Knowledge Base

Category: Carlson Civil
Topic ID: 205
Title: Quick Keys
Created: 2003-07-09Last modified: 2024-03-05

Using and Managing Quick Keys

This discussion and procedure involved the Quick Keys Alias Manager supplied with SurvCADD. We will also discuss how this tool impacts assignments made in the ACAD.PGP file.

Reason for Implementation

Quick Keys was implemented before the R14 based Alias Editor as an easy way for users to make alias assignments to AutoCAD. Note that Quick Keys is still a more powerful way to implement aliases as there is no way to make multiple word assignments with the ACAD.PGP or AutoCAD Alias Editor. This makes commands like ZP = ZOOM PREVIOUS impossible in a PGP based approach.

Many find that typing a few letters as an alias for a command as the fastest way to initiate commands.

Who wins the battle?

Since the initialization of Quick Keys take place after the loading of the ACAD.PGP, that means Quick Keys always wins when there are conflicts. If you have aliases defined in the ACAD.PGP that you wish to retain, then follow this procedure.

  1. From the Misc pulldown, choose the Quick Keys option.
  2. In the Quick Keys dialog, choose the Sort button.
  3. Scroll down the list until the conflicting alias is found, then click on it in the list.
  4. Choose the Delete button to remove it to the list.
  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until complete.
  6. Choose the OK button to close the dialog and record the changes.

Important Note: Quick Keys cannot immediately remove the definitions from memory. You should shut down and restart AutoCAD to see your changes.

If you have aliases in the ACAD.PGP you may wish to delete these from the PGP and add them to Quick Keys.

Adding New Aliases

To add new aliases to the Quick Keys editor, use this procedure.

  1. From the Misc pulldown, choose the Quick Keys option.
  2. In the Quick Keys dialog, choose the Sort button.
  3. Scroll down the list to determine if the new alias already exists.
  4. Enter the alias characters in the edit field in the lower left.
  5. Enter the process command in the edit field in the lower right. See important notes below on how process commands can vary.
  6. Choose the OK button to close the dialog and record the changes.

It is important to note that how you specify a process command can vary. The rule involves whether the command is a core AutoCAD command or external. Commands that are in the core are entered with the command name prefixed by an underscore plus a period, such as _.AREA.

However, SurvCADD commands and other user added commands (such as LISP) are not core commands and as such must be surrounded by parenthesis and prefixed by C:. This does not indicate your C drive but rather that it is a command. SurvCADD's SETELEV command is an example of this, it must be entered as (C:SETELEV). Also not that some AutoCAD commands are actually implemented externally of the core and must be entered with this pattern.

Protecting for Upgrades

After finalizing the desired changes on your Quick Keys, it would be a good idea to back up the file before reinstalling or upgrading SurvCADD. To protect your configuration for this scenario, back up and later restore these two files found in the SurvCADD LSP directory.

  • CARLSON.QKS (The source definitions)
  • QUICKRUN.LSP (The runtime program)
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Quick Keys
Command Shortcut
Shortcut
Alias