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Draw Guide 7.5

Appendix A,
Keyboard Shortcuts

Copyright

This document is Copyright © 2023 by the LibreOffice Documentation Team. Contributors are listed below. This document maybe distributed and/or modified under the terms of either the GNU General Public License (https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html), version 3 or later, or the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), version 4.0 or later. All trademarks within this guide belong to their legitimate owners.

Contributors

Contributors for this edition:

Peter Schofield

Contributors for previous editions:

Kees Kriek

Jean Hollis Weber

Peter Schofield

Feedback

Please direct any comments or suggestions about this document to the Documentation Team mailing list: loguides@community.documentfoundation.org.

Note

Everything sent to a mailing list, including email addresses and any other personal information that is written in the message, is publicly archived and cannot be deleted.

Publication date and software version

Published August 2023. Based on LibreOffice 7.5 Community.
Other versions of LibreOffice may differ in appearance and functionality.

Introduction

LibreOffice can be used without requiring a pointing device, such as a mouse or trackball, by using the available keyboard shortcuts in Draw. Tasks as varied and complex as docking and undocking toolbars and windows, or changing the size or position of objects are accomplished using keyboard shortcuts. Although LibreOffice has an extensive set of keyboard shortcuts, each LibreOffice module has keyboard shortcuts that are specific to that module.

For help with LibreOffice keyboard shortcuts, or using LibreOffice with a keyboard only, search the LibreOffice Help using the “shortcut” or “accessibility” as keywords.

Keyboard shortcuts can also be defined in LibreOffice. For example, assign keyboard shortcuts to standard Draw functions or macros and save them for use with Draw, or with other modules in LibreOffice. To customize keyboard shortcuts, see the Getting Started Guide for more information.

macOS keyboard shortcuts

Some keystrokes and menu items are different in macOS from those used in Windows or Linux operating systems. This due to the way the different operating systems work and the different types of keyboards used. Also, labelling on the keyboards may vary depending on the age of a computer and style of keyboard being used. The following information shows the most common variations in macOS for keyboard shortcuts and labelling.

Shift, Control and Alt keys

Windows or Linux

macOS

Control or Ctrl

⌘ or Cmd or Command

Alt

⌥ or Option or Alt

Shift or ⇧

Shift or ⇧

Caps Lock

⇪ or Caps Lock

Control or Ctrl

⌃ or Control or Ctrl

Home and End keys

Windows or Linux

macOS

Home

Fn+Left Arrow

End

Fn+Right Arrow

Page Up and Page Down

Windows or Linux

macOS

Screen Up

Fn+Up Arrow

Page Up

⌥ or Option or Alt+Fn+Up Arrow

Screen Down

Fn+Down Arrow

Page Down

⌥ or Option or Alt+Fn+Down Arrow

Note

Some keyboard shortcuts are not available for macOS computers and are indicated in the following tables by a blank cell.

Draw function key and keyboard shortcuts

Draw function keys

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

F1

F1

Opens LibreOffice Draw help.

F2

F2

Switches to text edit mode and opens the Text Formatting toolbar.

F3

F3

Enters a group of objects for editing.

Shift+F3

Shift+F3

Opens the Duplicate dialog of a selected object.

Ctrl+F3

+F3

Exits a group of objects.

F4

F4

Opens the Position and Size dialog of a selected object.

F5

F5

Opens the Navigator.

F6

F6

Forward navigation of the emphasis within the on screen elements.

Shift+F6

Shift+F6

Backward navigation of the emphasis within the on screen elements.

F7

F7

Starts the spelling checker. Only available in text editing mode.

Shift+F7

Shift+F7

Switches on or off the automatic spell checking. Only available in text editing mode.

Ctrl+F7

+F7

Opens the Thesaurus dialog for the language being used. Only available in text editing mode.

F8

F8

Opens the Edit Points toolbar.

Ctrl+Shift+F8

+Shift+F8

Fits text to frame of a selected object.

Shift+F10

Shift+F10

Opens the context menu of a selected object.

F11

+T

Opens the Styles deck on the Sidebar.

