Keyboard Overview
Learn the essential shortcuts that will speed up your design work.
Gardenly3D maps the most common actions — selecting objects, navigating the canvas, drawing shapes, and managing layers — to single keys or short key combinations. Shortcuts are context-aware: some keys activate different tools depending on whether you are in 2D drawing mode, 3D view, node edit mode, or the mesh editor workspace. Learning a dozen core shortcuts will cover the vast majority of your everyday design work.
Switch between Select and Pan instantly
Press V at any time to activate the Select tool, or press H to switch to the Pan tool. You can also hold Space as a temporary pan — the canvas pans while the key is held, then returns you to your previous tool the moment you release it.
Undo, redo, and cancel without hesitation
Press Cmd/Ctrl+Z to undo any action and Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Z (or Cmd/Ctrl+Y on Windows) to redo. Press Escape to deselect everything, cancel the active drawing operation, or exit the current editor mode — it is always safe to press and never deletes work.
Select, duplicate, and delete
Use Cmd/Ctrl+A to select all entities on the canvas, and Cmd/Ctrl+D to duplicate the selection in place. Press Delete or Backspace to remove selected objects. Cut, copy, and paste work with Cmd/Ctrl+X, Cmd/Ctrl+C, and Cmd/Ctrl+V respectively.
Nudge and rotate selected objects
The Arrow keys move the selection by one grid step. Hold Shift while pressing an arrow key to move by a larger step (10×). To rotate in fixed increments, press Alt+R to rotate 90° clockwise or Alt+Shift+R to rotate 90° counter-clockwise — useful for quickly aligning structures.
Reach drawing tools directly from the keyboard
In 2D drawing mode, single-letter keys activate the most common tools: L for Line, R for Rectangle, C for Circle, P for the Bezier path tool, T for Text, and N for Node Edit. Press E to enter path-edit mode on a selected shape, and K to activate the Measure tool.
Control layer ordering and grouping
Press G to group the current selection into a single entity, and Shift+G to ungroup. Reorder layers with Cmd/Ctrl+] (bring forward) and Cmd/Ctrl+[ (send backward); add Shift to jump directly to front or back. Use Cmd/Ctrl+L to lock or unlock the selection so it cannot be accidentally moved.
Navigate the canvas with zoom shortcuts
Press Cmd/Ctrl+0 to zoom the view to fit all visible content, Cmd/Ctrl+1 to return to 100% zoom, and Cmd/Ctrl++ / Cmd/Ctrl+− to zoom in and out incrementally. Toggle the grid display on or off with the ' (apostrophe) key.
Use node-edit and mesh-edit shortcuts when editing geometry
When you enter node-edit mode on a path, press I to insert a node, 1/2/3 to switch node types (corner, smooth, symmetric), and C to close or open the path. Inside the mesh editor workspace, V, E, and F switch between Vertex, Edge, and Face selection modes; G moves the selection and K runs a loop cut.
Essential shortcuts — all modes
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| V | Select tool |
| H | Pan tool |
| Space | Temporary pan (hold) |
| Escape | Deselect / exit mode |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y | Redo |
| Ctrl+D | Duplicate selection |
| Ctrl+A | Select all |
| Ctrl+X / C / V | Cut / Copy / Paste |
| Delete or Backspace | Delete selected |
| Ctrl+0 | Zoom to fit |
| Ctrl+1 | Zoom 100% |
| Ctrl++ / Ctrl+− | Zoom In / Out |
| ' (apostrophe) | Toggle grid display |
| Arrow keys | Nudge selection |
| Shift+Arrow keys | Nudge selection (large step) |
| Alt+R / Alt+Shift+R | Rotate 90° CW / CCW |
| G / Shift+G | Group / Ungroup |
| Ctrl+L | Lock / Unlock |
| Ctrl+] / Ctrl+[ | Bring Forward / Send Backward |
| Ctrl+Shift+] / Ctrl+Shift+[ | Bring to Front / Send to Back |
2D drawing tools
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| L | Line tool |
| R | Rectangle tool |
| C | Circle tool |
| P | Bezier path tool |
| T | Text tool |
| N | Node Edit tool |
| E | Enter path-edit mode |
| K | Measure tool |
| M | Move tool |
| S | Scale tool |
| Z | Zoom tool (2D) |
| S | Toggle snap (2D) |
Node edit mode
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| I | Insert node |
| 1 | Corner node |
| 2 | Smooth node |
| 3 | Symmetric node |
| B | Break handles |
| J | Join handles |
| C | Close / open path |
| R | Reverse path direction |
| S | Simplify path |
Mesh editor workspace
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| V | Vertex selection mode |
| E | Edge selection mode |
| F | Face selection mode |
| G | Move tool |
| K | Loop cut |
| I | Inset |
| U | Subdivide |
| X | Delete face |
| H | Fill hole |
| J | Knife |
| P | Proportional edit |
| B | Boolean |
| Ctrl+B | Bevel |
Forgot a shortcut? Open the Command Palette with Cmd/Ctrl+K and type any action name — most rows show their keyboard shortcut right next to the command label.
Shortcuts on Mac use the Cmd key where Windows and Linux use Ctrl. The notation Ctrl in this guide means Cmd on Mac and Ctrl on Windows/Linux.
Frequently Asked Questions
A shortcut isn't working — what's wrong?
Shortcuts are suppressed while a text field, dialog, or inspector input has focus, so they never accidentally trigger during data entry. Click somewhere on the canvas first, then try the key again. If the shortcut still does nothing, check whether you are in the correct editor mode — for example, drawing-tool keys only work in 2D mode.
Can I see all shortcuts for a specific mode in one place?
Yes. The Shortcuts by Module article organises every shortcut by editor mode: 2D drawing, 3D view, node edit, and mesh editor. The Shortcuts Overview article covers the global set that works in all modes.
Why does 'S' sometimes toggle snap and sometimes activate the Scale tool?
Several single-letter shortcuts are context-aware. In 2D drawing mode, S toggles snapping on and off. Outside a drawing session (when the Select tool is active), S activates the Scale tool. The active mode is shown in the top toolbar so you always know which context applies.
The Delete key is deleting the wrong thing — how do I avoid accidental deletions?
Lock any object you want to protect with Cmd/Ctrl+L. Locked entities cannot be selected or deleted via the keyboard. You can also place critical base shapes on a locked layer in the Layers panel.
How do I reset the view quickly after zooming in too far?
Press Cmd/Ctrl+0 to zoom to fit all visible content in the canvas. If you want to return to 100% zoom instead, press Cmd/Ctrl+1. In 3D view, the same Cmd/Ctrl+0 shortcut reframes the camera around the entire scene.