The complete Main UI keyboard set — 157 hotkeys in 9 groups, from Autodesk’s master shortcut table.
| Shortcut | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| W | Select and Move | Activates the move gizmo. |
| E | Select and Rotate | Activates the rotate gizmo. |
| R | Smart Scale | Activates the scale gizmo. Autodesk labels this action Smart Scale. |
| Q | Smart Select | Returns to selection mode. Press repeatedly to cycle region shapes. |
| Y | Smart Place | Drops objects onto surfaces under the cursor. |
| Ctrl + E | Scale Cycle | Cycles uniform, non-uniform, and squash scaling. |
| Ctrl + A | Select All | Selects every object in the scene. |
| Ctrl + D | Select None | Clears the selection. |
| Ctrl + I | Select Invert | Inverts the current selection. |
| Ctrl + Shift + A | Select Similar | Selects objects matching the current one. |
| H | Select By Name | Opens the Select From Scene dialog. |
| Ctrl + Shift + N | Selection Lock Toggle | Freezes the current selection so clicks cannot change it. |
| Shift + O | Window / Crossing Toggle | Switches region select between window and crossing behaviour. |
| Ctrl + B | Sub-object Selection Toggle | Enters or leaves sub-object mode on the current modifier. |
| Insert | Affect Pivot Only Mode Toggle | Moves the pivot without moving the geometry. |
| F12 | Transform Type-In Dialog Toggle | Opens numeric entry for the active transform. |
| F5 | Transform Gizmo X Constraint | Locks the transform to the X axis. |
| F6 | Transform Gizmo Y Constraint | Locks the transform to the Y axis. |
| F7 | Transform Gizmo Z Constraint | Locks the transform to the Z axis. |
| F8 | Transform Gizmo Plane Constraint Cycle | Cycles XY, YZ, and ZX plane locks. |
| = | Transform Gizmo Size Up | Enlarges the on-screen gizmo. |
| - | Transform Gizmo Size Down | Shrinks the on-screen gizmo. |
| PgUp | Select Ancestor | Moves the selection up the hierarchy to the parent. |
| PgDown | Select Child | Moves the selection down to the first child. |
| Shift + PgDown | Select Children | Adds all children of the selection. |
| Ctrl + F | Cycle Selection Method | Cycles rectangle, circle, fence, lasso and paint regions. |
| Alt + Shift + 5 | Center Point Cycle | Cycles pivot, selection and transform-coordinate centres. |
| Shortcut | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + Z | Undo Scene Operation | Undoes the last scene change. |
| Ctrl + Y | Redo Scene Operation | Redoes the last undone scene change. |
| Ctrl + V | Clone | Opens the Clone Options dialog. Note this is not paste. |
| Delete | Delete Objects | Removes the selected objects. |
| Alt + A | Align | Opens the Align dialog against a picked target. |
| Shift + A | Quick Align | Aligns the selection to a target in one step. |
| Alt + N | Normal Align | Aligns using surface normals you pick on each object. |
| Ctrl + H | Hold | Saves a temporary restore point. |
| Ctrl + Alt + F | Fetch | Restores the scene saved by Hold. |
| Ctrl + U | Group Attach | Adds the selection to an existing group. |
| Ctrl + N | New Scene | Starts a new scene. |
| Ctrl + O | Open File | Opens a scene file. |
| Ctrl + S | Save File | Saves the current scene. |
| Ctrl + Shift + S | Save File As | Saves under a new name. |
| Ctrl + Alt + S | Save Incremental | Saves with an auto-incremented version number. |
| Ctrl + C | Create Camera (Physical) From View | Turns the current perspective view into a physical camera. Alt + Shift + C does the same; this is why 3ds Max has no clipboard copy on Ctrl + C. |
| Ctrl + Alt + Shift + C | Create Camera (Standard) From View | Same as above but creates a standard camera. |
| Shift + T | Asset Tracking Toggle | Opens the Asset Tracking dialog. |
| Shortcut | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Alt + W | Maximize Viewport Toggle | Expands the active viewport to full screen and back. |
| Z | Zoom Extents Selected | Frames the current selection in the active viewport. |
