Topic: Streamlining Interface and Hotkeys (Read 2848 times)

Lav · « **on:** April 10, 2011, 11:19:19 am »

There is a number of excellent UI improvement suggestions on this forum. However all those suggestions imply some major redesign of the underlying code structure (like merging stockpiles and zones et cetera).

So I thought - perhaps current game UI could be improved without touching the game code itself? Is the game UI really that screwed that it cannot be improved at least partially?

Following this idea I came to the results presented below.

I assumed that Toady is not going to spend much effort on UI. Fine, but considerable improvements can still be made by just reassigning hotkeys and tweaking game menu organization. For example, we currently can build Kennels with just two button clicks (b - k), while building a wall requires four clicks, two of which must be synchronized (b - Shift+c - w). Is there a player who builds kennels more often than walls? Hopefully there is (I have high hopes for the level of human ingenuity), but alas, this suggestion is not for him.

I didn't even bother with the fullscreen interfaces (military, healthcare, stocks) that the game has. They do need some improvement, but streamlining the main menu should still be the first step.

Main Menu Screen

################################ # # # Esc: Menu ~: Mode ?: Help # # # # d: Designate/Digging Orders # # c: Constrctns s: Stockpiles # # f: Furniture z: Zones # # w: Workshops b: Burrows # # # # Tab: Fortress Status Screens # # o: Options/Standing Orders # # r: Civ Reprts R: Mil Reprts # # k: Look v: Units/Creatures # # q: Tasks/Options t: Contents # # # # m: Military Organization # # n: Nodes i: Issue Orders # # # # ^R: Start/Stop Record Macro # # ^P: Play ^S: Save ^L: Load # # # # ^M: Start/Stop Record Movie # # Spc: Pause ^Spc: One-Step # # # ################################

Changes from the current system are as follows.

1. The menu items are organized into (more or less) logical groups. Many commands have disappeared from the menu (more about them below), while some new shortcuts appeared.
2. Button to switch screen mode has been changed from Tab to ~. Tab is just too "tasty" a button to waste it on a functionality that is used less than once per session on the average.
3. Build menu has been split into three menus: Constructions, Furniture and Workshops. Reasons are obvious: furniture and workshop placement is extremely important in the game, so these items deserve to be represented on the main menu. Also, since Build menu is no more, the hotkey b is consequently free to be used for Burrows. All three menus have been considerably tweaked - see below.
4. Stockpiles, Zones and Burrows all got hotkeys matching their first letters. "Squads" have been renamed to "Issue Orders" to achieve that.
5. Button Tab was assigned to "Fortress Status Screens" (currently z). This screen is so important that it deserves a special button. Note also that subscreens also got their shortcuts - again, see below.
6. Options/Orders is pretty much the same as now, but somewhat expanded (a couple of features migrated here from Designations).
7. Both report screens (civilian and military) have been assigned to variations of r key (with or without Shift).
8. Viewing k/v/q/t buttons were not changed.
9. "Military", "Squads" and "Notes" have been reorganized into a separate group of "Military Organization", "Nodes" and "Issue Orders". Otherwise function identically.
10. Macro functionality got representation on the main menu.
11. Changed movie button to Ctrl-M so it would better match with macros (both these features function very similarly, so their hotkeys should be similar too).
12. Finally, Space is still Pause/Resume, while one-step hotkey has been changed to Ctrl-Space. With this, comma and period buttons are free to be assigned "upstairs" and "downstairs" for faster fortress navigation.

Another important feature, not represented on the mockup, is the Listing screens. These include the following screens with their respective shortcuts:

1. Fortress Inventory: Alt-I or F1.
2. Animals List: Alt-A or F2.
3. Foodstuff List: Alt-F or F3.
4. Stones List: Alt-S or F4.
5. Units List: Alt-U or F5.
6. Nobles List: Alt-N or F6.
7. Jobs List: Alt-J or F7.
8. Job Manager Tasks List: Alt-M or F8.
9. Healthcare Screen: Alt-H or F9.
10. Law Enforcement Screen: Alt-L or F10.
11. Rooms List: Alt-R or F11.
12. Civilizations List: Alt-C or F12.

Note that the Stocks, Animals etc screens are still available from the Status Screen, so no changes are needed there.

Allocation of screens between F1-F12 keys was done according to their perceived usefulness. On big keyboards they will form 3 groups of 4 keys each, with most used screens either in the first group (F1-F4) or at the edges of the remaining groups (F5, F8, F9).

