Helper function/shortcut

[Frank Grimm]

Hi,

I'm looking for a way to insert (pre-formatted) text into a LyX document 
using a keyboard shortcut.

For example, I'd like to insert "i.e." when pressing a certain key 
combination. I tried to use the LyX function "self-insert" with the 
argument "i.e.", but with LyX 1.6 I only got the error message: "Can not 
insert shortcut to the list".

Is there any way to add pre-formatted text to a LyX document? For 
example, when inserting "i.e." with the shortcut described above, I'd 
like to set "i.e." in an italic style and with a thin space between the 
two characters. Is this possible with LyX 1.6?

Thanks,
Frank