| Ctrl + Alt + Z | Zoom Extents | Frames the whole scene in the active viewport. |
| Shift + Ctrl + Z | Zoom Extents All | Frames the whole scene in every viewport. |
| Alt + Z | Zoom Mode | Activates the interactive zoom tool. |
| Ctrl + W | Zoom Region Mode | Drag a rectangle to zoom into it. |
| [ | Zoom Viewport In | Steps the zoom in. |
| ] | Zoom Viewport Out | Steps the zoom out. |
| I | Pan Viewport | Pans the viewport to centre on the cursor. |
| Ctrl + P | Pan View | Activates the pan tool. |
| Ctrl + R | Orbit View Mode | Activates the orbit tool. |
| Shift + Z | Undo Viewport Operation | Undoes the last camera move, not the last scene edit. |
| Shift + Y | Redo Viewport Operation | Redoes the last camera move. |
| Alt + Home | Home View | Returns to the ViewCube home orientation. |
| Ctrl + Alt + Shift + Z | Zoom In 2X | Steps the active viewport zoom in by a factor of two. |
| NumPad / | Virtual Viewport Toggle | Turns the virtual viewport on and off. |
| NumPad + | Virtual Viewport Zoom In | Zooms the virtual viewport in. |
| NumPad - | Virtual Viewport Zoom Out | Zooms the virtual viewport out. |
| NumPad 8 | Virtual Viewport Pan Up | Pans the virtual viewport up. |
| NumPad 2 | Virtual Viewport Pan Down | Pans the virtual viewport down. |
| NumPad 4 | Virtual Viewport Pan Left | Pans the virtual viewport left. |
| NumPad 6 | Virtual Viewport Pan Right | Pans the virtual viewport right. |
| Shortcut | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| T | Top View | Switches the active viewport to top. |
| F | Front View | Switches the active viewport to front. |
| L | Left View | Switches the active viewport to left. |
| P | Perspective User View | Switches to a perspective user view. |
| U | Orthographic User View | Switches to an orthographic user view. |
| C | Camera View | Switches to a scene camera. |
| ` | Redraw All Views | Forces every viewport to redraw. |
| Ctrl + ` | Show Floating Dialogs | Brings hidden floating dialogs back to front. |
| O | Adaptive Degradation Toggle | Lets viewports drop quality to hold frame rate. |
| Shift + 4 | Spot/Directional Light View | Looks through the selected spot or directional light. |
| Ctrl + Shift + D | Disable Viewport | Stops the active viewport from updating. |
| Up | WalkThrough View Mode | Enters walkthrough navigation. |
| V | Viewports Quad Menu | Opens the viewports quad menu at the cursor. |
| J | Windows Quad Menu | Opens the windows quad menu; Autodesk lists both under Quad Menu Sets. |
| Spacebar | Lock | The Lock entry of the quad-menu set — the selection lock. |
| Shortcut | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| F3 | Wireframe / Smooth+Highlights Toggle | Flips between wireframe and shaded. |
| F4 | View Edged Faces Toggle | Overlays wireframe on the shaded view. |
| F2 | Shade Selected Faces Toggle | Tints selected sub-object faces. |
| G | Hide Grids Toggle | Shows or hides the home grid. |
| Alt + X | Display as See-Through Toggle | Makes the selection semi-transparent. |
| Alt + H | Hide Selection | Hides the selected objects. |
| Alt + I | Hide Unselected | Hides everything except the selection. |
| Alt + U | Unhide All | Restores every hidden object. |
| Alt + Q | Isolate Selection | Isolates the selection in its own view. |
| 7 | Show Statistics Toggle | Overlays poly and FPS counters. |
| Shift + F | Viewport Safe Frames Toggle | Shows render safe frames. |
| Ctrl + L | Default / Scene Lights Toggle | Switches viewport lighting between default and scene lights. |
| Ctrl + Alt + X | Expert Mode Toggle | Hides all UI chrome for a full-screen viewport. |
| Shift + C | Hide Cameras Toggle | Shows or hides cameras. |
| Shift + G | Hide Geometry Toggle | Shows or hides geometry. |
| Shift + H | Hide Helpers Toggle | Shows or hides helpers. |
| Shift + L | Hide Lights Toggle | Shows or hides lights. |
| Shift + P | Hide Particle Systems Toggle | Shows or hides particle systems. |
| Shift + S | Hide Shapes Toggle | Shows or hides shapes. |