It would also be nice to use the bottommost screen line as the button bar reminding the user about current mappings of F1-F10 keys (remember Norton Commander?). The screen could even fit F11 and F12 when wider than 80 characters. Also the screens are available through Alt-whatever keybindings, with keys more or less matching screen functionality descriptions.

Orders/Options Screen

################################ # # # Esc: Done Orders/Options # # # # j: Announce Some Job Cancels # # h: Hauling Options # # r: Refuse Options # # f: Automatic Forbid Items # # w: Workshop Automation # # z: Zone Restrictions # # i: Mass Item Operations # # t: Define Traffic Areas # # q: Define Quick Keys # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ################################

The screen functions similar to current functionality. Note however that some functionality has migrated here from designations (traffic areas and mass item operations - forbidding, dumping etc). Also hotkeys have migrated here from the main menu. Harvesting option has been moved under Hauling, otherwise most submenus function without any changes.

Designations Screen

################################ # # # Esc: Done Designations # # # # d: Dig # # u: Staircase Up # # j: Staircase Down # # x: Staircase Up/Down # # r: Ramp # # c: Channel # # z: Remove Ramp/Up Stairs # # # # s: Smooth Stone # # e: Engrave Smoothed Stone # # f: Carve Fortifications # # # # t: Cut Trees # # p: Gather Plants # # # # D: Remove Designations # # C: Remove Constructions # # # # # # # ################################

Designations screen is pretty much self-explanatory. Note however that I designed it as a static screen, not as a list. It can be easily designed as a list, but nice groupings will disappear as the result.

1. Up/Down staircase has been remapped to x to enforce similarity with constructions.
2. Fortifications remapped to f (since the button matching the designation name is free).
3. Designation/Construction removal were remapped to D and C correspondingly. This matches with item mass operations screen, where you forbid with f and unforbid with F.
4. Item mass operations and traffic areas have disappeared from this menu.

Place Furniture Screen

################################ # # # Esc: Done Furniture Placemnt # # # # b: Bed # # d: Door # # f: Cabinet # # h: Container # # c: Chair # # t: Table # # s: Statue # # # # a: Armor Stand # # w: Weapon Rack # # j: Cage # # r: Rope/Chain # # # # alt+c: Coffin # # alt+s: Slab # # alt+t: Traction Bench # # # # Hint: don't forget to query # # furniture after placement! # # # ################################

Pretty simple, neat and tidy. There's even some space for a hint which is useless for seasoned players, but may potentially save many newbies.

Place Workshops/Furnaces Screens

################################ ################################ # # # # # Esc: Done Workshops Placemnt # # Esc: Return to Workshops # # # # # # e: Place Furnaces > # # w: Wood Burner # # # # s: Smelter # # a: Ashery b: Butcher # # g: Glass Furnace # # c: Carpenter d: Trade Depot # # k: Kiln # # f: Forge h: Bee Hive # # # # j: Jeweler k: Kitchen # # Alt+S: Magma Smelter # # l: Leatherwrk m: Mason # # Alt+G: Magma Glass Furnace # # n: Bird Nest p: Farm Plot # # Alt+K: Magma Kiln # # q: Quern s: Still # # # # t: Tanner w: Farmer's WS # # # # # # # # C: Clothier D: Dyer # # # # F: Fishery L: Loom # # # # M: Mechanic S: Soap Maker # # # # # # # # Alt+C: Craft Alt+B: Bowyer # # # # Alt+P: Press Alt+K: Kennels # # # # Alt+S: Siege Alt+M: Millstn # # # # Alt+F: Magma Smith's Forge # # # # # # # ################################ ################################

Most changes here include streamlining of hotkeys. Also buildings like Nest, Hive, Depot, Farm Plot and Kennels have been added. Furnaces are a submenu of Workshops now (I tried to merge them on a single screen, but workshops are already conflicting for hotkeys and this would only worsen the mess).

