FM 9 Keyboard Shortcuts (ATTN: R. Jacquez!)

[Stuart Rogers]

Diane Gaskill wrote:

My book files are never buried behind any chapters. I keep my FM area 
organized so that this does not happen.  A litle extra work at the 
beginning but it saves time later.


========================

My book files are never buried either -- I always open the book file 
first, then the chapter files.  And up until FM 9, "Alt+w, 1" would 
instantly bring the book file to the front, since it was always number 1 
in the Window menu list.  In FM 9, the book file doesn't even appear in 
the list.

One "plus" about FM9 -- the User Guide actually has a long chapter 
devoted to keyboard shortcuts for navigation, menu choices, equation 
editor, and so on.  Such documentation was woefully lacking in previous 
versions.

A very big MINUS: almost no shortcuts are described for dealing with the 
user interface.  Nor do shortcuts appear in the tool tips of the 
interface itself.  I am beginning to truly fear that no shortcuts for 
the interface even exist.

It seems that Adobe's developers have decided that everybody loves using 
the mouse and nobody would prefer to be able to close pods/panels, 
switch between documents/books, hide/show the interface, etc., by using 
keyboard commands.  Almost every instruction in the User Guide for 
manipulating the interface includes the words "click," "double-click," 
or "right-click."  Hitting that itsy-bitsy double-arrow icon to close 
the Designers, using a hi-res laptop screen and touchpad while commuting 
on the subway calls for a greater degree of fine motor skills than I 
have yet developed.

A challenge to our resident evangelist, MR. JACQUEZ: give us a tutorial 
that shows us how to use this product without using the mouse.  At the 
very least, give us a list of keyboard commands for UI manipulation. 
How do I dismiss pods and panels?  How do I switch between Workspaces? 
Between open document tabs?  Between pages of the Designer dialogs? 
(That new feature that toggles UI visibility is absolutely terrific!!  I 
would use it dozens of times a day!  ...but not if I have to use the 
wretched mouse.)

Best,

-- 
Stuart Rogers
Technical Communicator
Phoenix Geophysics Limited
Toronto, ON, Canada
+1 (416) 491-7340 x 325

srogers phoenix-geophysics com

PS: For a good laugh, have a look at the "Index" of the FM9 User Guide. 
  (It takes up just over four columns in a three-column layout -- on 
pages 535-536!)