Logic:Tips- Key Commands
From Sonikmatter
Key Commands are the front-end to your workflow and deserve your attention. They may not be the most powerful tool in Logic for customizing, as I would give that title to the Environment, but they are integral. Please read it all, at least there may be something here that gets you curious enough to get more serious about your Key Commands. You could end up working faster, asking less questions, and even learn about functions you didn't know Logic had.
If you want to know which keys are available to assign Key Commands to, open Key Commands and start hitting keys, if the key is taken then the cursor will jump to it, if nothing happens then the key isn't taken and is free to assign. Make sure the cursor is not in the Search window, and that the Search window is blank when doing this.
If you want to abuse your eyes, print out the key commands and look over them when you're eating lunch, even print out just the used Key Commands so you can see what you have assigned and even which commands you may not use so you can delete them and assign the key to something you will use.
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Key Commands as Help File
Probably the most important function Key Commands can perform is Help. If you don't know what something does or wonder where something is, don't open the Help file first. Try some keywords in the Key Commands Search window (upper right). This is much faster and easier than the Help .pdf. If I want to know how to vertical zoom an Audio Object in the Arrange Window it could take several minutes using the Help file. Try this instead, open Key Commands, type "vertical" in the Search window, only about 10 items will expand, you can set a key command for "Waveform zoom vertical in" and you're done in probably 10 seconds. Or you could go on a forum and ask the question and hope you get an answer within a day. There is a good percentage of questions on the forums that can be answered in the Search window in Key Commands.
When you see something in Key Commands and you don't know what it does, set a Key Command for it and see.
Key Commands and Caps Lock
Probably a bug that will be taken out but you may not know that Caps Lock gives you a whole new set of single key Key Commands (provided you have the Caps Lock Keys disabled in preferences). In Key Commands when you assign a key, hit Caps Lock. This way you can have the letter "a" do one thing and the letter "A" (Caps Lock - a) do another. It will not show up different in Key Commands, they both display as "A" and the keys that are assigned with Caps Lock On cannot be found just by hitting the key with Caps Lock On. Even with those downsides it is still very useful. I have all my tools on Caps Lock and quickly got used to turning it on and off.
MIDI Remote
The most powerful part of Key Commands is the MIDI Remote. When you start realizing that you are running out of easy keys to hit and find yourself doing twister with your fingers while standing on one leg during a full moon just to force note legato and realize you forgot the correct Key Command, you need to investigate the MIDI Remote. The ideal setup is to have a separate controller that you can use just for Key Commands. Anything super cheap will do and it can be a keyboard or even a drumpad. They both have advantages/disadvantages, with a keyboard you can even label the keys but with a drumpad it can be very small, it probably depends more on your space requirements than functionality. A controller with one octave of keys doesn't just give you twelve Key Commands, each octave can be a "set" of Key Commands for example, octave 4 is for the Sample Editor, octave 2 is for the Event Editor, etc. It becomes very easy to memorize compared to command + alt + twist + drink + shift + duck + duck + goose + f.
Key Combinations
There are certain sets of Key Commands that are very useful together.
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Scrolls to whatever is selected:
- Goto Selection
Moves Object to SPL
- Pickup Clock (Move Event to SPL Position)
Sets the start of Object to SPL
- Set Region/Event Start to SPL Position
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- Select Similar Objects
- Cut
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- Auto Track Zoom
- View Track Automation
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Powerkeys
Dino Herrmann produced Powerkeys for Logic because he realized the importance of Key Commands many years ago, check out Powerkeys here . There is so much more but I'm hoping this is enough to get you excited and feel free to add to this if you've got something to share!
A Witt 08:50, 3 November 2005 (EST)
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