Keyboard Shortcuts

On macOS, every Ctrl shortcut listed here also works with Cmd. Inside the editor, press ? or choose Help > Keyboard Shortcuts for a searchable list, or press Ctrl+K to run any command by name from the command palette.

Shortcuts do not fire while you are typing in a text field, a text annotation, or a dialog, and tool shortcuts are ignored while a menu, dialog, or the color picker is open. File, tab, and command palette shortcuts (Ctrl+S, Ctrl+O, Ctrl+N, Ctrl+K, Ctrl+T, Ctrl+Tab) work even from a text field.

Turning off single-key shortcuts

View > Single-Key Shortcuts is on by default. Turn it off to disable every shortcut that is a single letter, digit, or symbol with no modifier (tool keys, element keys, G grid snap, hover relabeling). Shortcuts that use Ctrl, Cmd, or Alt, and keys such as Escape, Delete, the arrow keys, and F7, keep working. The keyboard cursor keys described under Drawing from the keyboard also keep working, because they act only while the canvas has focus.

Tools

Shortcut	Action
`V`	Select tool
`B`	Bond tool
`R`	Ring tool
`L`	Lone pair tool (Electrons)
`.`	Radical tool
`E`	Eraser tool
`T`	Text tool
`U`	Shape tool
`[`	Bracket tool
`A`	Arrow tool
`\`	Line tool
`J`	Projection tool (P is taken by phosphorus)
`M`	LaTeX tool
`H`	Pan tool (only when no arrow is selected and the arrow tool is inactive; otherwise H cycles arrowhead style)
`Shift+O`	Orbital tool (plain O is the oxygen element)
`Shift+T` or `Ctrl+Shift+T`	Open the template browser

Elements

These keys set the active element for the next atom drawn and switch to the Bond tool, which places and relabels atoms. They do not change selected atoms; to relabel an existing atom, point at it and type (see below), or click it with the Bond tool.

Shortcut	Action
`C`	Carbon
`N`	Nitrogen
`O`	Oxygen
`S`	Sulfur
`P`	Phosphorus (opens the Object Properties panel instead when atoms, bonds, lone pairs, or radicals are selected)
`F`	Fluorine (flips curve direction instead when a single curved arrow is selected)
`I`	Iodine

Relabeling an atom by typing over it

With the Select or Bond tool active, point at an atom and type an element symbol, such as Cl or Br, to relabel it. The label previews as you type. After a letter such as R or X, digits are accepted as well, so R1 or X2 works. The change commits after a short pause, when you press Enter, or when the pointer leaves the atom, and it is one undo step. Escape cancels and restores the original label. G is never used for relabeling, because it is the grid-snap key.

This runs before the tool and element shortcuts, so while the pointer rests on an atom, C relabels that atom rather than selecting carbon.

Charge

Shortcut	Action
`+` or `=`	Increase charge on the selected atoms
`-`	Decrease charge on the selected atoms

Charge stays within -6 to +6. Setting a charge back to 0 also clears any custom charge position or color. The whole change is one undo step, however many atoms are selected.

Edit and history

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+Z`	Undo
`Ctrl+Y` or `Ctrl+Shift+Z`	Redo
`Ctrl+D`	Duplicate selection
`Ctrl+G`	Group selection
`Ctrl+Shift+G`	Ungroup selection
`Delete` or `Backspace`	Delete selected items (also removes a waypoint or bezier handles from a multi-segment arrow when the pointer is near one)
`Escape`	Cancel the current gesture, exit an entered group, or clear the selection (see below)
`Enter`	Finalize a multi-segment arrow; with one text annotation selected, open its editor

Undo and redo are blocked while a drag is in progress.

Deleting atoms has two steps in one case. If you select only atoms, and a carbon among them is showing its “C” label and has bonds, the first Delete hides the label and turns it back into a bare vertex; a second Delete removes the atom. Other atoms delete at once. If you select a region with a selection box, everything in the box is deleted in one step.

