Inkscape Keyboard and Mouse Reference
Inkscape Keyboard and Mouse Reference
Inkscapekeyboardandmousereference|Inkscape
Tools
F1,s Selector
Space Selector(temporary)
SpaceswitchestotheSelectortooltemporarilyanotherSpaceswitchesback.
Whenthe"LeftmousebuttonpanswhenSpaceispressed"optionisoninPreferences,
Space+mousedragpanscanvasinsteadofswitchingtoSelector.
F2,n Nodetool
Shift + F2,w Tweaktool
F3,z Zoomtool
n Measuretool
F4,r Rectangletool
Shift + F4,x 3Dboxtool
F5,e Ellipse/arctool
Shift + F9,* Startool
F9,i Spiraltool
F6,p Pencil(Freehand)tool
Shift + F6,b Pen(Bezier)tool
Ctrl + F6,c Calligraphytool
F8,t Texttool
Shift + F3,a Spraytool
Shift + E Erasertool
Shift + F7,u PaintBuckettool
Ctrl + F1,g Gradienttool
F7,d Droppertool
Ctrl + F2,o Connectortool
DoubleclickonthetoolbuttonsopensthePreferencesdialogshowingthepageofthecorresponding
tool.
Dialogs
Open
Shift + Ctrl + F FillandStroke
Shift + Ctrl + W Swatches
Shift + Ctrl + T TextandFont
Shift + Ctrl + M Transform
Shift + Ctrl + L Layers
Shift + Ctrl + A AlignandDistribute
Shift + Ctrl + O ObjectProperties
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Togglevisibility
F12 toggledialogs
ThistemporarilyhidesallopendialogsanotherF12showsthemagain.
Withinadialog
Esc returntothecanvas
Ctrl + F4, Ctrl + W closethedialog
Tab jumptonextwidget
Shift + Tab jumptopreviouswidget
Enter setthenewvalue
Thisacceptsthenewvalueyoutypedinatextfieldandreturnsfocustocanvas.
Space,Enter activatecurrentbuttonorlist
Ctrl + PgUp, Ctrl + PgDn inamultitabdialog,switchtabs
Controlsbar
Access
TheControlsbaratthetopofthedocumentwindowprovidesdifferentbuttonsandcontrolsforeach
tool.
Alt + X jumptothefirsteditablefield
Navigate
Tab jumptonextfield
Shift + Tab jumptopreviousfield
UsethesetonavigatebetweenfieldsintheControlsbar(thevalueinthefieldyouleave,ifchanged,
isaccepted).
Changevalues
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Uparrow,Downarrow changevalueby0.1
PgUp,PgDn changevalueby5.0
Enter acceptthenewvalue
Thisacceptsthenewvalueyoutypedinatextfieldandreturnsfocustocanvas.
Esc cancelchanges,returntocanvas
Thiscancelsanychangesyoumadeinatextfieldandreturnsfocustocanvas.
Ctrl + Z cancelchanges
Thiscancelsanychangesyoumadeinatextfieldbutyoustayinthefield.
Canvas
Zoom
=,+ zoomin
zoomout
Thekeypad+/keysdozoomingevenwhenyouareeditingatextobject,unlessNumLockison.
zoomout
Q quickzoom
Zoomstoselection,ordoublesthecurrentzoomfactorifnothingisselected,untilkeyisreleased.
Presetzooms
1 zoom1:1
2 zoom1:2
3 zoomtoselection
4 zoomtodrawing
5 zoomtopage
Ctrl + E,6 zoomtopagewidth
Zoomhistory
` (backquote)previouszoom
Shift + ` nextzoom
Withthesekeys,youcantravelbackandforththroughthehistoryofzoomsinthissession.
Scroll(pan)
Ctrl + arrows scrollcanvas
Scrollingbykeysisaccelerated,i.e.itspeedsupwhenyoupressCtrl+arrowsinquicksuccession,or
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pressandhold.
middlebuttondrag pancanvas
Shift + rightbutton
drag, Ctrl + rightbuttondrag
pancanvas
mousewheel scrollcanvasvertically
Whenthe"Mousewheelzoomsbydefault"optionisoninPreferences,mousewheelzoomsinstead
ofscrolling.Toscroll,useCtrl+wheel.
Guides,grids,snapping
mousedrag dragoffarulertocreateguide
Dragoffthehorizontalorverticalrulertocreateanewguideline.Dragaguidelineontotherulerto
deleteit.
mousedrag dragaguidetomoveit
Shift + mousedrag dragaguide(notnearanchor)torotateit
Shift + Ctrl + mousedrag rotateguidewithanglesnapping
Del
deleteguide
|, Shift + \ toggleguidesandsnappingtoguides
Ifyouwanttoseetheguidesbutnotsnaptothem,usetheglobalsnappingtoggle(%key).
