using the scripts
Let's discuss what the scripts here do and what they're for.
Here is a list of some of the scripts I use in this collection:
-
MASTER-SCRIPT.ahk- this is the master script that drives and controls everything in the suite. -
SCRIPTS-PPRO\PREMIERE-PRO-HOTKEYS.ahk- Hotkeys for Premiere Pro -
SCRIPTS-ILLUS\ILLUS-HOTKEYS.ahk- Hotkeys for Illustrator
Read on to learn about the HotKeys I'm using.
If you're doing a deep dive on my setup, then one of the biggest changes I've introduced are the massively reconfigured keyboard setups I use. The one that is most radically changed is the keyboard for Premiere Pro. Here's a peek at my keyboard layout:
Essentially, I've set my keyboard up to put most of the regular commands under my left hand. That allows me to keep my right hand on the mouse and left hand on the keyboard. By shoving it all over to the left, my hand also has to make minimal movements (eliminating things like Shift-0 etc.). It's a work in progress but I'm getting closer to migrating everything over to the left side. I've recently started using a KinesisGaming Freestyle Edge split keyboard (sadly I have only the single color version - no RGB love for me). I did this for the comfort but also to help force me to keep my left hand on the left side of the keyboard.
You will find my Premiere settings in SUPPORTING-FILES\SETTINGS-PREMIERE.
Copy the *.KYS file to the location of your Premiere Pro Profile. On a standard system, that should be located here:
C:\Users\{your username}\Documents\Adobe\Premiere Pro\13.0\{Your Profile}\Win\
OR
C:\Users\{your username}\OneDrive\Documents\Adobe\Premiere Pro\13.0\{Your Profile}Win\
The {Your Profile} listed above will probably be a folder that starts with Profile- and then the same name as your Windows User - in my case Profile-ben. Copy the .KYS file into the \Win\ folder. If you have any other .KYS layouts save, they'll be here as well.
There is also a file called Effect Presets and Custom Items.prfpset in your profile folder. Copy my version here if you want to use my saved effects and presets. BEWARE - if you already have a file there, you will blow your saved effects& presets away if you overwrite your file with mine. If you want to add my presets into your own file, then you would need to right-click and select Import Presets inside the Premiere Presets window.
I am working on updating my After Effects settings to mimic the Premiere Pro keyboard as much as possible. I'll add that when it's ready.
So, hotkeys. That's what this is really about. MASTER-SCRIPT.ahk contains a set of hotkeys that works across multiple apps. There are also some that have some app specific triggers. Here's the list with some explanations:
META - I use CapsLock & ScrollLock like shift for many of my Hotkeys. Read About it
HotKey |
Description |
|---|---|
CAPSLOCK & Q |
Exit MASTER-SCRIPT and child AHK Scripts |
CAPSLOCK & F11 or |
Open the Settings GUI for MASTER-SCRIPT.AHK |
SCROLLLOCK & F11 |
same as above - see below |
CAPSLOCK & F12 or |
Open BPTV-LAUNCHER |
SCROLLLOCK & F12 |
same as above |
CAPSLOCK & BACKSPACE or |
Reload MASTER-SCRIPT.ahk |
SCROLLLOCK & BACKSPACE |
same as above |
| The 2 hotkeys below are mostly for me, so you'll probably want to change them. | |
CAPSLOCK & E |
Send '[email protected]' as text - you probably will want to change this for yourself |
CAPSLOCK & B |
Send 'buttonpusher' as text - you probably will want to change this for yourself |
| This is a useful little shortcut. You can format the time to display a variety of ways. | |
CAPSLOCK & T |
Send time & date as text - like this 04:46 PM - 2019-Sep-13 |
| Getting things under the left hand | |
CAPSLOCK & V |
Backspace Key |
CAPSLOCK & C |
Delete Key |
| There was a reason for this at some point but now I forget why. Comment Ur Codez! | |
CAPSLOCK & WHEELDOWN |
Send Control+Page Down |
CAPSLOCK & WHEELUP |
Send Control+Page Up |
| A side effect of using Capslock as a modifier is that it gets left toggled on more often Explanation | |
