Keyboard Preferences

The Keyboard Preferences menu item on the Light-O-Rama S5 Sequencer's Tools menu opens a dialog that allows you to customize the actions that take place when you type a key on your keyboard. The built-in (default) mapping of keys to actions is listed in the Keyboard Shortcut Summary. Here are some examples where you might want to use this dialog to create a customized keyboard mapping:

•There might be some keys in the default mapping that don't seem intuitive to you.

•You frequently use a program that uses different keys to move and take action and you want the Sequencer to follow a similar behavior when those keys are struck.

•You want to make a single key perform multiple functions - for example, you could set up the "N" key to expand the selection to the right by three cells and down by two cells, and then turn the entire (newly expanded) selection on.

The Keyboard Preferences dialog

This dialog is resizable. In particular, you can make it taller so that you can see more key mappings at a time.

The Keyboard Preferences dialog has several sections:

•The "Active Keyboard Map" section allows you to choose what set of keyboard operations should be used.

•The "Maps" section allows you to define new sets of keyboard operations, or to delete existing sets.

•The "Keys" section allows you to define what keys should perform what operations in the currently active set of keyboard operations.

•Under that is displayed a list all keys in the current set of keyboard operations, and the operations that they perform. Click on a column heading to sort the list by that column. Double-click on a row to edit that entry. Only entries for custom maps are editable; however, you can double click on entries for the default mapping and see a read-only view of that map entry.

•Buttons at the bottom allow you to copy the list to the clipboard or to print the list.

Active Keyboard Map

The "Active Keyboard Map" section allows you to choose which keyboard map should currently be used.  You can choose to use the default keyboard map for the current version of software, or to use a custom keyboard map that you have defined.

Use the Default Keyboard Map

Choosing this option will cause the Sequencer to use its default keyboard map.  Moreover, if you have this option selected, and later upgrade to a new version of software which has a different default keyboard map, the Sequencer will then use that new default keyboard map.

Use a Custom Keyboard Map

Choosing this option will cause the Sequencer to use a keyboard map that you yourself have defined.  Moreover, if you have this option selected, and later upgrade to a new version of software which has a different default keyboard map, the Sequencer will then continue to use the custom map that you have selected.

Your custom keyboard maps are automatically saved to your Light-O-Rama data directory, in the "CommonData\CustomKeyMaps.xml" file. If you would like to share your custom maps with another user, you can simply give them a copy of your "CustomKeyMaps.xml" file.  When they place it into their own "CommonData" directory, it will be available for them as a custom keyboard map.

Note that this option is not available until you have defined at least one custom keyboard map, which you can do through either "Duplicate Map" or "New Empty Map".

Maps

The "Maps" section allows you to create new custom keyboard maps (either duplicating the current map or else creating an empty map), or to remove maps that you have previously created.

Duplicate Map

Using this button, you can create a new custom keyboard map which uses the exact same key mappings as the currently selected map does.  You can then modify the key mappings as you desire, using "New Key", "Edit Key", or "Remove Key".

The new map will show up in the drop-down list under "Use a Custom Keyboard Map", and in fact will automatically be selected when you create it.

New Empty Map

Using this button, you can create a new custom keyboard map which does not contain any key mappings at all - that is, no key will cause anything to happen when you press it.  You can then add keys to it via "New Key", and later edit or remove them via "Edit Key" or "Remove Key".

The new map will show up in the drop-down list under "Use a Custom Keyboard Map", and in fact will automatically be selected when you create it.

Remove Map

If you have currently selected a custom keyboard map (via "Use a Custom Keyboard Map"), pressing this key will delete the map.

Note that if there is a chance that you will want to use the custom keyboard map again in the future, you should not remove it.  Instead, simply switch to using a different custom map, or to a default map, leaving the map in the "Use a Custom Keyboard Map" list, thus enabling you to switch back to it when you desire.  If you remove it, you will not be able to switch back to it in the future.

Keys

If you have specified that a custom keyboard map should be used (via "Use a Custom Keyboard Map"), then the "Keys" section allows you to add new keys to it, edit existing keys within it, and remove existing keys from it.

New Key

This button (which is available only when a custom keyboard map has been selected, via "Use a Custom Keyboard Map") opens up the New Key Mapping dialog, which allows you to choose a key and set its operation or operations:

The New Key Mapping dialog

To use the New Key Mapping dialog, press the key that you want to use (and, if you want, the Alt, Ctrl, and/or Shift keys), and then select the operation that you want it to perform from the dropdown list:

The New Key Mapping dialog, having selected a key and an operation

In the above example, Alt-Shift-F7 has been mapped to "Move Right" - that is, to move the selection to the right one cell.

You can use the "Add Row" button to assign multiple operations to a single key.  They will be executed in the order that you list them. In the following example, Alt-Shift-F7 has been mapped to "Move Right, Move Down, Apply Shimmer".  That is, the selection will be moved one square to the right, then one square down, and then the Shimmer effect will be applied to the new selection.

The New Key Mapping dialog, having selected a key and multiple operations

To remove operations, click the check box next to each operation you want to delete, then click the "Delete Checked Rows" button.

Edit Key

This button allows you to change the operation or operations that are in use for a certain key.  It is available only when a custom keyboard map has been selected (via "Use a Custom Keyboard Map") and a particular key mapping from that map has been selected (by clicking on it in the list of key mappings at the bottom of the Keyboard Preferences dialog).

Pressing the button (or double-clicking on a row) brings up the Edit Key Mapping dialog:

The Edit Key Mapping dialog

The Edit Key Mapping dialog can be used similarly to the New Key Mapping dialog.

Remove Key

This button allows you to remove a certain key from the current keyboard map.  It is available only when a custom keyboard map has been selected (via "Use a Custom Keyboard Map") and a particular key mapping from that map has been selected (by clicking on it in the list of key mappings at the bottom of the Keyboard Preferences dialog).

Sorting the List

To sort the list of displayed key map entries, simply on a column heading. This sorting applies not only to the list as displayed on the screen, but also to the results of the Copy and Print buttons.

Copy

This button allows you to copy the list of keys and operations to your Windows text clipboard, so that you could (for example) paste it into a text document in Notepad.  The list will be sorted as you specified in the "Sort By" section.

Print

This button allows you to print the list of keys and operations.  The list will be sorted as you specified in the "Sort By" section.

Operations

The following operations can be assigned to keys in a custom keyboard map: