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Here's my scenario...
Three programs I use a lot are Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Adobe
Photoshop. Lately, I'm finding more and more ways that keyboard shortcuts
greatly increase the speed of certain tasks, but so many of these shortcuts
are application specific (meaning a shortcut in Photoshop does one thing, but
that same shortcut in Word does something totally different). And,
my memory just isn't that great, so I end up with sticky notes all over my
monitor.
I tried using overlays for my keyboard (cardboard cutouts that show which
keys do what). But these kept slipping around and gave me no options
to assign new shortcuts to new keys. Then I bought a multimedia keyboard
and this was cool because I could assign specific shortcuts to special keys
on this keyboard, but I only had so many keys I could do this with and the
shortcuts only applied to Windows, not to commands inside specific programs.
Then I found Ideazon's Custom Keyboards and now I'm a happy keyboard-shortcuttin'
camper.
The unique thing about these keyboards is you buy one base keyboard and then
there are snap-on keysets that you can buy for lots of different programs. When
you buy the base keyboard, you get the Windows/Internet Explorer standard
keyset, which includes labelled keys to perform LOTS of shortcuts in Windows
and Internet Explorer. Then, you can purchase additional keysets for
programs like Word, Excel, Photoshop, etc. And, switching the keysets
only takes seconds, as you can see in the animated gif file below.
And the other cool thing is if I've got the Excel keyset snapped
on and leave Excel to do something in Windows, when I'm outside of Excel, the
keyboard works like a normal keyboard. In fact, I'm using the Excel keyset
right now to type this article and I don't even have Excel running. So,
it's not always necessary to change the keysets. If you are only
opening a program for a few minutes, you probably don't need to even switch
them...but, if you are going to be inside the program for a while, working
on a long project, the right keyset makes the job so much easier.
There are also keysets for many games, which I really appreciate. Since
I don't have a fancy game controller, many of the shoot 'em up or simulation
games require that I use keyboard keys to perform the actions in the game and
I can never remember what key does what in each game. So, I got
the Crossfire keyset, which allows me to customize it for whatever game I'm
playing .. and it completely replaces my number pad with nice BIG keys for
left, right, up and down, and gives me keys for diagonal moves, so it makes
this so much easier for me.
Currently, there aren't keysets for all programs, but Ideazon
is always adding more and Oren Kramer, who owns the company, is a great guy
and very responsive to requests, so I'm sure if he receives enough requests
for a program, he will make a keyset for it.
But for now, here's the keysets I use and recommend:
Zboard
(custom keyboard) starter system
Custom
keyboard for Microsoft Excel
Custom
keyboard for Microsoft Word
Custom
keyboard for Adobe Photoshop
Crossfire
Keyboard
And, when you go to their site, you will see there are lots
of other programs and games that have custom keysets. Here's a few others
that might interest you:
Custom
keyboard for Macromedia Dreamweaver
Custom
keyboard for Macromedia Flash
Custom
keyboard for Microsoft Office
Age
of Mythology custom keyboard
And there are many, many more. I'd recommend you go to
their homepage by clicking the banner below and have a look-see. These
are the best keyboards I've ever used. And another great feature I need
to mention.: Cleaning these keyboards is a snap! And you can do it without
having to turn off your computer. Just remove the keyset, shake it out
or wipe it off, and snap it back on. No need to worry that you will get
the electrical components wet because they are in the base and not in the keyset. What
a treat.
Have fun!
Linda
http://personal-computer-tutor.com
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