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You can set the 'Tilde' behavior in your Preferences to Gizmos:
It might not actually be a tilde; on my Keyboard (German) it is the ^ key. Try the key above the TAB if ~ or the 'accent grave' don't work for you.
Thanks spikeyxxx
Yep that is exactly the setting I use (it is the tilda on my AUS keyboard)
You can see this setting and the few other ones I change from the 'default' in this video https://cgcookie.com/lesson/melvin-run-cycle-setup