Mapkeys

About Mapkeys:

In Pro/ENGINEER, a mapkey is a keyboard macro that maps frequently used command sequences to certain keyboard keys or sets of keys. The mapkeys are saved in the configuration file mapkey, with each macro beginning on a new line. You can define a unique key or combination of keys which, when pressed, executes the mapkey macro (for example, F8). You can create a mapkey for virtually any task you perform frequently within Pro/ENGINEER.

By adding custom mapkeys to your toolbar or menu bar, you can use mapkeys with a single mouse click or menu command and thus automate your workflow. If you are a newer user, you can borrow mapkeys from coworkers and eliminate having to remember cryptic abbreviations. To create a mapkey, you can use the configuration file option mapkey, or, on the Pro/ENGINEER menu bar, click Tools > Mapkeys, then in the Mapkeys dialog box, you click New and record your mapkey in the Record Mapkey dialog box.

Use the Mapkeys dialog box to:

-Define new mapkeys

-View, modify, and delete existing mapkeys

-Execute a mapkey chosen from the list

-Save the mapkeys to a configuration file

The system records your mapkey as you step through the sequence of keystrokes or command executions to define it. After you define the mapkey, Pro/ENGINEER creates a corresponding icon and places it in the Customize dialog box under the Mapkeys category. To open the Customize dialog box, click Tools > Customize Screen. On the Toolbars tabbed page, select the Mapkeys category. You can then drag the visible mapkey icon onto the Pro/ENGINEER main toolbar. You can also create a label for the new mapkey. If you choose to add the newly created mapkey icon to the toolbar, the label appears on the button added to the toolbar. When you mouse over the button, the description appears next to the mouse pointer and in the message area.

You can also nest one mapkey within another, so that one mapkey initiates another. To do so, you include the mapkey name in the sequence of commands of the mapkey you are defining.

Mapkey operations include the ability to do the following actions:

-Pause for user interaction.

-Handle message window input more flexibly.

-Run operating system scripts and commands. The Record Mapkey dialog box contains the OS Script tabbed page, whose options allow you to run OS commands instead of Pro/ENGINEER commands.

When you define a mapkey, the system automatically records a pause when you make screen selections, so that you can make new selections while the mapkey is running. Also, you can record a pause at any place in the mapkey along with a user-specified dialog prompt, which will appear at the corresponding point while the mapkey is running.

Note: If you create a new mapkey that contains actions that open and make selections from dialog boxes, then when you run the mapkey, it does not pause for user input when it opens the dialog box. To set the mapkey to pause for user input when opening dialog boxes, you must select Pause for keyboard input on the Pro/E tab in the Record Mapkey dialog box before you create the new mapkey.

To Define a Mapkey:

1. Click Tools > Mapkeys from the menu bar or click the appropriate icon on the toolbar (use Customize Screen on the Tools menu to place buttons on the toolbar). The Mapkeys dialog box opens.

1. Click New. The Record Mapkey dialog box opens.

2. Type the key sequence that is to be used to execute the mapkey in the Key Sequence text box.

Note: To use a function key, precede its name with a dollar sign ($). For example, to map to F3, type $F3.

1. Optional: Type the name and description of the mapkey in the appropriate text boxes.

1. Click the Pro/E tab. Specify how the system must handle the prompts when running the mapkey by selecting one of the following options:

*Record keyboard input-(default). Record the keyboard input when defining the mapkey and use it when running the macro.

*Accept system defaults-Accept the system defaults when running the macro.

*Pause for keyboard input-Pause for keyboard input in the message area in response to a prompt while running the macro.

Note: The Pause for keyboard input option waits for you to enter a value wherever an user input is required while recording the macro.

1. Click Record and start recording the macro by selecting menu commands in the appropriate order.

1. If you create a new mapkey that contains actions that open and make selections from dialog boxes, when you run the mapkey, Pro/ENGINEER does not pause for user input whenever the dialog box opens. To pause for user input into dialog boxes, click Pause in the Record Mapkey dialog box to indicate when to pause while recording the mapkey. The Resume Prompt dialog box opens.

2. Type the prompt in the Resume Prompt dialog box. Then click Resume and proceed recording the mapkey.

1. Click Stop when finished recording the macro.

When you run the macro, the system pauses, displays the prompt you typed, and gives you the options to Resume recording the macro or to Cancel.

The OS Script tab allows you to run an Operating System (OS) script through Pro/ENGINEER using a mapkey. This is beneficial because you can start this OS script without having to minimize your window or to place it in the background.

An OS script is analogous to using aliases in UNIX. An example of an OS script is one that copies a configuration file that is commonly used from a directory on the hard disk to the working directory so that you can load the file into your session.

When you get sick and tired of all the mouse clicks required to get anything accomplished in ProE, you can record a Mapkey that automates all those clicks.

Over years of using ProE I've got a long list of Mapkeys I've recorded for tasks I do all the time, such as: F1-Select First Pick in the Measure>Distance Dialog, F2-Set Spin Center to Screen Center, F4-Repaint the Screen, F5-Toggle Datum Plane, F8-Set Shade Quality, cdp-Create Datum Point, off-Create Offset Datum Plane, cdc-Create Datum Curve, csb-Create Solid Blend. These are all saved in my config.pro and I just type in the name to access them. I can hardly work at someone elses computer because I'm so used to having my mapkeys available.

If I'm working on a model and find that I'm going to need to do something more than twice, I'll go ahead and record a temporary Mapkey just to use for that session.

Dave

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

yeah with out mapped keys you will give your self car pool tunnel. LOL