Blender Shortcut Keys: Complete List of Commands to Boost Productivity

Graphics software offers several perks to designers who create and edit images. A graphics program enables a person to manipulate models or images visually on a system. There are a number of graphic software tools available on the internet. One such tool is Blender which is famously known for supporting the entirety of the 3D pipeline. Not only is it a perfect software to use online, but it also provides shortcut keys that make working with the application easier. If you want to know more about Blender shortcut keys then you have come to the right place. In today’s guide, we will be discussing shortcuts you can use for different commands and operations on Blender. Along with that, we will also uncover Blender shortcut keys mac. So, without delaying any further, let us begin with the guide and get familiar with some of the most used shortcut keys for Blender.

Blender Shortcut Keys: Complete List of Commands to Boost Productivity

Blender Shortcut Keys: Complete List of Commands to Boost Productivity

In this article, we have given a complete list of Blender shortcut keys to help you in boosting your productivity. 

What are Blender Shortcut Keys?

  • Blender is an open-source 3D creation suite software.
  • This computer graphics software is greatly used to create animated films, 3D printed models, visual effects, interactive 3D applications, computer games, and virtual reality.
  • The software is completely free to use.
  • Other features of this software include UV unwrapping, 3D modeling, rigging and skinning, raster graphics editing, soft body simulation, fluid and smoke simulation, match moving, rendering motion graphics, video editing, rendering, motion graphics, and compositing.
  • Operating systems compatible with Blender are Windows, macOS, Android, Linux, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, DragonFly BSD, NetBSD, and Haiku.
  • Blender is available in 36 languages.
  • Shortcut keys in Blender can help you with 3D or 2D animation commands.
  • These keys provide an outline of some of the most commonly used functions in the software.
  • These commands are accepted as Blender shortcuts across all versions of the software.

Read the next section to know about Blender shortcut keys for Mac.

Blender Shortcut Keys for Mac

As mentioned above, Blender can be used on different platforms and operating systems. Each OS has a different command for a particular function. We will now uncover some of the most commonly used shortcut keys Mac below:

Universal Blender Shortcut Keys Mac:

  • To cancel Blender functions without change: Esc
  • To open the toolbox: Space
  • To start or quit edit mode: Tab
  • To load a Blender file or to change the window to a file window: F1
  • To append parts from other files or to load as library data: Shift+F1
  • To write a Blender file or to change the window to a file window: F2
  • To export the scene as a DXF file: Shift+F2
  • To export the scene as a VRML1 file: Cmd+F2
  • To write a picture, if a picture has been rendered, and the file format is as indicated in the display buttons: F3
  • To save a screen dump of the active window: Cmd+F3
  • To save a screen dump of the whole Blender screen: Cmd+Shift+F3
  • To display the logic context: F4
  • To display the shading context, light, material, or world sub-contexts: F5
  • To display the shading context and texture sub-context: F6
  • To display the object context: F7
  • To display the shading context and world sub-context: F8
  • To display the editing context: F9
  • To display the scene context: F10
  • To hide or show the render window: F11
  • To start the rendering from the active camera: F12
  • To go to the previous frame: Left
  • To go to the first frame: Shift+Left
  • To go to the next frame: Right
  • To go to the last frame: Shift+Right
  • To go forward 10 frames: Up
  • To go back 10 frames: Down
  • To change the current Blender window to animation playback mode, the cursor changes to a counter: Alt+A
  • To change the current window and all 3D windows to animation playback mode: Alt+Shift+A
  • To insert the key menu, this menu differs from window to window: I
  • To toggle the render buffers: J
  • To open the last saved file: Cmd+O
  • To quit Blender: Q
  • To timer menu, this menu offers access to information about drawing speed: Cmd+Alt+T
  • To save user defaults, current project settings are written to the default file that will be loaded every time you start Blender: Cmd+U
  • To write a file without opening a file window: Cmd+W
  • To write a videoscape file: Alt+W
  • To erase everything except the render buffer, the default scene is reloaded: Cmd+X
  • To redo: Cmd+Y
  • To undo: Cmd+Z
  • To redo: Cmd+Shift+Z

Now, lets learn about object mode Blender shortcut keys for Mac.

