Keyboard Shortcuts & Mouse Controls

BlastCAD is designed for engineering productivity. Most operations have keyboard shortcuts that match the AutoCAD / CAD industry standard.

Table of contents

  1. File Operations
  2. Edit Operations
  3. CAD Commands (Command Terminal)
  4. Coordinate Input
  5. Mouse Controls
  6. Snap Controls
  7. View Navigation
  8. Tips for Power Users

File Operations

Action Shortcut
New project Ctrl + N
Open project Ctrl + O
Save project Ctrl + S
Import Center Ctrl + I
Export Center Ctrl + E

Edit Operations

Action Shortcut
Undo Ctrl + Z
Redo Ctrl + Shift + Z
Select all Ctrl + A
Cancel current tool / close modal Esc
Delete selected entities Delete

CAD Commands (Command Terminal)

Type these directly into the Command Terminal or the canvas input:

Command Tool
L or LINE Line
PL or PLINE Polyline
C or CIRCLE Circle
A or ARC Arc
REC or RECTANG Rectangle
POL or POLYGON Polygon
SPL or SPLINE Spline
DO or DONUT Donut
M or MOVE Move
RO or ROTATE Rotate
SC or SCALE Scale
MI or MIRROR Mirror
TR or TRIM Trim
EX or EXTEND Extend
O or OFFSET Offset
F or FILLET Fillet
CHA or CHAMFER Chamfer
BR or BREAK Break
J or JOIN Join
X or EXPLODE Explode
AR or ARRAY Linear Array
DIST Measure distance
ANGLE Measure angle
ZOOM + E Zoom extents
ZOOM + A Zoom all

Coordinate Input

When a drawing tool is active, you can type coordinates directly:

Syntax Meaning
100,50 Absolute: X=100, Y=50
@10,5 Relative: +10 X, +5 Y from last point
@10<45 Polar relative: 10 units at 45° from last point
10 Direct distance: 10 units in the current direction (with Ortho/Polar active)

Mouse Controls

Action Mouse Input
Select entity Left-click
Confirm point placement Left-click
Open context menu Right-click
Pan view Middle-click drag
Zoom in/out Scroll wheel
Box selection Left-click drag on empty space
Add to selection Shift + Left-click
Cancel drawing Right-click or Esc
Fit entity to view F

Snap Controls

Action Shortcut
Toggle snap on/off F3 or snap toggle in toolbar
Toggle ortho mode F8 or ortho toggle in toolbar
Toggle polar tracking F10 or polar toggle in toolbar
Toggle grid display F7 or grid toggle in toolbar
Toggle grid snap F9 or grid snap in toolbar
Cycle snap mode Tab (while hovering near a snap candidate)

View Navigation

Action Shortcut
Zoom to fit all Ctrl + Shift + F
Top view Click Top on view cube
Front view Click Front on view cube
Right view Click Right on view cube
Isometric view Click corner of view cube
Toggle 2D / 3D Button in Canvas Toolbar
Toggle ortho / perspective Button in Canvas Toolbar

Tips for Power Users

  • Chain commands: After finishing one drawing operation, the tool stays active (e.g., LINE continues drawing). Press Esc or Enter to exit.
  • Repeat last command: Press Enter or Space with no active tool to repeat the previous command.
  • Multiple selection then operate: Select several holes or entities first, then invoke a command like MOVE or DELETE to apply it to all of them at once.
  • Direct distance input: When Polar Tracking is active and you move the cursor in a constrained direction, type a number and press Enter to place a point exactly that distance away — no need to type @distance<angle.

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BlastCAD © 2026 — All rights reserved.