Keyboard shortcuts and menus in Burn by Zaweba
Burn by Zaweba has shortcuts for new discs, backups, Settings and drives, and every menu opens from the keyboard with Alt and a letter.
You can do everything in Burn by Zaweba with the mouse, and many people do. If you prefer the keyboard, or simply want the common jobs to be quicker, a short set of shortcuts and full keyboard access to the menus are there for you.
None of them are hard to learn, and a few will soon become habit.
The everyday shortcuts
Ctrl+N starts a new data disc. Ctrl+B opens the Backup Assistant. Ctrl+, opens Settings. F5 looks for drives again, which is the one to press after plugging in an external writer or when a disc hasn't been noticed. F1 opens Getting started, Burn's own guide.
To get back to the home screen from anywhere, press Alt+Home, or Esc.
Opening menus from the keyboard
Every menu has an Alt shortcut. Alt+F opens File, Alt+D opens Disc, Alt+I opens Images, Alt+T opens Tools, Alt+V opens View, Alt+Z opens the Zaweba menu and Alt+H opens Help.
Once a menu is open, the arrow keys move through it, Enter chooses an item, and Esc closes the menu. That means anything on a menu, from Drive information to Erase a rewritable disc, can be reached without the mouse.
Finding the list again
You don't have to memorise any of this. Help, Keyboard shortcuts lists them all, so it is the place to look when you forget one.
Shortcuts that save the most time
Ctrl+N is the other one worth learning early. Whenever someone asks for a few files on a disc, it takes you straight to a new data disc, where you can drag the files in from Explorer and watch the capacity bar.
Ctrl+B is the one to learn first if you back up regularly. It opens the Backup Assistant from anywhere, and from there your saved backups are close at hand.
F5 saves a lot of puzzlement. When a drive or disc doesn't appear, pressing it is quicker than closing Burn and opening it again.
Esc is the quickest way home. After a job, pressing it takes you back to the home screen, ready for the next one.
The menus at a glance
The menu names tell you where to look. File holds new jobs such as New backup. Disc holds jobs that act on a disc, such as Eject, Erase a rewritable disc and MP3 data disc. Images holds the disc image tools. Tools has the utilities, including Verify a disc, Erase disc, Drive information, Labels and covers, the Backup log, Restore from backup discs and Save audio CD as files. View has the display options, including Advanced mode and Look for drives again. The Zaweba menu links to the other Zaweba apps, and Help has the guides.
A keyboard-only routine
A new backup can go like this. Press Ctrl+B, choose the folders and the disc size, start it, swap discs when asked, and press Esc to return home when it is done. For a quick data disc, press Ctrl+N, add the files and burn. Small routines like these are where shortcuts in Burn by Zaweba pay off, because the same few keys do the same job every time.
