Print Shortkeys, 18, 56 Program Configuration, 50, 51 Program Defaults, 49 Punctuation Characters, 39 Q Quick Start Guide, 46 R Reopen, 18 Replace Word, 30,, 52, 74 Replacement Text Font, 29 Restore File from Backup, 18 Restore Keyboard Hooks, 48 Restore Program Defaults, 49 Rich Text, 52, 54 Run in Specific Program, 76 S Scope, 52, 76 Search and Replace, 57 Silent Install, 8 92

94 Solitary Usage, 39 Sort Shortkeys, 17 Spell Check, 31, 52, 72 Startup Options, 46 Stopping a Macro, 68, 69 Suffix Keys, 14, 39 Support, 84 Symbols, 52, 61 Synchronize File Updates, 34, 78 System Tray Icon, 27 T Time, 52, 65, 66 Timing Help, 44, 68, 69 Tutorial, 13, 14 U Undo, 57 Unicode, 54, 61 Uninstall ShortKeys, 12 Upgrade Policy, 85 Upper case, 39, 70 W Wait for Keypress, 52, 69 Word Suffixes, 74 Z Zip Download, 89 93