| Shift + W | Hide Space Warps Toggle | Shows or hides space warps. |
| Alt + B | Viewport Background | Opens the viewport background settings. |
| Alt + Shift + Ctrl + B | Update Background Image | Refreshes the background image. |
| Alt + J | Selection/Preview Highlights Toggle | Turns hover and selection outlines on or off. |
| Shift + J | Show Selection Bracket Toggle | Shows or hides the selection brackets. |
| Shift + F3 | High Quality Viewport Lighting | Switches viewport lighting and shadows to high quality. |
| Ctrl + Alt + Q | Isolate Selection Toggle | Toggles isolate mode without the confirmation step. |
| Shortcut | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| S | Snaps Toggle | Turns object snapping on and off. |
| A | Angle Snap Toggle | Constrains rotation to fixed increments. |
| Alt + S | Cycle Active Snap Type | Steps through the configured snap types. |
| Alt + F3 | Axis Constraints in Snaps Toggle | Applies axis locks while snapping. |
| Shortcut | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Shift + Q | Render | Renders the active viewport. Shift + F9 does the same. |
| F9 | Render Last | Re-renders with the previous settings and frame. |
| F10 | Render Setup | Opens the Render Setup dialog. |
| 8 | Environment Dialog Toggle | Opens Environment and Effects. |
| 9 | Advanced Lighting Panel | Opens the advanced lighting settings. |
| M | Material Editor Toggle | Opens the material editor. |
| 6 | Particle View Toggle | Opens Particle View. |
| Shift + V | Create Animated Sequence File | Opens the animated sequence (video) creation dialog. |
| Shortcut | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| N | Auto Key Mode Toggle | Turns on automatic keyframing. |
| K | Set Keys | Sets keys for the current frame. |
| / | Play Animation | Starts or stops playback. |
| Home | Go to Start Frame | Jumps to the first frame. |
| End | Go to End Frame | Jumps to the last frame. |
| , | Backup Time One Unit | Steps back one frame. |
| . | Forward Time One Unit | Steps forward one frame. |
| F11 | MAXScript Listener | Opens the MAXScript listener window. |
| X | Launch Global Search | Searches every action by name. |
| Ctrl + 1 | Add/Edit Parameters (Track View) | Opens parameter wiring inside Track View. |
| Ctrl + Alt + Shift + X | Keyboard Shortcut Override Toggle | Switches between Main-UI-only and context-specific shortcut maps. |
| \ | Sound Toggle | Turns audio playback on or off. |
| Shift + I | Spacing Tool | Distributes clones along a path or between points. |
| Shortcut | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sub-Object Level 1 | Jumps to vertex level on the current modifier. |
| 2 | Sub-Object Level 2 | Jumps to edge level. |
| 3 | Sub-Object Level 3 | Jumps to border level. |
| 4 | Sub-Object Level 4 | Jumps to polygon level. |
| 5 | Sub-Object Level 5 | Jumps to element level. |
| Alt + ` | Show End Result | Shows the end of the modifier stack while editing lower down. |
| Shift + E | Extrude Mode (Poly) | Autodesk lists Extrude Face for polys on Alt + Shift + E; Shift + E is the Edit Poly extrude mode. |
| Alt + Shift + E | Extrude Face (Poly) | Extrudes the selected polygon faces. |
| Alt + L | Select Sub-object Loop | Selects the edge loop through the current edge. |
| Alt + R | Select Sub-object Ring | Selects the edge ring across the current edge. |
| Ctrl + PgUp | Grow Selection (Poly) | Expands the sub-object selection outward. Ctrl + Up does the same. |
| Ctrl + PgDown | Shrink Selection (Poly) | Contracts the sub-object selection. Ctrl + Down does the same. |
| Shift + B | Soft Selection Toggle (Poly) | Turns soft selection on and off. |
| Alt + Shift + X | Ignore Backfacing Toggle (Poly) | Restricts sub-object picking to faces toward the camera. |
| Alt + Shift + 1 | Refine (Spline) | Adds vertices along a spline. |
| Alt + 1 | Swift Loop | PolyTools: places edge loops interactively. |
| Alt + 2 | Set Flow | PolyTools: conforms new loops to surrounding curvature. |
