Controls and Shortcuts
The following is a list of input device controls and shortcuts providing quick access to functionality in Gaffer’s Viewers and Editors.
Guide
Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts, or hotkeys, are shown as they would typically appear on a keyboard:
Example Action |
Shortcut |
---|---|
Type the letter |
G |
Press a modifier key |
Ctrl |
Press multiple keys together |
Ctrl + C |
Press one of the following keys |
A, B, C, D |
Press either of the following keys |
Enter |
Tip
macOS users: replace Ctrl with Command ⌘.
Mouse Controls
Mouse controls are shown as icons representing the action to perform:
Example Action |
Mouse control |
---|---|
Press the left mouse button |
|
Press the middle mouse button |
|
Press the right mouse button |
|
Scroll the mouse wheel |
General
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
New node graph |
Ctrl + N |
Open node graph |
Ctrl + O |
Save node graph |
Ctrl + S |
Save node graph as |
Ctrl + Shift + S |
Quit the application |
Ctrl + Q |
Undo |
Ctrl + Z |
Redo |
Ctrl + Shift + Z |
Step one frame forward |
→ |
Step one frame backward |
← |
Play forward |
Ctrl + → |
Play backward |
Ctrl + ← |
Stop playback |
→, ←, Ctrl + →, Ctrl + ← |
Fullscreen mode |
F11 |
Hide tabs of current panel |
Ctrl + T |
Maximise current panel |
Space |
Note
Gaffer has many interactions requiring drag and drop of UI elements. As an alternative to holding for the duration of a drag, G can be pressed once to start a drag and then once again to complete the drag.
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Begin a drag |
Hover cursor over drag target, G |
Complete a drag |
While dragging, hover cursor over drop target, G |
Pinnable Editors and Inspectors
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Follow the focus node |
Hover cursor over editor, ` |
Pin the node selection |
Hover cursor over editor, P |
Pin numeric bookmark 1-9 |
Hover cursor over editor, 1 - 9 |
Follow to the node selection |
Hover cursor over editor, N |
Graph Editor
Note
For the following controls and shortcuts, the cursor must hover over the Graph Editor.
Node creation
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Show node menu |
|
Insert |
Ctrl + connection |
Node selection
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Select all |
Ctrl + A |
Clear selection |
Ctrl + Shift + A |
Select node |
|
Add node to selection |
Shift + |
Add/remove node from selection |
Ctrl + |
Select nodes |
and drag marquee, then release |
Add nodes |
Shift + and drag marquee, then release |
Deselect nodes |
Ctrl + and drag marquee, then release |
Select upstream nodes |
Shift + Alt + node |
Select downstream nodes |
Ctrl + Alt + node |
Node dispatch
Note
For these dispatch-related shortcuts, the cursor does not need to hover over the Graph Editor.
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Dispatch selected node(s) |
Ctrl + E |
Redo last dispatch |
Ctrl + R |
Node copying and deletion
Tip
For a Box node to be disableable, it must first be set up for pass-through.
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Cut node(s) |
Ctrl + X |
Copy node(s) |
Ctrl + C |
Paste node(s) |
Ctrl + V |
Duplicate node(s) with inputs |
Ctrl + D |
Delete node(s) |
Backspace |
Enable/disable node(s) |
D |
Rename node(s) |
F2 |
Node connections and layout
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Connect plug |
and drag plug to another plug |
Disconnect plug |
and drag connection to background |
Insert node onto connection |
and drag node onto connection |
Auto-arrange selected nodes |
Ctrl + L |
Duplicate outgoing connection |
Shift + and drag connection just before in plug |
Disconnect connections under cursor |
X + |
Disconnect connections under line |
X + and drag to draw a line, then release |
Focus Node
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Jump to focus node |
Hover cursor over editor, ` |
Assign focus to selected node |
Hover cursor over node graph, Ctrl + ` |
Assign focus to numeric bookmark |
Alt + 1 … 9 |
Node bookmarks
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Bookmark node |
node > Bookmark |
Connect to bookmarked node |
plug > Connect Bookmark > select node |
Jump to bookmarked node |
Hover cursor over editor, Ctrl + B > select bookmarked node |
Assign numeric bookmark |
Ctrl + 1 … 9 |
Remove numeric bookmark |
Ctrl + 0 |
Node Editor
Numeric plugs
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Increment/decrement value, specific precision |
Position cursor next to a number position in plug field, then hit ↑ / ↓ |
Scrub value, coarse precision |
Ctrl + and drag the field left/right |
Scrub value, fine precision |
Ctrl + Shift + and drag the field left/right |
Gang plugs together |
Ctrl + G |
Tip
Numeric fields support basic mathematical operators to adjust their values. For example, appending +1
to a plug with an existing value of 2
, will set it to 3
. You can use +
, -
, /
, *
and %
to modify the existing value.
