Shortcut for Opening and Closing Side Panels
Jim wrote:
I love the new panels in InDesign CS3. However for some they may be too large when open or too small when closed. I was looking for a way to expand and stash them with a keyboard shortcut. I found that Option-Command-Tab will do just that, but I would like to change that to a simpler shortcut (say F13) I cannot find where or how to change that shorcut.
The feature you’re looking for is called “Open/Close all panels in side tabs” and this feature lives in both CS2 and CS3, and on both Mac and Windows. (On Windows, press Ctrl+Alt+Tab.) But how can you change the KBSC shortcut to something else? No doubt you know about Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts, but where in that dialog box will you find this feature?
The solution (and this goes for pretty much any shortcut you’re trying to track down):
- Click in the New Shortcut field and press the shortcut you’re looking for (in this case Command-Alt-Tab). You’ll see the feature name show up beneath the field. That’s how you find out the proper name for this feature.
- Click Show Set, which launches your friendly neighborhood text editor and shows you every shortcut in the program.
- Use the text editor’s find feature (probably Command-F/Ctrl-F) to search for the name. (In this case, just search for “side tabs”.)
- Scroll up the list until you see what Product Area the feature lives in. (In this case, it’s Views, Navigation.)
- Go back to InDesign, change the Product Area popup menu to the proper setting and select the feature you want.
- Change its shortcut (or add a new shortcut; remember that the same feature can have more than one shortcut). Don’t forget to click Assign before pressing OK.
By the way, if you look closely, you’ll find that there are two more shortcuts right next to this one that let you open/close the palettes/panels on just the left or right side of the screen.
Does this seem painful? I was hoping that there’d be a QuickApply or Spotlight type feature inside the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box in CS3, but there isn’t. Perhaps in CS4 we’ll be able to find features faster, but for now this is it.
Of course, I can’t let this opportunity pass to mention the InDesignSecrets keyboard shortcut poster! If you’re mostly using the default shortcuts, then you owe it to yourself to have a copy of the poster next to your desk. It’s Windows on one side and Mac on the other. We still have a few CS2 posters left, which you can buy for 30% off. The CS3 version will come off press in a week or two.
In CS2 I used the shortcut for Hide Frame Edges (Cmd+H). With CS3 this is now Ctrl+Cmd+H. I went to edit this in keyboard shortcuts but I can’t enter Cmd+H as it is the default for Hide InDesign and hides the application.
Any ideas? or am I stuck with the new CS3 shortcut?
I do not have CS3. In response to Tom, I’d like to point that the CMD+H function in InDesign CS2 and earlier always bothered me in that it failed to hide the application, unlike almost every other application in use.
This is a personal preference, but I appreciate the fact that when I upgrade to CS3, I can hide my open applications from the keyboard and not have InDesign stay visible with only the frame edges hidden (which I do not use, I will use preview first).
Have you tried changing the Hide InDesign shortcut so that you may then re-assign the CMD+H to hide the frames? Again, I don’t have CS3 so I cannot try this at home ^_^.
You’re right that this is a personal preference, and there’s no accounting for personal taste!
I personally have always hated that Cmd-H hides the current application and have never used it (on purpose). I have need for “hide other apps” but I never need to “hide this app.” If I want to switch to a different program, I use Cmd-Tab.
But obviously many people use Cmd-H for hide thie app. (I believe Steve Werner is in your camp.) Can you describe when you use it and why?
Mike, I can’t seem to change the shortcut for Hide InDesign in InDesign itself or through OS X system prefs.
thanks though - it’s no biggie - I was just curious if it could be changed.
Tom, here’s the “official” answer at The InDesign Backchannel.
Yes, David, I do love the Cmd-H and Cmd-Option-H shortcuts, and like them to be consistent between applications.
I use them all the time. I miss them when I’m on my Windows computer.
They’re not a substitute for Cmd-Tab and Cmd-~ (switch between windows of an app) which have their own uses.
For windows (using CS3) the keys are Shift+Ctrl+Alt+Tab to open and close the panels. Very cumbersome. I’ve changed this to Ctrl + right arrow, much quicker.
Thanks David
I find this conversation quite interesting since I have NO trouble changing Hide Frame Edges to command-H in CS3. When I enter command-H, I get the note that command-H is unassigned. I click the assign button, delete the old shortcut, and all is well.
Rmcmahan: That’s like hearing, “I have no troubles paying my bills because I just won the lottery!”
I feel good for you, but I still feel the pain for the rest of us. I can’t imagine how you’re doing that. When I type Command-H in CS3 (os 10.4), it always hides the whole application, so I never get the chance to press Assign.
I don’t know about winning the lottery (I wish!) but I definitely wasn’t complaining. Running CS3 with OS X 10.4.9. But, I just noticed that Hide InDesign (or any other app) and Hide Others are both grayed out in all applications and therefore not accessible from any app. Very Strange. Very Strange indeed.
I just did some searching online, but haven’t found any way to gray out those options. Fascinating. I wonder if it’s a “bug” or perhaps some other system preference that you’re running.
Is the Ctrl+H a Mac only thing? I just checked this out on my Windows XP system and Ctrl+H hides frame edges, but I don’t seem to have something that hides the Apps. (Not that it bothers me!
)
Yes, Taysh, this particular shortcut is a Mac-only conflict.
in indesign cs3, command shift t opens the tabs free standing panel but doesn’t close it like it did in indesign cs2. this quick key command works in illustrator cs3, open and close. is this a glitch in indesign cs3.
I’m not sure if it’s a “glitch,” but it’s certainly incredibly annoying. I’m hoping it’ll get fixed someday.
The command you’re looking for on CS3, correspondent to Cmnd+H on CS2, is Cmnd+Ctrl+H (Hide Frame Edges). Hope that helps!
Ana