Constructions, Mechanics/Traps and Military Installations Screens

################################ ################################ ################################ # # # # # # # Esc: Done Constructions # # Esc: Return to Constructions # # Esc: Return to Constructions # # # # # # # # m: Mechanical / Traps > # # l: Lever p: Pressure Plate # # a: Archery Target # # i: Military Installations > # # # # # # # # s: Stonefall Trap # # b: Ballista # # w: Wall f: Floor # # w: Weapon Trap # # c: Catapult # # u: Up Stairs j: Down Stairs # # c: Cage Trap # # # # x: Up/Down r: Ramp # # u: Upright Spear/Spike Trap # # Hint: don't forget to query # # F: Fortifications # # # # these after construction, as # # # # a: Small Animal Trap # # all of these are useless # # l: Well # # # # without configuring special # # b: Bridge # # g: Gear Assembly # # building settings. # # s: Support # # h: Horizontal Axle # # # # # # v: Vertical Axle # # # # R: Road Alt+R: Paved Road # # # # # # # # F: Floodgate # # # # W: Window Alt+W: Gem Window # # H: Floor Hatch # # # # # # S: Screw Pump # # # # G: Grate Alt+G: Floor Grate# # W: Water Wheel # # # # B: Bars Alt+B: Floor Bars # # M: Windmill # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ################################ ################################ ################################

Again, most changes are hotkeys stremlining. Note however that Mechanics and Traps menus not only merged, but also received some related buildings like floodgates and hatches.

Kogut · « **Reply #1 on:** April 10, 2011, 11:46:30 am »

It looks really good and like something with chance for implementation above 0,0000000001%.

Lav · « **Reply #2 on:** April 10, 2011, 11:49:46 am »

Quote from: Kogut on April 10, 2011, 11:46:30 am

something with chance for implementation above 0,0000000001%.

Which was the goal. :-)

zwei · « **Reply #3 on:** April 10, 2011, 12:35:34 pm »

I really like it.

It is small thing - just different grouping mostly, but it really helps.

IT 000 · « **Reply #4 on:** April 10, 2011, 01:07:53 pm »

Well let me say I am glad someone doesn't like the mess of a menu we have now. A few of my personal suggestions on the subject.

Well, first off tab is one key, ~ is two (shift and `) . it's much easier to click tab.

Secondly your menu looks a little to hard coded. Modders have added hundreds of workshops and reactions over the years. Your version doesn't allow someone to scroll to another list to see the modded workshops. Seriously throwing a wrench into any major modding plan. Perhaps keeping the scrolling plan just for the modding abilities.

Thirdly, I like Shift_letter. Alt_letter just seems awkward, with shift, you can use your pinky finger, it's instinctive and easy to do. But with alt, you have to pause a second and bring your thumb over to the key because you don't use your thumb to type except for the space bar, alt is a rather clunky.

Quote

Spc: Pause ^Spc: One-Step

The problem is, that if you want to go one step, I'd rather tap my period key a few times then hold down two keys.

Quote

1. Fortress Inventory: Alt-I or F1.
2. Animals List: Alt-A or F2.
3. Foodstuff List: Alt-F or F3.
4. Stones List: Alt-S or F4.
5. Units List: Alt-U or F5.
6. Nobles List: Alt-N or F6.
7. Jobs List: Alt-J or F7.
8. Job Manager Tasks List: Alt-M or F8.
9. Healthcare Screen: Alt-H or F9.
10. Law Enforcement Screen: Alt-L or F10.
11. Rooms List: Alt-R or F11.
12. Civilizations List: Alt-C or F12.

I like the current setup better, clicking one letter and then just scrolling to view is easier. Instead of having to memorize twelve keys. The 'Fx' keys can become very annoying to do, on my labtop I need to hold down some 'int' key in order for me to use the function keys, or I just darken the monitor. Scrolling is smoother and less keys.

Still, I do like parts of this set up better then the current one. The macros are in a nice spot. Furthermore, I do like how up down stairs are 'x'

Lav · « **Reply #5 on:** April 10, 2011, 01:27:08 pm »

Additional refinement of the above screens.

On the main menu, l and u are used to Look and View Unit Properties. Also movie functionality was moved one line above to prevent the impression that Pause and One-Step buttons have something to do with movies.

Designations and Constructions have been remapped a bit in order to use d for Down Staircase on both screens. On Constructions this is not a problem, while on Designations some other remappings had to be made (dig was renamed to tunnel, cut trees was renamed to fell trees, and finally fortifications were changed to uppercase just like on Constructions). I'm not 100% sure about this change though, as dig is extremely intuitive and adapting to tunnel will inevitably take much more time than adapting to other key changes.

