SolidWorks Keyboard Shortcuts You Should Know
Contents
Keyboard shortcuts are one of the simplest ways to make SOLIDWORKS feel faster. They reduce trips to the CommandManager, keep your cursor in the graphics area, and make repeated modeling and drawing tasks less tiring. The goal is not to memorize every shortcut. The goal is to build a small set of commands you use every day.
SOLIDWORKS lets you customize keyboard shortcuts, shortcut bars, toolbars, menus, and mouse gestures. That means your best shortcut setup depends on whether you spend most of your time in parts, assemblies, drawings, sheet metal, simulation, or detailing.
Essential default shortcuts
| Shortcut | Common command | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| F | Zoom to Fit | Quickly recenters the model or drawing. |
| Z | Zoom Out | Fast view control without hunting for the zoom tool. |
| Shift + Z | Zoom In | Pairs naturally with Z for view control. |
| Spacebar | View Orientation | Opens the view orientation menu. |
| Ctrl + Spacebar | View Selector | Useful for changing model orientation. |
| S | Shortcut Bar | Opens a context-specific shortcut bar near the cursor. |
| Enter | Repeat Last Command | Speeds up repeated features, dimensions, and annotations. |
| Ctrl + B | Rebuild | Rebuilds changed features. |
| Ctrl + Q | Forced Rebuild | Rebuilds the full model when you need a deeper refresh. |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo | Essential for sketching and feature edits. |
How to customize keyboard shortcuts
- Open any SOLIDWORKS document.
- Go to Tools > Customize.
- Select the Keyboard tab.
- Search for the command you want to assign.
- Click in the shortcut field and press the key combination you want to use.
- Resolve any conflict warnings before you save the change.
Start with commands that you use many times per hour. Good candidates include Smart Dimension, Normal To, Measure, Mate, Extruded Boss/Base, Extruded Cut, Fillet, Chamfer, Convert Entities, Offset Entities, Section View, Balloon, and Note.
A practical shortcut set for parts
For part modeling, prioritize sketching, view control, and common features. A clean setup might include:
- D for Smart Dimension if it is not already part of your workflow.
- R for Reference Plane or a frequently used reference command.
- E for Convert Entities or another sketch command you use constantly.
- Shift + E for Extruded Boss/Base.
- Shift + X or another memorable key for Extruded Cut.
- H for Hole Wizard if you create many mechanical parts.
- M for Measure if checking dimensions is part of your review flow.
Do not overload single-letter keys just because they are available. Keep the assignments memorable and avoid replacing defaults you already use naturally.
Shortcuts for assemblies
Assembly shortcuts should help you place, constrain, inspect, and review components quickly. Useful assembly commands include Mate, Insert Components, Move Component, Rotate Component, Hide/Show Components, Isolate, Section View, Interference Detection, and Measure.
If you spend a lot of time navigating large assemblies, keyboard shortcuts help, but hardware can matter too. A comfortable CAD mouse or a left-hand navigation device can reduce strain. See the best mouse for CAD and best SpaceMouse for SOLIDWORKS guides if navigation is the bottleneck.
Shortcuts for drawings
Drawing shortcuts are different from modeling shortcuts. You will usually get more value from Detail View, Section View, Projected View, Model Items, Center Mark, Balloon, Note, Geometric Tolerance, Datum Feature Symbol, Hole Callout, and Sheet Format commands.
For drawing-heavy work, combine shortcuts with good detailing habits. The SOLIDWORKS detailing drawing techniques guide covers the drawing side of that workflow.
Use the S key shortcut bar
The S key is often more useful than assigning dozens of individual shortcuts. It opens a context-specific shortcut bar for sketches, parts, assemblies, and drawings. You can customize each shortcut bar so the commands near your cursor match the environment you are working in.
A good setup is to keep keyboard shortcuts for the commands you use constantly and use the S key for secondary commands that you still want nearby.
Back up your shortcut settings
After you customize SOLIDWORKS, save your settings. Use the SOLIDWORKS Copy Settings Wizard to save keyboard shortcuts, menu settings, toolbar layout, and mouse gestures. This is useful before a reinstall, workstation change, or major version upgrade.
Bottom line
The best SOLIDWORKS keyboard shortcuts are the ones that remove repetitive clicks from your own work. Start with view control, rebuild, shortcut bars, dimensions, common features, mates, and drawing annotations. Customize slowly, keep the layout memorable, and back up your settings once the workflow feels natural.
References: SOLIDWORKS Customize Keyboard Help, SOLIDWORKS Shortcut Bars Help, and SOLIDWORKS user interface customization Help.
