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Vee S
Vee S
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Why do some actions have 2 keyboard shortcuts?

Mar 1, 2009 10:31 AM



I decided to change the keyboard shortcut for "Save for Web & Devices" to Command-Option-S but I noticed that it was already assigned to "Save As". So I look over and also notice "Save As" has 2 shortcuts assigned to it. I'm just curious why this is the case by default? In this case, was Command-Option-S a legacy shortcut for "Save As" on older Macs or something?

Also, why do shortcuts always require Command? I'd wanna reduce the number of shorcuts that require 4 keys by utilizing Control or Option.

Lastly, with the first issue above, just wanted to point out a minor error in the copy that says "File > File > Save As" when referring to the "Save As" path.
1090 Views   11 Replies   Latest reply: Metacarpal, Jun 19, 2009 11:54 AM
 
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    1. (Phos±four_dots),
    Mar 1, 2009 11:33 AM   in reply to Vee S
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    I changed my SFW shortcut to Command + Control + S.

    Doesn't seem to conflict with anything.
     
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  • Ramón G Castañeda
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    2. Ramón G Castañeda,
    Mar 1, 2009 5:32 PM   in reply to Vee S
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    V6,
    >Also, why do shortcuts always require Command?

    As I've said numerous times, we're not here to explain Adobe or Apple, nor to apologize for either of the two corporations. It's very unlikely that Adobe staff who drop by as volunteers, on their own time and dime, will respond to this type of questions.

    It's futile to ask why. It just is .

    As for the double "File >" entry, you would need to submit a formal bug report through the Contact button at the top of this page.
     
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    3. (Mark_Reynolds),
    Mar 2, 2009 7:58 AM   in reply to Vee S
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    Also, why do shortcuts always require Command?" - They don't, here's a workaround for this available since Photoshop 5 - you can use Actions - record an action step "Insert Menu Item here". Choose your menu item, then you can use a single F keys for any menu command. No-one apart from me, and one mystery person at Adobe ever seemed to know this existed until now.

    "Save as" has two shortcuts because different software used a different shortcut for this - the Adobe standard shortcut is Command/Shift/S
     
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  • Ann Shelbourne
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    4. Ann Shelbourne,
    Mar 2, 2009 8:12 AM   in reply to Vee S
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    >No-one apart from me, and one mystery person at Adobe ever seemed to know this existed until now.

    Oh yes they did. Actions and programmable F keys have been available since Actions were invented!
     
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    5. (Mark_Reynolds),
    Mar 2, 2009 9:25 AM   in reply to Vee S
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    ohhhh. THAT'S why everyone thought when modifiable keyboard shortcuts were introduced that it was a completely capability new then, I see.
     
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  • Vee S
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    6. Vee S,
    Mar 2, 2009 10:37 AM   in reply to Vee S
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    I changed my SFW shortcut to Command + Control + S.
    Phos±four dots, that's actually a perfect shortcut--doesn't twist my hand into a pretzeled mess--thanks!

    It's futile to ask why. It just is.
    Ramon, that's a ridiculous stance to take on a user-to-user forum. When I ask a question or raise a concern, it's really to pull from the vast experience of the Photoshop community, not necessarily from Adobe devs (although I do appreciate their replies in one of my recent posts). I bring it up simply because it's a discussion point and perhaps others are willing to provide their opinions or have knowledge of some facts.

    They don't, here's a workaround for this available since Photoshop 5 - you can use Actions - record an action step "Insert Menu Item here". Choose your menu item, then you can use a single F keys for any menu command. No-one apart from me, and one mystery person at Adobe ever seemed to know this existed until now.
    Mark, sorry but I should've included the function keys in that sentence. What I was really trying to get at was being able to use shortcuts that make use of the Option or Control keys, like Option-S, Control-Z, Option-Shift-S, etc.
     
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  • Chris Cox
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    7. Chris Cox,
    Mar 2, 2009 10:58 AM   in reply to Vee S
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    There is more to it under the hood, but the simple version is: menu shortcuts require the command key because that's the way menus work on Macintosh.

    Non-menu item shortcuts can sometimes use other key combinations (and sometimes they need hidden menu items, and thus need the command key).
     
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  • Ann Shelbourne
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    8. Ann Shelbourne,
    Mar 2, 2009 11:03 AM   in reply to Vee S
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    >What I was really trying to get at was being able to use shortcuts that make use of the Option or Control keys, like Option-S, Control-Z, Option-Shift-S, etc.

    Some key combinations are reserved by the System but you can use Option and Shift in combination with the F keys; as well as is in combinations which include the Command key.
     
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  • Ann Shelbourne
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    9. Ann Shelbourne,
    Mar 2, 2009 11:05 AM   in reply to Vee S
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    Sorry, I cross-posted with Chris who gave you the true low-down on this!
     
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  • Vee S
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    10. Vee S,
    Mar 3, 2009 10:41 AM   in reply to Vee S
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    Thanks Chris and Ann, I went back and read Apple's UI guidelines and it gave me a little better understanding of their keyboard shortcut standards. For example, I noticed the lack of shortcuts in Photoshop which made use of the Control key, but this may be partially explained by this guideline:

    Because the Control key is already used by some of the universal access features as well as in Cocoa text fields where Emacs-style key bindings are often used, it should be used as a modifier key only when necessary.


    Also, I imagine Adobe may want to keep similar shortcuts across multiple platforms and since Command and Control are swapped between Windows and Mac, you may not want to use that combination since there's no equivalent for both on the PC. (Just thinking outloud, I might be completely off here.)
     
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  • Metacarpal
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    11. Metacarpal,
    Jun 19, 2009 11:54 AM   in reply to Chris Cox
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    Vee S wrote:

     

    Mark, sorry but I should've included the function keys in that sentence. What I was really trying to get at was being able to use shortcuts that make use of the Option or Control keys, like Option-S, Control-Z, Option-Shift-S, etc.

    My work around is to use ControllerMate to cause one keypress to simulate another.

     

    Chris Cox wrote:

     

    There is more to it under the hood, but the simple version is: menu shortcuts require the command key because that's the way menus work on Macintosh.

    Hold on! Is that a Carbon thing?!

     

    There are certainly lots of applications that allow menu shortcuts without command.  It's even possible to specify shortcuts without command using the OS X Prefs panel, though that doesn't seem to work for Photoshop, either.

     
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