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Hotkeys and Gestures

Most feature hot-keys can be found next to the action in the menus.

Hotkey Editor (version 1.3+)

As LightBurn has added more features, it's become harder to find available hotkeys that will work with a variety of keyboard layouts. Version 1.3 has added a hotkey editor, so you can cusomtize most of LightBurn's shortcuts to your liking. Any button on the toolbar can be given a hotkey, and the editor includes a search function to help you find them.

Access the Hotkey Editor through the menu: File >> Edit Hotkeys

Hotkey Editor Window

The Hotkey Editor Window

General Usage Hotkeys

Mouse

  • Selection: Left click, or band-box
  • Shift + click adds to the current selection
  • Ctrl/⌘ + click removes from the current selection
  • Drag: Left-click & hold on an object, drag it
  • When dragging, Shift will keep the drag vertical, horizontal, or 45 degrees
  • When dragging, Ctrl means "don't grid / object snap"
  • When sizing, the default is retain the current aspect ratio, holding shift unlocks it.
  • When sizing, Control means "resize from center"
  • Zoom: Mouse wheel (zooms relative to the cursor)
  • View drag: Middle-mouse click and drag
  • Double clicking text: Auto chooses text mode and places cursor.

Keyboard

  • View drag: Hold space-bar + left-click & drag (useful for Mac, or users without a mouse wheel)
  • Delete: Backspace or Delete keys
  • Select Mode: Pressing the Esc key while in the workspace will return to the selection tool

Move

  • Arrow keys move the current selection
  • Shift + arrow moves in large steps
  • Ctrl/⌘ + arrow moves in small steps

File

Action Windows / Linux macOS
New Ctrl + N ⌘ + N
Open Ctrl + O ⌘ + O
Import Ctrl + I ⌘ + I
Save Ctrl + S ⌘ + S
Save As Ctrl + Shift + S ⌘ + Shift + S
Save As Gcode Alt + Shift + L ⌥ + Shift + L
Export Alt + X ⌥ + X
Print (Black Only) Ctrl + P ⌘ + P
Print (Keep Colors) Ctrl + Shift + P ⌘ + Shift + P
Exit Ctrl + Q ⌘ + Q

Edit

Action Windows / Linux macOS
Undo Ctrl + Z ⌘ + Z
Redo Ctrl + Shift + Z ⌘ + Shift + Z
Select All Ctrl + A ⌘ + A
Invert Selection Ctrl + Shift + I ⌘ + Shift + I
Cut Ctrl + X ⌘ + X
Copy Ctrl + C ⌘ + C
Duplicate Ctrl + D ⌘ + D
Paste Ctrl + V ⌘ + V
Paste in place Alt + V ⌥ + V
Delete Delete / BackSpace Delete / BackSpace
Convert to Path Ctrl + Shift + C ⌘ + Shift + C
Convert to Bitmap Ctrl + Shift + B ⌘ + Shift + B
Close Path Alt + C ⌥ + C
Auto-Join Alt + J ⌥ + J
Optimize Alt + Shift + O ⌥ + Shift + O
Delete Duplicates Alt + D ⌥ + D

Vector Tools

Action Windows / Linux macOS
Draw Line Ctrl + L ⌘ + L
Rectangle Ctrl + R ⌘ + R
Ellipse Ctrl + E ⌘ + E
Edit Nodes Ctrl + ` ⌘ + `
Add Tabs Ctrl + Tab ⌘ + Tab
Create / Edit Text Ctrl + T ⌘ + T
Offset Shapes ALt + O ⌥ + O
Weld Shapes Ctrl + W ⌘ + W
Boolean Union Alt + + ⌥ + +
Boolean Subtract Alt + - ⌥ + -
Boolean Intersection Alt + * ⌥ + *
Boolean Assistant Ctrl + B ⌘ + B
Break Apart Alt + B ⌥ + B
Cut Shapes Alt + C ⌥ + C

Image Tools

Action Windows / Linux macOS
Adjust Image Alt + I ⌥ + I
Trace Image Alt + T ⌥ + T

Window

Action Windows / Linux macOS
Preview Alt + P ⌥ + P
Zoom In Ctrl + = ⌘ + =
Zoom Out Ctrl + - ⌘ + -
Zoom to Page Ctrl + 0 ⌘ + 0
Preview Alt + P ⌥ + P
Toggle WireFrame/Filled Alt + Shift+ W ⌥ + Shift + W
Frame Selection Ctrl + Shift + A ⌘ + Shift + A
Square Frame Selection Alt + R ⌥ + R
Rubber Band Frame Alt + Shift + R ⌥ + Shift + R

Laser Machine Tools

Action Windows / Linux macOS
Rotary Setup Ctrl + Shift + R ⌘ + Shift + R
Position Laser Alt + L ⌥ + L
Pause Pause
Stop Ctrl + Break
Reset Device Connection Right Click "Devices"

Cuts/Layers

Action Windows / Linux macOS
Flash items on Layer Right Click Layer Right Click Layer
Select all items on layer Shift+Click Layer Shift+Click Layer

Global Hotkeys

The following work from anywhere while objects are selected.

