Zugg Software :: View topic - [2.18] Is it possible to disable ALT key menu access?

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:32 pm

I use the ALT key combined with letters to perform many of the macros that I use. Often times I go to use a macro so I press ALT and then changing my mind, I need to press the ALT key again to de-select the menus that are now selected. If I get in a rush and neglect to cancel out my ALT press then I get into major trouble when I type a bunch of letters and hit enter.

This is what typically happens. I go to use a macro and hit ALT, I then change my mind and don't quite hit the ALT key again to de-select the menus. The then proceed to type out an alias or command I want to execute from the command line followed by an enter key. Instead of it typing a command for the command line, since the menus are selected, it goes about selecting items and subitems on the menu and finally executes some random menu item when I finally hit the enter key at the end of my typing.

I cannot tell you the amount of trouble this has gotten me into. Some of the time it just executes an item I can easily cancel out of, but there are very disastrous results that can happen too. From executing something that disables me typing in the mud to changing things I have no idea I've changed. Sometimes this requires that I close Cmud because I can't figure out what I did. Usually when I'm so rushed I forget to cancel my ALT key its in a situation where I can't afford to close Cmud to fix the problem.

Is there any way to disable menu access through the ALT key? I never use the ALT key for that purpose anyway, so I wouldn't mind if nothing was accessible through it.

GURU Joined: 23 Dec 2000 Posts: 4834 Location: USA

You can try to create a macro to avoid the situation altogether but I'm fairly sure it's not macro-able and if it is then you'll just interfere with any sort of ALT-key macros of your own you make.

So, basically, there's no way to do what you want. Very Happy

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:37 pm

There's not a way to disable it in CMUD, but that's probably because it's a standard windows thing. There might be a way to disable it in windows.

Sorcerer Joined: 13 Jan 2006 Posts: 715

You can disable it, with a registry hack... thought I'm not sure how it would be done since the time I did it was back in Win98SE...
Any other way I'm not sure. This is one of those "stupid" things about windows... so complicated to mod the basic UI.

SubAdmin Joined: 18 Nov 2001 Posts: 5182

I think Zugg could do this with the same thing he is using to trap F10. I agree it is something that really needs to be an option. I do the same type of thing all the time, but I don't make any macros using ALT for just that reason.

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 6:56 am

Sorcerer Joined: 13 Jan 2006 Posts: 715

No, the shortcut letters are created by the programmer, as are things like ALT-F4 for close and such. However, ALT by itself is a part of the windows dll code for menus. But to answer your question, YES, it can be trapped by the programmer to provide alternate functionality. It is just annoying ;) However I do suffer from the same problems, I macro most things off the F-Keys, and I get 4 uses out of each F-Key by pairing it with ctrl, shift, and alt as well as using it by itself. The ALT ones have always annoyed me this way in zMUD as well, so this would be a nice thing to see in CMUD. I might even actually buy it then ;)

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 5:58 pm

ALT-macros actually works fine in CMUD. You need to go into your Preferences and turn on the "Macros override menu shortcuts" option. I just tried turning on this option and then I was able to assign a macro to the ALT-F4 key without any problem at all.

However, yes, if you just press the ALT key by itself, then Windows is going to highlight your menu bar. There is no way around that. So while there isn't any way to solve ReedN's original problem, CMUD works fine with the stuff that ralgith posted above.

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 6:30 pm

Zugg, the heart of the issue isn't that I can't use ALT-macros, those work just fine, as you noted. The issue is that if I accidentally hit the ALT key by itself (for whatever reason) and I start typing, I start zooming around in the menus and execute something random instead of the text going to the commandline/mud as intended.

It's fairly easy to accidentally hit the ALT key for a number of reasons, especially in the heat of a moment where I need to react quickly. That followed up by a bunch of typing is a recipe for disaster as some random item from the menus is executed.

I'd even settle for having an option that disables the letter short-cuts so that even if Windows insists on pulling focus to the menus a bunch of typing followed by enter won't execute some random item from the menus.

Novice Joined: 02 Dec 2007 Posts: 42

Just a thought, but you could try something like AutoHotKey which allows you to create system-wide macros. I use the program to create a number of ALT key shortcuts (launching programs etc.) but have not personally tried to setup a macro for just the ALT key which does nothing.

May be worth a try, and the program is free (http://www.autohotkey.com)

(Note - I'm not assoc. w/ the program at all, just a happy user)

-MrC