Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcuts cut friction when you move between drawing, overview, scripting, and the assistant. Learn a small core set first. Some commands only work when that view is focused. macOS uses Cmd and Option. Windows and Linux use Ctrl and Alt.

Viewslink

  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+E — Editor
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+O — Overview
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+I — Font Info
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+A — Assistant
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Y — Scripts
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+K — Konsole
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+H — History
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+D — Docs
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Escape — close the focused panel

Each view title bar shows the same shortcut.

Files and glyphslink

  • Cmd/Ctrl+O — open a font
  • Cmd/Ctrl+S — save
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+S — Save As
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+G — Add Glyph(s)
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+F — Rename Glyph(s) for the Overview selection
  • Cmd/Ctrl+D — Font → Duplicate Glyph(s); the shortcut fires when Overview is focused
  • Cmd/Ctrl+F — focus Overview search (when Overview is focused)
  • Delete / Backspace — delete the Overview selection after confirm

Scripts, Konsole, and Acelink

  • Cmd/Ctrl+Alt/Option+R — run the current script
  • Cmd/Ctrl+K — clear Konsole
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Z / Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Z — undo / redo font history for Python and assistant edits while Scripts, Konsole, or Assistant is focused
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Alt/Option+Z / Cmd/Ctrl+Alt/Option+Shift+Z — undo / redo text inside the Script Editor or Features Ace buffer

Editorlink

Text modelink

  • Cmd/Ctrl+Enter — enter outline editing at the cursor
  • Double-click a glyph outline — enter outline editing
  • Esc — exit outline editing
  • Tab — sidebearing measurement overlay (not a tab character)
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Up / Cmd/Ctrl+Down — cycle masters

Outline editinglink

  • Double-click a component — enter nested component editing in place
  • Esc — exit nested component editing, or exit live interpolation to the last selected layer
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Left / Cmd/Ctrl+Right — go to the previous or next glyph, as the text cursor would
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Up / Cmd/Ctrl+Down — cycle layers
  • Cmd/Ctrl+A — select all objects on the current layer
  • Cmd/Ctrl+B — copy the selection to the paired (background) layer
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+B — toggle editing the background layer
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Alt/Option+B — show or hide the paired layer
  • Arrow keys — nudge selected objects (Shift for 10×)
  • Space — preview outline fill in one paint according to Editing View → View → Preview Area, and a dotted rectangle marks the canvas viewport (property panel deducted) so you can pan the drawing onto it (grab cursor; drag to pan). Medium hides the editor title bar, sidebar, and property panel but keeps the focused view border; Full hides toolbar and app shell. Medium and Full make the canvas pannable in that same frame. Release Space to restore chrome in one paint.
  • Tab — measurement tool; click and drag for a custom line
  • T — text mode (leave glyph editing)
  • V — select tool
  • P — draw path (pen)
  • I — insert a node on a segment
  • C — convert tool
  • Cut has no letter shortcut; choose it in the Editor title bar
  • After the tools feel familiar, hold Cmd/Ctrl in empty space to draw a contour, or on a selected open end to continue it (same as Pen / Insert without switching tools)
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Click on a segment inserts a point; on an on-curve point it cuts the path open
  • Drag one open end onto another to join or close
  • Alt/Option+Click on a straight segment converts it to a curve
  • Double-click an on-curve point to toggle smooth and corner
  • Shift constrains a smooth handle while dragging
  • Alt/Option slides a smooth on-curve point along its handles

Panning and zoominglink

  • Cmd/Ctrl++ / Cmd/Ctrl+- — zoom in or out (text mode: caret center; edit mode: glyph bbox center). Also in Editing View → View.
  • Cmd/Ctrl+0 — two-stage zoom-to-fit (View menu: Zoom to Fit, ⌘0 1-2×). Edit: frame the glyph (extra margin, max 250%), then 25% line overview if pan/zoom did not change. Text: 25% line overview, then fit the whole run (2.5%–15%)
  • Space + drag — pan
  • Alt/Option + wheel or trackpad — zoom
  • Wheel pans vertically; Shift+wheel pans horizontally

More outline detail is in Outline drawing. Undo surfaces are in Undo and history.