Whenyoucreateanewguidebydraggingofftheruler,guidevisibilityandsnappingareturnedon.
#, Shift + 3 togglegridsandsnappingtogrids
Ifyouwanttoseethegridsbutnotsnaptothem,usetheglobalsnappingtoggle(%key).
Notethatonlythe3keyonthemainkeyboardworks,notonthekeypad.
% togglesnappingonandoff
Thistoggleaffectssnappingtogrids,guides,andobjectsinalltools.
Displaymode
Ctrl + keypad5 togglenormal/nofilters/outlinemode
Palette
Thesekeysworkbothinthefloatingpalettedialogandinthepaletteframeatthebottomofthe
window.
click setfillcoloronselection
Shift + click setstrokecoloronselection
rightclick openpopupmenu
mousedrag dragfillcolortoobjects
Shift + mousedrag dragstrokecolortoobjects
Tochangefill/strokeofanobjectbydraggingcoloronit,thatobjectneednotbeselected.
YoucanalsodragcolorstotheFill(F)andStroke(S)indicatorsinthestatusbartochangethe
selection.
mousewheel scrollpalette
File
Ctrl + N createnewdocument
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Ctrl + O openadocument
Shift + Ctrl + E exporttoPNG
Ctrl + I importbitmaporvector
Ctrl + P printdocument
Ctrl + S savedocument
Shift + Ctrl + S saveunderanewname
Shift + Ctrl + Alt + S saveacopy
Ctrl + Q exitInkscape
Window
Ctrl + R togglerulers
Ctrl + B togglescrollbars
Shift + Alt + P togglepalette
F11 togglefullscreen
Shift + F11 toggletoolbars
Ctrl + F11 toggletoolbarsandfullscreen
F10 mainmenu
MenuscanalsobeactivatedbyAltwiththeletterunderscoredinthemenuname.
Extensions
Alt + Q previousextension
Shift + Alt + Q previousextensionsettings
Layers
Shift + Ctrl + N createnewlayer
Shift + PgUp movetolayerabove
Shift + PgDn movetolayerbelow
Thesecommandsmovetheselectedobjectsfromonelayertoanother.
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Hide/lock
Shift + click
Shift + Alt + click
selectalayerandtogglevisibility(eyeicon)
orlockstatus(lockicon)ontheotherlayers
togglevisibility(eyeicon)orlockstatus
(lockicon)ontheunselectedlayers
ThesecommandsapplytotheLayersdialog'siconsonly.
Object
Undo/redo
Shift + Ctrl + Y, Ctrl + Z undo
Shift + Ctrl + Z, Ctrl + Y redo
Clipboard
Ctrl + C, Ctrl + Ins copyselection
Ctrl + X, Shift + Del cutselection
Ctrl + V, Shift + Ins pasteclipboard
Thisplacestheclipboardobjectsatthemousecursor,oratthecenterofthewindowifmouseis
outsidethecanvas.
Wheneditingtextwiththetexttool,thispastesthetextfromtheclipboardintothecurrenttextobject.
Ctrl + 7 pastepatheffect
Thisappliesthepatheffectofthecopiedpathtothepaths/shapesincurrentselection.
Duplicate
Ctrl + D duplicateselection
Newobject(s)areplacedexactlyovertheoriginal(s)andselected.
Clone
Alt + D cloneobject
Aclonecanbemoved/scaled/rotated/skewedindependently,butitupdatesthepath,fill,andstroke
fromitsoriginal.
Thecloneisplacedexactlyovertheoriginalobjectandisselected.
Youcanonlycloneoneobjectatatimeifyouwanttocloneseveralobjectstogether,groupthem
andclonethegroup.
Shift + D selectoriginal
Tofindoutwhichobjectthisisacloneof,selectthecloneandgivethiscommand.Theoriginalwillbe
selected.
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Bitmaps
Alt + B createabitmapcopy
Thisexportstheselectedobject(s)(allotherobjectshidden)asPNGinthedocument'sdirectoryand
importsitback.
Theimportedbitmapisplacedovertheoriginalselectionandisselected.
Patterns
Alt + I object(s)topattern
Thisconvertstheselectiontoarectanglewithtiledpatternfill.
Guides
Shift + G object(s)toguide(s)
Group
Shift + Ctrl + U, Ctrl + G groupselectedobjects
UseCtrl+clicktoselectobjectswithingroup.
