Keyboard shortcuts
BIMopen has two kinds of shortcuts: keys, such as Ctrl+Z, which act at once, and typed
shortcuts, such as WA, which you type letter by letter and confirm with Enter, like any
command. Typed shortcuts are the same in every language.
On macOS, Cmd takes the place of Ctrl.
Keys
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Z | Undoes the last change |
| Ctrl+Y or Ctrl+Shift+Z | Redoes the change just undone |
| Ctrl+S | Saves the project; a project never saved asks for a file name |
| Ctrl+P | Opens Print |
| Ctrl+A | Selects the elements of the open plan's level, or of the whole model in a 3D view |
| Del | Deletes the selected elements, and the elements they host |
| Home | Fits the whole view in its window |
| F1 | Opens the page of this manual about the open dialog, the ribbon button under the mouse or the active tool |
| Esc | Cancels the step in progress; pressed again, ends the tool; with no tool, clears the selection |
| Enter | Runs the line typed at the command line; confirms a value in the Properties palette |
| Up / Down | At the command line, the lines typed before |
| Space | While drawing walls, swaps the exterior and interior side; while placing a component or a detail component, rotates it |
| Shift | While drawing, keeps segments horizontal or vertical (or frees them, when Ortho is on); with a click or a window, takes elements out of the selection; while dragging, frees a joined wall or keeps the move horizontal or vertical |
| Ctrl + click | Adds an element to the selection; held when a drag starts, places a copy |
| Tab / Shift+Tab | Highlights the next (previous) element under the cursor, or a chain of joined walls and lines |
| Ctrl+Left | Selects again what was selected before |
| Left Right Up Down | Move the selection a small step; with Shift, ten steps |
Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Y, Ctrl+A, Del and Home act on the model only while you are not typing in a field: in a field they act on the text.
In a floor, roof, stair or railing sketch, Esc (or a double-click) also finishes the sketch when it has enough points.
In the Text Note dialog, Ctrl+Enter inserts the note and Esc cancels it.
Alt pressed and released, or F10, shows the ribbon's key tips. With no tool active and nothing typed, Enter repeats the last tool. After a click in the Project Browser, the arrow keys and Enter move in its tree.
Mouse
| In plans and sections | In 3D views | |
|---|---|---|
| Wheel | Zoom at the cursor | Zoom |
| Middle button, drag | Pan | Pan; with Shift, orbit |
| Left button, drag | Selection window (left to right: inside; right to left: touching), or moves the selected elements | The same |
| Right button | Context menu; with a tool active, cancels the step | The same; dragging, orbit |
| Double-click | Finishes a sketch | – |
Typed shortcuts
Type the letters while no field is being edited, then press Enter. Without arguments, a shortcut starts the tool or opens the dialog; with arguments, it runs the command at once (see Command line and MCP).
Modelling
| Shortcut | Command | Starts |
|---|---|---|
WA or W |
wall |
Wall |
DR |
door |
Door |
WN |
window |
Window |
SB |
floor |
Floor (the Flooring button) |
RF |
roof |
Roof |
CM |
component |
Component |
ST |
stair |
Stairs |
RA |
railing |
Railing |
CG |
curtaingrid |
Curtain grid |
MU |
mullion |
Mullion |
CP |
curtainpanel |
Curtain wall panel |
GR |
grid |
Grid |
RM |
room |
Room |
RS |
roomsep |
Room separation |
PA |
areaplan |
The Area Plan dialog |
CA |
areaboundary |
Area boundary line |
| – | area |
Area |
LG |
legend |
Color fill legend |
SC |
colorscheme |
The Color Schemes dialog |
Modifying
| Shortcut | Command | Starts |
|---|---|---|
MV or M |
move |
Move |
CO |
copy |
Copy |
RO |
rotate |
Rotate |
MM |
mirror |
Mirror - Pick Axis |
DM |
mirror |
Mirror - Draw Axis |
AR |
array |
Array |
OF |
offset |
Offset |
AL |
align |
Align |
TR |
trim |
Trim/Extend to Corner |
SL |
split |
Split Element |
SG |
split |
Split with Gap |
RE |
resize |
Scale |
PN |
pin |
Pins the selection |
UP |
unpin |
Unpins the selection |
SA |
selectinstances |
Selects all instances of the selection's types visible in the view |
DEL |
delete |
Deletes the selection |
U |
undo |
Undoes the last change |
Annotating and detailing
| Shortcut | Command | Starts |
|---|---|---|
DI |
dim |
Aligned dimension |
DL |
lineardim |
Linear dimension |
DA |
angulardim |
Angular dimension |
TX |
text |
Text |
TG |
tag |
Tags the untagged doors and windows of the level |
| – | detailline |
Detail line |
RG |
region |
Filled region |
| – | mask |
Masking region |
CD |
detailcomponent |
Detail component |
RD |
repeatingdetail |
Repeating detail |
IS |
insulation |
Insulation |
Note
The tip of the Detail line button shows DL, but DL starts the linear dimension, as
the tip of Linear says. To start the detail line by typing, use detailline.
Views and settings
| Shortcut | Command | Starts or opens |
|---|---|---|
SE |
section |
Section |
EL |
elevation |
Elevation |
DT |
callout |
Callout (the Detail button) |
DS |
splitsegment |
Split Segment of a section |
VD |
draftingview |
The Drafting view dialog |
PP |
floorplan |
The Floor Plan dialog |
DV |
duplicateview |
Duplicates the active view |
VG or VV |
vg |
Visibility/Graphics |
WF, HL, SD |
– | Wireframe, Hidden Line, Shaded: the visual style of the active view |
HH, HI |
– | Hide Element, Isolate Element for now |
HC, IC |
– | Hide Category, Isolate Category for now |
HR |
– | Reset Temporary Hide/Isolate |
EH, VH |
– | Hide in view: the selected elements, their category |
RH |
– | Reveal Hidden Elements, on and off |
TL |
thinlines |
Thin lines, on and off |
SO |
objectstyle |
Object styles |
MA |
material |
Materials |
UN |
units |
Project units |
PU |
purge |
Purge unused |
| – | filter |
Filters |
| – | viewtemplate |
View templates |
| – | applytemplate |
Apply a view template to the active view |
| – | linestyle |
Line styles |
| – | fillpattern |
Fill patterns |
| – | saveview3d |
Saves the {3D} view with a name |
| – | renameview |
Renames the active view |
The commands with – have no short form, but their whole name works the same way.
help lists every command and its short forms.
The zoom commands have typed shortcuts too: ZR zoom in region, ZO zoom out (2x), ZF zoom to fit, ZA zoom all to fit, ZS zoom sheet size, ZP previous pan/zoom. View ▸ Windows ▸ User Interface ▸ Keyboard Shortcuts gives any command shortcuts of your own (The interface).