Draw keyboard shortcuts

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Plus (+)

Fn+Shift++

Zooms in.

Minus (-)

Fn+––

Zooms out.

Times (×) on number pad

Times (*) on numeric keyboard

Fits the drawing to fill the Workspace view.

Divide (÷) on number pad

Divide (/) on numeric keyboard

Zooms in on the selected object.

Ctrl+Shift+G

+Shift+G

Groups selected objects.

Shift+Ctrl+Alt +G

+Shift++G

Ungroups selected group.

Ctrl+click

+click

Enters a group to edit individual objects in the group. Click outside the group to return to normal view.

Ctrl+Shift+K

+Shift+K

Combines selected objects.

Ctrl+Shift+
Alt+K

+Shift++K

Splits a selected object that has been combined from a group of two or more objects.

Ctrl++

++

Brings current selection forward.

Ctrl

+Shift++

+Shift++

Brings current selection to the front.

Ctrl+-

+-

Sends current selection backward.

Ctrl+Shift+-

+Shift+-

Sends current selection to the back.

Page Up

+Fn+Up Arrow

Switches to previous page. No function on the first page.

Page Down

+Fn+Down Arrow

Switches to next page. No function on the last page.

Ctrl+Page Up

+Fn+Up Arrow

Switches to previous layer.

Ctrl+Page Down

+Fn+Down Arrow

Switches to next layer.

Arrow

Arrow

Moves a selected object in the direction of the arrow.

Ctrl+Arrow

Ctrl+Arrow

Moves the page view in the direction of the arrow.

Left Arrow

Left Arrow

With Pages Pane selected, switches to the previous page in a drawing. No function on the first page.

Right Arrow

Right Arrow

With Pages Pane selected, switches to the next page in a drawing. No function on the last page.

Shift

Shift

When selecting objects, adds or removes object to or from a selection of objects.

Shift

Shift

Hold down Shift then click and drag a selection handle when resizing an object to maintain the proportions of the object.

Shift

Shift

Hold down the Shift key while moving a selected object to constrain the movement in multiples of 45 degrees.

Shift

Shift

Hold down the Shift key before selecting several adjacent objects or characters. Click at the start of a selection, move to the end of the selection.

Ctrl

Hold down the Ctrl (⌘) key,then click and drag a selected object to create a copy of the object.

Alt

Hold down the Alt () key and draw or resize an object from the centre of the object.

Alt

Hold down the Alt () key when selecting an object that is behind the currently selected object.

Alt+ Shift

+Shift

Hold down the Alt ()+Shift keys when selecting an object that is in front of the currently selected object.

Tab

Tab

Selects objects in the order in which they were created.

Shift+Tab

Shift+Tab

Selects objects in the reverse order in which they were created.

Esc

Esc

Exits current mode.

Enter

Enter

Enters text mode if a text object in the drawing is selected.

Ctrl+Enter

+Enter

Inserts a new page after the selected page in a drawing.

Home

Fn+Left Arrow

Selects the first page in a drawing.

End

Fn+Right Arrow

Selects the last page in a drawing.

Editing text keyboard shortcuts

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Ctrl+-

+-

Inserts a custom hyphen (soft hyphen) in text at the cursor position.

Ctrl+Shift+-

+Shift+-

Inserts a non-breaking hyphen (hard hyphen) in text at the cursor position.

Ctrl+Shift+
Space

+Shift+Space

Inserts a non-breaking space, which is not used for hyphenation and is not expanded if the text is justified.

Shift+Enter

Shift+Enter

Inserts a line break without paragraph change.

Left arrow

Left arrow

Moves the cursor one character to the left.

Shift+Left arrow

Shift+Left arrow

Moves the cursor one character to the left and selects the character.

Ctrl+Left arrow

+Left arrow

Moves the cursor to the beginning of the previous word.

Ctrl+Shift+
Left arrow

+Shift+Left arrow

Moves the cursor to the left and selects the word on the left.

Right arrow

Right arrow

Moves the cursor one character to the right.

Shift+Right arrow

Shift+Right arrow

Moves the cursor one character to the right and selects the character.

