VI Keys

(A Plugin & George Scripts For Aura)

Written By J.L. White

Ok, so I am lazy! Real lazy! Whenever I can find something that will save me a mouse click or a keystroke, I go for it. The more and more I use Aura for doing everyday graphics work, I find that I am always looking for something to save me time. I had written a number of george scripts that I used all the time and got tired of opening up the george panel, sliding down to where the script was and clicking the button. I know, lazy right? But when I am in the middle of creating some new graphic, anytime I have to stop the flow, it really slows down the process. I found that I could assign a keyboard shortcut to any of the first 10 scripts in the george panel, but for some reason, I had to hit the key twice ( I think it has to do with, one key selecting george and the other actually executing the script). Again ok lazy!, but it bugged me that I had to hit the key twice, there should be no reason to have to do this in my opinion. So I decided to write this little plugin, that I could assign any script to any key and only have to hit it once!

Included in this archive is a file called VIKeys.dll as well as some sample George scripts. Copy the .dll file to the Aura/Plugins directory. If you have 2.0, I would suggest putting it in the VI subirectory, but it really does not matter as long as it is in the plugins drawer. Also included is a drawer called VIKeys, copy this to your George directory. Once you have copied these files, boot up Aura. Go the Filters menu and look for the entry called VIKeys. Select it and a panel will open.

By default, it will load up 10 buttons that you can edit ( you can have anywhere from 1 to 25 keys assigned, but we will discuss that later). To assign a script, simply click on one of the buttons. A file requester will come up and default to your George directory. Go into the VIKeys drawer and select one of the scripts. This will work with any george script that does not require you to draw ( you would not use this for example for a script that draws a rectangle or circle). I use the Shadow filter a LOT. But I almost always use the same exact setting everytime. To use it, I have to go to the Filter menu, select the shadow filter, choose my settings and hit apply. With VIKeys, I can write a simple George script that has my default settings already in it, and apply it to a key, so all I have to do is hit one key to apply the shadow. Once you have set all your buttons to scripts, it is time to assign a key to them. Go the the "Edit" menu and select "Settings Panel". Select "Keyboard shorts" and you should see a window that looks like this.

This is where you assign the keys. You will see a section of assignments in the second window called Filter - VIKeys/VIKeys #01 - #10. These are alias entries for the VIKeys plugin. Just select one, then select a key to assign it to, for example Key 01 to the 1 key and hit Assign. Thats it! Now your george script is assigned and when you hit the 1 key, it will execute that george script. Now go ahead and assign the other keys as well. They can be anything, so choose what best suits you! I have included scripts like "AddShaow", "Center","CutBrush", but these can be created yourself. The cutbrush is handy. Whenever I am doing web graphics, I have to pick up a brush, open the brush panel, select edit, click optimize brush, then click apply, well this script does all that with one key.

Not only can you run George scripts, but you can also assign .exe files to the keys. I am always using Illusion by Impulse at the same time I use Aura and when I do I have to go click on the start menu, find Illusion and run it. Now I can just assign a key and when I need it, it will run and away I go. This can also be done for LightWave, notepad, etc.

Now I mentioned earlier that you could have from 1 to 25 keys. While I think 10 will probably fit the bill for most people, you can change this. The config file that you start Aura with contains information about VIKeys. Load it into a Text editor and look for [VI Keys]. You will see a line that says TotalKeys = 10. Change this to anything from 1 to 25 and the next time you start Aura, it will take effect.

Well that about covers it all. For those , like me, that just want to save a little more time, this should do the trick for ya... Enjoy...

(Note: While this will work with Aura 1.0, the included scripts were created for 2.0 - Some will work, some won't)
Click Here to Download VIKeys.zip

To contact Jeff White you can E-Mail him at visual@vionline.com