Main Menu Screen Designations Screen Place Constructions Screen ################################ ################################ ################################ # # # # # # # Esc: Menu ~: Mode ?: Help # # Esc: Done Designations # # Esc: Done Constructions # # # # # # # # d: Designate/Digging Orders # # t: Tunnel # # m: Mechanical / Traps > # # c: Constrctns s: Stockpiles # # u: Staircase Up # # i: Military Installations > # # f: Furniture z: Zones # # d: Staircase Down # # # # w: Workshops b: Burrows # # x: Staircase Up/Down # # w: Wall f: Floor # # # # r: Ramp # # u: Up Stairs d: Down Stairs # # Tab: Fortress Status Screens # # c: Channel # # x: Up/Down r: Ramp # # o: Options/Standing Orders # # z: Remove Ramp/Up Stairs # # F: Fortifications # # r: Civ Reprts R: Mil Reprts # # # # # # l: Look u: View Units # # s: Smooth Stone # # l: Well # # t: Contents q: Query Tasks # # e: Engrave Smoothed Stone # # b: Bridge # # # # F: Carve Fortifications # # s: Support # # m: Military Organization # # # # # # n: Nodes i: Issue Orders # # f: Fell Trees # # R: Road Alt+R: Paved Road # # # # g: Gather Plants # # # # ^R: Start/Stop Record Macro # # # # W: Window Alt+W: Gem Window # # ^P: Play ^S: Save ^L: Load # # D: Remove Designations # # # # ^M: Start/Stop Record Movie # # C: Remove Constructions # # G: Grate Alt+G: Floor Grate# # # # # # B: Bars Alt+B: Floor Bars # # Spc: Pause ^Spc: One-Step # # # # # # # # # # # ################################ ################################ ################################

Quote from: IT 000 on April 10, 2011, 01:07:53 pm

Well let me say I am glad someone doesn't like the mess of a menu we have now. A few of my personal suggestions on the subject.

Well, first off tab is one key, ~ is two (shift and `) . it's much easier to click tab.

Just one question. How often do you change display view mode and how often do you access Status screen and it's sub-screens? I personally often click Tab accidentally, and then have to click it several more times trying to fix the suddenly changed display. Changing display view mode to tilde was absolutely intentional. :-)

Quote from: IT 000 on April 10, 2011, 01:07:53 pm

Secondly your menu looks a little to hard coded. Modders have added hundreds of workshops and reactions over the years. Your version doesn't allow someone to scroll to another list to see the modded workshops. Seriously throwing a wrench into any major modding plan. Perhaps keeping the scrolling plan just for the modding abilities.

Indeed. So the Workshops and Furnaces screens will have to be scrollable lists, just like they are now. We lose the nice grouping, but we get enough space to display all workshop names properly, as well as display custom workshops.

Quote from: IT 000 on April 10, 2011, 01:07:53 pm

Thirdly, I like Shift_letter. Alt_letter just seems awkward, with shift, you can use your pinky finger, it's instinctive and easy to do. But with alt, you have to pause a second and bring your thumb over to the key because you don't use your thumb to type except for the space bar, alt is a rather clunky.

Well, the choice is between using Alt and assigning less intuitive keys to some workshops. Both approaches are perfectly valid. However Alt is already used by the game, so I thought - why not? Also note that I really tried to use Alt only for the most obscure and exotic items (or those which are only constructed a limited number of times, or only on special occasions etc).

Quote from: IT 000 on April 10, 2011, 01:07:53 pm

Quote
Spc: Pause ^Spc: One-Step

The problem is, that if you want to go one step, I'd rather tap my period key a few times then hold down two keys.

Well, you can always assign additional key to one-step. But again: advancing time in single steps is only needed in rare situations, while acceleration provided by mapping comma and period to changing layers is considerable and constant.

Quote from: IT 000 on April 10, 2011, 01:07:53 pm

Quote
1. Fortress Inventory: Alt-I or F1.
(...)
12. Civilizations List: Alt-C or F12.

I like the current setup better, clicking one letter and then just scrolling to view is easier. Instead of having to memorize twelve keys. The 'Fx' keys can become very annoying to do, on my labtop I need to hold down some 'int' key in order for me to use the function keys, or I just darken the monitor. Scrolling is smoother and less keys.

First, nobody suggested to remove scrolling. Fortress status screen with all of it's subscreens should remain as it is now, I mentioned that explicitly. :-)

Second, have you read my notes about a button bar on the bottom line of the screen? Ideally, there will be no need to memorize those FN buttons, as the reminder will always be in front of player's eyes.

