Friday, May 13, 2016

Keyboard Shortcuts

These are the fastest way to start a command or tool in Revit. No amount of user interface customization we can do or Autodesk can give us will beat them. My problem with them is my ability to remember them. Yesterday in a discussion with some other people I did a quick count and came up with 24 that I could remember without any real effort. Today I managed 31 so I'm seven smarter today! Oh, up to 33 if you count the ones I remember have alternates.

How many do you remember??

The Keyboard Shortcuts I remember today (the winners) are...(bold are ones I use constantly, which helps)

Viewing
ZZ(ZR) (Zoom Region)
ZA (Zoom All to Fit - all open views)
ZF (Zoom to Fit - active view)
ZS (Zoom Sheet Size)
ZO (Zoom out 2x)
WT (Window Tile)
XX (Close Hidden Windows - custom)

Snapping
SM (midpoint)
SE (endpoint)
SI (intersection)
SO (snaps off)

Visibilty
VG (VV) (Visibility/Graphics)
VR (2017 View Range)
HH (Temp/Hide Hide Element)
HI (Temp/Hide Isolate Element)
HR (Temp/Hide Reset)
IC (Temp/Hide Isolate Category)

Editing
CO (Copy)
TR (Trim - Corner)
TS (Trim - Single Element - custom)
SL (Split Element, with Delete Inner Segment option checked a lot)

Creating Stuff
WA (Wall)
DR (Door)
CM (Place Component)

Annotation
DI (Dimension Aligned)
TG (Tag by Category)

Miscellaneous
MD (Modify)
RL (Reload Latest - worksets)
CTRL+C (copy to clipboard)
CTRL+V (paste)
CTRL+X (cut to clipboard)

14 comments:

Jean-Marc COUFFIN said...

CTRL c
CTRL v
CTRL x
FFF to close all hidden windows
AA align
WT windows tile
CTRL D to search browser
LI modele line
DL detail line
TR trim
CS copy same
WA wall
AT attach
MI mirror
RO rotate
AR network
SL slice
EH hide element
RH show hidden
TT close modification (terminate all types of mods)
PR properties window
PN pin
UP unpin
DI dimension
GL link manager (gestion liens)
TX text
TG tag
QS quick auto section box (COINS)
LW line weight toggle
VV graphics window
CTRL TAB and
CTRL SHIFT TAB to navigate windows backward
SS toggle snap
SI snap intersection
SE snap endpoint
SC snap center circle
SM snap middle
my best one PU for purge unused
ID to find by id
GP to group
PI room (pièce)
SSS surface boundary

42 count
I usually learn a couple depending on the phase in the project. If I am drawing walls and windows all day and doing roofs and all I try to remember them


LemonTart said...

Well you can add for example :
CS : create similar
CC : copy (same as "CO")


i'll take the "xx" its a good one
My custom shortcuts are :

AA : for ALIGN

JK : Join
JL : Unjoin
JI : Switch join

FF : Floor
WW : Wall
QQ : Doors
SS : windows

VV : View range (VG is the only one for Visibility/Graphics)

DD : Detail Line
RR : Filled Region

GG : temp isolate element (Goes with HH temp hide element)
HG : temp Hide Category
GH : temp isolate Category
TT : Disable Temp Hide/isolate

PS: i use an "azerty" keyboard

Rob said...

an oddly favorite shortcut of mine that isn't exclusive to Revit (it's actually a windows basic shortcut) that almost no one seems to know is the F2 key is used to rename files, or in the case of revit, view names from the project/family browser palette. I use it so much that i've long ago popped out my F1 key cause i got tired of accidentally hitting it and waiting for the d*m help files to load so i can just in turn close it anyways! heh

that said, it'd be an interested test for me to see how many shortcuts i can remember off the top of my head.

Steve said...

Now that you mention it I do use F2, funny how you don't remember it until you need it. I do tap that key without thinking about it too much.

Damien Ferlazzo said...

I liked this post & the little challenge! I was a heavy user of shortcuts with AutoCAD, so I carried over many of them when I moved to Revit in the office which I think helped. I got to 47 before the memory faded. I use the numbers above the letters on the keyboard a lot. 55, 88 etc take care of all my temporary hide and isolate tools.
Do character shortcuts count? I always need these so have burned them into memory over time...ALT-0176 (°) & ALT-0178 (²).
My Favourite combined shortcut goes to TVVV... Enable Temporary View Properties & Open Visibility Graphics.

Erik said...

Always interesting to see how other people deal with shortcuts.
I do however think that this is the wrong (or more difficult) way to approach it though.
I see a lot of people trying to remember shortcuts based on the name of said function (VG - Visibility/Grapics | VR - View Range etc. etc.)
As a heavy Revit user I prefer less strain on my hand by placing functions close to eachother and without the need to remember so many variations of shortcuts.

11 for Wall, 22 for Door, 77 for Roof (78 for gutter etc.) Q for align, W for trim.. and so on.
Also very important to note is that you are able to assign multiple shortcuts to the same key. So you are able to assign most if not all "Edit" functions to a single key, the same goes for "Finish" and "Cancel".

I suppose it's all dependant on whatever you are used to, it certainly is diffucult changing is after it has grown into an automation/habit. So definitely use the method that suits you the most.

Steve said...

I don't know why I didn't think of and include CTRL + Z and Y ... I use them both many times during the day. Maybe I don't have to think about using them?

Steve said...

Erik - I met another guy once who used a number scheme for all his AutoCAD keyboard commands. That makes two people now ;)

I'd find relating numbers to commands harder to remember. I remember as many as I do because they use the reasonably obvious syntax based on the name of the feature they are tied to.

Good thing for me we aren't trying to share your shortcuts. :)

Unknown said...

I've sometimes found my fingers going for CTRL + Z in real life but unfortunately it does not work here.

Billy from Baltimore said...

some helpful shortcuts I have used when drawing involve creating a shortcut including a number to keep similar tasks close together on the keyboard. (This is addition to the default shortcuts)

Bring to Front or send to back
11 Bring to front
12 Bring Forward
13 Send Backward
14 Send to Back

For trim I set up shortcuts
T1,TR Trim to Corner
T2 Trim / Extend Single
T3 Trim / Extend Multiple

For Dimensions I did the same thing with similar shortcuts
D1, D2
D3 Angular Dimension
D4 Radial Dimension
D5 Diameter Dimension

Steve said...

I've met a (very) few people that use numbers for all their shortcuts. I don't know how they do it. I find the letters corresponding with some semblance of logic to the command they are for helps me remember those that I do remember.

Well that's why they are designed to be customized per user - I hear we're all different? :)

Unknown said...

hi I was wondering if anyone knew the short cut for zooming into one element? it puts you into an elevation/3d view of one element and it ignores other elements so that you can see the object/element unencumbered? it also shows a small amount of where the element touches others.

Steve said...

The command is called Selection Box and the stock Keyboard Shortcut is "BX" (box element). You can verify your own installation by opening the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog and reviewing it. If it doesn't have a shortcut you can assign your own.

Also FWIW, hover over any tool on the ribbon and if the command name has an abbreviation in parenthesis ... that's the shortcut: for example
Selection Box (BX)

Anonymous said...

RP - Reference Plane, I practicaly use it all day @ work.