Keyboard Shortcuts
A keyboard shortcut is a keyboard key or a combination of keys you can press to perform simple tasks more quickly. You can use keyboard shortcuts to complete many tasks in HotDocs Author.
Keyboard shortcuts for the Script tab are given in the Computation Editor's interface.
Top Keyboard Shortcuts
In addition to enabling the use of many of the keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Windows, HotDocs also provides you with Author-specific shortcut keys. The following are some common keyboard shortcuts you might find useful:
| Shortcut | What it Does |
| F1 | Opens the HotDocs Author documentation. |
| ALT | Puts focus on the buttons in the ribbon of the current window, displaying additional shortcut keys for ribbon actions. |
| SHIFT+↑↓ | Selects a group of items (such as variables) in a sequence. Select the first item, hold down the Shift key, and select the last item with the arrow keys (↑,↓) or the mouse. You may also hold down the Shift key on the keyboard while pressing the Page Up or Page Down key to select all of the items above or below the selected template. |
| CTRL+↑↓+SPACEBAR | Selects individual items (such as variables) not in a sequence. Select the first template desired, press and hold down the Ctrl key while selecting each item desired. You can select each template desired with either the mouse or by using the arrow keys (↑,↓) to navigate through the list and pressing CTRL+Spacebar to select the templates. |
| CTRL+/, CTRL+ SHIFT+/ | Moves the focus from the word processor to the HotDocs Field Editor, in preparation to accessing the shortcuts to accomplish the tasks in the Action list. Moves focus from the HotDocs Field Editor back to the word processor. |
| CTRL+. | When in an editable area, displays the Fast Field Insertion tool, which enables you to quickly add a placeholder field for an existing variable at the cursor's current position in the template. |
| CTRL+SPACEBAR | When in a script tab, displays a drop-down list of scripting elements (components, instructions, etc.) you can choose to in the context of your current position in the script. |
Workspace Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts
From anywhere in Workspace Explorer, when you press the ALT key, the following letters show an underline hint to show you what letter you also need to press in order to invoke the behavior you normally do by clicking that interface element with your mouse.
These keyboard shortcuts work from anywhere within Workspace Explorer.
| Shortcut | What it Does |
| ALT | Puts focus on the Workspace Explorer menu. |
| ALT+W | Opens the Workspace Explorer menu. |
| ALT+W+N | Opens the New Workspace dialog box. |
| ALT+W+O, CTRL+O | Enables you to open an existing workspace. |
| ALT+W+R | Opens a list of recently used workspaces. |
| ALT+W+C, CTRL+F4 | Closes the current Workspace Explorer. |
| ALT+N | Opens the New Template dialog box. |
| ALT+I | Enables you to browse to a template you want to import. |
| ALT+O | Opens the HotDocs Options dialog box. |
| ALT+H | Opens the Author Help menu. |
| ALT+H+H | Opens the HotDocs Author documentation file. |
| ALT+H+A | Displays the About HotDocs Author dialog box that enables you to determine which version of HotDocs Author is installed on your machine. |
| SHIFT+F5 | Opens the Rebuild Workspace dialog box. |
Workspace Explorer Contents Pane Shortcuts
These keyboard shortcuts work from anywhere within the contents pane (the list of your templates in the left pane) of Workspace Explorer.
| Shortcut | What it Does |
| ↑↓ | Navigates up and down through the template list. |
| HOME, END | Jumps to first template in the template list, jumps to last template in the template list. |
| PGUP, PGDN | Jumps to the template at the top of the pane's view, jumps to the template at the bottom of the pane's view. |
| ENTER | Opens the currently selected templates for editing. |
| DELETE | Deletes the currently selected templates. |
| CTRL+A | Selects all templates in the template list. |
| CTRL+U | Uploads the currently selected templates. |
| SHIFT+↑↓ | Selects a group of templates in a sequence. Select the first template, hold down the Shift key, and select the last template with the arrow keys (↑,↓) or the mouse. You may also hold down the Shift key on the keyboard while pressing the Page Up or Page Down key to select all of the templates above or below the selected template. |
| CTRL+↑↓+SPACEBAR | Selects individual templates not in a sequence. Select the first template desired, press and hold down the Ctrl key while selecting each template desired. You can select each template desired with either the mouse or by using the arrow keys (↑,↓) to navigate through the list and pressing CTRL+Spacebar to select the templates. |
Text Editor and Field Editor Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Location Available | What it Does |
| CTRL+. (Modifiable in MS Word) | HotDocs Author's editable areas:
|
Displays the Fast Field Insertion tool, which enables you to quickly add a placeholder field for an existing variable at the cursor's current position in the template.
