Most commonly used commands in a modeling tool have shortcut keys, allowing you to access the commands quicker. However, you can assign custom shortcut keys to modeling tool commands and change or remove already-existing shortcut keys.


To assign a new shortcut key to a command


  1. In the main menu of a modeling tool, select Options > Environment. The Environment Options dialog opens.
  2. From the option group list on the left side of the dialog, select Keyboard.
  3. Click the Category drop-down list in the option specification area on the right side of the dialog, and select the desired command category.
  4. In the Command box, select the command to which you want to assign a shortcut key.
  5. Click the Press new shortcut key box and press the shortcut you want to assign. (Do not try to type the shortcut, but press it as you would when executing the command.)
  6. Click the Assign button. The assigned shortcut appears in the Current keys box.
  7. Click OK.

After performing the above procedure, the shortcut key is assigned to the selected command and you can start using it. Note that the assigned short key is only valid for the command of the selected category. For example, if you assign a shortcut key to the Comment command in the Activity Diagram - Common toolbar category, as shown in the figure below, it will not work for the Comment command in diagrams of a different type.



Assigning a shortcut key to the Comment command in the Activity Diagram toolbar.
  • You can assign multiple shortcut keys to one command.
  • If you enter a shortcut key that is already assigned to another command, a notification appears right under the Press new shortcut key box.
  • If you assign a shortcut key that is already assigned to another command, the shortcut key is automatically unassigned from that command and assigned to the new one.


Removing shortcut keys

You can remove both default and custom shortcut keys.


To remove a shortcut key


  1. In the main menu of a modeling tool, select Options > Environment. The Environment Options dialog opens.
  2. From the option group list on the left side of the dialog, select Keyboard.
  3. Click the Category drop-down list in the option specification area on the right side of the dialog, and select the desired command category.
  4. In the Command box, select the command from which you want to remove a shortcut key.
  5. In the Current keys box, select the shortcut key you want to remove.
  6. Click the Remove button. To remove all shortcut keys assigned to the selected command, click the Remove All button.
  7. Click OK.


To restore all shortcut keys to their default values, open the Environment Options dialog, select Keyboard, and click Reset to Defaults.

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