This chapter contains information on the computing aspects of NightSky. The section on keyboard shortcuts will be of interest to all users, but the rest will probably only be of interest to the more technically-minded. Resource information of an astronomical nature is found in Chapter 6.
When you are familiar with any application, keyboard shortcuts save a lot of time by enabling you to compress the actions of opening a menu and choosing from it into the press of a single key, or anyway into simultaneous presses on a couple of keys. Note that Shift-nn means hold down the Shift key and press the key nn, and similarly for Ctrl.
Keyboard shortcuts work only if the application in question owns the caret (text cursor). If this is in a window belonging to a different application, then neither NightSky nor any other active applications will be informed of the key press and so cannot act on it. In the case of NightSky key presses are really only of interest when the map window is open. Normally, just plotting a map will cause NightSky to gain the caret, even though it is not visible. However if you subsequently place it in a window belonging to another application, you will not be able to use these key shortcuts unless you restore the caret to NightSky: clicking anywhere in the map window should achieve this. If not another application is being aggressive.
| Home | Re-plot currently selected place and time at 180° field (whole sky) and facing South. |
| F1 | Open a help menu which gives longer messages about various aspects of NightSky than are used with the .'Help application. |
| Shift-Fl | Open the Options Window (Chapter 4) |
| Ctrl-Fl | Open a menu to set font and size for user labels |
| F2 | Load minimum star catalogue (to magnitude 5.4 only). |
| Shift-F2 | Load maximum star catalogue (to 7.5, or as much as will fit). |
| F3 | Save map. Offers edit of title bar and opens usual save box. |
| Shift-F3 | Automatic save using previous save path and with the file's (leaf) name incremented by 1, for example "NSmap2" follows "NSmapl", Ignored if no save has yet been made, as no save path yet exists in this case. |
| Ctrl-F3 | In RealTime mode, toggle Automatic Save of every map after a first save has defined a path. |
| F4 | Find objects. Opens Find submenu (page 53). |
| Shift-F4 | Re-plot last enlargement |
| Ctrl-F4 | Re-plot present map with 180° (whole sky) field and present orientation. |
| F5 | Plot Here: NOW map (default place, current time, real time refresh on), retaining current field size, and also present orientation and elevation of the map centre. |
| Shift-F5 | As F5, except field and orientation read from file of places. |
| F6 | Open map plotting dialogue box for default place so you can set required time of the plot. Real time off, current field, orientation and elevation retained. |
| Shift-F6 | As F6, except field and orientation read from file of places. |
| F7 | Open map plotting dialogue box for last non-default place used (if any). Caret in place name field so you can select a new place if desired. Each time a place is chosen, the present time there will be written to the lower part of the dialogue box. Real time on, current field, orientation and elevation retained. |
| Shift-F7 | As F7, except field and orientation read from file of places. |
| F8 | As F7, but time of plot is to be set and real time is off. |
| Shift-F8 | As F8, except field and orientation set from file of places. |
| Ctrl-F8 | Open Places dialogue box |
| F9 | Toggle real time on/off. |
| Shift-F9 | Open RealTime menu |
| Ctrl-F9 | Toggle Wipe action |
| F10 | Toggle Precess-to-Year switch |
| Shift-F10 | Open Precession dialogue box |
| Ctrl-F10 | Toggle Lock action if RealTime on: unlock if there is a lock on, otherwise lock on the previously set lock object if there is one |
| Ctrl-R | If real-time is on, reverse the flow of time. This applies when an animation is started from the real-time submenu, not to the ordinary NOW options where the map is refreshed every minute by reading the current time from the machine. |
| Equivalent to selecting Print from the map window. At present just gives a message. |