Custom shortcuts and command search in Layout by Zaweba

Shortcuts are personal. Two people who use Layout by Zaweba every day can reach for completely different commands, so the app lets you shape the keyboard to suit you, find commands you can't remember the menu for, and look back over what you've done.

The shortcuts editor

The shortcuts editor lets you assign keys to commands and keep them in sets. Sets are saved as .zakeys files, which means they can be backed up, moved to another computer, or shared with a colleague so a small studio works the same way.

A sensible approach is to keep the default set as it is and make your own set based on it. Add keys for the commands you use often that don't have one, and change only the few that clash with your habits. If something goes wrong, you can switch back to the default set and start again.

Think about what you do most on a typical job. For a book designer it might be applying paragraph styles and moving between pages; for a catalogue designer, placing pictures and fitting frames. Those are the commands that benefit from a key.

Command search

Command search finds any command by name. Type a word and the matching commands appear, ready to run. It's the answer to the question of which menu something lives in, and it's often quicker than the menu even when you do know.

It's especially good for commands you use once a month. There's no point giving them a shortcut, and searching for them by name is faster than browsing.

Context menus and undo history

Context menus, opened with a right click, show commands relevant to what's under the pointer. On a frame they offer frame commands; inside text they offer text commands. They're a good way to discover what's possible with a particular object.

The undo history panel lists the steps you've taken. Rather than pressing undo repeatedly and watching things change one by one, you can see the list and go straight back to the point you want. It's reassuring when you've made a run of changes and want to compare before and after.

Shortcut habits that stick

Don't try to learn fifty shortcuts at once. Pick three or four a week for the things you do constantly, and use command search for everything else. After a month, the keys you really need will have become automatic.

Keep your .zakeys file somewhere safe. If you reinstall or move to a new computer, loading it gives you your own keyboard back straight away.

Avoid redefining keys that other software has trained into your fingers, such as the common keys for copy, paste and save. Changing those makes you slower everywhere else.

Where command search fits

Command search pairs well with the shortcuts editor. When you notice you've searched for the same command several times in a day, that's a sign it deserves a key of its own. Open the editor and give it one.

Between a keyboard that fits your work, a search box that finds the rest and a history you can step back through, Layout by Zaweba stays quick to drive however deep a job gets.