Balsamiq for Desktop Docs > Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard Shortcuts

Below is a list of all the keyboard shortcuts and modifiers available in Balsamiq Mockups 3. While all of the shortcuts will work in the Desktop version, some might not work in our web versions.

The shortcuts below apply to Mockups 3 and higher.

Working with Controls

Selection
Edit the selected control's text ENTER or F2
Add to selection SHIFT+CLICK
Toggle selection CTRL+CLICK
Select All CTRL+A
Deselect All CTRL+SHIFT+A
Ignore control(s) under cursor Hold ALT
Treat/do not treat selection as markup CTRL+SHIFT+K

Size/Position
Resize maintaining aspect ratio Hold SHIFT while resizing with mouse
Move selection along horizontal or vertical axis Hold SHIFT while dragging
Disable snapping during move or resize Hold CTRL
Grow/Increase text or icon size CTRL+]
Shrink/Decrease text or icon size CTRL+[
Nudge selection 1px ↑↓←→
Nudge selection 10px SHIFT+↑↓←→
Nudge-Resize selection 1px CTRL+ALT+↑↓←→
Nudge-Resize selection 10px CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+↑↓←→
Auto-Size selection CTRL+ALT+0
Pan the canvas (Hand tool) SPACE BAR+Click and Drag
Bring to front CTRL+SHIFT+↑
Send to back CTRL+SHIFT+↓
Bring forward CTRL+↑
Send backward CTRL+↓
Duplicate selection ALT+drag

Edit/History
Undo last command CTRL+Z
Redo last command CTRL+Y or CTRL+SHIFT+Z
Cut the selected controls CTRL+X or SHIFT+DELETE
Copy the selected controls CTRL+C or CTRL+INSERT
Paste CTRL+V or SHIFT+INSERT
Paste In Place CTRL+SHIFT+V
Delete the selected controls DELETE or BACKSPACE
Duplicate the selected controls CTRL+D
Lock the selected controls CTRL+2
Unlock all locked controls CTRL+3
Transform the selected controls CTRL+T

Group
Group the selected controls CTRL+G
Ungroup the selected groups CTRL+SHIFT+G

Align
Align selected controls left CTRL+ALT+1
Align selected controls center CTRL+ALT+2
Align selected controls right CTRL+ALT+3
Align selected controls top CTRL+ALT+4
Align selected controls middle CTRL+ALT+5
Align selected controls bottom CTRL+ALT+6

Working with Icons
Navigating the Suggestion List ↑↓←→
Using the selected icon ENTER
Closing the Icons Library ESC
Closing the Suggestion List ESC
Grow/Increase icon size CTRL+]
Shrink/Decrease icon size CTRL+[

Working with Text
Start Editing text of the selected control ENTER or F2
Committing the current text ENTER (single-line controls), CTRL+ENTER (multi-line controls) or click anywhere
Ignoring the current edit ESC
Grow/Increase Text Size CTRL+]
Shrink/Decrease Text Size CTRL+[

Text Formatting
italic text in underscores
link [text in brackets]
link with a target [text in brackets](mockup_name) or
[text in brackets](website_url)
bold text in asterisks
disabled -text in hyphens-
strikethrough ~text in tildes~
font point size {size:12}text{size}
color (hex value or color name) {color:#ff0000}text{color} or
{color:red}text{color}
To type a literal , , − -, or [] in a control, escape it by prefixing it with a \ (backslash): \, \, −-, \, []

Special Text Macros
Lorem-Ipsum generator type lorem in a Text or Text Area control. Try l0rem for a variation with character count.
Show the current mockup name type {mockup-name} in a Label, Text, Title or Subtitle control.

Quick Add
Sending focus to Quick Add / (forward slash) or
+ (plus sign)
Navigating the Suggestion List ↑↓
Closing the Suggestion List ESC
Sending focus back to the Canvas ESC
Add control at cursor position SHIFT+ENTER

Drawing Controls
Learn more about drawing controls here
Draw a rectangle on the canvas R+drag
Draw a block of text on the canvas T+drag
Draw a line of text on the canvas Y+drag

Working with Mockup Files
New blank mockup CTRL+N
Duplicate current mockup CTRL+SHIFT+N
New project CTRL+ALT+N
Open project CTRL+O
Save as... CTRL+SHIFT+S
Rename Mockup CTRL+ALT+R
Close current project CTRL+W or CTRL+F4
Export this mockup's JSON CTRL+E
Import mockup JSON CTRL+SHIFT+E
Export snapshot to clipboard CTRL+SHIFT+C
Export Snapshot to PNG CTRL+R
Export All Snapshots to PNG CTRL+SHIFT+R
Export to PDF CTRL+P
Quit Balsamiq Mockups CTRL+Q
Next Mockup CTRL+TAB (Windows)
PAGE DOWN or fn+⌘+↓ (Mac)
Previous Mockup CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (Windows)
PAGE UP or fn+⌘+↑ (Mac)
Top of Mockup HOME (Windows)
fn+SHIFT+↑ (Mac)
Bottom of Mockup END (Windows)
fn+SHIFT+↓ (Mac)

Views
Hide/Show the UI Library CTRL+L or CTRL+F1
Hide/Show the Inspector CTRL+; or ALT+ENTER
Hide/Show the Project Info CTRL+,
Hide/Show the Navigator Panel CTRL+J
Show/Hide Markup CTRL+K
Back to Mockups (From Symbols/Assets/Trash) CTRL+SHIFT+M
Zoom In CTRL++ (plus sign) or CTRL+scroll mouse
Zoom Out CTRL+- (minus sign) or CTRL+scroll mouse
Zoom to Actual Size CTRL+1
Zoom to Fit CTRL+0

Fullscreen
Enter Full Screen View CTRL+F or F5
Exit Full Screen View ESC
Edit Current Mockup E
Hide/Show Toolbar T
Hide/Show Settings Panel S
Hide/Show Link Hints L
Hide/Show Big Arrow Cursor B
Hide/Show Markup K
Zoom Out to Fit Z
Hide/Show Inspector Panel I
Pan Canvas SPACEBAR
Next Mockup Page Down
Previous Mockup Page Up
Back ←
Forward →

Zoom to Fit All on Windows

For users with Windows Vista and above, you may find that the Zoom to Fit All (CTRL+SHIFT+0) doesn't work. The reason for this is that Windows captures the input before it gets sent to Mockups 3 for Desktop, preventing the app from ever seeing it.

Luckily, the fix is super easy.

On Windows Vista and Windows 7

You can follow the steps on Microsoft's Help Center to disable the Windows shortcut, which will fix the issue in Mockups for Desktop.

On Windows 8 and Windows 10

The option for changing the shortcut is in a different place in Windows 8 and Windows 10. You will need to goto Control Panel > Language > Advance Settings and then find the Change language bar hot keys button.

From there click Change Key Sequence... and then set Switch Keyboard Layout to Not Assigned.