I own Writer's Blocks too and was pleased about hearing that a new version is out.

But I immediately got disappointed when I visited their site. Writer's Block didn't get any minor updates for years and while the few new features for v4 are appreciated an upgrade for 2/3 of an already hefty price: No, thank you!

It does look like they've improved it considerably, but I agree about the price.

I just downloaded the trial version, so I don't know how many keyboard shortcuts are available. As far as I'm concerned, programs like this HAVE to have keyboard shortcuts for EVERYTHING. I hate taking my hands off the keyboard when I'm trying to write or brainstorm or whatever.

The new version has one feature that's very interesting. You can convert a manuscript to blocks, which means that you can DICTATE an outline with a voice recorder, for example, transcribe it with Dragon Naturally Speaking and then convert it directly to block format.

I like the split-screen view with the manuscript on one side and the blocks on the other.

Still checking it out, but it does look a lot better than the previous version.

As far as using keystrokes, there are 22 keys you can use to assign; the user has choices when it comes to the function keys and the shift keys. If you downloaded the trial version, I think you can find this in the Help file "assign keys". I had to hunt to find it.