Hi, you keyboard whiz readers! I needed to make a change in this month's featured application at the last minute. Because of some previous damage to my computer, the Captivate download did not work properly. No matter! Camtasia is an excellent tool that can do a lot of what Captivate does for less money. Unfortunately, Camtasia is no longer freeware, but you can download a 30-day trial version, as I did.

The nice thing about Camtasia keyboard shortcuts is that they are similar to the completely free Windows Movie Maker, a standard addition to MS Windows. In either application, you can assemble a movie for professional or home usage.

Obviously, Camtasia is a sophisticated tool with which you can capture and record screens, processes, and even narration. However, let's keep it simple. Suppose you want to import a bunch of images into Camtasia and add some titles and transitions. You can do this rather easily.

Mouse Euthanasia with Camtasia

1.          Perform the following steps:

a.      Type Start + D to view the Desktop

b.      Navigate with the arrow keys to the icon.

c.      Type Enter to open the application.

2.          Perform the following steps:

a.      Type Ctrl + I to import your images.

b.      Type Tab to reach the Look in list and use the arrow keys + Enter until you find this path.
         \\Local drive\My Documents\My Pictures\...

c.      Hold the Shift key + arrows to select multiple pictures and Ctrl to deselect them.

3.          Type Alt + V + T to close the Task List for the time being.

4.          Type Ctrl + G to view the Storyboard, and type Tab to enter the Clip Bin.

5.          For each image you want to select, do the following:

a.      Select that image with the arrow keys.

b.      Type the Context key + A to add it to the Storyboard.

c.      Use the default web resolution settings.
        Type Alt + K to confirm these and type Enter.

d.      To delete a clip in the Storyboard, click on it and type Delete.

      After you have added a handful of clips, try some of the following shortcuts for editing
     and adding transitions.

6.          In Storyboard view, Type Alt + E, T (twice) and Enter to open the Transitions pane.

a.      Scroll through the choices using the arrow key (Cube Rotate for example).

b.      Type Enter to preview any transition.

7.          To insert a particular transition:

a.      Highlight the transition with the arrow keys.

b.      Type the Context key, scroll to the desired position with the arrows, and type Enter.

c.      You will automatically transfer to the Storyboard pane; to reuse that same transition, simply
         type the right arrow twice to the next immediate opening and type T. If you want a different
         transition, click on the Transitions pane and repeat steps a and b.

d.      To insert the same transition between all images, use step b, but select the last option,
         Insert transition between all clips.

e.      To delete a transition in the Storyboard pane, click on it and type Delete.

f.       Type Tab until you reach the Finish button, then type Enter to close the Transitions pane.

      You probably will also want to add Title slides before each section of your video. I divided my video
     named Winter into three sections Icebergs, Mountains, and Buildings, adding a title before each one.

8.          Perform the following steps:

a.      Type Alt + E, I to open the Title Clips pane.

b.      Type Shift/Tab to jump between fields; adding a title name is optional and does not affect the
         clip's content.

c.      Under Background, type the Spacebar to check the Image option, and type the Spacebar
         again to select an image file. The Spacebar and arrow keys also activate the color and
         textformatting options.

d.      In the text field, type your desired text.

e.      Type Tab until you reach the OK button, then type Enter to close the Title Clips pane.

9.          Type Ctrl + Home to navigate back to the beginning of the video, then type the Spacebar to preview
      it in its entirety. You can type the Spacebar again to pause it if desired.

A Summary of Camtasia Keyboard Shortcuts

The table below summarizes most keyboard shortcuts. Camtasia also lets you add HotKeys to automate certain tasks under Tools>Options>HotKeys.

Next month:    Although I've hardly exhausted keyboard shortcuts, I feel that the time is ripe to move on to another subject. Starting next month, we will investigate how to build a home hardware and software system from scratch. You can choose your own components and configure them, including the operating system and the network.

I always welcome your comments and suggestions. Please email me at

For those interested in a live presentation, I offer seminars, in which I instruct participants how to implement keyboard shortcuts in their daily work. Please contact me for the rates if you are interested.