Conflict between Services and NeoOffice shortcuts

[exhodus202]

I'm having problem with attempted NO keyboard shortcut customization conflicting with a Services shortcut.

Specifically, I'm trying to implement keyboard shortcuts within NeoOffice (3.0 Early Access Patch 0) for Increase Font and Reduce Font via the Tools :: Customize method. I'm trying to move from MS Word 2004 and/or 2008 to NO, so my muscle memory wanted to select Command-Shift-Comma (reduce font) and Command-Shift-Period (increase font).

Those were not available, but I thought that Command-Shift-K and -L were acceptable substitutes, respectively. Command-Shift-K works wonderfully, unfortunately, Command-Shift-L conflicts with the Search With Google Services shortcut.

Here's what I have tried to do so far:
* Before I figured out it was a Services menu shortcut conflict, I was finding words looked up in Safari, but thought that somehow Command-Shift-L was something like a Command-Tab. It is but it isn't, of course. So I restarted the computer. Interestingly, for a while Command-Shift-L actually increased font size as desired! But then as soon as I accessed the Services menu, the Search With Google function reasserted control over the Command-Shift-L keyboard combo.
*I went to the forums and tried the suggested solution, Service Scrubber. This didn't seem to work. I was able to access the keyboard shortcut for Search With Google and type in an alternative, but when I the Apply button...nothing changed. The SS menu still listed Search With Google's shortcut as Command-Shift-L and Command-Shift-L still doesn't Increase Font the way I want.

What I'd like (any of these would work):
* More choices for keyboard shortcuts in NO's Tools :: Customize. For example, Comma and Period seem to be specifically excluded as choices. Why?
* A better way to know if a proposed keyboard shortcut conflicts with an existing one, and a way inside that notification window/utility to resolve these conflicts. (May be beyond the scope of the NO team, but, hey, I at least get to dream a little every once in a while!)
* The ability for NO's Tools :: Customize to allow me to propose a keyboard shortcut combo on the fly like MS Word - I just start typing in a field without using a mouse to click this and that. It's faster and more intuitive/less confusing (IMHO).

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Note: This topic is most related to http://trinity.neooffice.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=6646&highlight=shortcut and http://trinity.neooffice.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=6710&highlight=shortcut]

[pluby]

Unfortunately, if Service Scrubber cannot disable a Mac OS X Service, making code changes to the Tools :: Customize dialog will not solve the problem as Mac OS X will ignore any shortcuts that an application assigns if it conflicts with a system shortcut, services menu, or input method menu.

In other words, Apple's shortcuts override application shortcuts. Even worse than the shortcuts in the Services menu are the lengthy list of shortcuts that Apple's various Japanese and Chinese input managers define.

Since Apple's shortcuts will always override NeoOffice's shortcuts no matter what you configure in NeoOffice's dialogs, the bad news is that Apple has not provide any documented way to configure the shortcuts for the services menu or the input method menus.

Since Service Scrubber does have some success at doing this, I suspect that they have discovered how to do this by trial and error and, possibly, you may want to continue searching for ways to do what Service Scrubber does by manually using the "defaults" command.

Has anyone else out there found a reliable way to disable the Mac OS X Services menu?

Patrick

[pluby]

OK. I have a hack in the works that, starting with the NeoOffice 3.0 Early Access 2 release, will allows users to completely disable the Mac OS X Services menu in NeoOffice. To disable the Mac OS X Services menu in the NeoOffice 3.0 Early Access 2 or later release, do the following:

- Launch the /Applications/Utilities/Terminal application, copy the following command into the Terminal window, and press the Return key:

[exhodus202]

Patrick, wow, quick response!

However, I think I'll pass on your Terminal fix for the time being. True, I do not find myself heading to the Application :: Services almost ever, but this seems a bit drastic.

I know this is not your responsibility, but again, I wish there were some way to see ALL shortcuts from ALL apps and edit them there. This would seem to solve so many problems.

For example, digging around trying to solve this, I decided to download Butler and QuicKeys to see if they'd be any help. First impression: QuicKeys' Control-Space for starting/stopping iTunes is the same command to invoke Butler's ubiquitous abbreviation window! Rather easy to fix within QuicKeys itself, I know, but this only proves my point, that sooner or later all these shortcuts start tripping all over themselves.

In the meantime, I've simply assigned Reduce Font and Increase Font to Command-Shift-J and -K, respectively, via NO's Tools :: Customize. Workable. I can adjust. I did have to delete the previously-assigned Command-Shift-J from the Full Screen Mode, which was okay with me because I don't really need that.

BTW, do you have an answer for why only a seemingly very few key combinations are available for assigning shortcuts to? For example, why combinations with Comma, Period, Slash, etc. are not available?

Thanks again...

[pluby]