Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Use Multi-Key Shortcuts in Microsoft Word
A little-known and useful fact about Word (which does not apply to Excel or
PowerPoint, by the way) is that keyboard shortcuts can include sequences—to a point.
For example, you could assign Control-P,B to insert a page break (Insert > Break >
Page Break). The way this would work is that you'd press Control-P, and as long as the
next key you pressed within 5 seconds was a B, you'd get a page break. If you pressed
any other key, or no key at all, during those 5 seconds, nothing would happen.
You'll notice that I used Control in my example, not Command. That's because all
single alphabetic Command-key shortcuts are pre-assigned, and even though you can
create your own shortcuts that override them, sequences are ignored in such cases.
For example, if I assigned Command-P,B to Page Break, it would have to override
Command-P for Print—but then, as soon as I pressed Command-P (and without
waiting for the B), the page break would be inserted. I know, weird.
So that's one limitation. Another is that sequences can have at most two characters
(plus modifiers)—you can't assign Control-P,B,J to a Peanut Butter & Jelly macro. Still,
two-key sequences starting with Control are useful mnemonic aids.
To set one up, follow the directions above, but type the sequence (such as Control-P,
followed by B) in Step 5. Word shows sequences with a comma (Control-P,B), but you
won't actually type the comma.
Nisus Writer Pro offers vastly more flexibility in assigning multi-key shortcuts. See
Use
Add a VBA Macro to a Menu
Office apps don't make it excessively easy to put your own macros on menus so you can run
them with one click—but it can be done:
1. Go to View > Toolbars > Customize Toolbars and Menus > Commands.
2. In the Categories list on the left, select Macros.
3. In the Commands list on the right, select the macro you want to put on a menu
and drag it to the small toolbar under your main menu bar that has the names
of all the menus on it (File, Edit, and so on). Keep holding the button down
until you've reached the exact spot on a menu or submenu where you want the
command to go, and then release the button.
4. The macro may have an excessively long, clunky name like
Normal.NewMacros.PastePlainText
. To give it a more readable name,