Path plugs
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Autocomplete path component |
Tab |
Path-level contents menu |
Select path component |
Path hierarchy menu |
Select all |
3D scenes
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Edit source node of selection |
Alt + E |
Edit tweaks node for selection |
Alt + Shift + E |
Viewer
Note
For the following controls and shortcuts, the cursor must hover over the Viewer.
General controls
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Pan |
Alt + and drag |
Zoom/dolly |
Alt + and drag |
Pan/Zoom, fine precision |
Hold Shift during action |
Frame view to contents |
F |
Pause processing |
Escape |
Selection Tool |
Q |
Translate Tool |
W |
Rotate Tool |
E |
Cycle Transform Tool Orientation |
O |
Scale Tool |
R |
Camera Tool |
T |
Crop Window Tool |
C |
Crop Window Tool and crop enabled |
Alt + C |
Light Position Tool |
D |
Pin to numeric bookmark |
1 … 9 |
3D scenes
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Tumble |
Alt + and drag |
Tumble, fine precision |
Hold Shift during action |
Select objects |
and drag marquee, then release |
Add/remove object from selection |
Ctrl + |
Add objects to selection |
Shift + and drag marquee, then release |
Deselect objects |
Ctrl + and drag marquee, then release |
Expand selection |
↓ |
Fully expand selection |
Shift + ↓ |
Collapse selection |
↑ |
Edit source node of selection |
Alt + E |
Edit tweaks node for selection |
Alt + Shift + E |
Fit clipping planes to scene |
> Clipping Planes > Fit To Scene |
Fit clipping planes to selection |
> Clipping Planes > Fit To Selection |
Frame view, and fit clipping planes |
Ctrl + F |
Reset clipping planes |
> Clipping Planes > Default |
Toggle Inspector |
I |
Prune selected objects from current EditScope |
Ctrl + Delete |
Turn off visibility for selected objects from current EditScope |
Ctrl + H |
Transform tools
Note
For the following controls and shortcuts, a Transform Tool must be active.
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Increase manipulator size |
+ |
Decrease manipulator size |
- |
Add animation key to transform of selected object(s) |
S |
Adjust, fine precision |
Hold Shift during action |
Adjust, snapping to rounded increments |
Hold Ctrl during action |
Target mode (Translate and Rotate only) |
Hold V then on target geometry |
Light Tool
Note
For the following controls and shortcuts, the Light Tool must be active
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Adjust, fine precision |
Hold Shift during action |
Constrain to aspect ratio (Quad lights only) |
Hold Ctrl during action |
Light Position Tool
Note
For the following controls and shortcuts, the Light Position Tool must be active.