| Alt + 3 | Insert Loop | PolyTools: inserts an edge loop. |
| Alt + 4 | PolyShift Move | PolyTools: drag-moves sub-objects over the surface. |
| Alt + 5 | Spin Edge | PolyTools: rotates the picked edge. |
| Alt + Shift + 2 | Straighten Loops | PolyTools: straightens the selected loops. |
| Alt + Shift + 3 | Circle Loops | PolyTools: rounds the selected loops into circles. |
| Alt + Shift + 4 | Geo Poly | PolyTools: regularises the selected polygon. |
| Alt + G | Geometry Selection Visibility Toggle | Projection modifier: shows or hides the geometry selection. |
3ds Max puts its most-used actions on the home row of the left hand: W move, E rotate, R scale, Q select. Autodesk labels the last two “Smart Scale” and “Smart Select” in the shortcut table, which is why searching for “scale hotkey” in the help sometimes comes up empty. Around them sit the constraint keys: F5, F6 and F7 lock the transform to X, Y and Z, F8 cycles the plane locks, and F12 opens numeric entry when eyeballing it is not good enough. Getting into the habit of pressing an axis key before dragging removes most of the accidental-drift problems that beginners blame on the gizmo.
The one that surprises people is Shift + Z: it undoes a camera move, not a scene edit. Scene undo is Ctrl + Z, and the two histories are independent, which means you can orbit around freely without burning undo steps. The zoom family is similarly split: Z frames the selection, Ctrl + Alt + Z frames the whole scene, and Shift + Ctrl + Z does it in every viewport at once. Alt + W maximises the active viewport and is worth binding to muscle memory early. For display, F3 flips wireframe and shaded, F4 overlays edges on the shaded view, and Alt + X makes the selection see-through so you can work on what is behind it.
Ctrl + V is Clone, not paste. It opens the Clone Options dialog and asks whether you want a copy, an instance or a reference — a genuinely different operation from a clipboard paste, and a common source of confusion for artists arriving from other packages. In the same spirit, Ctrl + C creates a camera from the current view rather than copying anything. The table above is the Main UI map; 3ds Max also ships large context-specific maps for the Edit Poly panel, Track View, Unwrap UVW and the Material Editor, where the same letter can mean something else entirely, and the Keyboard Shortcut Override toggle on Ctrl + Alt + Shift + X decides which map wins.
Because in 3ds Max cloning is the modelling operation and there is no general clipboard paste for objects. Ctrl + V opens Clone Options so you can choose Copy, Instance or Reference. Watch out for Ctrl + C too — it creates a physical camera from the current view.
Z is Zoom Extents Selected: it frames whatever is selected. Ctrl + Alt + Z is Zoom Extents: it frames the entire scene. If nothing is selected the two look similar, which is why the distinction is easy to miss.
No. 3ds Max keeps viewport history separate from scene history. Shift + Z and Shift + Y step through camera moves; Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y step through scene changes.
Not in Autodesk’s default table. Group itself lives on the menu; the only default hotkey in the Groups category is Ctrl + U for Group Attach. Lists that show Ctrl + G for Group are describing a custom map, not the shipped one.
Alt + I hides everything unselected, and Alt + U brings it all back. Alt + Q isolates the selection into its own temporary view, which is cleaner for detailed work because it does not touch the hidden flags on your objects.
3ds Max resolves context-specific shortcuts first, then falls back to the Main UI map. That is why Q is Smart Select in the viewport but Freeform Mode inside Unwrap UVW. The Keyboard Shortcut Override toggle, Ctrl + Alt + Shift + X, is what controls this behaviour.
Open your assistant with this page preloaded as the source — great for follow-up questions like "which of these work in other apps?"