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Blender

Blender Keybindings

Blender is a free, open-source 3D creation suite. It uses a heavily keyboard-driven workflow. These shortcuts cover the most commonly used operations across the major editors. Blender 2.8+ keybindings are used below (the modern default).

General (All Editors)

  • Undo (Ctrl+Z): Undo the last action.
  • Redo (Ctrl+Shift+Z): Redo the last undone action.
  • Search/Command Menu (F3): Search for any operator or command by name.
  • Preferences (Edit > Preferences): Open Blender preferences (no default shortcut).
  • Save (Ctrl+S): Save the current file.
  • Save As (Ctrl+Shift+S): Save as a new file.
  • Open (Ctrl+O): Open a file.
  • Quit (Ctrl+Q): Quit Blender.
  • Toggle Fullscreen Area (Ctrl+Space): Maximize the current editor area. Press again to restore.
  • Toggle System Fullscreen (Alt+F11): Toggle Blender window fullscreen.
  • Quick Favorites (Q): Open the quick favorites menu (add items via right-click > Add to Quick Favorites).

3D Viewport -- Navigation

  • Orbit (Middle Mouse Drag): Rotate the viewport.
  • Pan (Shift+Middle Mouse Drag): Pan the viewport.
  • Zoom (Scroll Wheel): Zoom in/out.
  • Zoom to Selection (Numpad .): Center and zoom the view on the selected object.
  • View All (Home): Zoom to show all objects.
  • Front View (Numpad 1): Front orthographic view.
  • Side View (Numpad 3): Right orthographic view.
  • Top View (Numpad 7): Top orthographic view.
  • Opposite View (Ctrl+Numpad 1/3/7): Back, left, and bottom views respectively.
  • Toggle Perspective/Orthographic (Numpad 5): Switch between perspective and orthographic projection.
  • Camera View (Numpad 0): Look through the active camera.
  • Focus Object (Numpad .): Frame the selected object in the viewport.
  • Local View (Numpad /): Isolate the selected object. Press again to return to full scene.
  • Toggle X-Ray (Alt+Z): See through objects (toggle transparency).
  • Viewport Shading (Z): Open the shading pie menu (wireframe, solid, material preview, rendered).

3D Viewport -- Selection

  • Select (Left Click): Select an object or element.
  • Extend Selection (Shift+Click): Add to the selection.
  • Select All (A): Select all. Press again to deselect all (or Alt+A).
  • Box Select (B): Draw a rectangle to select objects.
  • Circle Select (C): Paint to select. Scroll to resize brush. Right-click or Esc to exit.
  • Lasso Select (Ctrl+Right Mouse Drag): Freehand selection.
  • Select Linked (Ctrl+L): Select all connected geometry (Edit Mode).
  • Select More/Less (Ctrl+Numpad +/-): Grow or shrink the selection.
  • Invert Selection (Ctrl+I): Invert the current selection.

3D Viewport -- Transforms

  • Grab/Move (G): Move the selected object. Then:
    • X/Y/Z: Constrain to an axis.
    • Shift+X/Y/Z: Constrain to a plane (exclude that axis).
    • Type a number for precise movement (e.g., G Z 5 Enter moves 5 units on Z).
    • Right-click or Esc: Cancel.
  • Rotate (R): Rotate the selection. Same axis constraints apply.
  • Scale (S): Scale the selection. Same axis constraints apply.
  • Confirm Transform (Enter or Left Click): Apply the transformation.
  • Cancel Transform (Right Click or Esc): Cancel the transformation.
  • Apply Transforms (Ctrl+A): Apply location/rotation/scale so the object's transforms become its new rest state.
  • Clear Location (Alt+G): Reset location to origin.
  • Clear Rotation (Alt+R): Reset rotation.
  • Clear Scale (Alt+S): Reset scale.

