Keyboard shortcuts Coming

ComingThis feature is designed but not in DimSum yet. This page describes how it will work.

Every default shortcut and mouse action in DimSum, grouped by task. The mouse and drawing keys work like other takeoff software out of the box, and every shortcut is rebindable in Settings.

Overview

DimSum is built to be driven from the keyboard while your mouse stays on the plan. This page lists the DimSum Default shortcuts from the plan, plus the in-tool keys (Backspace, N, Tab, Shift…) described in the tool specs.

• Left-click places a point. That's all it does while drawing.
• Right-click (a tap) opens the context menu (copy / paste / delete…).
• Right-drag or middle-drag pans the canvas. A middle-click on its own does nothing.
• N starts a new section of the same tool, Backspace picks up the previous point, Esc ends the run, keeps everything and puts the tool away.

Two rules that matter more than any key on this page:

1. Nothing is a draft. Every point commits as you place it, so Enter is optional and Esc never throws work away. See Shared tool behavior.
2. No command is keyboard-only. Everything here also has a button or a right-click entry — Shortcuts are an accelerator, and every one of them is rebindable in Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts.

Number keys stay free for tools. Exact lengths are not typed straight onto the canvas. While drawing, you press an arrow key to lock the direction and a small length dialog opens — type 12'6", press Enter, and the point is placed. That keeps 1/2/3 (and every other number shortcut) working at all times.

macOS: use Cmd wherever this page says Ctrl.

Where to find it

• Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts: full searchable list, rebind, conflict detection, presets ("DimSum Default", "Familiar"), print/export cheat sheet.
• Quick Guide (F1) → "Keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet (printable)".
• Command palette (Ctrl+K): runs any command by name, with or without a shortcut.

How to use it

Rebind a shortcut

1. Ctrl+, → Keyboard Shortcuts.
2. Search for the command.
3. Click its shortcut and press the new keys.
4. If the keys are already taken, DimSum shows the conflict; choose which command keeps them.

Switch presets

1. Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts → Preset.
2. Choose DimSum Default or Familiar.

Print a cheat sheet

1. Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts → Print / Export cheat sheet.

Options & settings

Mouse on the canvas

Action	Input
Place a point (while a tool is armed)	Left-click
Select (no tool armed)	Left-click; drag a box (left→right = fully inside, right→left = crossing)
Context menu (copy, paste, delete, properties…)	Right-click (tap)
Pan	Right-drag or middle-drag (also Space+drag)
Middle-click alone	Nothing
Zoom (toward cursor)	Mouse wheel — in split view, the pane under the cursor
Focus the other pane (split view)	Left-click in it. The first click only focuses it, even with a tool armed; the next click draws
Open settings for anything	Double-click it

Navigation & view

Action	Shortcut
Select	V (or Esc twice: once stops the tool, again returns to Select)
Pan tool	H / Space+drag
Zoom fit page	Ctrl+0
Zoom 100%	Ctrl+1
Zoom to selection	Z
Next / previous page	PgDn / PgUp
Next / previous level	Ctrl+PgDn / Ctrl+PgUp
One pane / two panes side by side	Alt+1 / Alt+2. Stacked has no key: View → Two panes stacked. Three and four panes (Alt+3 / Alt+4) come later; today those keys say Three and four panes come in a later build. Alt+1 is one pane, Alt+2 is two.
Pop out the focused pane / dock it back	No key: View → Pop out pane / Dock back, or the tool strip's button. Shortcuts work inside the pop-out
Full screen canvas	F11
Properties panel	F4
Universal search	Ctrl+F
Command palette	Ctrl+K
Quick Guide	F1
Settings	Ctrl+,

Page tools

Action	Shortcut
Scale – manual calibrate	K
Auto Scale	Shift+K
Rotate page 90°	No key: Page ▾ → Rotate 90° clockwise / Rotate 90° counter-clockwise, or right-click the canvas. Ctrl+R is reserved for reload and binds nothing in DimSum
Straighten (deskew; renamed from "Level")	No key: Page ▾ → Straighten…; Esc stops it
Color On/Off	Ctrl+Shift+C, or Page ▾ → Color Off / Color On. Off is Grayscale; the other looks are in Color options…
Text On/Off	Ctrl+Shift+T, or Page ▾ → Text Off / Text On
Fade / Contrast / Brightness	No key: Page ▾ → Fade / Contrast…
Overlay & Align	No key: Page ▾ → Align overlay (4 clicks), or right-click the canvas. Click overlay → main page → overlay → main page
Region scale — drag a box around a drawing at another scale	No key: Scale ▾ → Region scale, or right-click the canvas. Esc puts it away
Delete the selected scale region	Delete

Dimension, draw & annotate

Action	Shortcut
Dimension Line	D, or Markup ▾ → Dimension Line
Quick Measure	M (later)
Solid Line	L
Custom Line	Shift+L
Highlight	Y, or Markup ▾ → Highlight
Note	Shift+N (moved from N, which is now "new section"), or Markup ▾ → Note
Text box	T, or Markup ▾ → Text
Revision Cloud	No key: Markup ▾ → Cloud
Stamp	Shift+S opens the list of stamps, or Markup ▾ → Stamp ▸, or right-click → Stamp…
Screenshot (capture a region or pane into the Media panel)	Ctrl+Shift+S

Takeoff

Action	Shortcut
Linear Takeoff	1
Area Takeoff	2
Point Takeoff	3
Cutout (Area, with the tool selected)	C
Draw more points (carry on from the last point of a finished instance)	Ctrl+Enter, or right-click it in the tree, the Takeoff summary or the canvas
New section (a separate run in the same instance)	right-click it, or the Properties panel button

While drawing (any tool)

Action	Key
Add a point	Left-click
New section of the same tool (finish this run/polygon and start the next shape in the same instance)	N
Remove (pick up) the previous point	Backspace
End the run and start another (optional — points commit as you place them)	Enter / double-click
Stop the tool, keeping everything drawn	Esc
Context menu	Right-click
Toggle Snap	S
Ortho (0/45/90°)	Hold Shift, or toggle with O
Cursor lines on/off — two lines edge to edge through the snapped point	No key: click Cursor lines in the status bar, beside Snap and Ortho. Whether they start on: System Settings → Canvas & Drawing
Draw a span on the other side — a Linear with a Line Width, new or carried on (not a Locked or formula Draw Side): the span you're placing flips Right ↔ Left while held, Other side (Ctrl) in the status bar, and keeps the side it's clicked with. Spans already drawn and the item's Draw Side don't change; each span is one undo, side and all. Ctrl+Z and other Ctrl chords work as before	Hold Ctrl
Exact input: lock a direction	An arrow key (↑ ↓ ← →). Hold Shift for 45°, or Alt+arrow to nudge the angle.
Exact input: the length	The arrow key opens a small length dialog: type 12'6" and press Enter to place the point in that direction
Free-angle length/angle entry	Space (opens the same dialog with an editable angle)
Arc segment in a Polyline	Hold A
Chain Solid Line segments	Hold Ctrl
Pan / zoom without leaving the tool	Right-drag, middle-drag or Space+drag / wheel

Tool-specific keys

Context	Key	Action
Point tool	Shift+drag a box	Remove points
Pick Line (Extract)	Shift+click	Add more lines
Joist tool, after the area closes	Click an edge	The joists run parallel to that edge
Joist tool, after the area closes, or with a joist section selected	J	Draw first joist: two clicks draw joist #1 (also the Draw first joist button on the status strip)
Joist tool, after the area closes	Esc	Keep the default direction, the area's longest edge
Joist tool, Auto placement Coming	Tab	Flip span direction
Joist tool, Pick Line placement Coming	Shift	Run joists parallel instead of perpendicular
Wall tools, while drawing	Tab	Flip which side is exterior
Overlay & Align	Backspace / Esc	Take the last click back / throw away an unfinished alignment and keep the old one
Dimension Line, after point 2	Esc / Enter	Leave it on the measured line (offset 0); the dimension is already written
Dimension Line	Backspace / Ctrl+Z	Take back one click
Dimension Line, point 2	Hold Shift	Ortho. Coming
Text box	Enter / Esc	New line / finish, keeping the text (a click outside also finishes)
Note card	Esc	Save the note (a click outside also saves)
Highlighter (later)	Hold Shift	Straight stroke
Ellipse	Hold Shift	Circle
Selection	Shift / Ctrl+click	Add to selection
Selection	Delete	Delete the selected object. Coming

Editing & organization

Action	Shortcut
Undo / Redo	Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y (one shared history for the whole project: canvas, Estimating tab, properties and settings). While drawing, undo is per point — same as Backspace
Undo History list	The dropdown beside Undo. Click any action in the list to undo everything back to that point in one step (50+ steps at once), so a wrong bulk change is a single click to reverse.
Copy / Paste / Paste in place	Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V / Ctrl+Shift+V
Hide selected	Ctrl+H — selected markups and Dimension Lines too,
Lock selected	Ctrl+L — selected markups and Dimension Lines too, (on markups that are all locked, it unlocks them)
Delete selected markups	Delete. With takeoff selected too, each goes, as two Undo steps
Restyle to defaults	No key: right-click a selection of markups → Restyle to defaults
Show lengths / Hide lengths on an item	No key: right-click the item, or Properties → Appearance → Lengths
Show a kind of markup, or Takeoff lengths	No key: the Show switches at the foot of Markup ▾, or right-click an empty spot → Show or hide markups… — Dimensions, Highlights, Text, Notes, Clouds, Stamps, Takeoff lengths. Not on the View menu yet
Rename where it stands	F2 or a double-click on the row — on the Lists and Tables rails, and on the library tree's tabs, folders and tools. It is the same rename the editor's title does, with the same warning and the same one Ctrl+Z; a preloaded list and a read-only library refuse it in the rail exactly as they do at the title

There is no Save shortcut: DimSum saves every action as it happens.

Laying out a form (Tool Designer → Form)

A field is dragged into a cell with the mouse, and every drag has a key — a gesture that can only be made with a mouse is one nobody can be sure works.

