What are the most important keyboard shortcuts and mouse controls for the 3D view and modeling tools, and how do I navigate the 3D view efficiently?
Updated Oct 13, 20265 min readVCarve Pro & Aspire
Overview
Knowing the mouse controls and shortcut keys for the 3D view speeds up modeling. This entry lists the controls documented on the official 3D View Controls, Keyboard Shortcuts and Component Tree pages for version 12.5. Keys not listed here are not documented shortcuts.
3D View Mouse Controls
| Action | Mouse control |
|---|---|
| Rotate the 3D view (3D Twiddle) | Click and drag the right mouse button in the 3D window |
| Zoom in and out | Roll the mouse wheel |
| Pan | Drag with the middle mouse button, or hold Ctrl and drag with the right mouse button, or drag with the left and right buttons together |
| Zoom to Box | Zoom to a selected area: click the top left corner, hold the mouse down, drag to the bottom right corner and release |
| Zoom to Fit | Zooms the whole 3D part to fit the 3D view window |
| Zoom to Selection | Zooms to the selected vectors or models |
| Orthographic or Perspective | Toggles between the two camera projections |
The View Controller rotates the 3D view quickly. Click and drag it to rotate smoothly. Click a highlighted face to turn the view to face that orientation. Double-click a highlighted face to rotate to the opposite side.
There are no documented Numpad view shortcuts, no Tab key for switching views and no Shift plus left-drag pan.
Switching Views and Tabs
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| F2 | Opens the 2D Drawing window |
| F3 | Opens the 3D Preview window |
| Page Up | Tiles the 2D and 3D views vertically (2D on the left, 3D on the right) |
| Page Down | Tiles the 2D and 3D views horizontally (2D on top, 3D below) |
| F8 | Toggles between the Drawing tab and the Modeling tab |
| F11 | Toggles the Drawing tab on |
| F12 | Toggles the Toolpath tab on |
| Ctrl + D | Opens the Drawing tab (it does NOT duplicate anything) |
| Ctrl + L | Opens the Layers tab |
To return from tiled windows to the tabbed display, click the Maximize button of either view window.
General Shortcut Keys Useful While Modeling
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| F | Zoom to fit the material |
| Ctrl + F | Zoom to fit the selected object(s) |
| F4 | Opens the Snap Settings form |
| F5 | Refreshes the 2D window |
| F6 | Scales the 2D view to fit the material |
| F9 | Centers the selected object in the view (moves it to the center of the material) |
| F10 | Opens the Alignment Tools form |
| Ctrl + A | Selects all vectors |
| Esc | Deselects all vectors, or exits the current tool |
| N | Toggles between Selection and Node Editing modes |
| T, M, R | Open the Scale, Move and Rotate forms for the selected vectors |
| Ctrl + Z, Ctrl + Y | Undo and redo |
| Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V, Ctrl + X | Copy, paste and cut the selected vectors |
| Ctrl + drag | Pastes a copy of the selected vectors each time you release the left mouse button |
| Ctrl + Shift + Alt + V | Displays the volume of the composite model in the 3D view |
Ctrl + D is not "duplicate". To make a copy of vectors use Ctrl + C then Ctrl + V, or Ctrl + drag.
Selecting in the 3D View and the Component Tree
- Component Tree: click a component to select it. Hold Ctrl and click to add or remove components. Hold Shift to select a range. Double-click a component or level to open Component Properties.
- Right-click an unselected component in the tree to select it and open its pop-up menu. Right-clicking one of several selected components applies the command to all of them.
- 3D view: double-click a component with the left mouse button to select it. Shift + double-click adds more components. Double right-click a component for its pop-up menu. If components overlap, right-click above the one you want to see a list of the components under that point.
- Show or hide a component: use the visibility checkbox in the Component Tree
- Reorder components: select them and use the blue arrow buttons at the top of the tree, or drag them in the tree. Holding Ctrl while dragging copies the component instead of moving it.
- A selected component is tinted red in the 3D view, or green where it is hidden behind another component.
Sculpting Shortcuts
Sculpting has its own keys (1 to 5 for the tools, 0, F, O, r, v and h), and its own mouse controls: right-drag tilts the view, middle-drag pans and Alt plus the mouse wheel zooms. See the Sculpting entry for the full list.
Expert Tips
- Use the Page Up or Page Down tile layouts so the 2D and 3D views are side by side. This helps when using Smooth Components or Sculpting.
- Double-click a component in the tree to reach its height, combine mode, fade and tilt settings quickly.
- Use F (zoom to fit material) and Ctrl + F (zoom to selection) instead of hunting with the wheel.
Sources and further reading
Helpthe software maker's documentation (opens in a new tab)3D View Controlsthe software maker's documentation (opens in a new tab)Documentationthe software maker's documentation (opens in a new tab)Component Treethe software maker's documentation (opens in a new tab)Still stuck? Ask the community
Ask in your own words. Vector answers first, from the guides. If that does not cover it, post it to members and the shop from there.