How-To: Map a Keyboard Shortcut to Perform a Menu/Toolbar Function in SecureCRT

[jdev]

Here's a question you might have on occasion:

Currently I do something important by clicking on a specific menu/toolbar item with my mouse.

How can I map that to a shortcut key?

Here's an approach you can take in SecureCRT to map a keyboard shortcut to perform a menu/toolbar function you'd normally need to use your mouse to accomplish.

1. Click on SecureCRT's main "Options" pull-down menu and choose "Edit Default Session..."
   
   
2. In the Session Options window, navigate to the Terminal > Emulation > Mapped Keys category.

   

3. Press the [Map a Key...] button.
   
   
4. When the "Map Key" window appears, use your fingers to press the keyboard shortcut combination you desire to use with your keyboard.

   

5. When the "Map Selected Key" window appears, set the "Function" to "Menu Function" and then select the desired feature/function from the "Menu Function" list. For example, if you desire to clear the screen, you would choose MENU_CLEAR_SCREEN from the list.

   

6. Press the [OK] button to add your mapped key definition.

   

   Repeat steps 3 - 6 for any additional mapped keys desired.
   
   
7. Press the [OK] button in the Session Options window to save your mapped keys to the Default session. You will be prompted whether you would like to make the change to just the Default session or to All of your existing sessions. There is no undo for this action.

   

   Note: If you have customized any Mapped Keys on a session-specific level, those mapped key definitios will ALL be replaced by the listing of mapped keys you have just configured/modified in the Default session.

   If you desire to have session-specific mapped keys, you can use the Keymap editor from the Tools menu to create a .key file, and then configure individual sessions to use the customized .key file in the Terminal > Emulation category -- enable the "Select an alternate keyboard emulation", choose "Custom", and specify the path to the .key file you saved in the Keymap Editor.

   Note: Definitions for mapped keys found in Session Options Terminal > Emulation > Mapped Keys have higher precedence than those specified in a .key file.
   

8. Press the [Change ALL sessions (no undo)] button.