Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Haiku shortcuts and quick launcher

In browsing through the Haiku forums I came across two useful functions I hadn't used before.
The first is QuickLaunch which is available from Haikuware.
QuickLaunch allows quick selection and launch of a range of apps. You start by typing the name of the required app in the QuickLaunch window whereupon a range of possible apps will be created. So, just by picking the app as soon as it appears means you might only have to type two or three letters of the name.
Additionally, QuickLaunch can place a replicant in the Deskbar for easy access.
However, I can only see myself using this utility for apps not already in my LaunchBox or for which I have created a keyboard shortcut.
Speaking of which................keyboard shortcuts is the second, and possibly most useful, function I stumbled upon.
It's described here and this includes a sizable list of existing shortcuts.
To make a new shortcut, go to Preferences > Shortcuts whereupon a window will open.
The window will include any shortcuts that you've already made and allows you to create more.
To make a new shortcut, click on the Add new shortcut button. This should open a highlighted row across the window.
Right-click on the row under the tabs to open the available options. For example, right-clicking on the new row under the Control tab will give you the option to choose none, Either, Left, Right or Both control keys as part of the shortcut.
Right clicking the row under the Application tab offers the opportunity to choose the binary for whatever app you want to launch with the shortcut.
I would guess the 95% of what I do in Haiku involves the Terminal, StyledEdit or WebPositive so I made shortcuts for each of these.
I also wanted to make one for the Find command but was unable to find the binary. I've posted to the forum about this but have not yet received a reply.

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