Custom keyboard shortcuts in Bridge

InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator all let you add custom keyboard shortcuts using the Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts command. Unfortunately, Bridge doesn't have such a command. If you use a Mac, there is a neat way to add keyboard shortcuts to Bridge menu items. As pointed out by a reader a few days ago, you can use an OS X Preference setting to do this. Here's how:

1. Launch an application that you want to add a keyboard shortcut to. Choose the menu command that you want to add a shortcut to, and write down the exact spelling of item the way it appears in the menu. If I wanted to add a shortcut to the File > Place > In Photoshop command in Bridge, I would write down In Photoshop.

2. Go to your Mac OS X System Preferences, and click on the Keyboard & Mouse preference.

3. Click on the Keyboard Shortcuts category at the top of the dialog box.

4. Click on the plus sign in the lower-left corner of the dialog box to add a keyboard shortcut.

5. For the "Application", choose your application if it is listed in the drop down menu, or choose Other at the bottom of the list and browse to find your application.

6. For the "Menu Title" type the exact name of the command you wrote down in step one.

7. Place your cursor in the "Keyboard Shortcut" field, and type the keyboard shortcut you want to assign. Be sure to choose a unique shortcut that is not already in use by the application or OS X.

8. Click the Add button, and you're finished!

This procedure will work with many OS X applications, but unfortunately does not work in Acrobat Professional 8.