Mastering Shortcut Keys in SketchUp - Skill Builder

[@grandmasterplank]

Aaron, your series of videos are exactly what's needed to promote and open up access to the software. Your tone and approach is also great. Great work.

[@aarondietzen2995]

Thanks, man! That’s always the goal!

[@markjohnson9062]

Thanks Aaron... this serves as a reminder and platform for me to voice one of my first and biggest aggravations with Sketchup. I came to SU from AutoCad years ago and while I have barely used Acad in many years now, one of its best time saving features was my use of shortcut keys. While SU does offer the use of modifier keys to add many options to getting a shortcut, I find those keys to generally be a PITA to use for a shortcut and they don't offer intuitive key combinations when working with many shortcut options. The ultimate power-user speed is achieved by being able to always keep left hand on the home keys and right hand on the mouse. Very difficult to reliably manipulate combinations or even single presses of anything ('shift' being the only minor exception) and still press all the keys that are within reach of a home position left hand. With Acad the secret was use of the Space Bar as 'Enter' thereby allowing a number of normal character keys to be pressed before entering the command. This allowed each character to be used in numerous and much more easily remembered ways. For example.. .in your X-ray example you couldn't use X... but with the method above you could've use XR or XRA very easily and quickly typed with home key hand and easily remembered too. For Edit Component... EC.. the list goes on and on.. it's definitely something that SU should consider at least as an optional way for shortcut lovers to work . -Mark

[@jw3971]

Only recently figured out that shortcuts can also be assigned to extensions. Very useful

[@aarondietzen2995]

I should have mentioned that! Great point!

[@hambuilder]

Thanks, Aaron! I’ve appreciated your tutorials since the BuildEdge days!

[@aarondietzen2995]

Stephen Hammontree Thank you! Glad to hear I am helping!

[@madwani]

I always use the shortcuts. They are a big timesaving tools. The only problem is that you'll be unconsciously using them in other softwares where they're helpless. I wish if the SketchUp allows for printing the assigned shortcuts from within the dialog box they have been gotten assigned.

[@tskcrafts]

Best video of 'Sketchup' ever! I always wanted to add a shortcut for the 'Follow me' tool and this helped!

[@AaronMakingStuff]

Glad to hear!

[@yootoob7048]

Thanks Aaron. I am in the process of converting ALL my shortcuts (default and created) to voice commands. Very cool, almost never need to touch the keyboard.

[@aarondietzen2995]

Awesome! I would probably start by mapping "Oh crap!" to the Undo command.

[@yootoob7048]

Way ahead of you, only with more adult expletives.

[@daveedwardsconsulting6916]

GUAPO??? I knew this convo looked familiar.

[@yootoob7048]

Guapo?

[@daveedwardsconsulting6916]

Sorry, had the exact convo in another forum.

[@GEK69NY]

OMG.. Just ran into same thing with “x” yesterday, believe or not.. But, if you hold “x” for a few seconds, it happens to work, with multiplication of “x”es Thanks a lot for your explanation!!

[@aarondietzen2995]

Great point! Thanks for the clarification!

[@madwani]

Thanks for saying that.

[@GEK69NY]

Aaron Dietzen Thank you!!!

[@liliaellis4366]

You can use * instead x when you want to multiply copies.

[@edmcgugan2079]

Love your ancient proverb!!

[@AaronMakingStuff]

Thanks! You have heard that before, too, right?

[@Zaptruder]

You can use X for X-ray if you type (Number)X instead of X(number) for multiply array. At least this is definetly the case for Windows Sketchup. Not so sure if this is true for Mac Sketchup. You guys should cover an advanced work flow setup sometimes. A lot of stuff I've discovered about sketchup overtime I would've loved to have known... years before I discovered them. For example, setting a short-cut up for toggling on visibility for out of context items and component duplicates has been amazing in allowing me to edit elements without getting stuck on awkward camera angles - but also still allowing me to refer back to the existing context.

[@aarondietzen2995]

Thanks for the input! We talked about that workflow a few weeks back. See if this is what you are talking about: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ammzpo2QeZWJi9E

[@liliaellis4366]

You can use * instead x when you want to multiply copies.

[@9thTerminal]

Excellent job. I really appreciate these videos.

[@aarondietzen2995]

And we appreciate the view!

[@miagabuwana9830]

Hey Aaron, you can still do that array actually, 5:22 type the number first then x. Same thing for slash key

[@AndrewCoakley]

That's the way I use the array commands. Never thought to type it the other way around!

[@rgonzalez490]

Thanks Aaron. I became a keyboard lover since I saw a user stuck because his mouse was not working properly. What do you think about adding a list of available key combinations that could be assigned to the shortcuts section of the Preferences dialog box? Of course this list would reduce each time you assign a new shortcut. It may be useful for beginners to reference the choices they have left and will help them prevent from using other operating system reserved key combinations.

[@aarondietzen2995]

Rafael Gonzalez Not a BAD idea... but... when you consider that each key can be used alone or with one, two, or three modifier keys... that turns into quite the list! I would be interested to know the number of available shortcuts against the total number of commands in SketchUp! Who wants to chase that down?

[@rgonzalez490]

Thanks Aaron, your quick response is much appreciated. You're absolutely right, this would be a huge list; not for users, but for programmers. Users will focus only in those few commands they use everyday and an available key or key combination that makes sense for them so that they don't forget. I guess that beginners who have not seen this video would give up creating any shortcut after trying two or three different key combinations if none of them are either available or don't work as expected. Starting with a simple one letter list may be useful for this purpose. Maybe showing a single available suggestion as part of the error message verbiage that gives you the warning would do the trick. Of course this suggestion would be pre-validated by Sketchup. In other words, this way Sketchup would say to users: "Oops! the one you just specified is not available, but this one will definitely work for you". Thanks and regards.

[@trueleyes]

Great quick info. thanks

[@scabisid]

how to move a point (vertex) on sketchup?

[@mouhanadtaki8954]

how to painting outside wall or covering outside line

[@aarondietzen2995]

Mohanad Taki I’m not sure exactly what you are asking. I would recommend hoping over to our forums (forums.sketchup.com) to ask. It’s a much better way to answer questions and help you out (as opposed to gushing KZbin comments).

[@daveedwardsconsulting6916]

Why are the Shortcuts not shown as part of the Tool Tips?

[@aarondietzen2995]

Dave Edwards Consulting My understanding (and I am not a software developer, myself), is that it is because the shortcut can change. The tool title is constant and can be set in the software, but the shortcut can be changed but the user, so it is not an option as part of the tooltip.

[@daveedwardsconsulting6916]

Thanks for the response, Aaron. I'm wondering that even though they can change, if the database of Hotkey could be read as part of the Tool Tip. I'll post it as a Wish and see what happens. KUTGW!

[@daveedwardsconsulting6916]

But not in the Tool Tips.

[@daveedwardsconsulting6916]

Not on Windows SU 2018

[@kyawwin7446]

Copying model tools one edit to another same?

[@Bol3D_Comics]

Got it have to play with it now that i see thee root

[@liliaellis4366]

The question is - why SketchUp is working so bad on Mac? I got used to work with SU on Windows for many years, and when I started to give online lessons and some learners had Mac, I was shocked! Panels can't be glue to side, material panel is separate at all, there is no export/import option about shortcuts, maybe there are more... So why is that?

[@amazingstuffs9969]

First like first view