Zorder
Home raiseselectiontotop
End lowerselectiontobottom
PgUp raiseselectiononestep
PgDn lowerselectiononestep
Path
Converttopath
Shift + Ctrl + C convertselectedobject(s)topath
Ctrl + Alt + C convertstroketopath
Booleanoperations
Ctrl + + union
Unioncombinesanynumberofobjectsintoasinglepath,removingoverlaps.
Ctrl + difference
Differenceworkson2objects,extractingthetopfromthebottom.
Ctrl + * intersection
Intersectioncreatesapathrepresentingthecommon(overlapping)areaofallselectedobjects.
Ctrl + ^ exclusiveOR(XOR)
XORissimilartoUnion,exceptthatitworkson2objectsandremovesareaswheretheobjects
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overlap.
Ctrl + / division(cut)
Divisioncutsthebottomobjectintopiecesbythetopobject,preservingthefillandstrokeofthe
bottom.
Offsets
Ctrl + ( insetpath(towardscenter)
Ctrl + ) outsetpath(awayfromcenter)
Thedefaultoffsetdistanceis2px(SVGpixelunits,notscreenpixels).
Alt + ( insetpathby1pixel
Alt + ) outsetpathby1pixel
Shift + Alt + ( insetpathby10pixels
Shift + Alt + ) outsetpathby10pixels
Theactualdistanceforpixeloffsetsdependsonzoomlevel.Zoominforfineradjustment.
Allthe(,)commandsconverttheobjecttopath,ifnecessary,andproduceregularpath.
Ctrl + J createdynamicoffset
Ctrl + Alt + J createlinkedoffset
Thesecommandsproduceanoffsetobject,editablebythenodetool,standaloneorlinkedtothe
original.
Shift + D selectsource
Selectingalinkedoffsetandgivingthiscommandwillselectthesourcepathofthelinkedoffset.
Combine
Ctrl + K combinepaths
Thisisdifferentfromgroupinginthatcombinedpathscreateoneobject.
ThisisdifferentfromUnioninthatoverlappingareasarenotaffected.
WhetheroverlappingareasarefillediscontrolledbytheFill:winding/alternatingswitchontheFill&
Strokedialog.
Simplify
Ctrl + L simplify
Thiscommandattemptstosimplifyselectedpath(s)byremovingextranodes.Itconvertsallobjectsto
pathsfirst.
Ifyouinvokethiscommandseveraltimesinquicksuccession,itwillactmoreandmoreaggressively.
InvokingSimplifyagainafterapauserestoresthedefaultthreshold(settableintheInkscape
Preferencesdialog).
Selector
Select(mouse)
click selectanobject
Whenyouleftclickonanobject,previousselectionisdeselected.
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Shift+clickaddsanobjecttothecurrentselectionifitwasnotselected,ordeselectsitotherwise.
Rubberband,touchselection
mousedrag selectbyrubberband
Draggingaroundobjectsdoes"rubberband"selectionpreviousselectionisdeselected.
Alt + mouse
selectbytouch
drag, Shift + Alt + mousedrag
Alt+draggingoverobjectsselectsthoseobjectsthataretouchedbythepath.
TostarttouchselectionwithAlt,youmusthavenothingselectedotherwiseuseShift+Alt.
Youcanswitchrubberbandselectiontotouchselectionandbackwhiledraggingbypressing/releasing
Alt.
Select(keyboard)
Tab selectnextobject
Shift + Tab selectpreviousobject
Thesekeyspickobjectsintheirzorder(Tabcyclesfrombottomtotop,Shift+Tabcyclesfromtopto
bottom).
Unlessyoudidmanualrearrangements,thelastobjectyoucreatedisalwaysontop.
Asaresult,ifnothingisselected,pressingShift+Tabonceconvenientlyselectstheobjectyoucreated
last.
Thisworksonobjectswithinthecurrentlayer(unlessyouchangethatinpreferences).
Ctrl + A selectall(currentlayer)
Thisworksonobjectswithinthecurrentlayer(unlessyouchangethatinpreferences).
! invertselection(currentlayer)
Thisinvertsselection(deselectswhatwasselectedandviceversa)inthecurrentlayer.
Alt + ! invertselection(alllayers)
Thisinvertsselection(deselectswhatwasselectedandviceversa)invisibleandunlockedlayers.
Esc deselect
Backspace,Del deleteselection
Selectwithingroup,selectunder
Ctrl + click selectwithingroup
Ctrl+clickselectstheobjectatclickpointdisregardinganylevelsofgroupingthatthisobjectmight
belongto.
