Altium Designer Shortcuts

Perhaps the single thing you can do to become more productive in any software environment is to learn the shortcuts and, once learned, they become second nature. This article takes a look at the default shortcuts available across various key design domains, including how you can access listings while you work, and how you can edit them.

Shortcut Listings

The following sections provide more information (or links to more information) about the shortcuts assigned for use in the software and its various editors. When looking at any of the shortcut key listings, keep in mind the following:

• When referring to shortcuts, use of the plus (+) symbol denotes holding multiple keys down on the keyboard in the indicated sequence. For example, Shift+F1 means holding down the Shift key then pressing the F1 key. Likewise, Shift+Ctrl+PgUp means holding down the Shift key then holding down the Ctrl key at the same time and pressing the PgUp key.
• Where use of the standard mouse buttons is made, Click refers to a single click of the left-hand mouse button, Double-Click refers to two clicks of the left-hand mouse button, and Right-Click refers to a single click of the right-hand mouse button.

General Altium Environment Shortcuts

The following shortcuts are typically always available, irrespective of the type of editor that is currently active.

Editor-specific Shortcuts

Use the following links to access pages of shortcuts specific to the indicated editor(s).

• Schematic Editor & Schematic Symbol Editor Shortcuts
• PCB Editor & PCB Footprint Editor Shortcuts
• Component Editor Shortcuts
• Output Job Editor Shortcuts
• Draftsman Editor Shortcuts
• Multi-board Schematic Editor Shortcuts
• Multi-board Assembly Editor Shortcuts
• CAMtastic Editor Shortcuts
• SimData Editor Shortcuts
• Text-based Document Editor Shortcuts

Accessing Shortcuts

In a multi-editor environment like Altium Designer, it can be hard to remember the shortcuts, particularly those special-purpose ones that are available when you are running a command. To help with this, the software provides some ways to 'look up' key shortcuts.

While Running an Interactive Command

When running an interactive command within the Schematic and PCB editors - for example Place » Wire in a schematic or Route » Interactive Routing in the PCB - use the Shift+F1 keyboard shortcut to access a menu listing all valid shortcuts for that stage of the interactive command. You can either process another command by choosing it from the menu, or press Esc to close the menu without impact on the currently running command (and use the desired shortcut thereafter).

Use the Shift+F1 shortcuts menu to refresh your memory about the shortcuts available or use it in the traditional menu sense to select the required option with the mouse. Shown here is the menu when placing a wire on a schematic. Hover over the image to see the menu when interactively routing a connection on a PCB.

Alternatively, and for some interactive commands, use the F1 keyboard shortcut. This gives access to the Graphical Editing Hot key List dialog, providing a list of the shortcuts available. Click the Current Process Help button to open the documentation page specific to the interactive command you are using. Note that the dialog is purely for guidance - the commands cannot be launched from within the dialog.

Use the Graphical Editing Hot key List dialog to refresh your memory about the shortcuts available for the currently running interactive command. Shown here is the dialog when placing a wire on a schematic. Hover over the image to see the dialog when interactively moving a component on a PCB.

When Configuring Editor Resources

When customizing the menus and toolbars for an editor in Altium Designer, a listing of the general shortcuts available in that editor, as well as interactive shortcuts (where supported), will be available to browse.

Access a listing of shortcuts when customizing an editor. Shown here is the listing of general shortcuts for the Schematic Editor (notice that there is also a listing of interactive shortcuts). Hover over the image to see the listing of general shortcuts for the PCB Editor.

Editing Shortcuts

The fastest way to add or edit the shortcut(s) assigned to a command is to Ctrl+click on the entry for that command on the relevant menu or toolbar. This will open the Edit Command dialog, from where you can add a shortcut or edit the currently assigned one.

To add or edit a shortcut for a particular command, hold Ctrl as you click on that command's menu or toolbar entry to open the Edit Command dialog.

To define the shortcut, click in the Primary field (in the Shortcuts region of the dialog), then press the key combination you want to use on your keyboard. Alternatively, use the drop-down list then scroll to the required key(s). If you want a second, different shortcut associated to the command, use the Alternative field, in the same way you setup the Primary field. If a shortcut key combination is currently in use, the command using it will be displayed below in the relevant Currently in use by field. If you continue with the new assignment, it will be removed from that other command.

Accelerator Keys

In addition to standard keyboard shortcuts, Altium Designer also employs the use of Accelerator Keys. These are used as part of the main menu system (not right-click context menus) to be able to access commands through the sequential use of one or more such keys.

Specifying an Accelerator Key

An accelerator key is specified as part of a menu (main or sub) or command's caption by adding the ampersand (&) character immediately before the letter that you want to use as the accelerator. Within a menu, the current accelerator key is distinguished by the use of underlining.

An accelerator key is created by placing an & character before that letter in a command or menu's caption. Shown here is the accelerator key 'R' for the Rules command. Hover over the image to see the definition of the accelerator ('m') for the Rooms sub-menu.

Main Menu Accelerators

Strictly speaking, access to a root main menu through its accelerator key requires holding down the Alt key. This is because the same key may also be assigned to a pop-up menu. So for example, access to the Simulate menu in the Schematic Editor (with the Mixed Simulation system extension installed) would, at first sight, look to be a case of clicking the S key. However, while this is the menu's defined accelerator key, doing so will pop-up the Select sub-menu (from the main Edit menu). By using Alt+S, the intended Simulate menu is accessed.

The accelerator key for a main menu could be used as the popup key for a different sub-menu. Using Alt+<MenuAcceleratorKey> will always access that main menu.

In many cases, a main menu will also have a pop-up key assigned (and typically the same key as its accelerator). Where this is the case, using that key will access the menu in pop-up form. For example, the Design menu in the PCB Editor can strictly be accessed using Alt+D, but also in pop-up form using D. This functionality is defined for a menu in the Edit Drop Down Menu dialog, by using the Popup Key field.

A menu can be accessed as a pop-up by specifying a popup key.

The following table summarizes the accelerator and pop-up keys assigned to various main menus available across editors:

Accelerator Key Sequence Examples

Expand one of the following collapsible sections to access a listing of example accelerator key sequences available for the indicated editor. With hundreds of permutations available, you will soon build your own list of favorite keyboard sequences that you will want to keep in mind and use as you design.