Ctrl+Right arrow

+Right arrow

Moves the cursor to the beginning of the next word.

Ctrl+Shift+
Right arrow

+Shift+Right arrow

Moves the cursor to the right and selects the word on the right.

Up arrow

Up arrow

Moves the cursor up one line.

Shift+Up arrow

Shift+Up arrow

Moves the cursor up one line in the text and selects the lines of text.

Ctrl+Up arrow

+Up arrow

Moves the cursor to the beginning of the paragraph.

Ctrl+Shift+Up arrow

+Shift+Up arrow

Moves the cursor to the beginning of the paragraph. Selects the text in the paragraph from the cursor position to the beginning of the paragraph.

Down arrow

Down arrow

Moves the cursor down one line.

Shift+Down arrow

+Down arrow

Moves the cursor down one line in the text and selects the lines of text.

Ctrl+Down arrow

+Down arrow

Moves the cursor to the end of the paragraph.

Ctrl+Shift+
Down arrow

+Shift+Down arrow

Moves the cursor to the end of the paragraph. Selects the text in the paragraph from the cursor position to the end of the paragraph.

Ctrl+Backspace

+Backspace

Deletes the text from the cursor position to the beginning of the word.

Ctrl+Shift+
Backspace

+Shift+
Backspace

Deletes the text from the cursor position to the beginning of the sentence.

Menu function key and keyboard shortcuts

Function key and keyboard shortcuts listed in the following tables are available in each menu category on the Menu bar. The tables give menu item or sub-item, operating system validity, and effect or purpose of the shortcut.

Note

The menus listed below are in the same order as displayed on the Menu bar from left to right.

LibreOffice

The LibreOffice menu is only available for macOS computers.

Menu item or sub-item

macOS

Effect

Preferences

+,

Opens the Options dialog.

Hide LibreOffice

+H

Temporarily hides LibreOffice, but does not close LibreOffice.

Exit LibreOffice

+Q

Closes LibreOffice. Make sure all LibreOffice files are saved before using.

File menu

Menu item or sub-item

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

New

Ctrl+N

+N

Opens a new drawing.

Templates

Shift+Ctrl+N

+Shift+N

Opens the Drawings category in the Templates dialog.

Open

Ctrl+O

+O

Opens a file browser allowing navigation to a folder and file selection.

Manage Templates

Shift+Ctrl+N

+Shift+N

Opens the Drawings category in the Templates dialog.

Save

Ctrl+S

+S

Saves the open drawing.

Save As

Ctrl+Shift+S

+Shift+S

Opens a file browser allowing navigation to a folder and save the open drawing as a new file.

Print

Ctrl+P

+P

Opens the Print dialog allowing selection of how the drawing is printed.

Exit LibreOffice

Ctrl+Q

+Q

Closes LibreOffice. Make sure all files are saved before using.

Edit Menu

Menu item or sub-item

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Undo

Ctrl+Z

+Z

Undoes the previous editing action.

Redo

Ctrl+Y

+Y

Reverses the action of the last Undo command.

Cut

Ctrl+X

+X

Deletes the selected object and places it on the clipboard.

Copy

Ctrl+C

+C

Copies the selected object to the clipboard.

Paste

Ctrl+V

+V

Inserts the contents of the clipboard at the location of the cursor replacing any selected text or objects.

Paste Special > Paste Special

Ctrl+Shift+V

+Shift+V

Pastes the contents of the clipboard at the cursor position in a format that is specified using the Paste Special dialog.

Duplicate

Shift+F3

Shift+F3

When an object is selected, opens the Duplicate dialog providing options for duplicating a selected object.

Select All

Ctrl+A

+A

Selects all the pages and objects in a drawing.

Find

Ctrl+F

+F

Opens the Find toolbar.

Replace

Ctrl+H

⌘+⌥+F

Opens the Find and Replace dialog.

Points

F8

F8

Opens the Edit Points toolbar if there is an object on the drawing that uses editable points, for example a freeform line.

Edit Mode

Ctrl+Shift+M

+Shift+M

Allows a read only drawing to be edited if the user has writer permission.