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Move(keyboard)
arrows moveselectionbythenudgedistance
Shift + arrows moveselectionby10xnudgedistance
Thedefaultnudgedistanceis2px(SVGpixelunits,notscreenpixels).
Transform(mouse)
click, Shift + S togglescale/rotationhandles
mousedrag scale(withscalehandles)
mousedrag rotateorskew(withrotationhandles)
Scalebyhandles
mousedrag scale
Ctrl + mousedrag scalepreservingaspectratio
Shift + mousedrag symmetrictransformation
HoldingShiftwhiletransformingmakestransformationsymmetricaroundthecenteroftheselection.
Scale(keyboard)
.,> scaleselectionupbythescalestep
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,,< scaleselectiondownbythescalestep
Thedefaultscalestepis2px(SVGpixelunits,notscreenpixels).
Rotate/skewbyhandles
mousedrag rotateorskew
Ctrl + mousedrag snapskewangle
HoldingCtrlwhendraggingaskew(noncorner)handlesnapstheskewangletoanglesteps(default
15degrees).
Rotate(keyboard)
[,] rotateselectionbytheanglestep
Thedefaultanglestepis15degrees.]rotatesclockwise,[rotatescounterclockwise.
Flip
h flipselectionhorizontally
v flipselectionvertically
Ifthetoolisinrotatemode(rotationcentervisible),thatcenterbecomestheaxisofflippingotherwise
itflipsaroundgeometriccenterofselection.
Rotationcenter
mousedrag moverotationcenter
Movedrotationcenterremembersandsavesitspositionfor(all)selectedobject(s)youcanresetit.
Cancel
Esc cancelrubberband,move,transformation
PressEscwhilemousebuttonisstilldowntocancelrubberbandselection,move,ortransformationof
anykind.
Nodetool
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Selectobjects(mouse)
click clickanonselectedobjecttoselect
Alt + click selectunder
Alt + mousewheel cyclezorder
Shift + click toggleselection
TheseworkthesameasinSelector.Thenodesorhandlesofthesingleselectedobjectbecome
editable.
Selectnodes(mouse)
click selectanode
Clickingonanodeselectsit.
click selecttwoadjacentnodes
Clickingonaselectedpathbetweenthenodesselectsthetwonodesclosesttotheclickpoint.
click deselect
Clickinginanemptyspacedeselectsallselectednodes.Nextclickwilldeselecttheobject.
Rubberbandselection
mousedrag selectmultiplenodes
Draggingaroundnodesdoes"rubberband"selectionpreviousnodeselectionisdeselected.
Selectnodes(keyboard)
Tab selectnextnode
Shift + Tab selectpreviousnode
Thesekeysselectnodeswithintheselectedpath.
Ctrl + A selectallnodesinsubpath(s)
Ifthepathhasmultiplesubpathsandsomenodesselected,thisselectsallonlyinsubpathswith
alreadyselectednodes.
! invertselectioninsubpath(s)
Ifthepathhasmultiplesubpathsandsomenodesselected,thisinvertsselectiononlyinsubpaths
withalreadyselectednodes.
Alt + ! invertselectioninpath
Thisinvertsselection(deselectswhatwasselectedandviceversa)intheentirepath.
Esc deselectallnodes
Grow/shrinknodeselection
PgUp,PgDn grow/shrinkselection(spatial)
mousewheel grow/shrinkselection(spatial)
Ctrl + PgUp, Ctrl + PgDn grow/shrinkselection(alongpath)
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Movenodes(mouse)
mousedrag moveselectednodes
Ctrl + mousedrag restrictmovementtohorizontalorvertical
Ctrl + Alt + mousedrag movealonghandles
Thisrestrictsmovementtothedirectionsofthenode'shandles,theircontinuationsandperpendiculars
(total8snaps).
Ifthenodehasstraightlinesononeorbothsides,thiswillsnapittotheselines'directionsand
perpendicularsinstead.
Movenodes(keyboard)
arrows
Shift + arrows
moveselectednode(s)bythenudge
distance
moveselectednode(s)by10xnudge
distance
Thedefaultnudgedistanceis2px(SVGpixelunits,notscreenpixels).
Movenodehandle(mouse)
mousedrag moveanodehandle
Ctrl + mousedrag snapthehandletoanglesteps
Thedefaultanglestepis15degrees.Thisalsosnapstothehandle'soriginalangle,itscontinuation
andperpendiculars.
