Is Dictionary shortcut Command-Ctrl-D a system wide thing?

Question

Is Dictionary shortcut Command-Ctrl-D a system wide thing?

I had assumed the Command-Ctrl-D for Dictionary.app is a system wide short cut

It works fine with Safari

But I found it doesnt work in side of a firefox webpage. Pressing the combination doesnt bring up the expected floating dictionary window. Or the floating windows does not appear where appropriate (ie. where the mouse cursor is hovering at)

Anyone has a solution?

Macbook Pro, 15", mid-2009, Mac OS X (10.6.4), Macbook Pro

Posted on Sep 30, 2010 10:36 AM

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Answer 1

sig

Level 8

35,862 points

Sep 30, 2010 10:49 AM in response to Gabriel Dillaine

Not that I'm aware of but you can add it into keyboard shortcuts. System Preferences>Keyboard>Keyboard Shortcuts>Application Shortcuts.

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Answer 2

Sep 30, 2010 4:45 PM in response to sig

sig wrote:
Not that I'm aware of but you can add it into keyboard shortcuts. System Preferences>Keyboard>Keyboard Shortcuts>Application Shortcuts.

Thanks Sig but sorry i dont get it.

The Comm-Ctl-D is a system wide shortcut, meaning it works anywhere regardless of the current software.

The method you suggested is to designate a shortcut to a software-specific command, but not a system wide one.

In this case how I should define the short cut? In "Application Shortcut" you have to define a "Menu Title" which is the command, and then assign the shortcut.

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Answer 3

Sep 30, 2010 8:14 PM in response to Gabriel Dillaine

Command-Control-D works only in applications that support that feature.

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Answer 4

Nov 28, 2010 10:07 PM in response to Gabriel Dillaine

I've had better luck setting up ctrl-command-d as a service. Same Keyboard Shortcuts preference panel, but pick Services instead of Application Shortcuts from the left menu. Easiest to access it via any apps's Services submenu. Scroll down in the list on the right for the Searching section, and double-click on the shortcut (or empty space) to the right of "Look Up in Dictionary", then enter your shortcut.

If it's going to work in a given app, the new shortcut will appear to the right of the Dictionary command in the app's Services menu. No shortcut; no workies.

Haven't tested it with many apps, but in the ones I use I tried command-D and it didn't work in them all; had to use ctrl-command-d (even in Pages, which has nothing else occupying the command-d shortcut).

Apple should cleanup their messy shortcuts functions and UI. Alas, it's probably a lost cause since there aren't standards for shortcuts among apps. In fact, don't get me started on the hopelessly antiquated keyboard input device...

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