Keyboard Shortcuts

Janet Mae Zahumeny
Roselle Park High School
e-mail: 74620.2745@compuserve.com

Keyboard Shortcuts vs Mouse Control

Keys to be used alone

CONTROL KEY: temporarily changes cursor to selection tool (arrow)
TAB temporarily changes cursor to text tool (hand)
Up/Down arrows: take you to the next tool
Left/Right arrows: cycle you through current tool's options (segment/ray/line)
F1: while cursor is on a tool it takes you to the help screen(s) for that tool
F4: cycles through selection (arrow) tool options - [so do left/right arrows]
F5: point tool
F6: circle tool
F7: cycles through line tool options - [so do left/right arrows]
F8: text tool
Up/down arrows cycle through the tool bar

Keys that specify object labels - (Watch the Status Box)

A: Draws point A
AB: Draws point AB
A B: Draws line segment AB (use / to cycle through ray and line)
A B C: Inserts commas between the letters and draws a triangle
A B C D, etc.: RANDOMLY selects points & constructs a polygon interior - CAREFUL!!!
A,B: Draws a circle centered at A with radius AB

Keys that result in objects being drawn with random labels

  • Comma: Draws a RANDOM circle with labels for center and radius
  • Slash: Draws a RANDOM segment/ray/line
  • Period: Draws a RANDOM point
  • Semicolon: Draws a RANDOM arc
  • Apostrophe: Draws a RANDOM polygon interior (I always get a triangle??)

*You can specify the labels by typing them AFTER you type the code.
i.e. COMMA followed by AB would result in a circle centered at A with radius AB.

STATUS BOX is new - use it!!!

  • Click and drag to move it
  • DRAW --> object does not yet exist
  • SELECT --> object does exist
  • SHOW --> the object will be redrawn, if it is hidden!
  • Status box lets you know when you are "on" an object

Use CONTROL in conjunction with the keys listed below:

L: Segment/ray/line
P: Polygon Interior OR Arc Sector Interior OR Circle Interior
M: Midpoint
I: Intersection point
Z: Undo
R: Redo
X: Cut
C: Copy
V: Paste
/: Select All
N: New sketch
O: Open script or sketch
S: Save
U: Select parents
D: Select children
H: Hide all selected objects
K: Show/Hide labels
T: Trace on/off
F: Mark center for transform menu (can just double-click)
G: Mark mirror for transform menu (can just double-click)
E: Add an entry to a table/chart (you may also just double-click the chart
(IF the chart has been selected!)

Use shift to change the effect of menu items.

  • Make Script becomes Make Recording Script - this lets you make a script for
  • what you have done so far, then continue recording.
  • Undo/Redo becomes Undo ALL/Redo ALL
  • Traces a permanent, printable locus - use with LOCUS on the CONSTRUCT menu

Calculator

  • Double-click a measurement and the calculator appears - you can click on ANY
  • measurement which shows and the value will be entered
  • Math Format vs Text Format