Blender Hotkeys & Shortcuts
Blender's hotkeys are mode-aware — the same key does different things in Object vs Edit mode. This reference covers both, plus viewport, rendering, and animation shortcuts.
Same Key, different Mode
Undo the last action.
Redo the last undone action.
Save the current blend file.
Open a blend file.
Create a new scene.
Rename the selected object.
Open the command search menu.
Open the Quick Favorites menu.
Toggle the right-side properties panel.
Toggle the left-side toolbar.
Move selected objects. Press G twice for edge slide in edit mode.
Rotate selected objects.
Scale selected objects.
Duplicate selected objects and move.
Create a linked duplicate (shares mesh data).
Delete selected objects.
Join selected objects into one.
Set parent relationship.
Clear parent relationship.
Move selected objects to a collection.
Add subdivision surface modifier (Ctrl+2 for level 2, etc.).
Select all objects. Double-tap A to deselect all.
Drag a box to select objects.
Brush select by clicking and dragging.
Insert a keyframe for the active object.
Switch between Object and Edit mode.
Switch to vertex selection mode.
Switch to edge selection mode.
Switch to face selection mode.
Extrude selected vertices, edges, or faces.
Create a face from selected vertices/edges.
Inset selected faces inward.
Bevel selected edges or vertices.
Add a loop cut across faces.
Cut new edges interactively.
Merge selected vertices (at center, at cursor, etc.).
Separate selected geometry into a new object.
Rip selected vertices apart.
Select all linked geometry under cursor.
Select all linked geometry of selection.
Hide selected geometry.
Reveal all hidden geometry.
Toggle proportional editing on/off.
Drag to orbit the 3D viewport.
Drag to pan the 3D viewport.
Scroll to zoom in/out.
Toggle the active camera view.
Switch to front view (Ctrl+1 for back).
Switch to right view (Ctrl+3 for left).
Switch to top view (Ctrl+7 for bottom).
Toggle between perspective and orthographic.
Open the shading mode pie menu.
Zoom to frame the selected object(s).
Zoom to fit all objects in view.
Toggle isolate view of selected object.
View the last rendered image.
Render the current frame as an image.
Render the full animation.
Play the rendered animation.
Blender Advanced Efficiency Guide
Blender Efficiency Optimization & Best Practices
Hotkeys change with mode
Blender hotkeys are context-sensitive. The same key does different things in Object vs Edit mode. For example, M moves to collection in Object mode but merges vertices in Edit mode. Always check your mode indicator at the bottom of the viewport.
Pie menus speed up navigation
Press Z for the shading pie menu, . for view alignment, and Shift+S for snap pie menus. Pie menus allow you to select an option by moving the mouse in a direction — much faster than clicking through menus.
Additive Manufacturing & Mesh Utilities
Verify watertight STL geometry, calculate print costs, and optimize chordal deviations
STL / 3MF Mesh Polygon Decimator
Calculate optimal triangle decimation ratios and binary STL byte size for 3D printing.
3D Printing Chordal Deviation Optimizer
Balance polygonal faceting vs file size when exporting STEP/CAD solids into watertight STL/3MF.
STL Mesh Integrity & Slicer Checker
Identify non-manifold edges, inverted surface normals, and intersecting shells before printing.
3D Print Cost & Layer Time Estimator
Calculate material filament weight, machine amortized hourly rates, and total part cost.
Online STEP to STL Slicer Helper
Convert STEP/IGES assemblies to optimized 3MF/STL geometry for PrusaSlicer & Bambu Studio.
DWG Bloat & File Size Reducer
Diagnose 50MB+ bloated AutoCAD DWG files and purge orphaned DGN linetypes & RegApps.