How to Use & Customise Keyboard Shortcuts

How to Use & Customise Keyboard Shortcuts

Just about every command in Revit can have a Keyboard Shortcut assigned to it. Revit also comes with numerous built-in Keyboard Shortcuts, you can see many of these by hovering over the command in Revit.

Keyboard shortcut shown in brackets

Using a Keyboard Shortcut

To use a Keyboard Shortcut in Revit

  1. Simply type the keyboard combination, assuming the Keyboard shortcut is unique the command will initialise as soon as you complete it. There is no need to hit enter or spacebar or similar to commit the command. If there are multiple commands for that keyboard shortcut, you will need to use the left/right arrow keys to navigate through the options, then press enter on the one you want. Or simply edit the Keyboard Shortcuts to make it unique. For example, if I press W there are 4 different keyboard shortcuts that start with W, Wall (WA), Wireframe (WF), Window (WN), or Window Tile (WT). You can see and cycle through all the options in the Status Bar in the lower left corner of the Revit Window.

Creating & Customising Keyboard Shortcuts

  1. The Keyboard Shortcut for Keyboard Shortcuts is KS. Simply Type KS to open the dialog to begin customising or go to View ► Windows ► User Interface ► Keyboard Shortcuts.

  2. Use the Search Bar to search for the command you want to edit the shortcut for.

  3. Select the Row representing the Command,

  4. Select the cell next to “Press new keys” and type your key combination. 2 key combinations are recommended. Then press Assign.

  5. Revit will give a warning if another command is using the same Key combination.

  6. Select OK to save your edits.

NOTE:

The Search only works on the “Command” column, as such its not always obvious what to search for. For instance, if you searched for “Save” it won’t bring up all the different save options. I’d need to search for Family, to get the command for Family ► Save As.

You can also Import/Export Keyboard Shortcuts for use on different machines.

Built-in Keyboard Shortcuts

The below table outlines the keyboard shortcuts that Autodesk has built into Revit as a default.

Shortcut

Command

Shortcut

Command

Shortcut

Command

Shortcut

Command

AA

Area Tag

MR

Masking Region

AB

Area Boundary Line

MT

Material

AL

Align

MV

Move

AR

Array

NE

New Elevation

AT

Apply View Template To View

NS

New Section

AV

Activate View Port (On A Sheet)

OF

Offset

CM

Component

PAC

Paste Aligned

CO

Copy

PN

Pin Element

CP

Cut Profile

PU

Purged Unused

CS

Create Similar

PT

Paint

CT

Create View Template From View

RC

Revision Cloud

DE

Delete

RF

Roof (By Footprint)

DC

Detail Component

RM

Room

DI

Dimension

RO

Rotate

DL

Detail Lines

RP

Reference Plane

DR

Door

RR

Room Tag

DV

Deactivate View Port (On A Sheet)

S

Stairs

EB

Edit Boundary Line

SC

Snap Centers (Middle Of Circle)

EK

Element Keynote

SE

Snap End

EL

Spot Elevation

SF

Split Face

EM

Extend (Multiple)

SL

Split

ES

Extend (Single)

SI

Snap Intersection

FC

Facia

SM

Snap Middle

FL

Floor

SQ

Snap Quadrant

FR

Filled Region

TG

Category Tag

GR

Grid

TL 

Thin Lines

GP

Create Group

TM

Measure Between Two References
(Used To Be Tape Measure)

GU

Gutter

TR

Trim

IS

Insulation

TX

Text

JG

Join Geometry

UK

User Keynote

KS

Keyboard Shortcuts

UN

Project Units

LI

Model Lines

UP

Unpin

LF

Load Family

VP

View Properties

LL

Level

VV

Visibility/ Graphic Overrides

MA

Match Properties

WA

Wall

ME

Material Tag

WN

Window

MK

Material Keynote

XD

Export Dwg

ML

Manage Links

XX

Close Hidden Windows

MM

Mirror (Pick Axis)

ZX

Zoom Extents

MI

Mirror (Draw Axis)

 

 

Other Special Keystrokes

The below Keystrokes are reserved for internal Revit usage and cannot be assigned as other Keyboard Shortcuts.

Key

Use

Key

Use

Alt+Fn4, Alt+F4

Exit Revit.

Ctrl+W

Close the current project.

Ctrl+C, Ctrl+Insert

Copy selected items to the clipboard.

Ctrl+X, Shift+Delete

Cut the selected item and copies it to the clipboard.

Ctrl+V

Paste a copied item from the clipboard.

Ctrl+Z

Undo the last action. Press Ctrl+Z a second time to undo the action previous to the last one, and so on.

Alt+Backspace

Undo the last action. Press Alt+Backspace a second time to undo the action previous to the last one, and so on.

Ctrl+Shift+Z

Redo the last action. Press Ctrl+Shift+Z a second time to redo the action previous to the last one, and so on.

Ctrl+Y

Redo the last action. Press Ctrl+Y a second time to redo the action previous to the last one, and so on.

Ctrl+N

Open a new project.

Ctrl+O

Open a Revit file.

Ctrl+P

Print

Ctrl+S

Save

Ctrl+F

Project Browser Search

F1/Fn1

Display the Revit Help

F5/Fn5

Refresh

F7/Fn7

Check spelling

F8/Fn8, Shift+W

Dynamic View

Ctrl+D

Switch between the Home page and the ribbon.

Ctrl+F4

Close the currently open project.

Tab

Advance through options or the selection of nearby or connected elements.

Shift+Tab

Reverse through options or the selection of nearby or connected elements.

Ctrl+Tab

Toggles between Views clockwise

Ctrl+Shift+Tab

Toggles between Views anti-clockwise

Esc

Cancel placement of an element. Deselects a selected element. (Pressing Esc twice cancels an editor or tool.)

F10/Fn10

Display keytips.

Enter

Execute an action.

Spacebar

Flip a selected element, changing its orientation.

Ctrl+0 (zero)

In a schedule view, resets to the original zoom level (100%).

Ctrl+ (+)

In a schedule view, Zoom in to see a larger view of the text.

Ctrl+ (-)

In a schedule view, Zoom out to see a smaller view of the text.

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