Skip to main content

Keyboard Shortcuts

A reference of the keyboard shortcuts wired into EngCanvas. On macOS, substitute Cmd for Ctrl.

Shortcuts are rebindable

The global shortcuts below — undo, save, load, and the Report canvas tool keys — can be changed. Open the Hotkeys dialog from Help → Hotkeys (or the ? button on the ribbon) and click a binding to reassign it. Your choices persist between sessions.

Global

Available from any tab.

ShortcutAction
Ctrl+SSave the project
Ctrl+Shift+SSave As
Ctrl+OOpen a project
Ctrl+ZUndo
Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+YRedo
Ctrl+Shift+VPaste Special
Undo on Drawing tabs

Drawing tabs keep their own undo stack. On a Drawing tab, Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z are handled by the drawing editor rather than by the global history.

Sheet

Active when the grid has focus and you are not editing a cell.

ShortcutAction
Arrow keysMove the active cell
Shift+ArrowExtend the selection
Tab / Shift+TabMove right / left
Enter / Shift+EnterMove down / up
HomeStart of the current row
Ctrl+HomeGo to cell A1
EndEnd of the current row
Ctrl+EndGo to the last cell
Page Up / Page DownJump one screen of rows

Editing

ShortcutAction
F2Enter edit mode on the selected cell
Start typingReplace cell content and enter edit mode
EscapeCancel the edit; otherwise cancel fill-drag, clear the clipboard, collapse the selection
Delete / BackspaceClear the selected cell or range

Selection and clipboard

ShortcutAction
ClickSelect a single cell
Shift+ClickExtend the selection to the clicked cell
Ctrl+ClickAdd a cell to a non-contiguous selection
Click+DragSelect a range
Ctrl+ASelect the whole grid
Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X / Ctrl+VCopy / Cut / Paste

Report Canvas

Tools

ShortcutAction
VSelect tool
AAdd tool
Shift+AAdd a new box
FFit the selected box to the full page width

Cursor and box creation

ShortcutAction
Arrow keysMove the cursor between boxes, or through empty space
EnterEdit the box under the cursor; in empty space, create a box
Start typing (in empty space)Create a box seeded with what you typed
Double-clickEnter edit mode on a box
EscapeExit edit mode / clear the cursor / deselect

Moving and selecting

ShortcutAction
ClickSelect one box
Shift+ClickAdd or remove a box from the selection
Click+DragMove the selected boxes
Ctrl+ASelect all boxes
Shift+ArrowNudge selected boxes 40 px
Ctrl+ArrowNudge selected boxes 8 px
Alt+ArrowNudge selected boxes 1 px
Delete / BackspaceDelete selected boxes, or clear selected table cells
Ctrl+C / Ctrl+VCopy / paste boxes
Space (hold)Pan the canvas while dragging

Drawing

Active when the drawing canvas has focus. These letters select a tool.

KeyTool
VSelect
HPan
LLine
PPolyline
RRectangle
CCircle
AArc
DDimension
NLeader
WDistributed load
MMoment
SReaction

Every other drawing tool — member force, constraint, mirror, offset, and the rest — is chosen from the Drawing ribbon.

Canvas

ShortcutAction
Arrow keysPan 20 px
Shift+ArrowPan 100 px
FFit the drawing to the window
EscapeClose the dimension editor, clear the selection, return to the Select tool
Delete / BackspaceDelete selected geometry, forces, dimensions, or annotations
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+ZUndo / Redo (the drawing's own history)
Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X / Ctrl+VCopy / Cut / Paste
Middle-click + dragPan
Middle double-clickFit to extents
Scroll wheelZoom at the cursor

Document Editor

ShortcutAction
Ctrl+BBold
Ctrl+IItalic
Ctrl+UUnderline
Ctrl+KInsert link
Ctrl+EnterInsert a page break
Backspace (just after a break)Delete the page break
Tab / Shift+TabIndent, or move between table cells
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+ZUndo / Redo

Cell picking (formula mode)

While editing a formula in the sheet or on the report canvas, you can click cells to insert references:

ActionResult
Click a cell while editingInserts the cell reference (e.g. $A1) at the cursor
Click another cellReplaces the reference you just inserted
TypeReturns to normal text editing
EscapeCancel the edit

Platform notes

  • On macOS, use Cmd instead of Ctrl.
  • On Windows/Linux, use Ctrl.
  • The app detects your platform and adjusts automatically.