View menu

Menu item or sub-item

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Rulers

Ctrl+Shift+R

+Shift+R

Switches the rulers off and on in the Workspace.

Sidebar

Ctrl+F5

+F5

Opens or closes the Sidebar.

Styles

F11

+T

Opens or closes the Styles deck on the Sidebar.

Navigator

F5

F5

Opens the Navigator dialog.

Insert menu

Menu item or sub-item

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Text Box

F2

F2

Switches to text edit mode and opens the Text Formatting toolbar.

Comment

Ctrl+Alt+C

⌘+⌥+C

Inserts a new comment box onto the selected page.

Hyperlink

Ctrl+K

+K

Opens the Hyperlink dialog.

Insert non-breaking space

Ctrl+Shift+
Space

+Shift+Space

Inserts a non-breaking space at the cursor position.

Insert Narrow No‑break Space

Alt+Shift+
Space

+Shift+
Space

Inserts a narrow non-breaking space at the cursor position.

No‑width Optional Break

Ctrl+/

+/

Inserts a narrow no-width optional break at the cursor position.

Format menu

Menu item or sub-item

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Bold

Ctrl+B

+B

Applies Bold format to selected text.

Italic

Ctrl+I

+I

Applies Italic format to selected text.

Superscript

Ctrl+Shift+P

+Shift+P

Reduces the font size of the selected text and raises the text above the baseline.

Subscript

Ctrl+Shift+B

+Shift+B

Reduces the font size of the selected text and lowers the text below the baseline.

Increase Size

Ctrl+]

+]

Increases the point size of selected text.

Decrease Size

Ctrl+[

+[

Decreases the point size of selected text.

Line Spacing 1

Ctrl+1

+1

Sets the line spacing in a paragraph to a single line.

Line Spacing 5

Ctrl+5

+5

Sets the line spacing in a paragraph to one and half lines.

Line Spacing 2

Ctrl+2

+2

Sets the line spacing in a paragraph to two lines.

Left

Ctrl+L

+L

Sets the paragraph alignment to left aligned.

Center

Ctrl+E

+E

Sets the paragraph alignment to center aligned.

Right

Ctrl+R

+R

Sets the paragraph alignment to right aligned.

Justified

Ctrl+J

+J

Sets the paragraph alignment to justified.

Clear Direct Formatting

Ctrl+M

+M

Removes direct formatting that has been applied without using styles.

Edit Style

Alt+P

+P

Opens the Graphic Styles dialog to edit a selected style.

Manage Styles

F11

+T

Opens or closes the Styles deck on the Sidebar.

Position and Size

F4

F4

Opens the Position and Size dialog of a selected object.

Shape menu

Menu item or sub-item

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Bring to Front

Ctrl+Shift++

+Shift++

Moves a selected object to the front of other objects.

Bring Forward

Ctrl++

++

Moves a selected object in front of the forward object.

Send Backward

Ctrl+-

+-

Moves a selected object behind the backward object.

Send to Back

Ctrl+Shift+-

+Shift+-

Moves a selected object to the back of other objects.

Group

Ctrl+Shift+G

+Shift+G

Groups selected objects.

Ungroup

Ctrl+Alt+
Shift+G

++Shift
+G

Ungroups selected group.

Enter Group

F3

F3

Enters a group of objects for editing.

Exit Group

Ctrl+F3

+F3

Exits a group of objects.

Combine

Ctrl+Shift+K

+Shift+K

Combines two or more selected objects into a single shape.

Split

Ctrl+Shift+
Alt+K

++Shift
+K

Splits a combined object into individual objects.

Duplicate

Shift+F3

Shift+F3

When an object is selected, opens the Duplicate dialog providing options for duplicating a selected object.

Tools menu

Menu item or sub-item

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Spelling

F7

 

Starts spelling checker. Only available in text editing mode.

Automatic Spell Checking

Shift+F7

Shift+F7

Switches on or off the automatic spell checking. Only available in text editing mode.

Thesaurus

Ctrl+F7

+F7

Opens the thesaurus dialog for the language being used. Only available in text editing mode.

