Desktop shortcuts and controls
Find a list of shortcuts to help improve your workflows on Desktop.You can modify the desktop layout through the preferences menu. Use File > Preferences > Desktop to reposition the palette or adjust the scale of interface elements.
Many time consuming operations such as increasing resolution, exporting, or converting a mesh to clay can be canceled with the Esc key.
Tools |
Shortcut |
Quick swap tool |
Tab |
Clay tool |
c |
Erase tool |
e |
Warp tool |
w |
| Constrain Warp to surface normal | z |
Buildup tool |
b |
Smooth tool |
Hold Shift to temporarily switch to Smooth tool while using sculpting tools (any tool other than the Select tool). |
Select tool |
v |
| Crease tool | x |
| Flatten tool | d |
Brush |
Shortcut |
Size |
Ctrl + click and drag |
| Asymmetric resize | In Gizmo placement mode, Ctrl + click and drag a non-uniform resize handle. |
| Increase brush size | ] |
| Decrease brush size | [ |
Action |
Shortcut |
Undo |
Ctrl + z |
Redo |
Ctrl + shift + z |
Select all |
Ctrl + a |
Deselect all |
Ctrl + shift + a |
Invert selection |
Ctrl + i |
Cut |
Ctrl + x |
Copy |
Ctrl + c |
Paste |
Ctrl + v |
Group selected |
Ctrl + g |
Ungroup selected |
Ctrl + shift + g |
Merge selected |
Ctrl + e |
New Layer |
Ctrl + n |
Select/Deselect scene object |
With the Select Tool, left click the layer/object. Hold shift to add or remove objects to the selection. |
Duplicate selected |
Ctrl + d |
Quick duplicate and move |
d while transforming the gizmo |
Delete selected layers |
Backspace / delete |
Hide Selection |
h with an object selected |
Show all |
h with no objects selected |
Increase resolution |
Ctrl + = |
Decrease resolution |
Ctrl + - |
| Focus and Scoping | Shortcut |
Scope In |
Hover over clay and tap s |
Scope Out |
Alt + s / Hover over empty space and tap s |
| Scope in directly to layer | Ctrl + double click layer |
| Gizmo | Shortcut |
Toggle Gizmo and surface modes |
g |
Flip |
Ctrl + LMB on gizmo translate handle |
Rotate 90° |
Ctrl + LMB on gizmo rotate handle |
Gizmo rotate angle snap |
Start rotating, then hold Shift to snap to angles While the cursor is inside the rotation ring, rotation snaps to 22.5° increments. Outside the rotation ring, rotation snaps to 15° increments. |
Reset Gizmo orientation |
r (tap r twice to reset gizmo orientation and location) |
Apply Gizmo brush |
Spacebar (Hold and move gizmo for continuous application) |
File Menu |
Shortcut |
Export |
Ctrl + shift + e |
Save |
Ctrl + s |
Save As |
Ctrl + shift + s |
New |
Ctrl + shift + n |
Load |
Ctrl + o |
| Open Preferences | Ctrl + k |
Camera/Viewport |
Shortcut |
Toggle perspective/orthographic |
Numpad 5 |
| Switch to Right / Front / Top view | Numpad 1 / Numpad 3 / Numpad 7 |
| Switch to Left / Back/ Bottom view | Ctrl + Numpad 1 / Ctrl + Numpad 3 / Ctrl + Numpad 7 |
| Frame selection / Recenter camera on selection | f |
| Set camera focus point | Shift + f |
| Miscellaneous |
Shortcut |
| Manually toggle VR on or off | F4 |
| Close top-most dialog | esc |
| Pick Color from scene | q |
If Modeler fails to automatically switch to desktop mode on removing your headset, you can use ESC to manually switch to desktop mode. After manually switching to desktop mode, a button appears that will allow you to reenable VR mode.
Scene Navigation
There are 3 movements that can be performed with the desktop camera.
Action | Description | Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit/Rotate | Rotate the camera around a point | alt + left click and drag |
| Pan | Move the camera up, down, left, and right | alt + middle click and drag |
| Zoom | Zoom the camera in and out | alt + right click and drag |
The camera always moves relative to the Gizmo, or relative to the mouse cursor.
It is not possible to tilt the camera.
Sculpt in 3D with Substance 3D Modeler
Create 3D models intuitively using digital clay on your desktop or in VR.