CAPSLOCK & P |
Toggle CapsLockCheck on or Off |
| IMHO, one of the most magical things I've made for this suite. It pops up a Cheat Sheet Explanation | |
CAPSLOCK & F1 |
Display a Text File CheatSheet of MASTER-SCRIPT AutoHotKeys based on Location setting. |
CAPSLOCK & F2 |
Display an image CheatSheet of App Specific Keyboard Shortcuts (In-app and AHK) |
CAPSLOCK & F3 |
Display a Text File CheatSheet of App Specific AutoHotKeys |
CAPSLOCK & F4 |
Display an image CheatSheet based on System Location Setting |
| Recently these 2 hotkey combos have stopped working - don't know why | |
WIN+CTRL+SHIFT+F |
Nuke Firefox |
WIN+CTRL+P |
Nuke Premiere |
| These two hotkey definitions do a cool thing - Explanation | |
~LALT |
Blocks Left Alt/Win key from triggering the Start Menu when pressed by itself. |
~LWIN |
The Right Alt/Win key will still work in the default fashion. |
2 Hotkeys for the same function? - There are 2 hotkeys defined here because on my split keyboard it's easier to use ScrollLock & on my Kira/Preonic keyboards it's easier to use CapsLock. Yes, it is a bit of a waste to duplicate this, but I haven't come up with a better way...yet.
In AutoHotKey, you can create sets of hotkeys that will only work within a specific app (or even with a specific window based on it's title using #IfWinActive. Read more here. This provides a great way to make use of a set of hotkeys across different apps (e.g.- you can use Control-Alt-Shift-F1 in various app & have it do different things.)
For now, the app-specific hotkeys that I use most frequently are for Premiere Pro. Below are the definitions of the hotkeys I have programmed.
HotKey |
Description |
|---|---|
| These hotkeys keep the stupid menus from stealing focus and staying open. | |
ALT+W |
<-- PPRO: closing the Menu that gets opened when this key combo is sent |
ALT+M |
<-- PPRO: closing the Menu that gets opened when this key combo is sent |
ALT+F |
<-- PPRO: closing the Menu that gets opened when this key combo is sent |
| Getting a few commonly used command under the left hand | |
CAPS+F1 |
<-- Focus the Timeline Window |
| Some useful, multistep hotkeys (more than 1 action) | |
ALT+Z |
<-- PPRO: Select clip @ playhead & delete it |
CTRL+1 |
<-- PPRO: Step Left 1 second |
CTRL+SHIFT+2 |
<-- PPRO: Step Left 10 seconds THEN Play |
CTRL+2 |
<-- PPRO: Step Left 5 seconds THEN Play |
CTRL+3 |
<-- PPRO: Step Right 1 second |
| Shift-Control-Alt-Function Keys Read More | |
SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+F1 |
<-- move ahead 3 secs, mark in, go to next xsit, back 1 frame, mark out, & extract ( * ) |
SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+F2 |
<-- open a clip marker, select all, copy text to clipboard, close clip marker, create seq marker, edit seq marker, paste text ( * ) |
SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+F3 |
<-- Step Left 2 seconds ( * ) |
SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+F4 |
<-- Step Right 2 Seconds ( * ) |
SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+F7 |
<-- Step Left 5 seconds ( * ) |
SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+F8 |
<-- Step Right 5 Seconds ( * ) |
( * ) - The SCAF commands frequently change. They are often based on tasks that I need to do for given projects. Often, they don't stay set to the same thing for long. Read more about it over in the Meta Concepts page.
You may see some other app-specific hotkey scripts in BPTV-KB. There are small ones for Illustrator and Atom. These are included because I left them in as examples of what you could do with the concept.
To make your own, you can start by copying the file SUPPORTING-FILES\HOTKEYS-TEMPLATE.ahk.txt to a new file. Remove the .txt extension. And make sure to put in the name/title/class of the app you want to make specific hotkeys for.
You can then set the script to launch via the MASTER-SETTINGS dialog (Caps or Scroll Lock & F11).