tinyE: I read the manual and the appropriate post but it doesn't seem to be working here. When I put a potion (healing) into the appropriate slot, I need to hit Shift-1 (or whatever number) to use it. Any reason I can't just hit the number?
It's been a while since I played Arcanum, but I think that's how it's supposed to work.
Hotkeyed items are usually targeted, so after you select a hotkey slot, the game expects you to select a target next (since you can use items on other characters, not just on yourself). So if you just hit the number, you have to click on your character to make it work. Holding Shift automatically selects your character as the hotkey target.