Blog · · 4 min read

SketchUp shortcut keys: the single letters that run the program

The default SketchUp keyboard shortcuts on Windows, the modifier keys that make each tool more useful, how to remember them and a ring for the tools you want under the mouse.

SketchUp is built for single-letter shortcuts. Every main tool has one, and the default set is short enough to learn in an afternoon. What most people miss are the modifier keys inside each tool and the Measurements box, and those make the bigger difference.

The shortcuts below are SketchUp's defaults on Windows, from the default keyboard shortcuts page and the tool pages in SketchUp Help. If someone has customised your copy, check Window > Preferences > Shortcuts.

Drawing

  • L Line
  • R Rectangle
  • C Circle
  • A 2 Point Arc
  • B Paint Bucket
  • E Eraser

Modifying

  • Space Select. Pressing it is the quickest way out of whatever tool you are in.
  • M Move
  • P Push/Pull
  • Q Rotate
  • S Scale
  • F Offset
  • T Tape Measure
  • O Orbit, or drag with the middle mouse button.
  • H Pan, or hold Shift while dragging with the middle button.
  • Z Zoom, or the scroll wheel.
  • Shift+Z Zoom Extents: the whole model in view.

Organising

  • G Make Component from the selection.
  • K toggles Back Edges, so you see the hidden edges as dashed lines.
  • Shift+S opens Search, where you can type the name of any tool or command.

Search is the one people overlook. Instead of remembering where a command sits in the menus, press Shift+S, type a few letters and press Enter.

The keys inside the tools

These are where the time is saved. They work while a tool is active.

Lock an axis

  • Up locks the movement to the blue axis.
  • Right locks to the red axis.
  • Left locks to the green axis.
  • Holding Shift locks whatever inference you are on, for example when the line has turned the colour of an axis or snapped parallel to an edge.

Locking means you can then point at any other point in the model to take its height or distance, without the line wandering off its axis.

Copy instead of move

  • Tap Ctrl while the Move tool is active to switch it to copy.
  • The same works with Rotate: tap Ctrl to rotate a copy.
  • After a copy, type 5x and press Enter to make five copies at the same spacing, or 5/ to fit five copies evenly between the original and the copy.

Type exact values

You never need to click in the Measurements box. Start a line, a move or a push/pull, then just type the number and press Enter. Type 2500 for a 2500 mm line in a metric template, or 3m, or 10' in an imperial one.

You can also correct the value right after: if the push/pull went 2400 and you wanted 2500, type 2500 and Enter again before doing anything else.

Add your own

Window > Preferences > Shortcuts lists every menu command, and you can give any of them a key. Good candidates are the commands you reach for in the menus several times an hour, for example Make Group, X-ray or a standard view such as Top.

Keep custom keys on the left half of the keyboard, where your hand already is, and avoid letters the default tools use. If several people work on the same models, agree on one set so that a key does the same thing on every computer in the office.

How to remember them

SketchUp's letters mostly follow the tool name, with a few that need a story:

  1. The obvious ones: Line, Rectangle, Circle, Arc, Move, Push/Pull, Scale, Tape, Eraser, Orbit, Zoom.
  2. The odd ones out: Q is Rotate (R is taken by Rectangle), F is Offset (O is Orbit), B is the paint Bucket, H is the Hand for Pan, G makes a component (think "group").
  3. Learn the arrows as colours. Up is blue, the vertical. Right is red, left is green. Say the colour out loud the first few times.
  4. Use the left hand for tools, the right for the mouse. Most tool letters are on the left half of the keyboard: Q, S, F, T, R, E, A, G, C, B, Z.
  5. Space is home. When unsure, press Space and start again with Select.

A SketchUp ring

RadialDeck is the radial menu for Windows that we make. When SketchUp is in front, the hotkey or a side mouse button opens a SketchUp ring instead of your usual one. Hold, flick toward a tool, let go.

The gallery has 10 ready-made SketchUp slices: Select, Line, Push/Pull, Move, Rotate, Scale, Tape, Paint, Component and Zoom extents. The SketchUp page lists what each one does.

The letter keys are faster if your left hand is on the keyboard. The ring is useful when it is not: when you are orbiting with one hand on the mouse and want Push/Pull without looking down, or on a laptop where the touchpad keeps your hands away from the keys. Put the four tools you use most on the four main directions.

Quick reference

  • Draw: L, R, C, A
  • Modify: M, P, Q, S, F, T, E, B
  • View: O, H, Z, Shift+Z, K
  • Other: Space select, G component, Shift+S search
  • Inside tools: arrows lock axes, Shift locks inference, Ctrl copies, type a value and Enter

RadialDeck is free for two rings and has a 14-day trial of Pro, which adds a ring per program such as SketchUp. It is in the Microsoft Store.

Try it in RadialDeck

Free for two rings, with a 14-day trial of everything in Pro. Windows 10 and 11, from the Microsoft Store.

Get it from Microsoft or download the installer (.exe)