True, on some laptops using FN may be less comfortable than single keys. But these laptops are an extreme minority as most laptops do have a line of FN keys. Besides, screens will still be available through status screen and scrolling, or through Alt-keys.

Zesty · « **Reply #6 on:** April 10, 2011, 01:32:46 pm »

I really love this suggestion and hope to see it in the game sooner rather than later, if Toady likes it. This would really help keep new players in the game.

The concern I have so far is there is no View Announcements (a) command on the main menu.

Lav · « **Reply #7 on:** April 10, 2011, 01:38:00 pm »

Quote from: Met on April 10, 2011, 01:32:46 pm

I really love this suggestion and hope to see it in the game sooner rather than later, if Toady likes it. This would really help keep new players in the game.

The concern I have so far is there is no View Announcements (a) command on the main menu.

There is. I renamed it to Civilian Reports and it's available through r.

zwei · « **Reply #8 on:** April 10, 2011, 01:40:09 pm »

About workshop menu:

Algorith can group them by job used to construct them or by jobs for its reactions.

For example, all workshops that are being built by "brown" farmer labors can be grouped together into "farming workshop" section.

Zesty · « **Reply #9 on:** April 10, 2011, 01:44:20 pm »

Quote from: Lav on April 10, 2011, 01:38:00 pm

Quote from: Met on April 10, 2011, 01:32:46 pm
I really love this suggestion and hope to see it in the game sooner rather than later, if Toady likes it. This would really help keep new players in the game.

The concern I have so far is there is no View Announcements (a) command on the main menu.
There is. I renamed it to Civilian Reports and it's available through r.

It's odd. I have a strange attachment to the (a) command being the announcement hotkey... despite the fact I saw other hot key changes that I wasn't bothered with.

Oh well. I'd adjust pretty quickly.

IT 000 · « **Reply #10 on:** April 10, 2011, 01:48:52 pm »

Quote

Just one question. How often do you change display view mode and how often do you access Status screen and it's sub-screens? I personally often click Tab accidentally, and then have to click it several more times trying to fix the suddenly changed display. Changing display view mode to tilde was absolutely intentional. :-)

Eh, I can see how that is annoying. I retract that suggestion.

Quote

Well, the choice is between using Alt and assigning less intuitive keys to some workshops. Both approaches are perfectly valid. However Alt is already used by the game, so I thought - why not? Also note that I really tried to use Alt only for the most obscure and exotic items (or those which are only constructed a limited number of times, or only on special occasions etc).

Don't know about you, but I use coffins, slabs, and craftsdwarf's workshops a lot. If there was an init option I would be indifferent. But personally speaking I don't handle the alt key as well as I handle the shift key.

Quote

True, on some laptops using FN may be less comfortable than single keys. But these laptops are an extreme minority as most laptops do have a line of FN keys. Besides, screens will still be available through status screen and scrolling, or through Alt-keys.

Still, you must take all machines into account, it's like making a windows game that doesn't run on Mac just because not a lot of people use Macs for games.

Lav · « **Reply #11 on:** April 10, 2011, 02:11:58 pm »

Quote from: zwei on April 10, 2011, 01:40:09 pm

Algorith can group them by job used to construct them or by jobs for its reactions.

For example, all workshops that are being built by "brown" farmer labors can be grouped together into "farming workshop" section.

First and most important objection: this is no longer the "reconfigure menus but leave the underlying code intact" approach and thus requires some additional coding to be done.

Second, less important and solvable by duplication or heuristics: there may be workshops allowing jobs from different categories.

Quote from: Met on April 10, 2011, 01:44:20 pm

It's odd. I have a strange attachment to the (a) command being the announcement hotkey... despite the fact I saw other hot key changes that I wasn't bothered with.

Oh well. I'd adjust pretty quickly.

Well, since both report screens were pretty similar I titled them both "reports". But this is one of the cases where currently existing system is also fine and may be left untouched (as in: "Daddy, why is the Sun rising in the East? - Have you checked? It does? Reliably? Then, son, PLEASE DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!").

Quote from: IT 000 on April 10, 2011, 01:48:52 pm

Don't know about you, but I use coffins, slabs, and craftsdwarf's workshops a lot. If there was an init option I would be indifferent. But personally speaking I don't handle the alt key as well as I handle the shift key.

Hmm, now that you mention this, on the Furniture screen it is perfectly possible to remove Alt combinations completely and replace them with Shift-keys. In fact, it is only reasonable to do so, as Shift is indeed psychologically easier than Alt. My support on this one.

