FlashDevelop on OSX - Find and Replace Solution

September 18th, 2008 by Steven Sacks

If you're running FlashDevelop on OSX via Parallels or VMWare, you have probably come across the issue where Command+H does not open Find and Replace, and instead hides the app (the default behavior of Command+H on OSX). Oh, the irony.

I have found a solution for this (thanks to Curtis Jones) that allows Command+H to be passed through to Windows applications such as FlashDevelop. You assign Command+H to a disabled menu item. A side effect of this is you can no longer hide Parallels or VMWare with this shortcut, a trade-off I can live with.

In OSX, open your System Preferences > Keyboard and Mouse > Keyboard Shortcuts. Below the pane on the bottom left, click the + (plus) button.

Parallels Command H Override

For the Application drop-down, select Parallels Desktop.app. If it isn't there, at the bottom of the list select Other… and navigate to your Parallels installation folder and find Parallels Desktop.app.

For Menu Title, type in "SmartSelect" (without the quotes). SmartSelect is a disabled menu item used only as a header for submenu items.

For Keyboard Shortcut, press Command+H. Click, add and you're done.

You can now use Command+H to do Find and Replace in FlashDevelop (and any other Windows programs that use Ctrl+H). You can do this for other keyboard shortcuts, as well, if you need to.

I'm not sure what you could use for VMWare since I don't use it, but I'm sure it has some kind of disabled menu item you can similarly assign Command+H to.

Posted in Actionscript, Tips/Tricks

2 Responses

  1. lee

    The proper command is Command F. Makes more sense, right? Do not resist the light…

    hehe, thanks for the headsup on keymapping Parallels!

  2. Steven Sacks

    Command F is for Find.

    Command H is for Find and Replace.

    Command I is for Find and Replace In Files.

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About Steven Sacks

I am a professional Flash developer with over 13 years of programming experience. I have consulted for high-profile agencies and companies in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York, and developed numerous award-winning websites and rich internet applications for clients including Adobe, Fox Sports, FX Networks, Anheuser-Busch, GE, DirecTV, ESPN, The Weather Channel, Home Depot, and Coca-Cola.

I am the author of the open-source Gaia Framework for Adobe Flash, which dramatically reduces development time and makes developing Flash sites much easier.