Keyboard shortcut conflicts

joshfree · 07-19-2009, 06:30 PM

is there an easy way to see which keyboard shortcuts are actively available globally, and to find out whether they conflict with shortcuts in use by a particular application?

Among the Finder itself, Quicksliver, Evernote, Omnifocus, etc. there are all sorts clipping shortcuts, quick-opening shortcuts, etc. etc. that conflict with each other and with shortcut-happy apps like the Adobe Creative Suite.

Any way of getting a list of all these? it seems that, if the Operating System knows about them, they must be stored someplace and should be able to be accessed.

Anybody know of a utility that does this? Thanks!

NaOH · 07-20-2009, 02:59 AM

Not exactly what you want because it shows them on a per-application basis and doesn't show the shortcuts for all applications (that would be a huge list), but you may want to have look at Key Cue.

In my own experience, I've found using the Control key can be very helpful because it's not usually a part of existing keyboard shortcuts. Also, it's helpful if you assign as many shortcuts as possible to only the application(s) where they will be used. That depends on the program you're using, but the Keyboard & Mouse System Preferences pane allows this, as do Keyboard Maestro, Butler, QuicKeys and Spark (and probably others I'm forgetting).

As an example of how this can benefit you... Command-1 is one of my preferred shortcuts. In Safari I have it configured so this selects the next tab. In iTunes I'm set up so that this selects the main Music library in the Sidebar. In the Finder I've left this so it performs the default action of showing a window in Icon view.

joshfree · 07-20-2009, 10:56 AM

Thanks! I have tried Key Cue and guess I will again.

I was hoping there was something more comprehensive. If I were a programmer, maybe I'd try to write something that did this comparison. It would be great to have a spreadsheet that listed keystrokes along the left, applications along the top, that you could easily scan for conflicting assignments of global keystrokes.

I'd think that would let a lot of people streamline their systems.

07-19-2009, 06:30 PM	#1
joshfree Prospect Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 31	Keyboard shortcut conflicts is there an easy way to see which keyboard shortcuts are actively available globally, and to find out whether they conflict with shortcuts in use by a particular application? Among the Finder itself, Quicksliver, Evernote, Omnifocus, etc. there are all sorts clipping shortcuts, quick-opening shortcuts, etc. etc. that conflict with each other and with shortcut-happy apps like the Adobe Creative Suite. Any way of getting a list of all these? it seems that, if the Operating System knows about them, they must be stored someplace and should be able to be accessed. Anybody know of a utility that does this? Thanks! Last edited by joshfree; 07-19-2009 at 06:31 PM. Reason: Remove stupid smiley accidentally added in the wrong place!

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07-20-2009, 02:59 AM	#2
NaOH Hall of Famer Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,642	Not exactly what you want because it shows them on a per-application basis and doesn't show the shortcuts for all applications (that would be a huge list), but you may want to have look at Key Cue. In my own experience, I've found using the Control key can be very helpful because it's not usually a part of existing keyboard shortcuts. Also, it's helpful if you assign as many shortcuts as possible to only the application(s) where they will be used. That depends on the program you're using, but the Keyboard & Mouse System Preferences pane allows this, as do Keyboard Maestro, Butler, QuicKeys and Spark (and probably others I'm forgetting). As an example of how this can benefit you... Command-1 is one of my preferred shortcuts. In Safari I have it configured so this selects the next tab. In iTunes I'm set up so that this selects the main Music library in the Sidebar. In the Finder I've left this so it performs the default action of showing a window in Icon view.

07-20-2009, 10:56 AM	#3
joshfree Prospect Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 31	Thanks! I have tried Key Cue and guess I will again. I was hoping there was something more comprehensive. If I were a programmer, maybe I'd try to write something that did this comparison. It would be great to have a spreadsheet that listed keystrokes along the left, applications along the top, that you could easily scan for conflicting assignments of global keystrokes. I'd think that would let a lot of people streamline their systems.