Number: TB0002

Availability: As of BuildPro 8.00, all users.

Introduction

An Accelerator allows the use of a shortcut key sequence (i.e. F4) to initiate a specific action for an application. BuildProfessional allows both static and dynamic accelerators. Dynamic accelerators are assigned at runtime; an action is simply assigned the next available accelerator key combination during the work session. Static accelerators must be defined by the developer and are always assigned the same key sequence.

Accelerators can be defined in the configuration file (wintoday.ini for Windows, .todayrc for UNIX servers) or hard coded in the development environment. It is generally better practice to define resources, such as available function keys, in the configuration file rather than hard coding them in the application. In a client / server configuration the keys need only be defined on the server side.
 

Format

Accelerator definitions associate a keystroke sequence with a virtual key in the form when defined in the configuration file:

alias=[modifier-][modifier-]key

…and in the development environment:

[modifier-][modifier-]key

Alias

The alias is any text describing the key sequence or function. The alias may not contain spaces.
 

Modifier

The modifiers are optional and can be one or both of Control and Shift. Certain keys require the Control modifier such as the letter a-z.
 

Key

The key component can be one of the following :

F1	F2	F3
F4	F5	F6
F7	F8	F9
F10	F11	F12
HOME	END	INSERT
DELETE	UP_ARROW	DOWN_ARROW
LEFT_ARROW	RIGHT_ARROW	PAGE_UP
PAGE_DOWN	ENTER	ESCAPE
BACKSPACE	TAB	A
B	C	D
E	F	G
H	I	J
K	L	M
N	O	P
Q	R	S
T	U	V
W	X	Y
Z	SPECIAL	EXTENDED
USER_DEFINED	KEYPAD_0	KEYPAD_1
KEYPAD_2	KEYPAD_3	KEYPAD_4
KEYPAD_5	KEYPAD_6	KEYPAD_7
KEYPAD_8	KEYPAD_9	CAPS_LOCK
BREAK	PRINT_SCREEN	META
LEFT_META	RIGHT_META	LEFT_META_OEM
RIGHT_META_OEM	0	1
2	3	4
5	6	7
8	9	F13
F14	F15	F16
F17	F18	F19
F20	F21	F22
F23	F24	F25
F26	CAPS_LOCK	SCROLL_LOCK
MULTIPLY	ADD	SUBTRACT
DIVIDE	SPACE	EXCLAMATION
DOUBLE_QUOTE	HASH	DOLLAR
PERCENT	AMPERSAND	BACK_QUOTE
LEFT_BRACKET	RIGHT_BRACKET	ASTERIX
COMMA	FULL_STOP	FORWARD_SLASH
COLON	SEMI_COLON	LESS_THAN
EQUAL	GREATER_THAN	QUESTION_MARK
AT	LEFT_SQUARE_BRACKET	BACK_SLASH
RIGHT_SQUARE_BRACKET	CARAT	UNDER_SCORE
FORWARD_QUOTE	LEFT_BRACE	VERTICAL_BAR
RIGHT_BRACE	TILDE	BACKTAB

Examples

In the configuration file:

Lookup=F4

Menu=Shift-F4

GoBack=Control-Shift-PAGE_UP

In the development environment:

F4

Shift-F4

Control-Shift-PAGE_UP

Predefined Keys

Keep in mind that user interface standards define the use of certain key sequences such as F1 for Help, Ctrl-C for copy etc.