Extension Manager

Ctrl+Alt+E

++E

Opens the Extension Manager dialog.

Options

Alt+F12

 

Opens the Options LibreOffice dialog.

Windows menu

Menu item or sub-item

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Closes Window

Ctrl+W

+W

Closes the active window. If there is only one window, closes LibreOffice.

Help menu

Menu item or sub-item

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

LibreOffice Help

F1

F1

Opens a browser application at the LibreOffice Help pages.

Search Commands

Shift+Esc

 

Opens a dialog to search for a command.

General function key and keyboard shortcuts

Opening menus and menu items

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Alt+<?>

(Windows only)

F6+<?>

(Linux only)

 

Press the Alt key first, then select the underlined character of the menu to be opened. The <?> is the underlined character in the menu. For example, Alt+F opens the File menu.

With the menu open, menu items have an underlined character. To access these menu items directly, press the underlined character key. Where two menu items have the same underlined character, press the character key again to move to the next item.

If an item in a menu has no underlined character, click on the menu item directly.

Esc

Esc

Closes an open menu.

F6

F6

Repeatedly pressing F6 cycles the focus through the following objects:

Menu bar (Windows and Linux operating systems only)

Each toolbar from top to bottom and from left to right

Each free window from left to right

Drawing

Shift+F6

Shift+F6

Repeatedly pressing Shift+F6 cycles the focus in the opposite direction.

Ctrl+F6

+F6

Cycles the focus back to the drawing.

F10

 

Switches the access on or off for the Menu bar.

Accessing Menu bar commands

Accessing toolbar commands

Controlling dialogs

When any dialog is open, one element (for example a button or option field) indicates focus by highlighting, a check mark, or a dotted box around the field or button name.

Windows
Linux

Effect

Enter

Activates the selected option. Where no option is selected, Enter is the equivalent to clicking on OK.

Esc

Closes a dialog without saving any changes made while it was open, the equivalent to selecting Cancel.

Up/Down arrow keys

Moves focus up and down a list.

Increases or decreases the value of a variable.

Moves focus vertically within a section of dialog.

Left/Right arrow keys

Moves focus horizontally within a section of a dialog.

Tab

Advances focus to the next section or element of a dialog.

Shift+Tab

Moves the focus to the previous section or element in a dialog.

Alt+Down Arrow

Shows the options available in a drop-down list.

Spacebar

Checks or selects an empty checkbox.

Clears or deselects a checked checkbox.

Toolbar function key and keyboard shortcuts

Draw provides several toolbars for the creation and editing of drawings. Some tools on the Draw toolbars can be activated using a function key, or keyboard shortcut.

Note

The Draw toolbars are listed in the same order displayed in the context menu that opens when View > Toolbars is selected on the Menu bar.

Drawing

Tool name

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Insert Text Box

F2

F2

Switches to text edit mode and opens the Text Formatting toolbar.

Edit Points

F8

F8

Opens the Edit Points toolbar if there is an object on the drawing that uses editable points, for example a freeform line.

Find

Tool name

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Find and Replace

Ctrl+H

⌘+⌥+H

Finds and replaces all instances of text in a drawing.

Form Design

Tool name

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Bring to Front

Ctrl+Shift++

+Shift++

Moves a selected object to the front of other objects.

Send to Back

Ctrl+Shift+-

+Shift+-

Moves a selected object to the back of other objects.

Group

Ctrl+Shift+G

+Shift+G

Groups selected objects.

Ungroup

Ctrl+Alt+
Shift+G

⌘+⌥+Shift+G

Ungroups selected group.

Enter Group

F3

F3

Enters a group of objects for editing.

Exit Group

Ctrl+F3

+F3

Exits a group of objects.

Image

Tool name

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Position and Size

F4

F4

Opens the Position and Size dialog of a selected object.

Bring to Front

Ctrl+Shift++

+Shift++

Moves a selected object to the front of other objects.

Bring Forward

Ctrl++

++

Moves a selected object in front of the forward object.