This is the only shortcut available in editors other than Microsoft Word. If you want to change the default shortcut in Word, follow Microsoft's instructions for your version of Word to customize your keyboard shortcuts. Once you navigate to the keyboard shortcuts area, under the Macros category, you should see the HotDocs macro "Fastfieldinsertion" and its default keyboard shortcut. |
| Ctrl+, | HotDocs Author's editable areas:
|
Displays the Advanced HotDocs Field Editor tool, which enables you to quickly create and edit HotDocs Fields and their properties when editing a template. |
| CTRL+SHIFT+. (Modifiable in MS Word) | HotDocs Author's editable areas:
|
Removes a HotDocs field when you use this shortcut from any location within a HotDocs field. |
| CTRL+/ | HotDocs Author's editable areas:
|
Moves the focus from the word processor to the HotDocs Field Editor, in preparation to accessing the shortcuts to accomplish the tasks in the Action list. |
| CTRL+ SHIFT+/ | HotDocs Field Editor | Moves focus from the HotDocs Field Editor back to the word processor. |
| F6, SHIFT+F6 | Microsoft Word, HotDocs Composer | Moves focus from one pane to another, for instance: from the main text area to the Field Editor. Repeatedly pressing F6 moves focus from the Field Editor to the bottom of the Word window, then to the ribbon at the top of the Word window, then back to the text area.
Depending on your keyboard, you may need to press the F LOCK button first. |
| CTRL+SPACEBAR | Script tab (Dialog Editor, Computation Editor) | Displays a drop-down list of scripting elements (components, instructions, etc.) you can choose to in the context of your current position in the script. |
| <— —> | Action menu in the HotDocs Field Editor | Pressing the right arrow displays the More view in the Action menu. Pressing the left arrow displays the Less view. |
| ENTER | HotDocs Field Editor | Making changes in the Field Editor that enable the Add Field button, also enables you to press the ENTER key from most places within the Field Editor. Doing so adds a HotDocs field to the template, after which keyboard focus moves to the newly created field.
When in Replace Multiple mode pressing ENTER does not add multiple HotDocs fields. |
| SPACEBAR | HotDocs Field Editor | Selects the currently highlighted menu item. |
Component Studio Keyboard Shortcuts
From anywhere in Component Studio, when you press the ALT key, the following letters show an underline hint to show you what letter you also need to press in order to invoke the behavior you normally do by clicking that interface element with your mouse.
These keyboard shortcuts work from anywhere within Component Studio.
| Shortcut | What it Does |
| ALT | Puts focus on the buttons in the Component Studio ribbon. |
| ALT+S, CTRL+S | Saves the latest changes in the currently open component editor. |
| ALT+U, CTRL+Z | Undoes the last change in the currently open component editor. |
| ALT+R, CTRL+Y | Redoes the change you last undid. |
| ALT+N | Opens the New component menu so you can choose from the list of components. |
| ALT+N,T | Opens the New Text Variable dialog box. |
| ALT+N,D | Opens the New Date Variable dialog box. |
| ALT+N,F | Opens the New True/False Variable dialog box. |
| ALT+N,S | Opens the New Single Select Variable dialog box. |
| ALT+N,U | Opens the New Multi Select Variable dialog box. |
| ALT+N,G | Opens the New Dialog dialog box. |
| ALT+N,C | Opens the New Computation dialog box. |
| ALT+F | Opens the Find in Components dialog box. |
| ALT+P | Opens the Component File Properties dialog box. |
| ALT+H, F1 | Opens the HotDocs Author documentation to the Component Studio page. |
| F6, SHIFT+F6 | Takes you through a continuous loop of the various panes in Component Studio and the various component editors. |
| F8 | Short cut for the Auto Format button on the Script tab, whether you are working in a Computation Editor, or a Dialog Editor. |
| TAB, SHIFT+TAB | Takes you through a continuous loop of controls in any given pane. |
| CTRL + SPACEBAR | When in a Script tab, displays an alphabetized drop-down auto-complete list showing all the key words and variables. When used with Single Select or Multi Select variables, if the variable uses a Fixed Table component as its option source, instead displays the list of keys you defined in the Fixed Table component in the drop-down. For example, if you type SET SelVarName TO, and then a space, then press CTRL + SPACEBAR, you see a drop-down list of values for the key column, and can select one. Pressing ENTER adds the selection to your script. |
Component Studio Left Pane Shortcuts
These keyboard shortcuts work from anywhere within the contents pane (the list of your components in the left pane) of Component Studio.