Action	Shortcut
Move the selected field one cell	Arrow keys
Make it wider or taller (span)	Shift+arrow
Send it to the band above or below	Page Up / Page Down
Take it off the form	Delete

Nothing is lost by any of them: a field takes the cell it asks for, else the first free one in reading order, else the band grows a row to hold it.

Designing a report (Reports → Design)

In the Report Designer, everything snaps to the page's grid. A strip at the bottom right of the designer lists the main keys.

Action	Shortcut
Open a report of your own in the designer	Double-click it on the Reports tab — in the list or on its pages
Move what's picked one grid cell (a column: one place)	Arrow keys
Move it five cells	Ctrl+arrow
Make it wider, narrower, taller or shorter by one cell	Shift+arrow — with Ctrl, five
Remove it	Delete (or Backspace)
Duplicate it	Ctrl+D
Copy / cut / paste — inside the report only, not the Windows clipboard	Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X / Ctrl+V
Pick every element	Ctrl+A
Pick nothing	Esc
Undo / redo — every change is one step, the designer's own	Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y (or Ctrl+Shift+Z)
Add a field or an item from Add to the band you last clicked	Double-click it, or Enter
Move a Group by or Sort by level up or down — its grip picked	↑ / ↓
Apply a typed filter or formula / start a new line in it / put back the one in use	Enter / Shift+Enter / Esc
Zoom the page about the pointer	Mouse wheel (or Ctrl+wheel)
Pan the page	Right-drag or middle-drag, or Space+left-drag
Fit / 100%	Ctrl+0 / Ctrl+1
Zoom to what's picked — Fit, with nothing picked	Z
The designer's right-click menu	Right-click without moving

As on the Form grid above, the arrows move and Shift+arrow resizes. In the designer, Ctrl+Z undoes your changes to the report only — never the job's (the job's one shared history, above, stands aside while the designer is open). Keys typed into a box on the right are the box's own.

3D viewport

Action	Input
Orbit	Left-drag or middle-drag
Pan	Shift+drag / right-drag
Zoom (toward cursor)	Wheel
Fit all	F
Zoom to selection	Z

Project Tree (mouse)

Action	Input
Open a page in the focused pane	Click it
Open a page in the other pane	Middle-click it (it splits the canvas if there's one pane), or drag it onto the pane. Right-click → Open in other pane / Open in new window
Open settings for a level, page, tool or side	Double-click it

Examples

• Framing walls with sections: 1 (Linear) → click along the first wall run → N (new section, same instance) → click the next run → oops, wrong corner → Backspace → click the right corner → Esc to stop.
• An exact 12' 6" run: 1 (Linear) → click the start point → press → (direction locked) → type 12'6" → Enter. The point lands exactly 12' 6" to the right, and the number keys were never swallowed by the canvas.
• Undoing a bad bulk edit: open the Undo History dropdown, click the action just before the edit, and all the steps since are undone together.
• Floor with an opening: 2 (Area) → click the floor outline → Enter → C → draw the stair opening → Enter → PgDn to the next page → Ctrl+Enter to keep adding to the selected tool.
• Moving around mid-drawing: hold the right or middle button and drag to pan, roll the wheel to zoom; the tool stays armed.
• Clean up a busy plan: Ctrl+Shift+C (plan to grayscale) and Ctrl+Shift+T (hide plan text) before tracing.
• Find something: Ctrl+F → type "HDU5" → click a result to jump to it.

Tips & shortcuts

• Learn 1/2/3, N, Backspace, Enter, Esc and Ctrl+Enter first; they cover most takeoff.
• Ctrl+K is the fallback when you forget a shortcut; Ctrl+F finds anything in the project.
• Print the cheat sheet after rebinding.

Rules, limits & edge cases

• All shortcuts are rebindable; conflicts are detected when you rebind.
• S (toggle snap) and Shift+S (Stamp) are different commands; so are N (new section) and Shift+N (Note).
• Esc stops the active tool; pressing it again returns to Select and clears the selection. with a markup tool armed and nothing being drawn, Esc puts the tool away, then lets go of the selected markups. With the Dimension Line, an Esc after point 2 first leaves the dimension on its measured line and keeps the tool armed; the next Esc puts the tool away. In a text box or a note card, Esc finishes typing and keeps what you typed.
• Every markup has a mouse route: Markup ▾ in the tool strip and the canvas right-click menu list them all, so Cloud needs no key.
• Number keys are never swallowed by the canvas. They always arm tools, because exact input goes through the arrow-key direction lock and its length dialog.
• Common commands such as Open, New Project, Delete and Select All don't have shortcuts assigned in the plan yet.

Related features

• Settings page
• Shared tool behavior (snapping, ortho, typed input…)
• Dimension tools · Annotation tools
• Takeoff tools: Linear, Area, Point
• Joist & Rafter tools
• Wall tools, Opening tool & Cut tool
• 3D viewport
• Split views & Layouts · Overlay & Align · Page tools
• Universal Search, Media, Attachments & Protected Pages