Action Windows / Linux macOS
Group Ctrl + G ⌘ + G
Ungroup Ctrl + U ⌘ + U
Flip Horizontal Ctrl + Shift + H ⌘ + Shift + H
Flip Vertical Ctrl + Shift + V ⌘ + Shift + V
Mirror Across Line Ctrl + Shift + M ⌘ + Shift + M
Align Left Ctrl + Shift + ← ⌘ + Shift + ←
Align Right Ctrl + Shift + → ⌘ + Shift + →
Align Top Ctrl + Shift + ↑ ⌘ + Shift + ↑
Align Bottom Ctrl + Shift + ↓ ⌘ + Shift + ↓
Align Centers Vertically Ctrl + Shift + PgUp ⌘ + Shift + PgUp
Align Centers Horizontally Ctrl + Shift + PgDn ⌘ + Shift + PgDn
Move H-Together Alt + Shift + H ⌥ + Shift + H
Move V-Together Alt + Shift + V ⌥ + Shift + V
Push forward in draw order PgUp PgUp
Push backward in draw order PgDn PgDn
Push to front Ctrl + PgUp ⌘ + PgUp
Push to back Ctrl + PgDn ⌘ + PgDn

Edit Window Specific

The following work only while focused on the edit window.

Action Windows / Linux macOS
Rotate 5° clockwise Ctrl + Shift + . (decimal) ⌘ + Shift + . (decimal)
Rotate 5° Counter-clockwise Ctrl + Shift + , (comma) ⌘ + Shift + , (comma)
Rotate 10 clockwise Ctrl + . (decimal) ⌘ + . (decimal)
Rotate 10 Counter-clockwise Ctrl + , (comma) ⌘ + , (comma)
Rotate 90 clockwise . (decimal) . (decimal)
Rotate 90 Counter-clockwise , (comma) , (comma)
Rotate 45 clockwise Shift + > Shift + >
Rotate 45 Counter-clockwise Shift + < Shift + <
Two Point Rotate Tool Ctrl + 2 ⌘ + 2
Align Left L L
Align Right R R
Align Top T T
Align Bottom B B
Align Centers Vertically C C
Align Centers Horizontally E E
Move Selection to Page Center P P

Tool In-use - Hot-Keys

Node Edit

Action Windows / Linux macOS Notes
Smooth corner node S S while hovering over a node
Convert line to smooth curve S S while hovering over a line
Convert curve to line L L while hovering over a curve
Convert smooth node to corner C C while hovering over a node
Delete node D D while hovering over a node
Delete line D D while hovering over a line
Insert node point I I while hovering over a line or curve
Insert node at midpoint M M while hovering over a line or curve
Break shape at point B B while hovering over a point
Trim line T T while hovering over a line, trim line under mouse at next intersection
Extend line E E while hovering over a point, extend line from point under mouse to intersection with another shape
Action Windows / Linux macOS
Start Wizard Alt + 0 ⌥ + 0
Set First Target Position Alt + 1 ⌥ + 1
Set Second Target Position Alt + 2 ⌥ + 2
Align Output to Targets Alt + 3 ⌥ + 3
Align Output to Targets (no scaling) Alt + 4 ⌥ + 4

Camera

Action Windows / Linux macOS
Update camera overlay Alt + C ⌥ + C

KeyPad Jog

Note - Numlock must be enabled in Windows and Linux to use Keypad jogging
Jog moves the laser in the jog increments set in the Move tab.

To activate keypad jog you must first click in the workspace area and not have the text tool active. (Press Esc for the selection tool for example)

hexagon

Help

  • Pressing F1 while hovering the mouse over the edit window will bring you to the documentation page for the editing mode you're in.
  • Pressing F1 while hovering the mouse over some tools will show you help for that tool.
  • Otherwise, pressing F1 will bring up the Help & Notes dialog window.

Printable Hot Key Guide

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