As for workshops, well, it's more difficult as some keys are heavily contested. I'll tinker with this a bit more I suppose.

Quote

Still, you must take all machines into account, it's like making a windows game that doesn't run on Mac just because not a lot of people use Macs for games.

No. Just no. Making the game comfortable for players on exotic machines should only be done for as long as doing so does not make the game less comfortable for the absolute majority of players. Otherwise we could demand that DF must be comfortably playable using only PlayStation joystick - as soon as someone manages to run DF on PS.

As for users on exotic machines... well, I suppose they could develop and share alternative hotkey presets, for example replacing FN keys with numeric keys, or just stick to Status Screen + scrolling access (which is exactly what they have right now, so they are not stripped of any functionality, they just don't get all the benefits).

Zesty · « **Reply #12 on:** April 10, 2011, 02:17:16 pm »

Quote from: Lav on April 10, 2011, 02:11:58 pm

Quote
Still, you must take all machines into account, it's like making a windows game that doesn't run on Mac just because not a lot of people use Macs for games.
No. Just no. Making the game comfortable for players on exotic machines should only be done for as long as doing so does not make the game less comfortable for the absolute majority of players. Otherwise we could demand that DF must be comfortably playable using only PlayStation joystick - as soon as someone manages to run DF on PS.

As for users on exotic machines... well, I suppose they could develop and share alternative hotkey presets, for example replacing FN keys with numeric keys, or just stick to Status Screen + scrolling access (which is exactly what they have right now, so they are not stripped of any functionality, they just don't get all the benefits).

A function for exporting/importing hotkeys would be beneficial for such 'exotic' machines.

Lav · « **Reply #13 on:** April 10, 2011, 04:18:27 pm »

Example of properly done bottom bar with FN keys hints:

I compressed the screen to 80x25 to get the necessary feel. Note how contrasting background makes it possible to dedicate 6 characters to each button title and yet keep intervals between buttons for easier reading.

For DF, the buttons would read:

11111111112222222222333333333344444444445555555555666666666677777777778 12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890 1Items 2Animal 3Foods 4Stones 5Units 6Nobles 7Jobs 8JobMgr 9Health 10LawEnf 11Rooms 12Civs

Note how hints for F1-F10 are visible with screen width 80, while hints for F11 and F12 only become visible with wider screen sizes.

I have also revised all screens, trying to get rid of as many Alt-key combinations as humanly possible. Some suboptimal hotkey matches in the Workshops have appeared as the result but apart from that - only one Alt-key combination remained, which is Alt-W for Gem Window. Also after some consideration I decided to keep d for digging, and a for civilian announcements (note slightly modified layout of the main menu as the result).

