Accelerator Items

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Choose the "A" option in CTMAINT to create or maintain accelerators. The following prompt is displayed:

  Enter Line#,(A)dd,(D)elete,(I)nsert,(S)eperator,(E)nd
  • To edit an existing accelerator, type its line number and press Enter.
  • To add an accelerator, choose the A option.
  • To delete an existing accelerator, choose the D option.
  • To insert an accelerator, choose the I option.
  • (The S option is not active on this screen.)
  • To return to the CTMAINT main menu, choose the E option.

The Accelerator Maintenance Screen

The accelerator maintenance screen is divided into two sections: Nova settings and Windows settings.


  • The Nova settings specify the action that will be taken when the accelerator key is pressed.
  • The Windows settings specify the combination of keys that define an accelerator (for example, Alt+B), and (optionally) information for Windows-enabled MTB programs.

Nova settings

The following information is organized by the type of action for each accelerator:

To define an accelerator that will launch the Comet Help System, provide the following information:

Prompt Response
Action: H

To define an accelerator that will ENTER a Comet subprogram, provide the following information:

Prompt Response
Action: E
Program to run: The name of the Comet subprogram.
Text or Message: A text message to be passed to the subprogram.
Force Transmit? Type Y to add a transmit to the end of any data stream sent back by the Comet subprogram. Otherwise, type N.
Save Screen? Type Y if you want Comet to save the screen before entering the subprogram, and to restore the screen upon exiting from the subprogram. Otherwise, type N.
Pass Msg in COMMON? Type Y if you want to pass the message in COMMON to the subprogram. Type N if you want to pass the message using the system buffer (#), or if there is no message to pass.

To define an accelerator that will replay a text string, provide the following information:

Prompt Response
Action: T
Text or Message: The text to be replayed.
Force Transmit? You can specify whether or not the replayed text will be followed by a forced transmit. Type Y for a forced transmit, or type N to replay the text string without appending a forced transmit.

To define an accelerator that will launch a Windows document/application, provide the following information: Prompt Response

Action: L
Program to run: The name of the Windows application or document to be launched.
Text or Message: Characters to be appended to the application or document name (optional).

To define an accelerator that will invoke a "system" tool, provide the following information:

Prompt Response
Action: Y
Enter Selection (1-14): The number associated with the system tool.
1     New session
2     Print session
3     Print setup
4     Change font
5     Change color
6     About
7     Exit
8     Toolbar
9     Status bar
10    Copy clipboard
11    Paste clipboard
12    Cut clipboard
13    Display Comet release notes (RELNOTES.TXT text file)
14    Tool button size -- toggle between small/large icons


To define an accelerator that will be intercepted by the MTB program (not the NOVA program), provide the following information:

_ Prompt Response
Action: N

The "no action" code represents an event that your Windows-enabled MTB program will intercept directly. Such an event will not be processed by the Nova system.


Windows Settings


Prompt Response
CTRL? Type Y if the CTRL key is part of the accelerator. Otherwise, type N.
ALT? Type Y if the ALT key is part of the accelerator. Otherwise, type N.
Character: Type the key that is the accelerator.

For example, to specify Alt+B as the accelerator, type the following: CTRL? N ALT? Y

Character: B

Note: Do not use letters of the alphabet by themselves as accelerators. For example, DO NOT TYPE THE FOLLOWING: CTRL? N ALT? N Character: B

This would make the letter "B" perform the accelerator action every time you pressed the "B" key on the keyboard. Not a smart idea! The following values are accepted at this prompt, although not all of them are supported at this time.

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
A
ADD
APPS
B
BACK
C
CANCEL
CAPITAL
CLEAR
CONTROL
D
DECIMAL
DELETE
DIVIDE
DOWN
E
END
ESCAPE
EXECUTE
F
F1
F10
F11
F12
F13
F14
F15
F16
F17
F18
F19
F2
F20
F21
F22
F23
F24
F3
F4
F5
F6
F7
F8
F9
G
H
HELP
HOME
I
INSERT
J
K
L
LBUTTON
LEFT
LWIN
M
MBUTTON
MENU
MULTIPLY
N
NEXT
NUMLOCK
NUMPAD0
NUMPAD1
NUMPAD2
NUMPAD3
NUMPAD4
NUMPAD5
NUMPAD6
NUMPAD7
NUMPAD8
NUMPAD9
O
P
PAUSE
PRINT
PRIOR
Q
R
RBUTTON
RETURN
RIGHT
RWIN
S
SCROLL
SELECT
SEPARATOR
SHIFT
SNAPSHOT
SPACE
SUBTRACT
T 
TAB
U
UP
V
W
X
Y
Z

These keys are defined in Windows as the "virtual keyboard." The VKCHARS file on the UTL directory contains the above list along with the corresponding virtual keyboard event numbers for each key.

Tool Variable: Optional. This field is for Windows-enabled MTB programs only, and contains the name of the variable to be associated with the tool.
Tool I.D. Display only. Contains the Windows identification number of the tool.

The following prompt is displayed:

  Correct? (Yes/No)

If the Nova and Windows entries are corrent, type Y or press Enter. Otherwise, type N and enter the correct values.

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