Quick Tips Title

Customising Hotkeys

Some hotkeys are already set up in Alias as defaults, and these are displayed by the side of the tool name on the pull-down menus. To see the hotkeys on the palette tools, you will need to access the text versions of the tools using the right mouse button on the palette tab.

Hotkeys shown on Menu Tools

To customise the hotkeys use Preferences → Interface → Hotkeys/Menus Editor. This lists all the tools in the menu, palettes and shelves, so each tool can be located and allocated your chosen hotkey combination.

All the hotkeys will need to be one of:

Editing the Hotkeys

Saving Hotkeys

The only way to save your hotkeys is to use Preferences → User Options → Save. (This will also save everything else you have modified, unless you use the Tool Resets first).

Single Hotkeys Mode

By default, the hotkeys must be either Function keys or key combinations. If you want to use single characters for hotkeys, select Preferences → Interface → Toggle Single Hotkeys

The disadvantage of 'single hotkeys' is that you need to click in the prompt window before typing to enter text for a tool (e.g. co-ordinates for a Move), which can slow you down.

Apple Keyboards

For the Apple wired (extended) keyboard, the F5 F6 & F7 work with no problem. However if you want to use any of the others, you have a choice to use the Apple keys as default or the Alias ones.

In System Preferences → Keyboard there is an option to ‘Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys’

Apple keyboard preferences

Note: The Delete Key on the wireless keyboard is: Fn Backspace Key.

Accessing the Hotkeys File

If you want to directly access the Hotkeys preference file (for example to copy from one computer to another), it is stored in the User_Prefs directory:

Hotkey file location

The AppData directory may be 'hidden'. To display hidden folders in Windows:

Displaying hidden folders in Windows

Tip: A quick way to find the directory where the preferences are located:

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