Also Read: How to Type Backwards on Keyboard

Object Mode Blender Shortcut Keys Mac:

  • When all objects in the visible layer are displayed completely, centered in the window: Home
  • To select the next object key, if more than one is selected the selection is shifted up cyclically: PgUp
  • To add to the selection the next object key: Shift + PgUp
  • To select the previous object key, if more than one is selected the selection is shifted up cyclically: PgDn
  • To add to the selection the previous object key: Shift + PgDn
  • To select all layers: `
  • To revert to the previous layer setting: Shift+ `
  • To start or stop edit mode: Tab
  • To select or deselect all: A
  • To apply size and rotation: Cmd + A
  • To bring up a menu for actually creating the objects if the active object is automatically duplicated: Cmd + Shift + A
  • To bring up the add menu, the toolbox items that start with ADD: Shift + A
  • To border, select, draw a rectangle with the left mouse to select objects: B
  • To render border which only works in camera view mode: Shift + B
  • To center view where the position of the 3D cursor becomes the new center of the 3D window: C
  • To convert the menu, it depends on the active object a popup menu is displayed enabling you to convert certain types of ObData: Alt + C
  • To copy menu where the menu copies information from the active object to selected objects: Cmd + C
  • To center zero view where the 3D cursor is set to zero and the view is changed so all objects can be displayed: Shift + C
  • To display the draw mode menu: D
  • To add duplicate where selected objects are duplicated: Shift + D
  • To add linked duplicate where linked duplicates of the selected objects are created: Alt + D
  • To draw the texture image as wire: Cmd + D
  • To start or stop edit mode: Alt + E
  • To toggle face select mode on or off if the selected object is a mash: F
  • To sort faces where faces of the active mesh object are sorted based on the current view in the 3D window: Cmd + F
  • For grab mode or translation mode: G
  • To clear translations given in grab mode: Alt + G
  • For group selection: Shift + G
  • To insert an object key where a key position is inserted in the current frame of all selected objects: I
  • To join objects where all selected objects of the same type are added to the active object: Cmd + J
  • To show keys where the draw key option is turned on for all selected objects: K
  • To display the popup menu for showing and selecting all keys: Shift + K
  • To make the selected object local, makes library-linked objects local for the current scene: L
  • To link selected links some of the active object data to all selected objects: Cmd + L
  • To select linked where selected all objects somehow linked to the active object: Shift + L
  • To move selected objects to another layer: M
  • To mirror menu where it is possible to mirror an object along the X, Y, or Z-axis: Cmd + M
  • To number panel where the location, rotation, and scaling of the active object are displayed and can be modified: N
  • To clear origin where the origin is erased for all child objects, which causes them to move to the exact location of the parent objects: Alt + O
  • To toggle the subsurf on or off if the selected object is a mesh: Shift + O
  • To make selected objects the children of the active object: Cmd + P
  • To clear parent relation, the user is asked if they wish to keep or clear parent-induced transforms: Alt + P
  • To rotate mode works on selected objects: R
  • To clear rotation where the X, Y, and Z rotations of selected objects are set to zero: Alt + R
  • For size mode or scaling mode works on selected objects: S
  • To clear size where the X, Y, and Z dimensions of selected objects are set to 1: Alt+S
  • To open the snap menu: Shift + S
  • For texture space mode where the position of dimensions of the texture space for the selected objects can be changed in the same manner for grab and size mode: T
  • To make selected objects track the active object: Cmd + T
  • To clear old-style track where constraint track is removed as all constraints are: Alt + T
  • To make an object single user where the inverse operation of link: U
  • To switch in and out of vertex paint mode: V
  • For the object image aspect where this hotkey sets the X and Y dimensions of the selected objects in relation to the dimensions of the image texture they have: Alt + V
  • To open the object booleans menu: W
  • To delete selected objects: X
  • To toggle the solid mode on or off: Z
  • To toggle the shaded mode on or off: Shift + Z
  • To toggle the textured mode on or off: Alt + Z

Edit Mode General Blender Shortcut Keys Mac

  • To start or stop edit mode: Tab
  • To start or stop edit mode (alternative): Alt + E
  • To switch between vertex, select, edge select, and face select modes: Cmd + Tab
  • Tp select or unselect all: A
  • To circle select: B + B
  • To create a hook object with vertices selected: Cmd + H
  • For number pane where simpler than the object mode one: N
  • To switch in and out of proportional editing: O
  • To toggle between smooth and sharp proportional editing: Shift + O
  • To separate where you can choose to make a new object with all selected vertices, edges, faces, and curves: P
  • To make vertex parent: Cmd + P
  • To shear where in edit mode this operation enables you to make selected forms slant: Cmd + S
  • To undo: U
  • To display specials popup menu: W
  • To warp where selected vertices can be bent into curves with this option: Shift + W

Hence, these were the list of Blender shortcut keys for Mac.

