Blender Shortcuts & Efficiency Tips

Master Blender's keyboard shortcuts and workflow tips to dramatically increase your productivity

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Why Learn Shortcuts?

Keyboard shortcuts are essential for efficient Blender workflow. By memorizing key shortcuts, you can:

  • Work up to 5x faster than using menus
  • Maintain creative flow without interruptions
  • Reduce repetitive strain from excessive mouse usage
  • Access features that don't have obvious menu entries

This guide organizes the most important shortcuts by category and provides practical tips for incorporating them into your workflow.

Navigation Shortcuts

Viewport Navigation

Middle Mouse

Rotate the view

Shift+Middle Mouse

Pan the view

Mouse Wheel

Zoom the view

Numpad 1

Front view

Numpad 3

Side view

Numpad 7

Top view

Numpad 0

Camera view

Numpad .

Focus on selected object

Z

Toggle viewport shading modes (wireframe, solid, material, rendered)

Selection Shortcuts

Object & Element Selection

Right Click

Select object/element

A

Select/deselect all

Alt+A

Deselect all

B

Box select

C

Circle select

Shift+Click

Add to selection

Ctrl+Click

Remove from selection

L

Select linked (in Edit mode)

Modeling Shortcuts

Edit Mode Operations

Tab

Toggle between Object and Edit mode

1

Vertex select mode

2

Edge select mode

3

Face select mode

E

Extrude

I

Inset faces

K

Knife tool (cut edges)

Ctrl+R

Loop cut

F

Create face/edge

X

Delete selected

Transformation Shortcuts

Transform Operations

G

Grab/move

R

Rotate

S

Scale

G/R/S+X/Y/Z

Transform along specific axis

Shift+X/Y/Z

Transform on plane (excluding an axis)

Alt+G/R/S

Clear location/rotation/scale

Ctrl+A

Apply transformations

Efficiency Tips

Workflow Optimization

1. Customize Your Workspace

Arrange your workspace layouts to match your workflow. Save different layouts for modeling, texturing, animation, etc.

Tip: Use

Ctrl+PageUp/PageDown
to switch between workspaces.

2. Use the Quick Favorites Menu

Right-click on any menu item and select "Add to Quick Favorites" to add it to your Q menu.

Tip: Press

Q
to access your quick favorites.

3. Master the Pie Menus

Pie menus provide quick access to common functions based on context.

Tip: Press

~
for the view pie menu or
Ctrl+Tab
for the mode pie menu.

4. Use Numeric Input for Precision

After initiating a transform operation, type a number for precise control.

Example: Press

R+Z+45
to rotate 45 degrees around the Z axis.

5. Learn to Use Search

The search function lets you quickly find any command in Blender.

Tip: Press

F3
to open the search menu.

Downloadable Cheat Sheet

Get a printable PDF with all essential Blender shortcuts to keep by your desk

Download Shortcuts Cheat Sheet