3D Viewport -- Object Mode

  • Add Object (Shift+A): Open the Add menu (mesh, light, camera, etc.).
  • Delete (X or Delete): Delete the selected object (prompts for confirmation).
  • Duplicate (Shift+D): Duplicate the selected object.
  • Duplicate Linked (Alt+D): Duplicate with linked data (instances share the same mesh).
  • Join Objects (Ctrl+J): Merge selected objects into one.
  • Set Parent (Ctrl+P): Parent the selected objects to the active object.
  • Clear Parent (Alt+P): Remove parenting.
  • Snap Menu (Shift+S): Snap cursor or selection to grid, origin, etc.
  • Set Origin: Right-click > Set Origin (to geometry, to 3D cursor, etc.).
  • Hide Selected (H): Hide the selected object. Alt+H to unhide all.

3D Viewport -- Edit Mode

  • Toggle Edit Mode (Tab): Switch between Object Mode and Edit Mode.
  • Vertex Select (1): Switch to vertex selection mode.
  • Edge Select (2): Switch to edge selection mode.
  • Face Select (3): Switch to face selection mode.
  • Extrude (E): Extrude selected geometry.
  • Inset Faces (I): Inset the selected faces.
  • Loop Cut (Ctrl+R): Add a loop cut. Scroll to add more cuts.
  • Knife Tool (K): Cut new edges into geometry.
  • Fill/Create Face (F): Create a face or edge from selected vertices.
  • Merge (M): Merge selected vertices (at center, at cursor, by distance, etc.).
  • Separate (P): Separate selected geometry into a new object.
  • Proportional Editing (O): Toggle proportional editing (soft selection falloff).
  • Edge/Face Menu (Ctrl+E / Ctrl+F): Open the edge or face operations menu.
  • Subdivide: Right-click > Subdivide.
  • Bevel (Ctrl+B): Bevel the selected edges. Scroll to add segments.
  • Bridge Edge Loops: Select two edge loops, then use Edge menu > Bridge Edge Loops.

Sculpt Mode

  • Toggle Sculpt Mode: Switch via the mode dropdown or Ctrl+Tab pie menu.
  • Brush Size (F): Adjust the brush radius.
  • Brush Strength (Shift+F): Adjust the brush strength.
  • Smooth Brush (Shift hold): Temporarily switch to the smooth brush while holding Shift.
  • Invert Brush (Ctrl hold): Invert the brush effect (e.g., push instead of pull).
  • Remesh (Ctrl+R): Remesh the object for uniform topology.

Animation

  • Play/Pause (Space): Play or pause the animation.
  • Next Frame (Right Arrow): Advance one frame.
  • Previous Frame (Left Arrow): Go back one frame.
  • Jump to Start (Shift+Left): Go to the first frame.
  • Jump to End (Shift+Right): Go to the last frame.
  • Insert Keyframe (I): Insert a keyframe for the selected properties.
  • Delete Keyframe (Alt+I): Delete the keyframe at the current frame.
  • Set Start/End Frame: In the Timeline, set the playback range.

Rendering

  • Render Image (F12): Render the current frame.
  • Render Animation (Ctrl+F12): Render the animation.
  • View Render (F11): Open the render result window.

Useful Pie Menus

  • Mode Pie Menu (Ctrl+Tab): Switch between modes (Object, Edit, Sculpt, etc.).
  • Shading Pie Menu (Z): Switch viewport shading.
  • Pivot Point Pie Menu (.): Change the pivot/origin point for transforms.
  • Snap Pie Menu (Shift+S): Snap cursor and selection options.
  • Orientation Pie Menu (,): Change the transform orientation (global, local, normal, etc.).

Customization

  • Keymap: Edit via Edit > Preferences > Keymap. You can switch to legacy Blender (2.7x) keybindings or create a custom keymap.
  • Industry Compatible Keymap: Blender ships with an "Industry Compatible" keymap that uses shortcuts similar to Maya, 3ds Max, and other DCC tools.
  • Add-ons: Enable built-in add-ons or install third-party ones via Edit > Preferences > Add-ons.