First of all, are you asking about scenario editing or world editing? Secondly, if the former, are you using the Timetable Editor? I'm aware of the fact that some folks prefer to enter the scenario editor through the world editor ('though I cannot imagine why), but I always start in the scenario editor right away, so as not to risk modifying the route rather than the scenario. Once in the scenario editor, opening the Timetable Editor is easy. Note that although the Timetable Editor's manual (rather perversely named
RW Timetable View Manual_Web.PDF) has not been updated for quite some time, but is still an essential reference for scenario writers.
You wrote,
it is extremely tedious to navigate in the world using the shift-arrow keys to select the items i which to edit (driver commands, destination markers, etc...)
, in which I'm guessing that you meant "I want" rather than "I which" (why can't computers intuit our thoughts?). While editing a scenario, I use the 2D map to navigate to the features you mention: press "9" to enter the 2D map, use the mouse wheel to zoom in or out and hold the left button down to scoot around the map. When you find what you're looking for, <Ctrl> +
left click as close as possible to your target, then slide upward and toward the center until the compass opens, click the arrow icon in its lower-right corner, and, when the compass closes,
right-click anywhere on the map. You'll be back in the 3D world relatively close to what you're looking for, but it's usually necessary to twist around a bit, especially if you want to orient the 3D world to the 2D map. This is still a bit time consuming, especially on those routes with long distances between points of interest for scenario writers, but it sure beats navigating the 3D world!
With some routes, navigating by using the compass fly-out is possible, but only to the extent that the route's maker has included lists of landmark locations (sorry, but the technical term escapes me just now). Navigating to markers placed at the scenario level is never possible using this method.
Hope that these tips help.