% jfig/doc/shortcut-keys.txt (16.10.2001)


Using and configuring shortcut keys in jfig:


The user interface of xfig and jfig is mode-oriented. While the
drawing commands (i.e., modes) can be selected via the buttons 
on the left part of the editor window, it is much more efficient 
to use the keyboard shortcuts (accelerator keys). In combination 
with a three-button mouse and with a little practice this allows 
for very fast editing.

In xfig, the keyboard accelerator keys can be configured via the
X-Windows resource mechanism. The default settings in xfig use a 
rather complex mixture of standard and modifier keys. Unfortunately, 
some of the standard xfig mappings conflict with platform-specific 
issues, for example <ctrl>-C has a special interpretation on Windows.  
Also, Java support for accelerator keys is far from being bug-free.

The following list explains how to setup and use the accelerator
keys in jfig:


o  Check the jfig main menu bar for the menu shortcuts.
   Depending on your operating system, these typically use 
   combinations of <CNTL>+key, <ALT>+key, or <SHIFT>+<CNTL>+key.
   The menu shortcuts are compiled into the jfig software and
   cannot be changed. 

   Note that the menu shortcuts have precedence over user-specified
   shortcuts.

o  jfig supports additional "simple bindkeys" for the most frequent 
   editing commands. Most of these are used without a modifier key, 
   so that you use them while still keeping one hand on the mouse, 
   allowing for very fast drawing.

   You can modify the key bindings via the jfig.cnf or .jfigrc 
   configuration file by setting the corresponding properties, e.g.
   "jfig.gui.KeyHandler.CreatePolyline l" 

   To view (and save) the current settings, check the properties via
   selecting menu->options->show properties from the jfig menu bar.
   The properties starting with "jfig.gui.KeyHandler" specify the
   accelerator keys for the jfig commands.

   Note that changes to the properties in the viewer have no
   immediate effect, because jfig reads them on program startup only.
   To change the values, save the properties to your user or local
   working directory configuration file, then edit that file.

o  Note that the default bindkeys are mostly but not fully xfig-
   compatible, because Java does not support CTRL-key combinations
   reliably.

   For example, jfig uses 
   <shift>+c instead of <ctrl>+c for "copy object" 
   <shift>+e instead of <ctrl>+e for "edit object".
   J         instead of <ctrl>+i for "create embedded image"

   If you use both xfig and jfig, you may want to change those
   defaults in xfig to match...

o  The bindkeys are disabled during editing of text objects. 
   Press the ESCAPE-key or click one of the command buttons to stop 
   editing text and re-enable the bindkeys.

o  The following list of the default bindkeys is sorted by the 
   command button panel layout:

   'e'  'c'       create an Ellipse,             create a Circle
   'S'  's'       create a closed Spline,        create a spline
   'I'  'i'       create a closed Bezier spline, create a bezier spline
   'p', 'l'       create a closed Polygon,       create a polyline
   'b',           create a Rectangle (box),
        'r'                                      create an Arc
   'J', 't'       create an Image,               create a Text

   'g'  'G'       create a Compound object,      break a Compound,
   'o',           open a Compound temporarily,
   'M', 'm'       move an object's point,        move an object,
   'a', 'C'       insert a point,                copy an object,
   'D', 'd'       cut a point,                   delete an object,
   'u', 'E'       update object attributes,      edit an object,
   'F', 'f'       mirror object along x,         mirror object y,

   'Z', 'z'       zoom in,                       zoom out,
   'N', 'n'       add attributes to cache,       next cached attributes,

