The ability to customize keyboard shortcuts in Dreamweaver is pretty cool. A lot of programs have started adding this functionality in, and I think it’s great. We all work differently, and having the software more adaptive to the way we like to work can make our daily tasks much easier to conquer. In Dreamweaver, we can edit existing shortcuts, delete shortcuts, or create an entirely new shortcut set.

Here’s how to add or edit an existing shortcut:

1. Choose Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts (Windows) or Dreamweaver > Keyboard Shortcuts (Mac).

Dreamweaver's Keyboard Shortcut dialog box contains different keyboard shortcut sets, which can be chosen from the Current Set menu at the top of the dialog box. To modify keyboard shortcuts, Dreamweaver won’t allow you to change any of the default factory sets, so you’ll have to create a new set.

2. From the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box, switch the Current Set menu to Macromedia Standard.
3. In the top-right, click on the Duplicate Set icon.

This will make a copy of the Macromedia Standard set. The other icons in the top-right of the dialog box allow you to rename a set, export a set as HTML, or delete a set.

4. In the Duplicate Set dialog box that appears, give your new set of keyboard shortcuts a  name; then click OK.
5. Next, set the Commands menu to the item that you’d like to change.

For example, if you want to set a keyboard shortcut for a command that appears in one of Dreamweaver’s menus, set the Commands menu to Menu Commands; or if you’d like to set a shortcut for Dreamweaver’s coding commands, set the menu to Code Editing.

6. In the list that appears under the Command menu, highlight the item you’d like to change.

If the command you've selected has a keyboard shortcut already assigned to it, the shortcut will appear in the Shortcuts list towards the bottom. You can either change the existing shortcut for commands that already have assigned keyboard shortcuts, or you can add an additional shortcut.

If no shortcut appears in the Shortcuts list, this means that your selected command currently has no shortcut assigned to it.

7. Do one of the following:

To change an existing keyboard shortcut, select the shortcut in the Shortcuts list; then in the Press Key field, type in a new keyboard shortcut; then click Change.

To add an additional shortcut to a command that already has a shortcut assigned to it, click on the Add Item button; then in the Press Key field, type in a new keyboard shortcut; then click Change.

To set a shortcut for a command that does not yet have a keyboard shortcut, type in a new shortcut in the Press Key field; then click Change.

To remove a keyboard shortcut for a command, select the shortcut from the Shortcuts list; then click on the Subtract Item button at the top of the Shortcuts list.

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