Keyboard shortcuts

The one rule that explains the rest#

Bare printable keys are not shortcuts. They go to the command line, where they are matched against command names and aliases. L draws a line because l is LINE's alias.

So the keys a binding can own are only the ones that must never reach the command line: modifier chords, the function keys, Esc, Delete, and the mouse. Everything else on this page under "typed aliases" is text you type, not a key that is bound.

Every default here is remappable in keybindings.json — see Settings & customization.

Function keys#

Inherited unchanged from CAD convention, because this is exactly where muscle memory lives.

Each of these is also a command you can type — OSNAP, ORTHO, GRID, SNAP, POLAR, LWDISPLAY, AXES — taking ON / OFF or toggling on Enter. The status bar buttons, the F-keys and the typed commands all route through the same place, so they cannot disagree.

Editing and files#

Keys that are not chords#

Delete is the clearest example of what a binding's when clause buys: the same key still deletes a character when the command line has focus.

Mouse#

Pan and zoom are transparent: a half-drawn line still rubber-bands after you pan, and its cursor position is correct against the new view.

Typed aliases#

These are typed at the command line, not bound to keys. The full list, and what each command asks for, is in the Command reference.

Draw#

Modify#

Structure and annotation#

View, inquiry and settings#

Three dimensions#

Classic system variable names#

The classic sysvar names still work as command-line aliases over Draft's named settings — typing LTSCALE finds the linetype scale, PDMODE finds the point style. You never have to learn a numeric code to change a point style, but you never have to unlearn the name either.

Remapping#

keybindings.json maps an input to a command id, with an optional when clause:

{
  "key": "Delete",
  "command": "drafting.command.erase",
  "when": "selection && !commandActive && !typing"
}

Only the keys you specify are overridden — your file is merged over the shipped defaults rather than replacing them.