Keyboard shortcuts
A shortcut is a key to press and something for it to do. Sidekick has a built-in set, and every key in it can be changed, given a second key, or limited to one program. You can also attach a key to anything the menu does. All of it is set in Settings → Keyboard shortcuts…; nothing needs an ini file.
The built-in shortcuts
| Does | Default key |
|---|---|
| Open the palette (search everything) | Ctrl+Alt+Space |
| Translate the selection (QuickTrans) | Ctrl+Alt+T |
| Jot a note (Scratchpad) | Ctrl+Alt+N |
| Open the window (clipboard + menu) | ` (backtick) |
| Classic popup menu | Ctrl + ` (backtick) |
| Clipboard history | Ctrl+Alt+C |
| Library Editor | none |
| Google the selection | Ctrl+/ |
| Search the desktop (dtSearch) | none – Ctrl+Shift+D is a good key if you have dtSearch |
| Confirm segment (presses Ctrl+Enter) | Numpad Enter, in memoQ and Trados Studio only |
| Type a euro sign (€) | Ctrl+Shift+3 |
| Type an en dash (–) | Ctrl+Shift+6 |
| Type an em dash (—) | Ctrl+Shift+- |
| Type an opening single quote (‘) | Ctrl+Shift+9 |
| Type a closing single quote (’) | Ctrl+Shift+0 |
| Single curly quotes around the selection | Ctrl+Shift+' |
| Type a bullet and a space (• ) | Ctrl+Shift+O |
| Type a backtick | Ctrl+Shift+` |
| Reload Sidekick | none – it is in the menu, under Settings |
The character keys type what a keyboard has no key for. They work in every program, so one may take over a key a program of yours uses – in Word, Ctrl+Shift+- is a non-breaking hyphen. Change that key, limit it to the programs you want it in, or turn it off. A backtick needs a key of its own because the backtick itself opens the window.
Confirm segment is there because memoQ and Trados both confirm with Ctrl+Enter, which is two hands. Numpad Enter is one. It is limited to those two programs, so Numpad Enter keeps its normal meaning everywhere else.
Changing a key
Select a row, press Change key…, and press the combination you want. Sidekick refuses a combination Windows will not accept rather than saving one that silently does nothing. Turn off frees a key; Reset to default puts it back.
Add another key… keeps the keys a shortcut has and adds one more. If the existing keys are limited to particular programs, you are asked whether the new one should be too – usually the point, since a global key that presses Ctrl+Enter would send half-written emails.
Double-tap keys
A key can be a quick double tap of Ctrl, Shift or Alt. In the “Press a shortcut” dialog, tap the modifier twice within about half a second and it is recorded as, for example, “Ctrl twice”. The modifier keeps working normally: Ctrl+C followed by a tap does not count, and a triple tap fires once.
Tapping Ctrl twice to confirm a segment in memoQ or Trados is the obvious use: select Confirm segment, press Add another key…, tap Ctrl twice, answer Yes to limit it to the same programs, save.
Your own shortcuts
New shortcut… attaches a key to something of your own. Give it a name, choose what it does, and press the key:
| Kind | Does |
|---|---|
| Press keys | sends a key combination – ^{Enter} is Ctrl+Enter |
| Type text | types the text, for a character or phrase you use constantly |
| Surround the selection | wraps the selection, e.g. in <b> and </b> |
| Search the web for the selection | opens a URL with {q} replaced by the selection |
| Open a web page | a bookmark on a key |
| Run a program | launches a file or folder |
| Run a built-in action | any of the actions the menu uses, such as a case conversion |
The Does column of the list says what each shortcut will do, in words, so a list of forty keys stays readable.
In settings.ini
The same bindings are stored under [Hotkeys] in settings.ini, in AutoHotkey notation: ^ is Ctrl, ! Alt, + Shift, # Win. Several keys are separated by |, a key is limited to a program with @, and a double tap is DoubleCtrl, DoubleShift or DoubleAlt:
ConfirmSegment=NumpadEnter@ahk_exe memoQ.exe|DoubleCtrl@ahk_exe memoQ.exeYou never need to write this yourself; the window does it. It is here for anyone who keeps their settings in version control.