Scalehandle(1nodeselected)
<,> contract/expandbothhandlesbyscalestep
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Thedefaultscalestepis2px(SVGpixelunits,notscreenpixels).Mayapplytomorethanonenode.
Rotatehandle(1nodeselected)
[,] rotatebothhandlesbytheanglestep
Thedefaultanglestepis15degrees.]rotatesclockwise,[rotatescounterclockwise.Mayapplyto
morethanonenode.
.,> scalenodesupbythescalestep
,,< scalenodesdownbythescalestep
Thedefaultscalestepis2px(SVGpixelunits,notscreenpixels).
Rotatenodes(>1nodesselected)
Thesecommandsrotatetheselectednodesasiftheywerean"object".
Ifmouseisoveranode,thatnodebecomestheaxisofrotationotherwiseitrotatesaroundgeometric
centerofselectednodes.
[,] rotatenodesbytheanglestep
Thedefaultanglestepis15degrees.]rotatesclockwise,[rotatescounterclockwise.
Flipnodes(>1nodesselected)
Thesecommandsfliptheselectednodesasiftheywerean"object",aroundthecenterofthatobject.
h flipnodeshorizontally
v flipnodesvertically
Ifmouseisoveranode,thatnodebecomestheaxisofflippingotherwiseitflipsaroundgeometric
centerofselectednodes
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Changesegment(s)
Shift + L makeline
Shift + U makecurve
Thesecommandsrequirethatmorethantwoadjacentnodesbeselected.
Changenodetype
Shift + C makecusp
FirstShift+CchangestypeofnodeifyoudoanotherShift+Conanalreadycuspnode,itretractsits
handles.
Shift + S makesmooth
Ifacuspnodeisadjacenttoalinesegment,firstShift+Smakesithalfsmoothwithonehandle
collinearwiththesegmentanotherShift+Swillexpandasecondhandle.
Shift + Y makesymmetric
Whenmakingsmoothorsymmetric,youcanlockthepositionofoneofthehandlesbyhovering
mouseoverit.
Shift + A makeauto
Ctrl + click togglesmooth/cusp/symmetric/auto
Join/break
Shift + J joinselectednodes
Thisrequiresthatexactlytwoendnodeswithinthepathbeselected.
Youcanlockthepositionofoneofthetwojoinednodesbyhoveringmouseoverit.
Alt + J joinselectedendnodeswithnewsegment
Shift + B breakselectednode(s)
Afterbreak,onlyoneofeachtwonewnodesisselected.Mayapplytomorethanonenode.
Delete,create,duplicate
Backspace,Del deleteselectednode(s)
Ctrl + Backspace, Ctrl + Del deletewithoutpreservingshape
DeletingwithoutCtrladjustshandlesontheremainingnodestopreservetheshapeofthecurveas
muchaspossible.
DeletingwithCtrldoesnottouchtheremainingnodes.
Alt + Del
deletesegmentbetweentwononendpoint
nodes
Shift + D duplicateselectednode(s)
Newnodesarecreatedonthesamepaththeyareplacedexactlyovertheoldonesandare
selected.
Reverse
Shift + R reversepathdirection
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Editshapes
Nodetoolcanalsodragthehandlesofshapes(rectangles,ellipses,stars,spirals).Clickonashapeto
selectit.
Seethecorrespondingshapetoolsfortheireditingshortcuts,allofwhichalsoworkinnodetool.
Editfillsandpatheffects
Nodetoolcanalsoeditthehandlesofapatternfill,gradientfill,andtheeditablehandlesofpath
effects.
Cancel
Esc cancelrubberbandormove
PressEscwhilemousebuttonisstilldowntocancelrubberbandselection,nodemove,orhandle
move.
Tweaktool
Operation
mousedrag actonselectedpathsinthecurrentmode
Shift + mousedrag reversecurrentmode(whenapplicable)
Ctrl + mousedrag acttemporarilyswitchingtoshrinkmode
Shift + Ctrl + mousedrag acttemporarilyswitchingtogrowmode
Theamountoftweakingactionisthegreatestatthecenterofthecircularareaanddropsoffsmoothly
towardstheedges.
Modes
Shift + M, Shift + 0 movemode
Shift + I, Shift + 1 movein/outmode
Dragmovesobjectsinwardstocursor,dragwithShiftmovesoutwardsfromcursor.
Shift + [ rotatemode
Dragrotatesobjectsclockwise,dragwithShift,counterclockwise.
