actually, you should be able to use the current code template system exactly as you desire.
The "name" section of the code templates can be though of as the shortcut. For example, there is a built-in code template named "datatovars" with a matching code block of
// assumes $row is returned value by *_fetch_array()
while(list($var, $val)=each($row)) {
$$var=$val;
} |
In the editor window, if you type in "dat" and then press Ctrl+J, you'll get a list of code templates that have a name that matches "dat". Since "datatovars" is the only match (at least by default) you can just press enter and it will dump in the code block. To make it work even more like what you described, just shorten the code template names. The "for" template is a good example. If you type in "for" and then press Ctrl+J, the IDE will automagically dump in the "for" code template without giving you the list of matches, and having to press enter.