Escape handles one thing per press, innermost first: it closes an open popover, cancels a bond or arrow being drawn, cancels a drag in progress and puts the objects back, exits an entered group, and finally clears the selection.

File

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+N`	New file (see the browser caveat under Tabs)
`Ctrl+O`	Open file
`Ctrl+S`	Save
`Ctrl+Shift+S`	Save as

Selection and clipboard

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+A`	Select all atoms, bonds, and annotations
`Ctrl+C`	Copy selection
`Ctrl+X`	Cut selection
`Ctrl+V`	Paste
`Ctrl+Shift+C`	Copy canvas as image
`Ctrl+Alt+C` or `Alt+Shift+C`	Copy style
`Ctrl+Alt+V` or `Alt+Shift+V`	Paste style

Align and rotate

These run the alignment toolbar commands on the selection. They work only while something is selected, and not while a text editor or text field has the keyboard. The keys are matched by position, so they work on layouts where Alt types a symbol.

Shortcut	Action
`Alt+A`	Align left
`Alt+H`	Align centers horizontally
`Alt+D`	Align right
`Alt+W`	Align top
`Alt+V`	Align middles vertically
`Alt+S`	Align bottom
`Alt+Shift+H`	Distribute horizontally (equal gaps)
`Alt+Shift+Y`	Distribute vertically (equal gaps)
`Alt+[`	Rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise
`Alt+]`	Rotate 90 degrees clockwise

Text editing

Press Enter with one text annotation selected to open its editor. These work while you edit a text annotation.

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+B` / `Ctrl+I` / `Ctrl+U`	Bold / italic / underline
`Ctrl+Shift+X`	Strikethrough
`Ctrl+=`	Subscript
`Ctrl+Shift+=`	Superscript
`Ctrl+Shift+V`	Paste as plain text
`Enter`	New line
`Ctrl+Enter`	Finish editing
`Tab` / `Shift+Tab`	Indent / outdent inside a list

View and panels

Shortcut	Action
`+` or `=`	Zoom in (when no atoms are selected)
`-`	Zoom out (when no atoms are selected)
`Ctrl+=`	Zoom in, even with atoms selected. The browser page does not zoom.
`Ctrl+-`	Zoom out, even with atoms selected. The browser page does not zoom.
`Ctrl+0`	Reset View (100% zoom, pan reset)
`Ctrl+Shift+0`	Zoom to fit
`Ctrl+Home`	Center view
`Ctrl+;`	Toggle smart guides
`Ctrl+'`	Toggle grid overlay
`Ctrl+Shift+'`	Open grid settings
`Ctrl+Alt+=`	Make the interface larger
`Ctrl+Alt+-`	Make the interface smaller
`Ctrl+Alt+0`	Reset the interface size
`F7`	Toggle the Layers panel
`Ctrl+]`	Bring selected layer forward
`Ctrl+[`	Send selected layer backward
`Ctrl+Shift+]`	Bring selected layer to front
`Ctrl+Shift+[`	Send selected layer to back
`Ctrl+K`	Open the command palette

The layer keys are matched by key position, so Ctrl+Shift+] and Ctrl+Shift+[ work on layouts where Shift turns the brackets into } and {, such as US English.

The interface size shortcuts scale the menus, panels, and toolbars between 80% and 200% in 10% steps without changing the canvas zoom. The same control is in the status bar as the UI: minus and plus buttons; Ctrl+click either button to reset.

The Named Selections panel has no shortcut; use View > Named Selections. See Named Selections.

Viewport (mouse)

Mouse and trackpad gestures for moving around the canvas. See Navigating the Canvas for details.

Gesture	Action
Scroll wheel	Pan the canvas
`Shift` + scroll wheel	Horizontal pan (for mice without a tilt wheel)
`Ctrl` + scroll wheel	Zoom toward the cursor (also handles trackpad pinch)
Middle-drag or right-drag	Pan, regardless of the active tool

Tabs

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+T`	New tab
`Ctrl+Tab`	Next tab
`Ctrl+Shift+Tab`	Previous tab
`Ctrl+1` to `Ctrl+9`	Switch to tab 1 through 9

Browsers reserve Ctrl+T, Ctrl+N, Ctrl+Tab, Ctrl+Shift+Tab and Ctrl+1 to Ctrl+9 for their own tabs and windows, and usually act on them before the page sees the key. In a normal browser window these shortcuts may open a browser tab instead of a document tab; they are most reliable when Molkit runs as an installed app. Use the + button in the tab bar and File > New instead. Ctrl+W is never intercepted, so it closes the browser tab.

Movement (nudge)

Nudge applies to selected atoms and annotations.

Shortcut	Action
Arrow keys	Nudge selection by 1 unit
`Shift` + arrow keys	Nudge selection by 10 units
`Ctrl+Shift` + arrow keys	Nudge selection by 1 screen pixel

Holding an arrow key, or tapping it quickly, counts as one move, so a single Ctrl+Z undoes the whole run. A nudge never snaps, but with smart guides on, the guides the selection now lines up with are shown until 0.7 seconds after the last key (see Smart Guides). When nothing else is selected but a net dipole arrow is, the arrow keys move the dipole arrow instead.

Arrows

The H key cycles arrowhead style across selected arrows, or across the arrow tool’s default head when no arrow is selected. The cycle is filled, harpoon-up, harpoon-down, back to filled.

Shortcut	Action
`H`	Cycle arrowhead style on selected arrows or the active arrow tool
`F`	Flip the bow (curve direction) of a single selected curved arrow
`1` to `0`	Select arrow type while the arrow tool is active (1 straight, 2 double, 3 curved, 4 harpoon-up, 5 harpoon-down, 6 reaction, 7 equilibrium, 8 double-harpoon, 9 s-curve, 0 multi-segment)
`Enter`	Finalize a multi-segment arrow
`Escape`	Finalize an in-progress multi-segment arrow (or cancel it if it has fewer than two points), or cancel a regular arrow draw

Shape and line types

Shortcut	Action
`1` to `7`	Select shape type while the shape tool is active (1 rectangle, 2 ellipse, 3 line, 4 arc, 5 square bracket, 6 curly bracket, 7 round bracket)
`1` to `5`	Select line type while the line tool is active (1 straight, 2 curved, 3 s-curve, 4 spline, 5 multi-segment)

Image crop

Active while cropping an image (double-click an image to enter crop mode).

Shortcut	Action
`Enter`	Finish crop mode, keeping the crop
`Escape`	Finish crop mode; during a crop-handle drag, first undo that drag
`Shift` (drag a corner handle)	Lock the aspect ratio to the original visible proportions
`Shift` (drag any handle)	Disable snapping to the image’s content edges

Drawing from the keyboard

The canvas can be navigated and edited with the keyboard alone. Press Tab until the drawing canvas has focus (clicking the canvas also focuses it). A keyboard cursor, drawn as a ring, then moves between atoms, and a screen reader announces each atom or bond through a live region.

On an empty canvas, press an element key (C, N, O, S, P, F, or I), or Enter for carbon, to place the first atom at the center of the view. Press B to add a bonded carbon, and keep going from there.

Key	Action
Arrow keys	Move the cursor to the next or previous atom
`Alt` + arrow keys	Move along the current atom’s bonds
`Home` / `End`	Jump to the first or last atom
`Shift` + arrow keys	Move and add each atom to the selection
`Enter` or `Space`	Select the atom or bond under the cursor
`C`, `N`, `O`, `S`, `P`, `F`, `I`	Set the element of the atom under the cursor
`+` or `=` / `-`	Change the charge of the atom under the cursor
`L`	Cycle the lone pairs on the atom (wraps back to none)
`.`	Cycle radical electrons on the atom, 0 to 3
`B`	Add a carbon bonded to the atom, in the widest open direction, and move the cursor to it
`1`, `2`, `3`	Set the order of the bond under the cursor (single, double, triple)
`Delete`	Delete the atom (with its bonds) or the bond under the cursor
`Escape`	Remove the cursor
`?`	Announce this key list through the screen reader

A few details:

The cursor follows the structure’s connectivity, one molecule after another.
Backspace does not delete under the cursor; only Delete does.
If you already have a selection and have not started the cursor, the arrow keys nudge the selection as usual. Home or End starts the cursor in that case.
Clicking the canvas with the mouse removes the cursor. While the pointer rests on an atom, typing relabels that atom instead (see Relabeling an atom by typing over it).
While the canvas has focus, ? announces the canvas keys instead of opening the help window. Use Help > Keyboard Shortcuts to open it.

Single-pointer editing

View > Single-Pointer Editing lets you edit without dragging. With it on, the Bond tool creates a bond by clicking a start point and then a destination. The right-click menu also gains Move Selection, Rotate Selection, and Resize Selection, which work the same way: choose the item, then click to place the result. Escape cancels a click-to-place action in progress.

Animation

Shortcut	Action
`Shift+A`	Toggle animation mode
`Delete` or `Backspace`	Delete the selected animation frames, or the active state when nothing else is selected (animation mode only)
`B`	Show or hide the token match badges on a LaTeX animation (animation mode only; otherwise B is the Bond tool)
`Escape`	Close the innermost open popover or badge overlay; with nothing else open, exit animation mode

Pages

Available only when the document is in paged mode (see Page Setup).

Shortcut	Action
`PageDown` or `Ctrl+ArrowDown`	Next page
`PageUp` or `Ctrl+ArrowUp`	Previous page

Other

Shortcut	Action
`?`	Open the keyboard shortcut help (see the canvas-focus exception above)
`Ctrl+Shift+L`	Import LaTeX Solution (opens the LaTeX dialog ready to import a worked solution for animation)
`F` (while dragging atoms)	Flip which way a fragment folds when it is about to fuse onto another ring or bond

Overloaded keys

A few keys change behavior based on context. The primary behavior is listed above; the table below summarizes the overload.

Key	Primary	Overload
`H`	Pan tool	Cycles arrowhead style when arrows are selected or the arrow tool is active
`F`	Fluorine element	Flips the bow of a single selected curved arrow; flips a fuse while dragging atoms
`P`	Phosphorus element	Opens the Object Properties panel when objects are selected
`B`	Bond tool	Toggles LaTeX match badges in animation mode; adds a bonded carbon at the keyboard cursor
`O`	Oxygen element	`Shift+O` activates the orbital tool
`+` / `=`	Zoom in	Increases charge instead when atoms are selected
`-`	Zoom out	Decreases charge instead when atoms are selected
`T`	Text tool	`Shift+T` opens the template browser
Letters	Tool and element keys	Relabel the atom under the pointer (Select or Bond tool)

Modifier keys during operations

These modifiers change behavior while a tool is in use. They are held during a drag, not pressed as a shortcut.

Modifier	Context	Effect
`Shift` (drag)	Bond tool	Free length (extension drawing) instead of snapped length
`Alt` or `Ctrl` (drag)	Bond tool	Free angle instead of snapped angle
`Shift+Alt` or `Shift+Ctrl` (drag)	Bond tool	Free angle and free length together
`Shift` (draw)	Ring tool	Force the ring non-aromatic
`Shift` (drag)	Select tool	Add to or toggle the selection, or clone the selection while dragging
`Alt` (drag)	Select tool	Move without snapping; a dragged text box or shape also pulls free of the arrows drawn from it
`Ctrl` (drag)	Select tool	Move without snapping, keeping attached arrows attached; for atoms, arms merging and fusing
`Ctrl` (drag)	Shape tool, Text tool	Draw a new shape or text box without snapping its corner to other items
`Alt` (click)	Select tool	Reset an arrow waypoint’s handles to smooth (collinear)
`G` (held during a drag)	Any drag, grid overlay enabled	Temporarily invert grid snapping: snaps if snapping is off, releases if it is on