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Parameters
Leftarrow,Rightarrow adjustbrushwidthby1
Home,End setbrushwidthto1/100
Uparrow,Downarrow adjusttweakingforce
Widthandforcecanbeadjustedwhiledrawing.Withapressuresensitivetablet,forcealsodepends
onpenpressure.
Zoomtool
click zoomin
Shift + click zoomout
mousedrag zoomintothearea
Measuretool
mousedrag
measuredistanceandanglebetweenthe
startpointandthecursor
Rectangletool
Draw
mousedrag drawarectangle
Ctrl + mousedrag makeasquareorintegerratiorectangle
Thisrestrictsrectanglesoitsheight/widthratioisawholenumber.
Select
click clicktoselect
Alt + click, Ctrl + Alt + click selectunder
Shift + click toggleselection
Inthistool,selectingbyclickdisregardsanygrouping(i.e.actsasclickingwithCtrlinSelector).
Esc deselect
Resizebyhandles
mousedrag dragasquarehandletoresize
Initially,thetworesize(square)handlesareintopleftandbottomrightcorners.
Resizehandleschangethewidthandheightoftherectangleinitsowncoordinatesystem,beforeany
transformsareapplied.
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Roundcornersbyhandles
mousedrag dragacircularhandletoroundcorners
Initially,thetworoundinghandlesareinthetoprightcorneroftherectangle.
3Dboxtool
Draw
mousedrag drawa3Dbox(X/Yplane)
Shift + mousedrag drawa3Dbox(extrudeinZ)
Select
click clicktoselect
Alt + click, Ctrl + Alt + click selectunder
Shift + click toggleselection
Esc deselect
Editbyhandles
Alleditingoperationsoccur"inperspective",i.e.,eitheralongperspectivelinesorwithinplanes
spannedbythese.
mousedrag resize/movebox
ThefourfronthandlesandthecenternormallymovewithintheXYplane,thefourrearhandlesalong
theZaxis.
Shift + mousedrag
Ctrl + mousedrag
resize/move(withhandlebehaviour
swapped)
resize/move(handlessnaptoaxesor
diagonals)
Editperspectives
Inwhatfollows,weusetheabbreviationsVP=vanishingpoint,PL=perspectiveline.
mousedrag dragsquarehandlestomovetheVPs
[,] rotateXPLs(ifparallel)bytheanglestep
Thedefaultanglestepis15degrees.],),}rotateclockwise,[,(,{rotatecounterclockwise.
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Ellipsetool
Draw
WithoutAltthestartingandendingpointofthemousedragmarkthecornersoftheboundingbox.
WithAlttheellipseisenlargedsothatitscircumferencepassesthroughthesetwopoints(Ctrl+Altisa
specialcaseseebelow).
mousedrag drawanellipse
Ctrl + mousedrag makecircleorintegerratioellipse
Thisrestrictsellipsesoitsheight/widthratioisawholenumber.
createcirclepassingthroughthestarting
andendingpoint
Thiscreatesaperfectcirclewhosediameterisdefinedbythestartingandendingpointofthemouse
drag.
Select
click clicktoselect
Alt + click, Ctrl + Alt + click selectunder
Shift + click toggleselection
Inthistool,selectingbyclickdisregardsanygrouping(i.e.actsasclickingwithCtrlinSelector).
Esc deselect
Editbyhandles
mousedrag resize,makearcorsegment
Initially,thetworesizehandlesareatthetopmostandleftmostpointsthetwoarc/segmenthandles
areintherightmostpoint.
Startool
Draw
mousedrag drawastar
Ctrl + mousedrag snapstartoanglesteps
Thedefaultanglestepis15degrees.
Select
click clicktoselect
Alt + click, Ctrl + Alt + click selectunder
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Esc deselect
Editbyhandles
mousedrag dragahandletovarythestarshape
Ctrl + mousedrag keepstarraysradial(noskew)
Shift + mousedrag roundthestar
Shift + click removerounding
Alt + mousedrag randomizethestar
Alt + click, Ctrl + Alt + click removerandomization
Spiraltool
Draw
mousedrag drawaspiral
Ctrl + mousedrag snapspiraltoanglesteps
Thedefaultanglestepis15degrees.
Select
click clicktoselect
Alt + click, Ctrl + Alt + click selectunder
Shift + click toggleselection
Inthistool,selectingbyclickdisregardsanygrouping(i.e.actsasclickingwithCtrlinSelector).
Esc deselect
Editbyhandles
mousedrag roll/unrollfrominside(innerhandle)
Draggingtheinnerhandleadjuststhe"innerradius"parameter.
mousedrag roll/unrollfromoutside(outerhandle)
Draggingtheouterhandleadjuststhe"turns"parameter.
