Yes, SketchUp does have keyboard shortcuts! These shortcuts can greatly improve your workflow and help you navigate through the software more efficiently. In this article, we will explore some of the most commonly used keyboard shortcuts in SketchUp.
Why Use Keyboard Shortcuts?
Keyboard shortcuts are a great way to save time and reduce mouse movements while working in SketchUp. By memorizing and using these shortcuts, you can perform various tasks with just a few keystrokes. This not only speeds up your work but also improves your overall productivity.
Commonly Used Keyboard Shortcuts
Let’s take a look at some of the commonly used keyboard shortcuts in SketchUp:
Navigating the Viewport
- H – Activate the Hand tool for panning around the viewport.
- Z – Zoom in or out of the viewport.
- P – Activate the Orbit tool for rotating around the model.
Selecting and Editing Objects
- V – Activate the Selection tool for selecting objects.
- M – Activate the Move tool for moving selected objects.
- R – Activate the Rotate tool for rotating selected objects.
- S – Activate the Scale tool for scaling selected objects.
Drawing Tools
- L – Activate the Line tool for drawing straight lines.
- Ruby Plugins:
- P – Activate the Push/Pull tool for extruding faces.
- R – Activate the Rectangle tool for drawing rectangles.
- C – Activate the Circle tool for drawing circles.
- Fredoscale Plugins:
- S – Activate the Scale tool for scaling selected objects non-uniformly.
- T – Activate the Tape Measure tool for measuring distances.
Managing Components and Layers
- Components:
- G – Create a new component from selected geometry.
- B – Activate the Paint Bucket tool for applying materials to components.
- Layers:
- M – Open the Layers dialog box for managing layers.
- Note: This shortcut conflicts with the Move tool. You can change it in SketchUp’s Preferences if needed.
Saving and Exporting
- Saving: