vcad uses keyboard shortcuts extensively so you can model without reaching for menus. Every shortcut listed here uses Cmd for macOS; substitute Ctrl on Windows and Linux.
General
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Cmd+K | Open command palette |
Cmd+Z | Undo |
Cmd+Shift+Z | Redo |
Cmd+S | Save document |
Delete / Backspace | Delete selected node |
The command palette (Cmd+K) is the fastest way to access any operation. Type a few characters to filter -- "cyl" finds "Add Cylinder", "fil" finds "Fillet", and so on. Every modeling operation is reachable through the palette, so if you forget a specific shortcut, Cmd+K is your fallback.
Viewport Navigation
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Middle mouse drag | Orbit camera |
| Scroll wheel | Zoom in/out |
| Shift + Middle mouse drag | Pan camera |
F | Fit view to selection (or entire scene if nothing selected) |
G | Toggle grid visibility |
Standard Views
Numeric keys snap the camera to orthographic views aligned with the principal axes.
| Key | View |
|---|---|
1 | Front (looking along -Y) |
2 | Back (looking along +Y) |
3 | Right (looking along -X) |
4 | Left (looking along +X) |
5 | Top (looking along -Z) |
6 | Bottom (looking along +Z) |
7 | Isometric |
These views are especially useful when positioning features precisely or when you need to verify alignment from a specific direction. Pressing the same key again toggles back to the perspective view you were in before.
Selection
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Click | Select face or node |
Shift+Click | Add to / remove from selection |
Escape | Deselect all |
A | Select all visible nodes |
Selection drives most operations in vcad. When you select a face and then invoke "Fillet", the fillet applies to edges of that face. When you select a planar face and press S, a new sketch opens on that face's plane.
Sketch Mode
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
S | Enter sketch mode on selected face or standard plane |
Escape | Exit sketch mode (confirm sketch) |
L | Line tool |
C | Circle tool |
R | Rectangle tool |
H | Apply horizontal constraint |
V | Apply vertical constraint |
Enter | Finish current shape chain |
When sketch mode is active, the viewport switches to a 2D view of the sketch plane and the drawing tools become available. Constraint shortcuts (H, V) apply to the currently selected sketch entities. See the Sketch Mode reference for the full list of constraint types.
Feature Tree
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Up / Down | Navigate nodes in the feature tree |
Enter | Edit selected node's parameters |
Space | Toggle node visibility |
The feature tree panel on the left shows the parametric history. Navigating with arrow keys highlights the corresponding geometry in the viewport, which is helpful for finding a specific operation in a complex model.
Command Palette Operations
While any operation can be triggered through the command palette, here are some of the most commonly used ones for reference:
| Palette search | Operation |
|---|---|
cube | Add Cube primitive |
cylinder | Add Cylinder primitive |
sphere | Add Sphere primitive |
cone | Add Cone primitive |
union | Boolean Union |
difference | Boolean Difference |
intersection | Boolean Intersection |
fillet | Fillet edges |
chamfer | Chamfer edges |
shell | Shell operation |
extrude | Extrude sketch profile |
revolve | Revolve sketch profile |
linear pattern | Linear Pattern |
circular pattern | Circular Pattern |
export | Export to file |
The command palette uses fuzzy matching, so you don't need exact text. Typing "ext" matches both "Extrude" and "Export" -- arrow-key down to pick the one you want.
Customization
Keyboard shortcuts are not currently user-configurable. The set listed here is built into the app. If you find yourself repeatedly reaching for a command that doesn't have a shortcut, the command palette is the recommended workflow -- it's typically faster than memorizing rarely-used bindings.
For the complete modeling workflow including sketch constraints, viewport modes, and export options, see the App reference.