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Penciltool
mousedrag drawafreehandline
Shift + mousedrag addtoselectedpath
Ifapathisselected,Shift+clickinganywherestartsanewsubpathinsteadofanewindependentpath.
Pen(Bezier)tool
Createnodes
click createasharpnode
Ifnopathisbeingcreated,thisstartsanewpath.
mousedrag createaBeziernodewithtwohandles
Shift + mousedrag moveonlyonehandle
Thismovesonlyonehandle(insteadofboth)whilecreatinganode,makingitcusp.
Movelastnode
Thesecommandsmovethelastcreatednode(atthestartoftheredsegment)whilecreatingapath.
arrows movelastnodebythenudgedistance
Shift + arrows movelastnodeby10xnudgedistance
Thedefaultnudgedistanceis2px(SVGpixelunits,notscreenpixels).
Create/modifysegments
Ctrl
snaplastsegmenttoanglesteps
Thissnapsthenewnode'sangle,relativetothepreviousnode,toanglesteps(default15degrees).
Shift + L makelastsegmentline
Shift + U makelastsegmentcurve
Thesecommandschangethelast(red)segmentofthepathtostraightlineorcurve.
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Createdots
Ctrl + click createadot(straightlinemodesonly)
Thiscreatesasmallcircle.Itssize(relativetothecurrentstrokewidth)canbesetinPreferences.
Cancel
Esc, Ctrl + Z cancelcurrentline
Backspace,Del eraselastsegmentofcurrentline
Calligraphytool
mousedrag drawacalligraphicline
Shift + mousedrag addtoselectedpath
DrawingwithShiftunionsthenewlycreatedstrokewiththepreviousselection.
Leftarrow,Rightarrow adjustpenwidthby1
Home,End setpenwidthto1or100
Uparrow,Downarrow adjustpenangle
Widthandanglecanbeadjustedwhiledrawing.
Esc deselect
Texttool
Select/create
click create/selectatextobject
Clickinginanemptyspaceoronanontextcreatesatextobjectnowyoucantypeyourtext.
Clickingonatextobjectselectsitcursorisplacedneartheclickpoint.
Esc deselectthetextobject
Navigateintext
arrows movecursorbyonecharacter
Ctrl + Leftarrow, Ctrl + Rightarrow movecursorbyoneword
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Flowedtext(internalframe)
mousedrag createflowedtext
Clickinganddragginginanemptyspaceoronanontextcreatesaflowedtextobjectwithinternal
frame.
mousedrag adjustframesize
Draggingthehandleinthelowerrightcorneroftheselectedflowedtextchangeswidth/heightofthe
frame.
Flowedtext(externalframe)
Alt + W flowtextintoframe
Withatextobjectandashape/pathselected,thisflowstextintotheshape/path.
Bothremainseparateobjects,butarelinkededitingtheshape/pathcausesthetexttoreflow.
Shift + D selectexternalframe
Tofindoutwhichobjectistheframeofthisflowedtext,selectitandpressShift+D.Theframewillbe
selected.
Textonpath
Shift + D selectpathfromtext
Tofindoutwhichpaththistextisputon,selectitandpressShift+D.Thepathwillbeselected.
Edittext
Totype+andcharacters,usethemainkeyboardkeypad+andarereservedforzoom(unless
NumLockison).
Enter startanewlineorparagraph
Enterinregulartextcreatesnewlineinflowedtextitcreatesanewparagraph.
Ctrl + U toggleUnicodeentry
ToinsertanarbitraryUnicodecharacter,typeCtrl+U,thenthehexadecimalcodepoint,thenEnter.
Forexample,typeCtrl+U2014EnterforanemdashCtrl+Ua9Enterforacopyrightsign.
TostayinUnicodemodeafterinsertingthecharacter,pressSpaceinsteadofEnter.
PressEscoranotherCtrl+UtocancelUnicodemodewithoutinsertingthecharacter.
Selecttext
mousedrag selecttext
Leftdraggingoveratextobjectselectsatextspan.
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Styleselection
Ctrl + B makeselectionbold
Ctrl + I makeselectionitalic
Also,youcanusetheText&FontorFill&Strokedialogstoassignanystyletotextselection.
Letterspacing
Alt + > expandline/paragraphby1pixel
Shift + Alt + > expandline/paragraphby10pixels
Alt + < contractline/paragraphby1pixel
Shift + Alt + < contractline/paragraphby10pixels
Thesecommands(onlywheneditingtext)adjustletterspacinginthecurrentline(regulartext)or
paragraph(flowedtext).
Theactualadjustmentforpixelmovementsdependsonzoomlevel.Zoominforfineradjustment.
Linespacing
Ctrl + Alt + > makethetextobjecttallerby1pixel
Shift + Ctrl + Alt + >
Ctrl + Alt + <
Shift + Ctrl + Alt + <
makethetextobjecttallerby10
pixels
makethetextobjectshorterby1
pixel
makethetextobjectshorterby10
pixels
Thesecommands(onlywheneditingtext)adjustlinespacingintheentiretextobject(regularor
flowed).
Theactualadjustmentforpixelmovementsdependsonzoomlevel.Zoominforfineradjustment.
Kerningandshifting
Alt + arrows shiftcharactersby1pixel
Shift + Alt + arrows shiftcharactersby10pixels
Thesecommandsworkwheneditingaregulartextobject.Kerningdoesnotworkinflowedtext.
Withnoselection,theyshift(horizontallyorvertically)thecharactersafterthecursoruntiltheendof
line.
Withselection,theyshifttheselectionrelativetotherestoftext(byinsertingoppositekernsatboth
endsofselection).
Theactualadjustmentforpixelmovementsdependsonzoomlevel.Zoominforfineradjustment.
Rotate
Ctrl + [, Ctrl + ] rotatecharacter(s)by90degrees
Alt + [, Alt + ] rotatecharacter(s)by1pixel
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Thesecommandsrotatethenextcharacter(withoutselection)orallcharactersintheselection(with
selection).
Rotationonlyworksinregulartext(notflowedtext).
Theactualangleforpixelrotationdependsonzoomlevel.Zoominforfinermovement.
Spraytool
Modes
Shift + J copymode
Shift + K clonemode
Shift + L singlepathmode
Parameters
Leftarrow,Rightarrow adjustspraywidthby1
Uparrow,Downarrow adjustspraypopulationby1
Home,End setspraywidthto1/100
Erasertool
Leftarrow,Rightarrow adjusteraserwidthby1
Home,End seteraserwidthto1/100
PaintBucket
click fillaboundedarea
Shift + click addtoselectedpath
ClickingwithShiftunionsthenewlycreatedfillwiththepreviousselection.
mousedrag fillfromeachpoint
Fromeachpoint,thefillspreadstotheneighborswiththecolorssimilartothatpoint.
Thiscanbeusedtofillanareacurrentlyfilledwithagradientorblur.
Gradienttool
Selectobjects
click clickanobjecttoselect
Alt + click selectunder
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Selecthandles
click selectahandle
Shift + click addhandletoselection
Shift + mousedrag selectbyrubberband
Tab selectnexthandle
Shift + Tab selectprevioushandle
Ctrl + A selectallhandles
Esc deselectallhandles
Singleclickoutsideallhandlesalsodeselectsallhandles.
Create/deleteintermediatestops
Ctrl + Alt + click createastop
click + click createastop
Ctrl+Alt+clickordoubleclickonagradientlinecreatesanewintermediatestop.
Ins insertnewstop(s)
Thisaddsnewstop(s)inthemiddle(s)ofselectedsegment(s),soitrequiresthatmorethantwo
adjacenthandlesbeselected.
Del deleteselectedstops
Movehandles/stops
mousedrag moveselectedhandle(s)
Ctrl + mousedrag movestopsin1/10rangeincrements
Ctrl+draggingselectedintermediatestopsmovesthemsnappingto1/10stepsoftheavailablerange.
arrows
Shift + arrows
moveselectedhandlebythenudge
distance
moveselectedhandleby10xnudge
distance
Thedefaultnudgedistanceis2px(SVGpixelunits,notscreenpixels).
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Reverse
Shift + R reversegradientdefinition
Thismirrorsthestoppositionsofthecurrentgradientwithoutmovingthegradienthandles.
Gradienteditor
click + click opengradienteditor
DoubleclickingagradienthandleopenstheGradientEditorwiththatgradientandtheclickedhandle
choseninthestopslist.
Droppertool
click pickfillcolor
Shift + click pickstrokecolor
mousedrag averagefillcolor
Shift + mousedrag averagestrokecolor
Clickappliesthecolorundercursortothecurrentselection.Draggingaradiuscalculatestheaverage
colorofacirculararea.
Ifagradienthandle(inGradienttool)isselected,itgetsthecolorinsteadoftheentireobject.
Ctrl + C copycolor
Thiscopiesthecolorundercursortotheclipboard,astextinRRGGBBAAformat(8hexdigits).
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