Keyboard Shortcuts & Menus
A quick reference for keyboard shortcuts, mouse navigation, and what lives in each menu.
On macOS, use ⌘ (Command) wherever this page says Ctrl. Qt maps the standard shortcuts (Save, Copy, Undo, …) to ⌘ automatically.
Keyboard shortcuts
File
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| New project | Ctrl+N |
| Open project | Ctrl+O |
| Save | Ctrl+S |
| Save As… | Ctrl+Shift+S |
Edit
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Undo | Ctrl+Z |
| Redo | Ctrl+Shift+Z |
| Copy | Ctrl+C |
| Paste | Ctrl+V |
| Select All | Ctrl+A |
| Delete selection | Delete |
| Rotate 90° | R |
| Flip horizontal | H |
| Flip vertical | V |
View
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Zoom to fit | Ctrl+0 |
| Zoom to selection | Ctrl+Shift+0 |
| Toggle fullscreen | F11 |
Tools
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Cancel the current action (routing, placement, measure) | Esc |
Esc backs out one step at a time. It cancels a half-finished route first,
then exits routing mode on a second press.
Mouse & canvas navigation
| Action | Gesture |
|---|---|
| Select | Left-click a component or route |
| Rubber-band select (window) | Left-drag on empty canvas, left → right — selects only fully-enclosed items |
| Rubber-band select (crossing) | Left-drag on empty canvas, right → left — also selects items the box touches |
| Select an item under others | Alt-click cycles down the stack (or right-click → Select under cursor) |
| Add to selection | Shift-click / Ctrl-click |
| Move | Left-drag a selected component |
| Pan | Middle-mouse drag |
| Zoom | Scroll wheel |
| Context menu | Right-click |
| Place (armed) | Left-click after picking a palette component |
| Route | Left-click a port, then another port |
| Measure | Left-click two points (snaps to nearby ports) |
Placement, dragging, and routing round to the grid pitch when Snap is on (the toolbar checkbox); turn it off for free positioning.
Menu reference
File
New / open / save projects, import a reference GDS backdrop or custom components, and export a GDSII or a Python script.
Edit
Undo/redo, the transform actions (rotate, flip, reset), delete, copy/paste, select-all, and the Align / Distribute submenu.
View
Zoom to fit / selection, toggle the component-thumbnail previews, show or hide individual panels, and enter fullscreen.
Right-click (canvas)
The most-used editing actions on whatever is selected, without a trip to the menu bar.
