Keyboard hotkey & shortcut charts For Blender

Keyboard hotkey & shortcut charts

A keyboard 'map' is helpful given how many shortcut and hotkey combinations there are in Blender. The following hotkey chart shows the basic shortcuts available for Blender. A blank version is also provided for 'custom' key mappings and mappings that differ based on system language.

Basic ('standard' UK) keyboard layout and hotkey map for Blender - N.B. some shortcut keys may be mapped differently depending on system language
Blender keyboard shortcut & hotkey map blank so you can chart your own key-combinations - standard keyboard layout based on UK language

Navigation shortcut keys ^

Items marked ^[*] are compatible with the latest versions Blender.

• G = MOVE ^[*]
  G then 'X', 'Y' or 'Z' = MOVE along specific axis only.
  
• S = RESIZE ^[*]
  S then 'X', 'Y' or 'Z' = RESIZE along specific axis only.
  
• R = ROTATE ^[*]
  R then 'X', 'Y' or 'Z' = ROTATE along specific axis only.
  
• X = DELETE ^[*]
  Displays the delete 'options' pop up.
  
• M = LAYERS ^[*]
  Displays the 'move to layer' pop up - selected object will be moved to the selected layer. Displays current layer as selected on opening.
  
• NumPad 1, 3, 7 and 5 ^[*]
  View port control; 'front', 'side', 'top' and 'perspective' respectively. Pressing any of these will put the view port the mouse has control over (the mouse is placed over) into 'orthogonal' or 'perspective' mode.
  
• Shift + F1-F12 = Window 'Type'
  
  
  • F1 - File Browser; F2 - Logic Editor; F3 - Node Editor; F4 - Console; F5 - 3D View; F6 - Graph Editor; F7 - Properties; F8 - Video Sequence Editor; F9 - Outliner; F10 - UV/Image Editor; F11 - Text Editor; F12 - Dope Sheet. ^[*]
    
  • F1 - File Browser (load); F2 - File Browser (export); F3 - Node Editor; F4 - Data Select; F 5 - 3D View; F 6 - IPO Curve Editor; F7 - Buttons; F8 - Video Sequence Editor; F9 - Outliner; F10 - UV/Image Editor; F11 - Text Editor; F12 - Action Editor.
    
• Middle Mouse Button (MMB)
  
  • MMB Click Hold
    By default moves the view port the mouse has control over based on mouse position. Can be altered to use different rotation focus points.
    
  • MMB Scroll Up/Down ^[*]
    Zooms the view port forwards/backwards.
    
  • MMB+Shift ^[*]
    'Translates' the view port, moves view left/right and up/down.
    
  • MMB+Ctrl ^[*]
    Zooms view port Uses a finer distance control than scrolling MMB.
    
• Left Mouse Button (LMB)
  
  • LMB Click ^[*]
    'Sets' an action. After moving or doing something LMB Click is used to 'set' the action in place. For example, a moved object stays placed relative to it's position when you click the left mouse button during a 'move' action.
    
• Right Mouse Button (RMB) ^[*]
  
  • RMB Click ^[*]
    Selects object or item.
    
  • RMB+Shift ^[*]
    Selects multiple objects or items.
    

Mode switch shortcuts ^

• TAB = EDIT mode (including UVEdit mode) ^[*]
  
• V = VERTEX PAINT mode ^[*]
  
• F = UVW mode (TAB in 2.46 & above)
  
• Ctrl+TAB = FACE SELECT TYPE - Edit mode ^[*]
  In edit mode allows the selecting of faces by polygon, edge or vertex 'groups'. Allows working on a mesh in different modes, facilitating slightly different working methods.
  

Function shortcut keys ^

• A = SELECT/DESELECT ^[*]
  Mode sensitive - will select/deselect items based on which mode you're in.
  
• E = EXTRUDE ^[*]
  Mode sensitive - will extrude polygons, vertices or edges either individually (so the create their own 'children', or as a group.
  
• U = UVWunwrap
  UVWmode only (for later versions, including 2.5, UVW editing is done in Edit mode).
  
• Ctrl+R = LOOPCUT ^[*]
  Cuts a 'loop' - a line that follows the contours of a model.
  
• B = BORDER/Loop SELECT ^[*]
  Pressing 'B' once activates the 'grid' border select tool. Pressing again activates the selector 'brush' that allows 'paint selecting' objects. Useful for selecting multiple faces or vertices in edit mode.
  
  • Alt+B = Loop Select 'Cut/Show' ^[*]
    Using Alt+B toggles on/off the loop 'cut' feature whereby Blender will show only the areas of a scene or object inside the selection loop drawn on screen. Alt+B toggles this feature on/off so the rest of the scene is unhidden when the shortcut is used again.
    
  • Shift+B = Select Zoom ^[*]
    View zooms into selected areas
    
• F = Create FACE/EDGE ^[*]
  Creates a polygon ('quad' or triangle') depending on 'select type' - vertexes, edges or faces.
  
  • Ctrl+Shift+F = Edge FLIP ^[*]
    Flips orientation of corned-to-corner edges. Selected polygons should be triangles.
    
• Shift+D/Alt+D = Duplicate ^[*]
  Depending on the Editor (viewport) using the standard "Ctrl+C" to "Copy" and "Ctrl+V" to "Paste" may not work, in the main 3DView for example "Shift+D" creates a 'duplicate' of an original source as an independent Object; "Alt+D" similarly 'duplicates' originating Objects but retains a dynamic link to the source, which if edited propagates changes in real time to the duplicate. In both instances Object properties and settings are duplicated.