Creating groups quickly
Press ⌥ with one of these to open the corresponding takeoff tool — without the Linked Takeoff item picker:
| Shortcut | Creates |
|---|---|
| ⌥+SPACE | Detection group (Auto Count) |
| ⌥+C | Unit group (Count Symbol) |
| ⌥+L | Linear group (Linear Measurement) |
| ⌥+A | Area group (Area Measurement) |
Press ⇧+⌥ with the same letter to open the Linked Takeoff version — the Database Items picker opens first so you pick a priced item before drawing:
| Shortcut | Creates |
|---|---|
| ⇧+⌥+SPACE | Linked Detection group |
| ⇧+⌥+C | Linked Unit group |
| ⇧+⌥+L | Linked Linear group |
| ⇧+⌥+A | Linked Area group |
Canvas navigation
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌥ + drag | Pan the canvas (default control scheme) |
| CTRL + drag | Marquee multi-select markers (Windows / Linux) |
| CMD + drag | Marquee multi-select markers (macOS) |
| CTRL + click | Add a point while drawing a polygon / polyline (Windows / Linux) |
| CMD + click | Add a point while drawing a polygon / polyline (macOS) |
| Right-click | Close polygon / open marker context menu |
| Scroll wheel | Zoom in / out at the cursor |
These mappings assume the default control scheme. If you've turned on Legacy Controls in user preferences, the roles of ⌥ and CTRL swap — Ctrl/Cmd pans and Alt is used for selection.
Selection and editing
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| DEL | Delete the selected marker(s) |
| ESC | Deselect all / cancel current drawing operation / close a dialog |
Undo / redo
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| CTRL+Z | Undo last marker mutation (Windows / Linux) |
| CMD+Z | Undo last marker mutation (macOS) |
| CTRL+Y | Redo (Windows / Linux) |
| CMD+⇧+Z | Redo (macOS) |
The undo stack is capped at 10 actions per file. See Undo and redo.
Detection helpers
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| CTRL+B | Toggle Remove Background on the active drawing (Windows / Linux) |
| CMD+B | Toggle Remove Background on the active drawing (macOS) |
Inline editing
When the focus is in a group label or zone name input:
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| ↵ | Save the new label |
| ESC | Cancel and revert to the previous label |
Where shortcuts don't apply
A few things people occasionally try that don't have global shortcuts:
- Switching between files — no built-in shortcut. Use the breadcrumb's filename dropdown.
- Switching between Stages 1/2/3 — click the stage indicator pills at the top of the editor.
- Toggling sidebar visibility — click the chevron in the marker list toolbar.