RAC2010 Keyboard Shortcuts Development via Excel

[David Harrington]

Please find attached an Excel spreadsheet I am using for development of RAC 2010 Keyboard Shortcuts. As many have discovered, many commands are repeated over and over as they exist on different ribbon menus. As such, developing a workable list is difficult since duplicate commands can easily get different key assignments as one moves about in a text file with over 1,400 lines.

Within this XLS - the blue area is what one copies to a true TXT file. The green area is where one customizes to their own desires. The orange area contains a list of ribbon entries but without the duplication. To the right of the green area is the out-of-the-box shortcuts.

Again - you only edit in the green, no where else.

For any given row, the XLS will use the OOTB entry until a custom one is created. As custom entries are made, they are checked against the entire list for duplicate keycuts. If a duplicate is found above, it then checks against the ribbon placement. If the ribbon is the same, the new keycut is left as is. If the ribbon is different, the keycut is made red.

In a nutshell (I may have confused you more just then), you start out with OOTB keycuts. You find a command you want to customize and do so. Soon as you do that, all matching commands below get that same customization (superceding their own line OOTB entry). And if you use the duplicate removed column for commands, you never will have to "look" at already adjusted commands.

Another 'perk' of this is the blue column will start by showing the uppermost OOTB keycut. Even if Autodesk called a lower placed ribbon by a different keycut, it will use the uppermost - thus disabling the practice of 2 different keycuts for the same command.

I have placed a couple sample conditions in the custom column to show this functionality. The big thing here is, green is good, red is bad. Now I will say there are some commands that are duplicated in ribbon form but with different ribbon strings - so in some cases red can be right (same command but different ribbon strings). Sigh...not sure what else I can do about that. When you find red cells, investigate and perhaps override if needed.

Comments are welcome. I have started a new thread for this to 1) restrict topic to the XLS and 2) to keep track when future RAC versions are released.

[dfriesen]

Thanks, this looks quite useful. :beer:

[gordolake]

Great work, thanks for your effort.
Could we have the cell grid lines turned on to make it easier to see across the rows.

Thanks
Steve

[David Harrington]

Having the lines on probably would be a good thing. I guess I just got used to not using them. You can unprotect the sheet and make that change as needed. Rev 2 will have it. :)

[gordie_v]

Looks slick, but when I duplicate a line for an additional shortcut for the same command it will not change blue column

[David Harrington]

Looks slick, but when I duplicate a line for an additional shortcut for the same command it will not change blue column

Alas, I don't do that. I personally have found having 1 command accessed by 2 (or more) shortcuts confusing. For example, as shipped VV and VG open Visability/Graphics Overrides. Why can't one or the other do?

[Liz437]

This is beautiful. I did not even know I wanted this until I saw it. Thank you!!

[d.stairmand]

David

Most ingenious thing for Revit!!!!

Thanks heaps

[lorne.bourdo.152516]

This is great! Thanks!

One thing, if I already have lots of custom shortcuts then is there a way to update the shortcuts on this sheet (without going through each one)?

What I have been trying to do is to create an excel file that automatically updates when I change the 'keyboardShortcuts.txt" file. But this is a good substitute cuz I can add shorcuts then just copy the blue as you mentioned into my .txt file. So that's easy enough, but I am wondering if I can get around the going through each and every shortcut to get it up to speed with my own?

Thanks,
Lorne
.

[David Harrington]

You will still have to do a level of matching between the old and new TXT files. The problem is the menu structure is different - there isn't a way to copy a column of shortcuts and paste into the new menu structure.

However, another trick I used was to edit the new TXT file and replace all "-" with real tabs. I then built a column of just the command name.

ribbon:"Home-Room & Area-Tag-Tag Room"

became

Tag Room

I then created a new XLS column and colored the cells of these "just command" names. Then sorted that with a similar column of 2009 command names. So in the end I had two (or more) Tag Room's, one 2009 color and some 2010 column. Then I could copy the old shortcut to the new shortcut location.

[lorne.bourdo.152516]

Well I was referring to what changes have been made in the 2010 .txt file to show those shortcuts I've created already in your excel file?

I have already gone through line by line in 2009. But I'd love to show all the updated shortcuts from 2010 in your excel, then start to build more from there. I continuously add shortcuts everyday since there are so many new buttons/ribbons/tools in 2010.

Thanks,
Lorne

[David Harrington]

Well I'm still not sure what you are askin of me. Sorry. But as for knowing what shortcuts are in 2010 - suprisingly Revit out of the box is pretty much a blank slate. Most commands are not customized and those that are have not changed as far as I know.

[lorne.bourdo.152516]

David,

I'm not necessarily asking anything of you. I'm just curious if someone knows a way to import the current .txt file that I have inot your excel file. But I assume there isn't so I'm gonna step through it all and bring them in. Then I'll be up to speed. Thanks so much for supplying that. It is awesome.

Lorne

[David Harrington]

Ah, okay i think i get it. In order to get your 2009 keycuts into the 2010 format you would need some sort of matrix of 2009 menu name to 2010 menu name. That could be done with excel but doesn't exist at the moment. Once that existed then you could use paste the 2009 keycuts into the respective 2010 locations.

[eldad]

Thanks for that David, this is very helpfull.
so over changing shortcuts everytime ther's a new flavour! ;)

[brenehan]

Thanks David so much for this little tool. I was very helpful.
It's another one of those stupid things; how did Autodesk thing the standard user would be able to deal with 1400 lines of code.
So stupid
I see a post on "Inside the Factory"
http://insidethefactory.typepad.com/
in regard to the keyboard shortcuts. I wonder if they have put 2 and 2 together and realised they need to provide a little App. to assist users with the keyboardshortcut.txt file.

Thanks again David. Great work.

Brian

[ruthellenwilliams]

Thanks David - this is a great tool for people who are comfortable with Excel.
The KeyboardShortcuts.txt file is definitely cumbersome.
For a simple spreadsheet - no formulas - which is good for formating to print a list of shortcuts to use as a reference see http://revitflow.blogspot.com/.

[dlpdi5b]

Wow super job David, this will really help me start doing more shortcuts. Thanks for sharing.

[David Harrington]

Glad to help.

At some point I need to reload the template. I have made further revisions that perhaps make this even easier.

[dmartin.230171]

This may seem like a dumb question, but once you have modified the file what format do you convert it to to be in the correct text format?

Thanks

[David Harrington]

This may seem like a dumb question, but once you have modified the file what format do you convert it to to be in the correct text format?

Thanks

Any number of methods, but in the end you want a TXT file. In Excel try highlighting the section with the content and paste into a new file in Notepad. Name and save as required and then open up RAC and give it a try. As you look at various named ribbon items the keyboard shortcut should be shown to the right of the command name. The same is true for tool tips that pop up.

[truevis]

Anyone want to develop an AUGI Revit power user keyboard shortcut standard?

It could start by someone posting his fabulous shortcuts.