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Set shadow target position |
V + |
Set shadow pivot position |
Shift + V + |
2D images
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Isolate red channel |
R |
Isolate green channel |
G |
Isolate blue channel |
B |
Isolate alpha channel |
A |
View luminance of RGB |
L |
Previous layer |
PgUp |
Next layer |
PgDn |
First layer (RGBA) |
Ctrl + PgUp |
Previous view |
[ |
Next view |
] |
Center image at 1:1 scale |
Home |
Previous Catalogue image |
↑ |
Next Catalogue image |
↓ |
Duplicate current Catalogue image |
Ctrl + D |
Toggle image comparison |
Q |
Toggle wipes |
W |
Crop window tool
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Draw new region anywhere |
Shift + click and drag |
Hierarchy View
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Expand selected location |
→ |
Fully expand selected location |
Shift + → |
Collapse selected location |
← |
Fully collapse selected location |
Shift + ← |
Copy selected paths |
Ctrl + C |
Edit source node of selection |
Alt + E |
Edit tweaks node for selection |
Alt + Shift + E |
Frame selection |
F |
Python Editor
Text entry
Note
When using the following drag and drop controls and shortcuts, drop the UI element onto the input field of the Python Editor.
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Drop node into Python Editor |
and drag node from Node Graph |
Drop plug into Python Editor |
and drag plug from Node Graph |
Drop plug value into Python Editor |
Shift + and drag plug label from Node Editor |
Drop color value into Python Editor |
and drag a pixel from Viewer |
Drop scene location path(s) into Python Editor |
and drag selection from Viewer or Hierarchy View |
Indent selection |
Ctrl + ] |
Unindent selection |
Ctrl + [ |
Comment/uncomment selection |
Ctrl + / |
Select current line |
Ctrl + L |
Execution
Note
For the following controls and shortcuts, the input field of the Python Editor must be in focus.
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Execute and clear |
Ctrl + Enter |
Execute selection |
Select code, then hit Ctrl + Enter |
Animation Editor
Note
For the following controls and shortcuts, the cursor must hover over the Animation Editor.
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Pan |
Alt + and drag |
Zoom |
Alt + and drag |
Zoom x/y axes independently |
Hold Ctrl during action |
Pan/Zoom, fine precision |
Hold Shift during action |
Adjust frame range |
Ctrl + Alt + and drag left/right |
Adjust key value range |
Ctrl + Alt + and drag up/down |
Frame all curves (no selection) |
F |
Frame selected key(s) |
F |
Add key to a curve |
Ctrl + |
Add key to all selected curves at current frame |
I |
Delete selected key(s) |
Delete |
Adjust selected key(s) |
and drag |
Adjust frame(s) of selected key(s) |
Shift + and drag left/right |
Adjust value(s) of selected key(s) |
Shift + and drag up/down |
Interactive Render Log
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Next message of level |
E, W, I, D |
Previous message of level |
Shift + E, W, I, D |
Search |
Ctrl + F |
Next match (search field focus) |
Enter |
Next match (log focus) |
N |
Previous match (log focus) |
P |
Scroll to bottom |
B |
Spreadsheet
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Toggle/edit selected cells |
Return or |
Toggle Enabled state of selected cells |
D |
Copy/Paste selected cells or rows |
Ctrl + C/V |
Move cell selection |
↑, ↓, ←, → |
Extend cell selection |
Shift + ↑, ↓, ←, → |
Move keyboard focus |
Ctrl + ↑, ↓, ←, → |
Toggle selection state of cell with keyboard focus |
Space |
Light Editor
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Edit source node of selection |
Alt + E |
Edit tweaks node for selection |
Alt + Shift + E |
Move cell selection |
↑, ↓, ←, → |
Extend cell selection |
Shift + |
Toggle cell selection |
Ctrl + |
Edit selected cells |
Return |
Disable Edit |
D |
Remove Attribute |
Delete |
Set Editor
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Copy names of selected sets |
Ctrl + C |
Copy members of selected sets |
Ctrl + Shift + C |
Render Pass Editor
Action |
Control or shortcut |
---|---|
Move cell selection |
↑, ↓, ←, → |
Extend cell selection |
Shift + |
Toggle cell selection |
Ctrl + |
Edit selected cells |
Return |
Disable edit |
D |
Toggle a render pass as active |
Return or a cell within the column |