# Sketchup - keyboard shortcuts?



## gidon (11 May 2006)

There must be a simple answer to this one but I can't find it:
In Google SU, "shift-2" is the shortcut for top view - fine. But if your model is in mm's, it's also the real key press for " - ie inches. So I delete the shift-2 shortcut for top view and change it to ctrl 2 - works fine.
Until I start SU again and shift 2 is back!! No matter what I do it comes back. I've also tried saving my default template with this shortcut in place - still no luck.
Any ideas anyone???
Cheers
Gidon


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## Nick W (11 May 2006)

According to the book:


> In Windows, you can save your shortcuts by exporting all your preferences. You can the import them later. If you have a large set of shortcuts defined, it's a good idea to export them, in case of system failure


but this doesn't look like a permanent solution. :roll: 

I would try opening your template file, making the changes in that and saving. Then see what happens when you create a new file. Let us know if it works, as I haven't made my own shortcuts yet.

P.S. I think DaveR covered template files in his (short lived) Friday Hints series.


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## SketchUp Guru (11 May 2006)

Nick, sorry it was shortlived. I didn't get much response to the second installment so I figured it wasn't all that useful.

As to keyboard shortcuts, they aren't stored as part of the template. They get set under Window>Preferences>Shortcuts. I don't know why they didn't stay set after being changed. They should. I don't have the GSU version on my computer so I can't look at how that is set. It might be that you could export the Shortcuts file, edit the file, save it and import it but you shouldn't have to do that in the first place.

Try setting them again and see. There are some shorcuts that you shouldn't change such as Ctrl+P and don't use regular numbers because you end up with the shortcut instead of a dimension. Don't use X either.

Good luck.


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## gidon (11 May 2006)

Thanks chaps. Tried all those things - still no luck. Whatever you do it seems you can't *permanently* delete shift-2 as a shortcut. It always comes back. And I can't think of a way around this at the minute - apart from either going back to inches as units or manually deleting the shift-2 shortcut everytime I start .
Cheers
Gidon


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## Steve Maskery (11 May 2006)

Gidon,
I have Shift-2 as inches as normal. It doesn't do plan view. I've not, as far as I can recall, changed anything from the default. I can't understand why mine is different from yours.

Cheers
Steve


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## Nick W (11 May 2006)

Now you come to mention it Steve, neither does mine. Is this a 'feature' of Google SU perhaps?

I'd find it hard to believe that all the 'Murican users wouldn't be screaming their socks off if this were the default behaviour, being as how they are all Imperial-centric.


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## SketchUp Guru (11 May 2006)

I wonder if the SU standard shortcuts are held in the registry or something. I exported my shortcuts file and then opened the Preferences.dat file that was generated. None of the default keyboard shortcuts show. Only the ones I set are listed. Hmmm.....


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## Nick W (11 May 2006)

But Dave, you don't have to keep setting your own shortcuts, right? They are saved somewhere?


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## gidon (11 May 2006)

Steve, Nick - as far I can remember GSU has different shortcuts to SU. I certainly remember creating loads of shortcuts on the trial that didn't exist - in GSU they are already available (very handy):
http://download.sketchup.com/GSU/pdfs/Q ... ceCard.pdf
Nick - the US users probably wouldn't care - it's only an issue if you're _not _using inches as the default unit ...
Dave - looked at the preferences.dat - yep only have this "1 0 0 2 viewTop:" and my file locations listed.
Cheers
Gidon


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## SketchUp Guru (11 May 2006)

Right, they are saved somewhere. I don't know why the exported DAT file doesn't export the default shortcuts but they aren't included in the list. Try it for yourself.


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## Nick W (11 May 2006)

Aaargh, now I'm confused.

I tried an experiment where I opened the millimeters.skp file in my templates folder (having first removed the read-only flags), set a shortcut, saved and exited.

On re-entry the shortcut was lost. I then went back to my templates folder, renamed the new version to 'millimeters new.skp', and the backup file (millimeters.skb) back to 'millimeters.skp'.

On going back into SU Window>Preferences>Template has two (2) entries for millimeters and one for 'millimiters new'. :-s Trouble is I don't know if the two versions were there before I started ('cos I didn't look), or why SU thinks it should list millimeters twice.


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## Nick W (11 May 2006)

Strangerer and strangerer.

I have now tried selecting the second entry for Millimeters in the list, closed and re-opened. Bet you can't guess what the result was?











































There is now only one entry for Millimeters in the list. Still no shortcut though. Please remember that I am using the paid for version mff,
, mff, mff


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## SketchUp Guru (11 May 2006)

Here you go. This was posted on the Beta Forum at SketchUp.

