How to set custom keyboard shortcuts in a layout app
Make your own keyboard shortcuts in Layout by Zaweba with the shortcuts editor, save them as .zakeys sets, and find any command quickly with command search.
A shortcuts editor in Layout by Zaweba lets you change the keyboard shortcut for any command and save your choices as a set. Sets are saved as .zakeys files, so you can keep more than one, switch between them, and copy your set to another computer. Alongside it, command search finds any command by name when you can't remember where it lives.
Shortcuts are where speed comes from in layout work. Once your hands know them, placing a picture, applying a style or zooming to a spread takes no thought at all. The trouble is that everyone's hands learned different ones.
Why you might change them
Many people come to Layout from another layout or design program and have years of muscle memory. Rather than fighting it, set Layout's shortcuts to match the keys you already press. Others want shortcuts for commands they use all day that don't have one, such as a particular paragraph style or a Select command.
Some people simply want fewer clashes. If another program running in the background grabs a key combination, move the Layout command to a different key.
Using the shortcuts editor
Open the shortcuts editor and find the command you want, either by browsing or by searching for its name. Assign a new key combination. Before you settle on it, think about whether another command you rely on already uses those keys, and decide which one deserves them.
Keep your changes in a set of your own and save it as a .zakeys file with a clear name. That file is your record of what you changed, and a copy of it is all you need to put things back.
Sets for different jobs
Because shortcuts live in sets, you can have more than one. A set for long text work might put style shortcuts under easy keys, while a set for packaging might favour drawing and transform commands.
A .zakeys file is also easy to share. A studio can give everyone the same set so that instructions like "press this to fit the picture" work at every desk.
Command search and other helpers
Command search finds any command by typing part of its name. It's the fastest way into a command you use once a month, and it's a good way to learn where things are. If you find yourself searching for the same command often, that's a sign it deserves a shortcut.
Context menus give the commands that suit whatever you've right-clicked, and the undo history panel shows the steps you've taken so you can go back several at once.
Shortcuts already worth knowing
A few are built in and worth learning early. The Space bar gives the Hand tool while held, so you can move around the page without changing tools. Alt+Left and Alt+Right step back and forward through pages you've visited. Ctrl+Shift+V pastes without formatting. F6 and Shift+F6 move focus between the page, Control bar, tools, panels and document tabs.
Changing shortcuts without confusion
Change a few at a time. Rebinding fifty shortcuts in one go makes it hard to remember what you did. Keep a note of the ones you changed, or better, keep your .zakeys file somewhere safe and backed up, alongside your templates and libraries.
Avoid taking over keys that are common across Windows, such as copy, paste and undo, unless you have a strong reason. Other programs and your own habits rely on them.
With a set that suits your hands, Layout by Zaweba stops being a program you click through and becomes one you play from the keyboard.