Send Backward

Ctrl+-

+-

Moves a selected object behind the backward object.

Send to Back

Ctrl+Shift+-

+Shift+-

Moves a selected object to the back of other objects.

Line and Filling

Tool name

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Position and Size

F4

F4

Opens the Position and Size dialog of a selected object.

Bring to Front

Ctrl+Shift++

+Shift++

Moves a selected object to the front of other objects.

Bring Forward

Ctrl++

++

Moves a selected object in front of the forward object.

Send Backward

Ctrl+-

+-

Moves a selected object behind the backward object.

Send to Back

Ctrl+Shift+-

+Shift+-

Moves a selected object to the back of other objects.

Styles

F11

+T

Opens the Styles deck on the Sidebar.

Standard

Tool name

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

New

Ctrl+N

+N

Opens a new drawing.

Templates

Ctrl+Shift+N

+Shift+N

Opens the Templates dialog to create a new drawing using a template.

Open

Ctrl+O

+O

Opens the Open file browser to allow navigation to a folder and selection of a drawing.

Save

Ctrl+S

+S

Saves the open document.

Save As

Ctrl+Shift+S

+Shift+S

Opens the Save as file browser to save the open drawing as a new drawing.

Edit Mode

Ctrl+Shift+M

+Shift+M

Switches on edit mode when a drawing is in read only mode.

Print

Ctrl+P

+P

Opens the Print dialog to select how to print the drawing.

Cut

Ctrl+X

+X

Deletes the selected object and places it on the clipboard.

Copy

Ctrl+C

+C

Copies the selected object to the clipboard.

Paste

Ctrl+V

+V

Places the object on the clipboard into the document.

Clear

Ctrl+M

+M

Removes direct formatting that has been applied without using styles.

Undo

Ctrl+Z

+Z

Undoes the previous editing action.

Redo

Ctrl+Y

+Y

Reverses the action of the last Undo command.

Spelling

F7

F7

Starts the spelling checker. Only available in text editing mode.

Auto Spellcheck

Shift+F7

Shift+F7

Switches on or off the automatic spell checking. Only available in text editing mode.

Text Box

F2

 

Switches to text edit mode and opens the Text Formatting toolbar.

Insert Hyperlink

Ctrl+K

 

Opens the Hyperlink dialog.

Position and Size

F4

 

Opens the Position and Size dialog of a selected object.

Edit Points

F8

 

Opens the Edit Points toolbar if there is an object on the drawing that uses editable points, for example a freeform line.

Standard (Viewing Mode)

Tool name

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Save As

Ctrl+Shift+S

+Shift+S

Opens the Save as file browser so you can save the open document as a new document.

Edit Mode

Ctrl+Shift+M

+Shift+M

Switches on edit mode when a document is in read only mode.

Print

Ctrl+P

+P

Opens the Print dialog so that you can select how you want to print the document.

Copy

Ctrl+C

+C

Copies the selected object to the clipboard.

Find and Replace

Ctrl+H

⌘+⌥+F

Opens the Find and Replace dialog.

Text Formatting

Tool name

Windows
Linux

macOS

Effect

Increase

Ctrl+]

+]

Increases the point size of selected text.

Decrease

Ctrl+[

+[

Decreases the point size of selected text.

Bold

Ctrl+B

+B

Applies Bold format to selected text.

Italic

Ctrl+I

+I

Applies Italic format to selected text.

Superscript

Ctrl+Shift+P

+Shift+P

Reduces the font size of the selected text and raises the text above the baseline.

Subscript

Ctrl+Shift+B

+Shift+B

Reduces the font size of the selected text and lowers the text below the baseline.

Clear

Ctrl+M

+M

Removes direct formatting that has been applied without using styles.

Left

Ctrl+L

+L

Sets the paragraph alignment to left aligned.

Center

Ctrl+E

+E

Sets the paragraph alignment to center aligned.

Right

Ctrl+R

+R

Sets the paragraph alignment to right aligned.

Justified

Ctrl+J

+J

Sets the paragraph alignment to justified.

Select All

Ctrl+A

+A

Selects all the text in a text box.

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