"I've carefully tried to change the preferences in GSU. They do not stay as I set. They always default back." 

And this is the response from Brad at Google/@Last

"This is another case of a known issue. You can find out about this and other issues by accessing the "Help Center" under the Help Menu in Google SketchUp. Here is what the document says about this little problem.

A note about shortcuts in Google SketchUp (free)

Google SketchUp (free) has predefined default shortcuts for many of the tools. While you can change these shortcuts, when you exit and restart Google SketchUp (free), the original predefined default shortcuts are restored.

You can also add shortcuts to tools and commands that don't have predefined default shortcuts, and those are saved when you exit and restart Google SketchUp (free)."

So, it isn't anything you're doing wrong. It's just one of the things about the free version. I don't know if it will be changed or left as is to create a bit more of a gap between GSU and Pro5. I get the impression that although it is a known issue at Google/@Last, it wasn't intentional.


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## SketchUp Guru (11 May 2006)

Oh, and Nick, I have no idea what's up with your Template thingummy.


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## Nick W (11 May 2006)

OK, got it now, mea culpa, I'm afraid.    

After typing in the desired shortcut you have to press the plus button to save it. #-o 

So Gidon, for me at least, taking the read-only flag off the desired template file, opening it, entering the new shortcuts (not forgetting to use the plus button to confirm them), saving the file, closing, and re-opening SU has the desired effect for the new empty file.


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## Nick W (11 May 2006)

Dave,

Too many posts passing in the night (well it is night here anyway). 

Gidon,

Would you try my recipe anyway, you never know ... and I would be interested to (if you catch my drift).


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## gidon (11 May 2006)

Thanks Dave - I wonder if Google realise the implications for those metric users wanting to type in inches? I've also noticed that although not documented printing options seemed very limited - no print to scale .
Nick - that's what I tried first off - it makes no difference unfortunately - thanks though.
Cheers
Gidon


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## SketchUp Guru (12 May 2006)

Gidon, I don't know if they considered the users who would prefer to work in metric units as far as that goes.

Can you set the units under Model Info and save the template? Or did I miss that part already?

You could also just type mm after the dimensions.

I think the printing limitation is another of the trade offs for getting it free. Just a thought, though. Have you tried Print to Scale with Perspective turned off? Print to Scale isn't available in Perspective mode in 5Pro either.


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## gidon (12 May 2006)

Dave - yep tried saving in template. I may just stick with inches and type mm's - that's what I've been doing up until now. If only I could decide and stick to one unit - arghh!
The printing is weird though because most Pro features are written as such in the manual, whereas the printing limitations aren't. Yep turned off perspective to no avail. No worries - still pretty good for free .
Cheers
Gidon


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## PaulK (12 May 2006)

Is it possible to change your shortcuts via a ruby script?

If it is then you (or someone who knows how to write them) could write an autoloading ruby script that would result in a button (called 'metric' or similar) on one of the menus that when pressed changed your shortcuts to allow you to use shift-2 for the inches symbol.


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## Nick W (12 May 2006)

Well, I don't feel _so _bad about having paid now. The ability to print to scale is really useful, I use it to print out full size templates (on several pp of A4 to be stuck together of course, I don't have a cut roll printer!).


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## SketchUp Guru (12 May 2006)

I'm not a Ruby whiz, in fact I'm not a Ruby anything but from what I've seen on the SU Ruby forum, it doesn't appear that dimensioning related stuff is accessible via Ruby. It might be possible to have a Ruby basically do the keystrokes required to shift to mm from inches.


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## gidon (12 May 2006)

Nice idea Paul - something to look at maybe. I would only need a script which deleted the shift-2 shortcut on startup ... Thanks Dave - I've not even glanced on SU's Ruby capabilites yet ...
Nick - I think this printing limitation of GSU is the most relevant to woodworking I have to say. There may be ways around it - will have to see.
Cheers
Gidon


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## Nick W (12 May 2006)

I'm trying to teach myself Ruby at the moment. What a wierd combination of ultra-sharp-edge, hardcore Object Orientedness and pre-windows, text based code editing facilites! 8-[ 

From what I can see in the class documentation, there doesn't appear to be any way of editing shortcuts - though I may be wrong about that. 

I really, really wish there was an object model diagram though. It seems odd for a drafting package not to have a graphical representation of this - just a continuation of the wierdness I suppose. :roll:


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