Blender Modeling Shortcut Keys for Properties

blender website. Blender Shortcut Keys: Complete List of Commands to Boost Productivity

Blender users across the world can use some shortcut keys that are basically commands to process action for image editing or other graphic processes. Following are some Blender modeling shortcut keys for properties that you can use:

  • To copy the single value of the button: Ctrl + C
  • To paste the single value of the button: Ctrl + V
  • To copy the entire vector or the color field: Ctrl + Alt + C
  • To paste the vector as the whole or the whole color field: Ctrl + Alt + V
  • To open the context menu: RMB (Right Mouse Button)
  • To clear the value (clears a text field or sets the value to 0): Backspace
  • To negate the number values (multiply by -1.0): Minus
  • To change the value in incremental steps where this option cycles the values for pop-up option menus and buttons: Ctrl+Wheel (Mouse Scrolling Wheel)
  • To activate the menus or toggles the values: Return/Enter
  • This shortcut key can be used when held while editing values, it applies the changes to all the selected items, including objects, bones, and sequence strips. The command can be used for number fields and toggles: Alt

Also Read: 26 Best 3D Modeling Software

Blender Shortcut Keys for Beginners

For industry-compatible keymapping, you can follow Blender shortcut keys for beginner’s provided below:

Blender Modeling Shortcut Keys General Commands:

  • For Mode or Element Switching: 1 – 9
  • For operator search: Tab
  • For Quick Access (Favorites): Shift + Tab
  • To Duplicate: Ctrl + D
  • To Set Parent: P
  • To Rename: Return
  • To Render: Ctrl + Return
  • For Proportional Editing and Soft Selection: B
  • To toggle toolbar: Ctrl + [
  • To toggle sidebar: Ctrl + ]

Blender Shortcut Keys Viewport Commands:

  • For Orbit View: Alt + LMB (Left Mouse Button)
  • For Pan View: Alt + MMB (Middle Mouse Button)
  • For Zoom View: Alt + RMB (Right Mouse Button)
  • For Front/Side/Top camera viewpoints: F1 – F4
  • To select Frame: F
  • To Frame All: A
  • For Selection: Blender shortcuts
  • To Select: LMB (Left Mouse Button)
  • To Select All: Ctrl + A
  • To Deselect All: Shift + Ctrl + A
  • To Select Inverse: Ctrl + I
  • To Select more: Up
  • To Select less: Down
  • To Select Loop: Double LMB (Left Mouse Button)
  • To Select Ring: Alt + Double LMB (Left Mouse Button)
  • To Select linked: ]

Blender Modeling Shortcut Keys Tools Commands:

  • To Transform Tools: W, E, R
  • For Box Select: Q
  • To Annotate: D
  • For Cursor Tool: C

Blender Shortcut Keys Edit Mode Tools Commands:

  • To Extrude: Ctrl + E
  • To Bevel: Ctrl + B
  • To Inset: I
  • For Knife: K
  • For Loop Cut: Alt + C

Blender Modeling Shortcut Keys Animation Commands:

  • To Play/Pause: Spacebar
  • To Set Location + Rotation + Scale Keyframe: S
  • To Insert Keyframe Menu: Shift + S
  • To Set Location Key: Shift + W
  • To Set Rotation Key: Shift + E
  • To Set Scale Key: Shift + R

Blender Modeling Shortcut Keys for 3D Visual Orientation

blender features page

The next Blender modeling shortcut keys listed below are for the 3D visual orientation process:

  • To reset the 3D view to the isometric view on the viewport, which is the home position of the model: Home
  • For Camera perspective setting: Number Pad 0
  • For front ortho: Number Pad 1
  • For back ortho: Ctrl+NumPad 1
  • For axis orientation x/y/z: Shift + NumberPad1
  • For Roll scene left and right: Number Pad 2/8, 4/6 up/down
  • For Right ortho view: Number Pad 3
  • For top ortho view: Number Pad 7
  • For bottom ortho: Ctrl + NumPad 7
  • To toggle perspective/ orthographic: Number Pad 5
  • To zoom in: Number+
  • To zoom out: Number-
  • To focus on selection: Number.
  • For Roll scene left and right panning: Number Pad 2/8, 4/6 up/down
  • For local and global orientation: Number/

Blender Shortcut Keys for UV Unwrap Shortcuts

For Blender shortcut keys UV unwrap, look at the commands given below:

  • For border selection: B
  • For Circle selection: C
  • For Unwrap: E
  • For Translate, Move, Grab: G
  • To Hide: H
  • To unhide: Alt + H
  • To invert selection: Ctrl + I
  • Mirror or flip the faces: Ctrl + M
  • For X-Axis: +X
  • For Y-Axis: +Y
  • To get the Properties: N
  • To Create New Image: Alt + N
  • To toggle Proportional Editing and use: O
  • To open a new Image: Alt + O
  • To Pin selection of components: P
  • To Unpin selection: Alt + P
  • To toggle UV Sculpt for checking the details of mapped texture with objects: Q
  • To enable Rotate: R
  • To enable Scale: S
  • enable Snap to [option]: Shift + S
  • To enable Tool Shelf: T
  • To enable toggle UV and Image Editor: Tab
  • To enable Stitch: V
  • To enable Weld/Align: W
  • To Split selection and mapping: Y
  • To zoom view ‘full’, ‘half’, ‘quarter’, ‘eighth’ size of the UV: Numpad 1, 2, 4, 8
  • To Save as Image in a different location: F3
  • For pivot points: “,”
  • For cursor: “.”

Latest Version Blender Shortcut Keys

The following Blender shortcut keys commands will help you with the latest version:

  • For Link/Append: Shift + F1
  • For Logic Editor: Shift + F2
  • For Node Editor: Shift + F3
  • For Console: Shift + F4
  • For 3D View: Shift + F5
  • For Graph Editor: Shift + F6
  • For Properties: Shift + F7
  • For Video Sequence Editor: Shift + F8
  • For Outliner: Shift + F9
  • For UV/Image Editor: Shift + F10
  • For Text Editor: Shift + F11
  • For Dope Sheet: Shift + F12

Blender Cheat Sheet

For users working with Blender for 2D/3D content creation, the below given Blender Cheat Sheet list is essential:

Blender Cheat Sheet for Menu Call-Up:

  • For object properties sidebar: N
  • To toggle toolbar: T
  • For Quick Favorites menu: Q
  • For Function search: F3
  • For Mode Pie menu: Ctrl + Tab
  • For Viewport Pie menu: ~
  • For Pivot Point Pie menu: .
  • For the Axis Orientation Pie menu: ,
  • For the Snap Pie menu: Shift + S

Blender Cheat Sheet for Viewport Navigation:

  • For Orbit view: Middle click + drag
  • For Pan view: Shift + Middle click + drag
  • For Zoom view: Scroll wheel; Ctrl + Middle click + drag
  • For Free pan by cursor: Shift + ~ + move mouse; Click in Viewport to deactivate

Blender Cheat Sheet for Object Manipulation:

  • To Move object or geometry: G
  • To Rotate with trackball: RR
  • For Action along the axis: G, S, or R + X, Y, or Z
  • For Action along the local axis: G, S, or R + XX, YY, or ZZ
  • For Fine tune control: Hold Shift while transforming
  • To Adjust value by increment: Hold Ctrl while transforming
  • To Duplicate object: Shift + D
  • To Duplicate linked objects: Alt + D
  • To Add an active object to the new collection: M

Blender Cheat Sheet for Nodes:

  • To Create a new node: Shift + A
  • For Sever connection: Ctrl + Right click + Drag
  • For Connect selected: F
  • For Mute selected: M
  • For Group selected: Ctrl + G
  • For Ungroup selected: Ctrl + Alt + G

Recommended:

This brings us to the end of our guide on Blender shortcut keys. We hope that the doc was successful in acquainting you with some of the most used and important Blender keys that you can use as a shortcut for different purposes. Do let us know about your suggestions or queries, in case you have any, by dropping them in the comments section below.

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