Keyboard shortcuts
Every key binding in the workspace, the pointer gestures in the viewports, what the number fields accept, and what the command palette understands.
Getting started 3 min read
The workspace keeps its own key sheet: press F1, or open Help › Keyboard shortcuts. It is generated from the command registry, so a button that gains a binding is listed there the same day, and pressing any combination while the sheet is open highlights the row it belongs to. This page is the same list, for reading before you have the app open.
On a Mac, ⌘ stands in for Ctrl throughout.
File and project
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl N | New project |
| Ctrl O | Open an .elproj file into the current project |
| Ctrl S | Save the project as an .elproj file |
| Ctrl P | Configure and print the calculation report |
| Ctrl , | Settings |
There is no shortcut for saving to the cloud, because there is nothing to press: every change syncs as it is made. See Saving.
Editing
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl Z · Ctrl Y | Undo · redo |
| Ctrl X · Ctrl C · Ctrl V | Cut, copy and paste the selection |
| Ctrl D | Duplicate the selection |
| Ctrl A | Select everything, or every row of a table when a table has focus |
| Esc | Clear the selection, or cancel what is being placed |
| Del | Delete the selection |
There are no single-letter tool keys. Tools are picked from the ribbon or from the command palette below.
Solve, windows and tools
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| F5 | Solve |
| Ctrl K | Command palette |
| F1 | Keyboard shortcuts |
| Ctrl Shift V | New 3D viewer |
| Ctrl Shift P | Show or hide the properties panel |
| Ctrl Shift B | Show or hide the bottom panel |
| Ctrl Alt M | Pin a comment to a node or member |
| N · P | Next · previous open comment thread |
| Alt W | Close the active panel |
| Alt PgDn · Alt PgUp | Next · previous tab in the panel group |
| PgUp · PgDn | Next · previous plane, with the pointer over a 2D viewer of a 3D model |
Viewport gestures
| Gesture | Does |
|---|---|
| Right-drag | Orbit |
| Left-drag | Orbit, while a tool other than Select is active |
| Middle-drag | Pan (right-drag in a 2D viewer, and under the Move tool) |
| Wheel | Zoom |
| Sideways scroll · Shift wheel | Pan, on a trackpad or tilt wheel |
| Double-click empty space | Fit the model to the view |
| Ctrl drag | Drive the other viewers' cameras along with this one |
| One-finger drag · pinch | Orbit · zoom, on a touch screen |
| Double-tap empty space · long-press | Fit the view · open the context menu, on a touch screen |
Selecting
| Gesture | Does |
|---|---|
| Click | Select what is under the cursor |
| Shift click | Add to the selection |
| Ctrl click | Add to or remove from the selection |
| Left-drag | Select everything inside a box |
| Right-click | Cancel what is being placed |
Number fields and dialogs
Every coordinate and value field accepts arithmetic and unit suffixes, so 2*3.5 and
450 mm both work in a field shown in metres, and feet and inches work too: 5'6",
5'-6 1/2", 10ft + 6in. ↑ and ↓ step the value, and
Shift makes the step ten times larger. In a dialog that creates objects, Ctrl
Enter applies it and keeps it open for the next one.
The command palette
Ctrl K searches every command by name and says where it lives in the ribbon, and it
searches the model too. Type a node or element id such as N12 or E7, a load case, a
material or a section to jump to it, or a result quantity such as My, |u| or η to open
a viewer plotting it. Two prefixes narrow the search:
| Prefix | Searches |
|---|---|
> | Commands only |
# | The model only |
Something wrong or unclear on this page? Tell us, and it gets corrected.