Keyboard Shortcuts

The Graphics Editor allows you to use a set of keyboard shortcuts to navigate around the application and individual views, as well as carry out commands while working with elements on an active canvas.

Element Tree View Keyboard Shortcuts

The keyboard shortcuts available in the Element Tree view allow you work with and manage items.

Element Tree View Keyboard Shortcuts
To...
Go to the next item in the list	Press the DOWN arrow key
Go up to the previous item in the list	Press the UP arrow key
Expand children of the last selected item. Expand a pane	Press the RIGHT arrow key
Collapse children of the last selected item	Press LEFT arrow key
Expand all children recursive of all selected items	Press *
Collapse all children recursive of all selected items	Press /
Add/remove the item to/from the selection	Press CTRL and click
All elements between the first clicked and last clicked element will be highlighted	Press SHIFT and click

Element Keyboard Shortcuts

The following keyboard shortcuts are available when you are working with elements on the active canvas:

Element Keyboard Shortcuts
To...
Select all the elements on the active canvas	Press CTRL+A
Cut selected elements	Press CTRL+X, or SHIFT+DEL
Create a copy of the active elements	Press CTRL, click and drag
Copy selected elements to the clipboard	Press CTRL+C, or CTRL+INSERT NOTE: If the clipboard contains a raster image, a new image element is created and pasted.
Paste selected elements to the selected layer in the Element Tree	Press CTRL+V, or SHIFT+INSERT
Paste selected elements to their original layers	Press CTRL+ALT+V
Delete selected elements	Press DEL
Scroll to the far left	Press HOME
Scroll to the far right	Press END
Scroll to the top	Press CTRL+HOME, or PAGE UP
Scroll to the bottom	Press CTRL+END, or PAGE DOWN
Access quick Panning mode	Press SPACE
Access quick Zooming mode	Press Z + Click mouse pointer changes to
Zoom to 100%	Press CTRL+0 (0=Zero)
Move selected elements by one pixel	Press Arrows: UP, LEFT, DOWN, RIGHT
(In Panning mode) Shift view by one pixel
(When editing a line/polyline node) Move the node by one pixel
Move selected elements by the grid pixels	Press CTRL+UP, CTRL+LEFT, CTRL+DOWN, CTRL+RIGHT
(In Panning mode) Shift view by grid pixels
(When editing a line/polyline node.) Move the node by the grid pixel
Move elements back to their original position and cancel moving operation	Press ESC
Enable font stretching while resizing a selected text element and maintain ratio to current element size	Press F and click and drag
Enable font-stretching while resizing a text element	Press F The font size aspect ratio adjusts to the element size.

Element Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts
To...
Select an element on the canvas	Press LEFT and click
Toggle between activating and deactivating an element on the canvas	Press CTRL+LEFT and click
Select an element on the canvas and its respective: - child elements or - nested symbols or - symbol instances	Press CTRL+SHIFT+LEFT and click

Angle Center Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

Angle Center Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts
To...
Move element and snap-to-grid (if enabled)	Click and drag element
Make a copy of one or more elements on the canvas	Press CTRL and click and drag element Step of 0 / 50 / 100, % or edge length.
Move element and ignore snap-to-grid, if enabled	Press SHIFT and drag element

Arc and Pie Angle Keyboard Shortcuts

Arc and Pie Center Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts
To...
Move element and snap-to-grid (if enabled)	Click and drag element Use angle grid, Individual angle
Make a copy of one or more elements on the canvas	Press CTRL and click element Synchronize start and end angle
Move element and ignore snap-to-grid, if enabled	Press SHIFT and drag element

Draw Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

From the Home tab, in the Elements group, you have already selected the element you want to draw on the canvas.

Move Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts
To...
Draw element and snap-to-grid (if enabled)	Click and draw element
Draw squares and paths with 45 degree angles	Press CTRL and draw
Draw element and ignore snap-to-grid, if enabled	Press SHIFT and drag element

Modify Line and Path Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

Modify Line and Path Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts
To...
Modify line and path element and snap-to-grid (if enabled)	Click and drag line or path element
Modify line and path element in maintain 45 degree angle	Press CTRL and click a line or path element and drag
Modify line and path element and ignore snap-to-grid, if enabled	Press SHIFT and drag line or path element

Move Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

Move Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts
To...
Move element and snap-to-grid (if enabled)	Click and drag element
Make a copy of one or more elements on the canvas	Press CTRL, click element and drag
Move element and ignore snap-to-grid, if enabled	Press SHIFT and drag element

Resize Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

You can resize elements and snap to grid, by enabling the Snap, Display Grid, and Display Guidelines tasks available under View > Workspace. From the Graphic section in the Properties view you can also select lines or markers for your grid style.

Resize Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts
To...
Resize element and snap-to-grid (if enabled)	Click and drag element
Maintain the following shapes: Square Circle Polygon	Press CTRL and click element
Resize element and ignore snap-to-grid, if enabled	Press SHIFT and drag
Resize and maintain the element’s aspect ratio	Press ALT and drag
Resize text element only (stretch the font)	Press the F key

Rectangle Radius Keyboard Shortcuts

Rectangle Radius Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts
To...
Move element and snap-to-grid (if enabled)	Click and drag element Ignore grid, Sync RadiusX & RadiusY
Make a copy of one or more elements on the canvas	Press CTRL, click element and drag No Sync

Rotate Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

Rotate Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts
To...
Rotate element and snap-to-grid (if enabled)	Click and drag
Rotate element and ignore snap-to-grid, if enabled	Press SHIFT and drag element

Rubber Band Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

Rubberband Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts
To...
Activate elements contained in the rubber band	Click and drag NOTE: Element must be completely contained in rubber band section
Toggle between activating and deactivating selected elements	Press CTRL, click and drag
Active elements that intersect with the rubber band	Press ALT, click and drag NOTE: Entire element does not have to be in the rubber band area; if any part of the element intersects the rubber band, it is activated.

Find and Replace View Shortcuts

Find and Replace Keyboard Shortcuts
To...
Search and locate next item	Press F3
Search and locate previous item	Press SHIFT+F3

General Keyboard Shortcuts

The following general keyboard shortcuts allow you work with the views in the Graphics Editor.

General Keyboard Shortcuts
To ...
Reload all open views	Press F5 You are prompted to reload all open graphics.
Toggle the Aerial View On/Off	Press F12

Inline Text Element Shortcuts

You can edit a text element directly on the active canvas by double-clicking on the element or pressing the F2 key. Please refer to this list of keyboard shortcuts.

Inline Text Element Shortcuts
To...
Insert a return carriage	Press CTRL+ENTER
Insert a tab	Press TAB
Accept changes	Press ENTER
Undo	Press ESC

Path Shortcuts

The following keyboard shortcuts are available when you are using the path element to draw shapes on the canvas. With the crosshair mouse on the canvas, you can press a key to specify the path segment type.

Path Keyboard Shortcuts
To Draw….
Polyline segment, default for every Path drawn.	The P key
Arc segment	The A key
Cubic Bezier	The B key
Quadratic Bezier	The Q key