Creating custom shortcut

[kyriosity]

I used to have a custom shortcut — CTRL+W — to insert footnotes. A recent update obliterated my customizations (thanks, Adobe! 😒), and I can't figure out how to recreate it. CTRL+W is currently assigned to "Switch between Normal View and Preview Mode," which I don't need. Can somebody walk me through how to correct this? Or point me to a tutorial? Thanks!

[Barb Binder · Accepted solution]

Hi @kyriosity:

W has always been the shortcut to move between screen modes. The newish shortcut is Sh+W for Presentation mode.

Ctrl+W is the Windows-standard shortcut for File > Close. You can change it to Insert Footnote, and InDesign will warn you, but you can still do it. (I'm on a Mac so I'm using the Control equivalent of Command.) Just click Assign to remove it from Close and add it to Insert Footnote.

[kyriosity]

Ha...you can tell I never used the defaul Ctrl+W or Shift+W, because I looked it up and managed to get it wrong.

This worked! I just needed the extra step of creating a new shortcut set based on the Default. Thank you so much...this was a lifesaver. Now to tackle this document with 73 pages of notes that need to be manually placed. *wince*

[kyriosity]

Aaaaand it obliterated the shortcut again. Sometimes I hate how dependent I am on this crappy program...

[Barb Binder]

Hi @kyriosity:

InDesign does not let you modify the primary shortcut set. You always have to create a duplicate, and then you can modify the duplicate.

If the shortcut stops working, check to see if perhaps the default shortcut set was reloaded again inadvertently. This would happen for example, if you were to reset preferences. Or if the shortcut file is deleted. 

~Barb 

[Barb Binder]

One more thing, @kyriosity, even if you removed your earlier version of InDesign, your old presets are probably still on your drive. You can copy them to the new folder and InDesign will recognize them. Someone asked how to find the shortcuts and I addressed that in the comments under the post.

https://www.rockymountaintraining.com/adobe-indesign-how-to-copy-your-presets-after-an-update/

~Barb

[kyriosity]

I tried this and, alas, no luck.

[Derek Cross]

To add to Barb's useful replies, I use the conventional W to toggle between Preview and Normal view but I press Escape before doing it to ensure I have nothing selected and to stop inserting an unwanted W into the text!