Change hot keys / shortcuts to common tools?

[thundernixon]

I know this has been asked before, but it’s something that prevents me from using Glyphs more actively in my workflow, so here it is again…

Is there a way to change hot keys / shortcuts for common tools?

Ideally, I would match the primary tools to my RoboFont hot keys: 1 for selelection, 2 for pen, 3 for slicing, 4 for rulers, etc.

I spend most of my time in RoboFont, but I also value Glyphs a lot for some drawing tasks. For instance, right now, I am drawing some lettering for a logo, and the responsiveness of Glyphs is really helpful! But, I keep messing up the hotkeys, like always.

I appreciate that Glyphs has the right design decision of default hot keys for folks coming in from tools like Illustrator, Sketch, etc. However, I love when tools are set to number keys because they are right there next to one another, so I don’t have to look & aim while changing from V to P and back.

In the code editor world, it’s really common for editors to have the ability to map their hotkeys to layouts users are used to in other apps. E.g. Atom has the ability to use Sublime hotkeys, VS Code has the ability to use Atom hotkeys, and I think probably all of them can do one another, as these are just extensions put together by users.

I know that in the past, you have suggested that the app Ukelele could be used for alternate keyboard layouts, but obviously because I spend lots of my time typing test words & phrases, it seems non-ideal to have V & P mapped to number keys.

As always, thanks for making & supporting a wonderful app!

[mekkablue]

Is there a way to change hot keys / shortcuts for common tools?

Yes. There’s a script for that in the mekkablue scripts, look in the App submenu.

[guillevizzari]

Hi,
I just wanted to say that t’d be nice to be able to change Glyphs 3 lasso tool shortcut with this script <3
Thanks!

[thundernixon]

Hi again, I’m really glad that script exists!

However, I have a new, related question… is it possible to change which key temporarily activates the “Hand” tool? Currently, this is the spacebar, but I’d like to change it.

In my particular current use case, I am hoping to use a keyboard that triggers a modifier key when the spacebar is held down. Unfortunately, it does so by not sending the “Space” key value unless the key is only tapped and lifted up. So, I’d prefer to move the “temporary hand tool trigger” to another key, like tilde or similar. Is there some way to do that?

Unfortunately, the MekkaBlue script doesn’t include that setting:

Thanks for any help!

[mekkablue]

Cannot be customized at the moment.

[thundernixon]

Fair enough. Please consider this a feature request.

[FlorianPircher]

You can use

Karabiner-Elements

to remap keyboard input, either for all input devices or just a specific device. This should allow you to map the spacebar to whatever alternative is most suitable.

[Tosche]

I’m all up for investing in a custom hardware. I personally use Razer Tartarus + Karabiner for non-kerning work (I use my custom-made controller for kerning).

[thundernixon]

Thanks! I would actually be using QMK to custom map the keyboard’s keymap, so Karabiner would probably be redundant. However, I don’t want to map another key to “spacebar,” as that would then restrict what I could do with that key (e.g. allow it to be a backtick). I could potentially hack QMK to send a spacebar key code on hold, but it doesn’t look like the standard mod-tap function supports anything besides typical modifier keys (control, alt, etc) in the “modifier” part.

QMK Firmware Docs

My main goal with using an alternate key for the glyphs “temporary hand/preview” is that I’m hoping to use a mod-tap behavior to allow my spacebar to act as a layer key (like shift) when held.

I suppose I could maybe put an additional spacebar key on that layer… but I wish Glyphs just gave a bit more configurability for this sort of input. But, I realize there are many, many features to work on, and you have to prioritize.

[thundernixon]

That’s a sweet controller! I’d be super curious to see how you use it for type design.

[Tosche]

Sure! This is my setup. Like I said, I’ve assigned these functions without kerning in mind (Karabiner allows for multiple layouts; the number of keys is not my issue)

[thundernixon]

This is so cool! Thanks so much for sharing your keymap.

I guess you probably have a main keyboard in the middle of your desktop still, right? Do you end up using the arrow keys more on this controller, or on the main keyboard?

If you wanted to go really deep, you could even make this a one-handed keyboard (though, I feel like it would take a lot of learning to actually use at a functional level). The project artsey.io is one really cool single-handed typing layout. I doubt I would ever want to use that unless I had to, but it’s kind of inspiring to see such a different idea of what a keyboard could be.

[Tosche]

Yes, I have a keyboard in the middle. The point of the keypad is about delegating majority of the keypresses to easier actions, especially those that involve the right hand, but not necessarily all of them (Artsey doesn’t appeal to me since it seems to require a lot of simultaneous keys pressed, a la Morse code). To that end, my logical next step is to add foot switches, or mouse with more buttons.

[SCarewe]

[Tosche]

At least I made this one work

[thundernixon]

Fair enough! And yeah, I would only really find Artsey appealing if I broke an arm, or something. But in general, lately I do find myself gravitating to fewer buttons, rather than more. It’s kind of nice to have fewer keys, and do more with less movement, and less looking at the keyboard to position my fingers. But, it all depends on the task. It’s also very nice to have a kerning-specific controller!

For my immediate use case, your mention of specific devices for design vs kerning, and of multiple layouts in Karabiner, made me realize… QMK also allows layout switching. Default keycaps show this for switching from QWERTY to Dvorak or Colemak, but I could easily set up a layout for “Normal” vs “GlyphsApp” use. I would still certainly prefer to just set a preference in Glyphs and not have to have a Glyphs-specific layout, but the latter would be an okay solution, I suppose.