Keyboard shortcuts
With a keyboard, one letter starts a tool and Esc backs out one level at a time. The same keys work on iPad and on the Mac.
See them in the app
You don’t need this page open to find a key. The app lists every shortcut next to its command.
- Connect a keyboard to your iPad and open a design.
- Hold ⌘Cmd, or open the menu bar at the top of the screen.
- Look under View, Design and Sketch.
- Open a design.
- Open View, Design or Sketch in the menu bar.
- Each command shows its keys on the right.
While you type in a field, the single-letter keys stand aside, so a letter always lands in the field.
View
Design
One letter starts the tools you use most. The rest are in the Design menu and on the tool strip.
Sketch
In a sketch, a letter switches the drawing tool. Outside a sketch, a drawing tool’s letter starts a new sketch with that tool ready: tap a plane or a flat face, then draw.
Change what you drew
Steps and undo
A step’s inspector answers to the keyboard, so you can finish a fillet or a hole without reaching for Done.
What Esc does
Esc backs out one level at a time. Each press does the first of these that fits:
- Stops choosing a plane for a sketch or a section.
- Puts the section handles away. The cut stays.
- In Measure, clears the picks. The next press ends Measure.
- Stops typing a size on the canvas (Mac).
- Drops the shape you’re halfway through drawing.
- Leaves the sketch, keeping every shape in it.
- Turns Box select off.
- Cancels the open step.
- Clears the selection.
Select
A finger tap already adds, because touch has no Shift key. With a trackpad or mouse, a click replaces the selection, as on a Mac.
A click replaces the selection. A double-click on an edge picks the loop around the face beside it.
Type sizes while you draw
This one is Mac only. While a shape is in progress, type its sizes right on the canvas instead of aiming the pointer.
- Press R and click the rectangle’s first corner.
- Press ⇥Tab, or just start typing a number.
- Type the width, then press ⇥Tab and type the height.
- Press ↩Return to place the rectangle.
A size can be a sum or a parameter, such as wall * 2. Line takes a length and an angle, and keeps going from the new point: type 40, press ⇥Tab, type 90 and press ↩Return. That draws a 40 mm line at 90° and starts the next one.
Mouse and trackpad
| To | Touch | Trackpad or mouse |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit | Drag with one finger | Drag with the pointer |
| Pan | Drag with two fingers | Scroll with two fingers |
| Zoom | Pinch | Pinch, or turn the scroll wheel |
| Fit the design | Double-tap with two fingers | ⌘Cmd0 |
| Draw a selection box | Drag with Apple Pencil | Hold ⇧Shift or ⌘Cmd and drag |
| To | Mouse | Trackpad |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit | Right-drag, Option-drag, or drag on empty space | Click and drag on empty space, or rotate with two fingers |
| Pan | Middle-drag, or Shift-right-drag | Scroll with two fingers |
| Zoom | Scroll wheel, towards the pointer | Pinch, or hold ⌘Cmd and scroll |
| Fit the design | ⌘Cmd0 | Double-tap with two fingers |
| Draw a selection box | Hold ⇧Shift or ⌘Cmd and drag | The same |
Questions
- Why does a letter key do nothing?
- A text field has focus. While you type in a field, letters go into it and never start a tool. Leave the field first. If a step is open, a new tool waits until you tap Done or Cancel, and Fillet says so.
- Does Esc throw my sketch away?
- No. Esc leaves the sketch and keeps every shape. To take back a shape, press ⌘CmdZ while the sketch is open.
- Can I change a shortcut?
- On the Mac, yes. In System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › App Shortcuts, add one for Fillet with the menu command’s exact name, such as
Revolve.