| Shortcut | What it Does |
| ↑↓ | Navigates up and down through list of components. |
| HOME, END | Jumps to first component in the list of components, jumps to the last component in the list of components. |
| PGUP, PGDN | Jumps to the component at the top of the pane's view, jumps to the component at the bottom of the pane's view. |
| ENTER | Opens the currently selected component for editing. |
| DELETE | Deletes the currently selected component. |
| CTRL+A | Selects all components in the list of components. |
| SHIFT+↑↓ | Selects a group of components in a sequence. Select the first component, hold down the Shift key, and select the last component with the arrow keys (↑,↓) or the mouse. You may also hold down the Shift key on the keyboard while pressing the Page Up or Page Down key to select all of the components above or below the selected component. |
| CTRL+↑↓+SPACEBAR | Selects individual components not in a sequence. Select the first component desired, press and hold down the Ctrl key while selecting each component desired. You can select each component desired with either the mouse or by using the arrow keys (↑,↓) to navigate through the list of components and pressing CTRL+Spacebar to select the components. |
Component Studio Dialog Editor Shortcuts
| Shortcut | What it Does |
| CTRL + SHIFT + T | Opens the New Text Variable dialog box and adds it to the currently opened dialog. |
| CTRL + SHIFT + N | Opens the New Number Variable dialog box and adds it to the currently opened dialog. |
| CTRL + SHIFT + D | Opens the New Date Variable dialog box and adds it to the currently opened dialog. |
| CTRL + SHIFT + F | Opens the New True/False Variable dialog box and adds it to the currently opened dialog. |
|
CTRL + SHIFT + S |
Opens the New Single Select Variable dialog box and adds it to the currently opened dialog. |
|
CTRL + SHIFT + U |
Opens the New Multi Select Variable dialog box and adds it to the currently opened dialog. |
|
CTRL + SHIFT + B |
Opens the New Table Variable dialog box and adds it to the currently opened dialog. |
| CTRL + SHIFT + G | Opens the New Dialog box and adds it to the currently opened dialog. |
| CTRL + SHIFT + X | Opens the New Text Dialog Element dialog box and adds it to the currently opened dialog. |
| CTRL + SHIFT + A | Opens the New Spacer Dialog Element dialog box and adds it to the currently opened dialog. |
| CTRL + SHIFT + V | Opens the New Divider Dialog Element dialog box and adds it to the currently opened dialog. |
| CTRL + SHIFT + C | Opens the New Script Link Dialog Element dialog box and adds it to the currently opened dialog. |
| CTRL + SHIFT + W | Opens the New Web Link Vertical Dialog Element dialog box and adds it to the currently opened dialog. |
| CTRL + SHIFT + I | Opens the New Image Dialog Element dialog box and adds it to the currently opened dialog. |
HotDocs Test Browser Shortcuts
These keyboard shortcuts work from anywhere within the HotDocs Test Browser:
| Shortcut | What it Does |
| PGUP, PGDN | Navigates up and down through the dialogs as arranged in the Outline. |
| ENTER, CTRL+INS | Adds a Row on Spreadsheet dialogs. |
| CTRL+A | Selects all of the text in answer field. |
| ALT+DELETE | Clears the answer for the currently selected answer or all answers on the currently selected dialog. |
| ALT+N | Goes to the next dialog in the interview. |
| ALT+P | Goes to the previous dialog in the interview. |
| ALT+I | Collapses or expands the Additional Information pane. |
| ALT+O | Collapses or expands the Outline. |
| TAB | Navigates to the next answer field or next button in the tab order. |
| SHIFT+TAB | Navigates to the previous answer field or previous button in the tab order. |
| t | Enters today's date into a date field. |