How do I Add a Keyboard Function to a Button?

Summary

The following article explains how to add Platinum Function Keys to a button.

More Information

To save time, you can create your own buttons in Platinum in specific areas of the system to simplify common tasks by making the function keys more obvious. These buttons are stored in a file called 'Custom.xml'. You can edit this file yourself to add buttons to your chosen areas of the software. To find the file, proceed as follows:

• In Windows, go to "My Computer" and locate the drive/folder where Platinum is stored.
• Go into the 'SX' folder.
• Go into the 'SXHelp' folder.
• <Right-Click> 'Custom.xml' and select [Copy].
• Now, select an area of the folder with no files in it, <Right-Click> again and select [Paste]. This creates a backup of 'Custom.xml' in case of editing errors.
• <Right-Click> 'Custom.xml' and choose [Open With] or just [Open]. Ideally you should open it in a text editor such as Notepad.
• At the top of the document is a general information section on how to edit the file.
• Move to the bottom of the document.
• The easiest way to do this is to copy and paste a section such as the one shown below:

<buttons id="SXPWS07:301">
<button press="A-2" tooltip="Service History" icon="188">Service History</button>
</buttons>

• Go into Platinum and locate from where your function key is run.
• Press <F11> and make a note of the program details at the top left hand side of the window. You will need the "SXPZZ99" part of the code and the number after the ":".
• Go back to the editing window and where you see:

<buttons id="SXPWS07:301">

• Replace the 'SXPWS07:301' with the programme code and the number from the step above. An example of the new programme code would be 'SXPST08:108'.
• Next you need to add the key press and description to the file.

Replace:

<button press="A-2" tooltip="Service History" icon="188">Service History</button>

with the appropriate key press and description, for example:

<button press="F1" tooltip="Next Customer" icon="188">Next Customer</button>

The number above after 'icon' in quotes can be anything from 1 to 220. This is the image that will appear on the button. Experiment until you find one suitable.

You must be very accurate in how you enter the new details - you MUST follow the pattern exactly. If you do not, then you will cause all your buttons from the system to disappear until you fix the problem.

• Now save 'Custom.xml'.
• Go back into Platinum and go the place from where you want to use your button. Your newly created icon should appear!

See Also

• How do I Add a Macro to a Button?

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Keywords AND Misspellings

macro, function, button, icon