Main Menu Screen Options/Orders Screen Hauling Options Screen ################################ ################################ ################################ # # # # # # # Esc: Menu ~: Mode ?: Help # # Esc: Done Orders/Options # # Esc: Return to Options # # # # # # # # d: Designate/Digging Orders # # j: Announce Some Job Cancels # # h: All Dwarves Harvest # # c: Constrctns s: Stockpiles # # h: Hauling Options # # a: Gather Animals # # f: Furniture z: Zones # # r: Refuse Options # # f: Gather Food # # w: Workshops b: Burrows # # f: Automatic Forbid Items # # u: Gather Furniture # # # # w: Workshop Automation # # b: Gather Bodies # # Tab: Status o: Options # # z: Zone Restrictions # # s: Gather Stones # # a: Civilian Announcements # # i: Mass Item Operations # # w: Gather Wood # # l: Look v: View Units # # t: Define Traffic Areas # # r: Gather Refuse # # t: Contents q: Query Tasks # # q: Define Quick Keys # # o: Ignore Outside Refuse # # # # # # v: Ignore Vermin # # m: Military r: Mil Reports # # # # # # n: Nodes i: Issue Orders # # # # # # # # # # # # ^R: Start/Stop Record Macro # # # # # # ^P: Play ^S: Save ^L: Load # # # # # # # # # # # # ^M: Start/Stop Record Movie # # # # # # # # # # # # Spc: Pause ^Spc: One-Step # # # # # # # # # # # ################################ ################################ ################################ Place Constructions Screen Place Mechanics/Traps Screen Place Military Installations ################################ ################################ ################################ # # # # # # # Esc: Done Constructions # # Esc: Return to Constructions # # Esc: Return to Constructions # # # # # # # # m: Mechanical / Traps > # # l: Lever p: Pressure Plate # # a: Archery Target # # i: Military Installations > # # # # # # # # s: Stonefall Trap # # b: Ballista # # w: Wall f: Floor # # w: Weapon Trap # # c: Catapult # # u: Up Stairs j: Down Stairs # # c: Cage Trap # # # # x: Up/Down r: Ramp # # u: Upright Spear/Spike Trap # # Hint: don't forget to query # # F: Fortifications # # # # military installations after # # # # a: Small Animal Trap # # construction! # # l: Well # # # # # # b: Bridge # # g: Gear Assembly # # # # s: Support # # h: Horizontal Axle # # # # # # v: Vertical Axle # # # # D: Dirt Road # # # # # # P: Paved Road # # F: Floodgate # # # # G: Floor Grate # # H: Floor Hatch # # # # L: Wall Grate # # S: Screw Pump # # # # B: Floor Bars # # W: Water Wheel # # # # V: Vertical Bars # # M: Windmill # # # # W: Window Alt+W: Gem Window # # # # # # # # # # # ################################ ################################ ################################ Designations Screen Place Furniture Screen ################################ ################################ # # # # # Esc: Done Designations # # Esc: Done Furniture Placemnt # # # # # # d: Dig # # b: Bed (Bedroom/Dormitory?) # # u: Staircase Up # # d: Door # # j: Staircase Down # # f: Cabinet # # x: Staircase Up/Down # # h: Container # # r: Ramp # # c: Chair (Office?) # # c: Channel # # t: Table (Dining Room/Hall?) # # z: Remove Ramp/Up Stairs # # s: Statue (Statue Garden?) # # # # # # s: Smooth Stone # # a: Armor Stand (Barracks?) # # e: Engrave Smoothed Stone # # w: Weapon Rack (Barracks?) # # F: Carve Fortifications # # j: Cage (Zoo/Prison?) # # # # r: Rope/Chain (Prison?) # # t: Cut Trees # # # # p: Gather Plants # # C: Coffin (Tomb?) # # # # S: Slab (Tomb?) # # D: Remove Designations # # T: Traction Bench # # C: Remove Constructions # # # # # # Hint: don't forget to query # # # # furniture after placement! # # # # # ################################ ################################ Place Workshops Screen (scrolls) Place Furnaces Screen ################################ ################################ # # # # # Esc: Done Workshops Placemnt # # Esc: Return to Workshops # # # # # # e: Place Furnaces > # # g: Glass Furnace # # # # k: Kiln # # a: Ashery # # s: Smelter # # b: Butcher's Shop # # w: Wood Burner # # c: Carpenter # # G: Magma Glass Furnace # # d: Trade Depot # # K: Magma Kiln # # f: Forge # # S: Magma Smelter # # h: Bee Hive # # # # j: Jeweler # # # # k: Kitchen # # # # l: Leatherworker # # # # m: Mason # # # # n: Bird Nest # # # # p: Farm Plot # # # # q: Quern # # # # r: Craftsdwarf Workshop # # # # s: Still # # # # t: Tanner # # # # w: Farmer's Workshop # # # # y: Fishery # # # ################################ ################################ | z: Soap Maker | | B: Bowyer | | C: Clothier | | D: Dyer | | F: Magma Forge | | K: Kennels | | L: Loom | | M: Mechanic | | P: Screw Press | | S: Millstone | | W: Siege Weapons Workshop | | | +------------------------------+

Lav · « **Reply #14 on:** April 10, 2011, 04:33:18 pm »

Quote from: Met on April 10, 2011, 02:17:16 pm

A function for exporting/importing hotkeys would be beneficial for such 'exotic' machines.

Erm... This functionality is already there for a few years at least. You can edit data/init/interface.txt file to your heart's content, either directly or through DF menu. Editing it takes a lot of time however.

Actually some of my suggestions can be implemented with this tool, it's just that the changes will be mostly cosmetic - cleaning up the chaotic menus hierarchy still requires some Toady's work. However I'll probably try it on the coming week.

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Author Topic: Streamlining Interface and Hotkeys (Read 2848 times)

Lav

Streamlining Interface and Hotkeys

Kogut

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Lav

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zwei

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IT 000

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Lav

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Zesty

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Lav

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zwei

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Zesty

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IT 000

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Lav

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Zesty

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Lav

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Lav

Re: Streamlining Interface and Hotkeys