SUPPORT : Technotes : Command-H
Why Doesn't Command-H Hide BBEdit or Mailsmith (or TextWrangler) on Mac OS X?
The Problem
In most native Mac OS X applications, Command-H is a shortcut for the Hide <AppName> command in the Application menu. In the default settings for our products on Mac OS X, however, the Hide command has no keyboard shortcut, and Command-H is mapped to the Find Selection command in the Search menu.
The Solution
Current versions of our applicable products (BBEdit, Mailsmith, and TextWrangler) will present a dialog box the first time you type Command-H. This box gives you the opportunity to determine which command Command-H will invoke.
At any point, you can change the shortcuts for these commands (or any other menu items, for that matter) using the Set Menu Keys dialog. To do so, choose Set Menu Keys from the Application menu.
Note: For simplicity, these instructions refer only to BBEdit, but they also apply to Mailsmith and TextWrangler; note that the menu title and the command name change accordingly, i.e. "Mailsmith" and "Hide Mailsmith"; and "TextWrangler" and "Hide TextWrangler".
Click the triangle next to the BBEdit menu to see the commands in BBEdit's Application menu. Select "Hide BBEdit", and click the Set button. In the Set Key dialog, type the command key sequence you wish to use. If you type a sequence that's already in use by another command, BBEdit will warn you about the conflict, and allow you to reassign it.
Why don't you use Command-H for Hide by default?
Simple -- because BBEdit (along with many other Mac text editors) has used Command-H as the shortcut for the Find Selection command since the beginning of time. Take a look at BBEdit 2.1, which was released during the late stages of the Mesozoic Era (April 1992 to be exact). Version number notwithstanding, 2.1 was the first public release of BBEdit. There in the search menu is the Find Selection command, with Command-H as the shortcut.
When we began porting BBEdit to Mac OS X, we had to decide what to do with Command-H: should we follow the new Aqua HI Guidelines and map it to Hide, or follow tradition and map it to Find Selection? We decided that following tradition was the safer route. This way, if someone types Command-H expecting it to hide BBEdit, the worst thing that might happen is that the selection range in the front-most window will change (if the Find Selection is successful). Usually, however, nothing at all will happen, and a quick trip to the Set Menu Keys dialog can rectify the situation.
Now imagine for a moment what could have happened if we had changed the default mapping for Command-H to the Hide command. Long-time BBEdit users would type that sequence, intending to invoke Find Selection. Instead, BBEdit would instantly vanish -- which is also what happens when programs on Mac OS X crash. Old habits die hard, and we didn't want any of our loyal customers suffering heart attacks.
Historical Note
For the record, BBEdit 2.1 runs just fine under Mac OS 9 and in the Classic environment on Mac OS X. If you're still running BBEdit 2.1, however, we do recommend that you consider upgrading.