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# MAXScript Editor - Defining Custom Keyboard Shortcuts

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The Tabbed MAXScript Editor introduced in 3ds Max 2008 lets you define your own custom keyboard shortcuts in addition to the hard-coded shortcuts listed in the topic MAXScript Editor - Keyboard Shortcuts

## Definition:

Custom keyboard shortcuts can be defined in the file MXS_Editor.properties which is easily accessible via the Tools > Open Global Options File menu item. See MAXScript Editor - Properties File Settings for all options.

Scroll down and locate the section remarked as

    # User defined key commands

This section contains some existing keyboard shortcut definitions.

The definition starts with

    user.shortcuts=\

and is a '|' delimited list of keys and the commands they produce.

To place each command on a new line, add a backslash \ at the end of each line.

FOR EXAMPLE,
    user.shortcuts=\
    Ctrl+Shift+V|IDM_PASTEANDDOWN|\
    Ctrl+PageUp|IDM_PREVFILE|\
    Ctrl+PageDown|IDM_NEXTFILE|

The commands are either strings or numeric IDs - see List of Editor Key Commands and List of Editor Menu Commands.

- Numeric IDs above 2000 are Scintilla commands and are sent to the focussed pane.

- Named IDs and numeric IDs below 2000 are SciTE menu commands.

- The modifier keys are Ctrl, Shift, and Alt

- The named keys are Left, Right, Up, Down, Insert, End, Home, Enter, Space, Tab, KeypadPlus, KeypadMinus, KeypadMultiply, KeypadDivide, Escape, Delete, PageUp, PageDown, Slash, Question, Equal, Win.

NoteChanges to user-defined keyboard shortcut definitions will become active only after a restart of 3ds Max!

## Adding a new user-defined keyboard shortcut

Let’s assume you want to add a keyboard shortcut for the editor feature "Clear All Bookmarks". This feature is listed in the Search menu but does not have a keyboard shortcut assigned.

- Locate in the List of Named IDs the one called "IDM_BOOKMARK_CLEARALL". Since all existing Bookmark-related shortcuts use the Function Key F2 , let's assign the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+SHIFT+F2 to the Clear All Bookmarks feature by adding to the user.shortcuts definition in the MXS_Editor.properties file:

      user.shortcuts=\
      Ctrl+Shift+V|IDM_PASTEANDDOWN|\
      Ctrl+PageUp|IDM_PREVFILE|\
      Ctrl+PageDown|IDM_NEXTFILE|\ Ctrl+Shift+F2|IDM_BOOKMARK_CLEARALL|

- Press CTRL+S to save the MXS_Editor.properties file.

- Restart 3ds Max.

- Open the Editor, load a script file and set several bookmarks using Ctrl+F2.

- Hold down Ctrl and SHIFT and press F2 - all bookmarks will be cleared!

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