3D, CAD & Animation

SolidWorks Keyboard Shortcuts

69 shortcuts to design mechanical parts faster — the complete SolidWorks keyboard shortcut reference

SolidWorks keyboard shortcuts

SolidWorks, from Dassault Systemes, is a 3D, CAD & animation application designed to design mechanical parts. It has become a go-to choice for professionals and enthusiasts alike.

For SolidWorks users, mastering keyboard shortcuts is one of the fastest ways to boost productivity. Quick access to tools and commands keeps the creative flow unbroken.

Exclusive to Windows, SolidWorks takes full advantage of the platform's native keyboard conventions.

Windows
69 shortcuts 11 categories
Visit SolidWorks Official Website
Jump to Section (11 sections)

General 1 shortcut

Repeat last command
Enter

Assemblies 15 shortcuts

Mates. Temporarily hides a face when you hover over a face and click Alt.
Alt
Mates. Creates a SmartMate when you Alt + drag a component. Motion studies. Moves multiple keys in the MotionManager. Triad. When using the triad, aligns the triad with an edge or face when you Alt + drag the center ball or handle on the triad and drop it on an edge or face. An example of using the triad is in Move with Triad mode and in Exploded Views. Reordering components. When moving a component in the FeatureManager design tree, ensures that the component remains at the same level in the tree and prevents it from being moved into a subassembly.
Alt +Drag
Copies the component and creates a SmartMate.
Ctrl +Alt +Drag
Copies a component when you Ctrl + drag it. Selection. In an assembly with preselected components, inverts the selection when you Ctrl + drag a selection box. Toolbox. Creates a part instead of a configuration when you drag a Toolbox component into an assembly. Motion studies. Copies multiple keys in the MotionManager.
Ctrl +Drag
Hide/Show. Hides all components below the pointer. While Inserting a Component. Rotates the component 90º.
Tab
Mates. Show a temporarily hidden face when you hover over the hidden face and click Shift + Alt.
Alt +Shift
Hide/Show. Shows all components below the pointer. While Inserting a Component. Rotates the component -90º.
Shift +Tab
Mates. Show all temporarily hidden faces in a semi-transparent state.
Ctrl +Alt +Shift
Temporarily displays all hidden components as transparent and you can select which components to show. To show one or more components, move the pointer to the graphics area, and press and hold Ctrl + Shift + Tab. All hidden components are temporarily displayed as transparent. Click a hidden component to change it to shown.
Ctrl +Shift +Tab
In a blank area of the graphics area. Invokes mouse gestures. On a component. Rotates a component relative to the assembly origin.
RightClick +Drag
On a Component. Invokes mouse gestures instead of the Rotate Component tool.
Alt +RightClick +Drag
Reorients a Routing component when you insert a Routing component into an existing Routing assembly.
Shift +Left
Reorients a Routing component when you insert a Routing component into an existing Routing assembly.
Shift +Right
Opens the shortcut menu and context toolbar.
Shift +F10
Opens the shortcut menu and context toolbar.
menu key

Copy/Paste 3 shortcuts

Use these keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste, similar to Windows functionality.
Ctrl +C Ctrl +C
Use these keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste, similar to Windows functionality.
Ctrl +V Ctrl +V
Copies sketch entities. / Copies features. / Copies parts and subassemblies. / Copies drawing views.
Ctrl +Drag Ctrl +Drag

Dimensions and Annotations 6 shortcuts

Turns off automatic alignment when you place dimensions and annotations.
Alt +Click Alt +Click
Moves an annotation independently from the group in which it is contained.
Alt +Drag Alt +Drag
Inserts a degree º symbol. / Inserts a diameter Ø symbol. / Inserts a µ symbol.
Alt +0 Alt +0
Creates additional leaders on a note when you Ctrl + drag a leader's arrowhead.
Ctrl +Drag Ctrl +Drag
Snaps a dimension to the max or min location when dimensioning arcs and circles with the Smart Dimension tool.
Shift +Click Shift +Click
Change the annotation view plane for a dimension or annotation.
` `

Display 18 shortcuts

Rotates the model parallel to the viewing plane.
Alt +Left Alt +Left
Rotates the model parallel to the viewing plane.
Alt +Right Alt +Right
Rotates the model parallel to the viewing plane.
Alt +Up Alt +Up
Rotates the model parallel to the viewing plane.
Alt +Down Alt +Down
Rotates the model parallel to the viewing plane.
Alt +drag middle mouse button Alt +drag middle mouse button
Rotates the model 90º.
Shift +Left Shift +Left
Rotates the model 90º.
Shift +Right Shift +Right
Rotates the model 90º.
Shift +Up Shift +Up
Rotates the model 90º.
Shift +Down Shift +Down
Zooms the model in.
Shift +Z Shift +Z
Zooms the model out.
Z Z
Zooms the model in and out about the screen center.
Shift +drag middle mouse button Shift +drag middle mouse button
Zooms to fit.
F F
Shows a hidden body or component when you hover over the body or component.
Alt +Click Alt +Click
Shows a section view when using the magnifying glass.
Alt +middle mouse wheel Alt +middle mouse wheel
Opens the View Selector.
Ctrl +Space Ctrl +Space
Opens the View Selector and Orientation dialog box.
Space Space
Opens the Appearances PropertyManager when you drag an appearance from the Task Pane onto a model.
Alt +Drag Alt +Drag
The BuildBox Macropad Puts Keyboard Shortcuts at Your Fingertips! Learn More

Drawings 4 shortcuts

Select anywhere in a table to move the table.
Alt +Drag Alt +Drag
Copies annotations without snapping to the grid or to other annotations.
Ctrl +Drag Ctrl +Drag
Select one edge in a drawing view if multiple edges are collinear. In general, when you select an edge in a drawing, the entire line is highlighted if all of the line segments are collinear.
Shift +Click Shift +Click
Moves a dimension to another drawing view when you drag the dimension and drop it on another view.
Shift +Drag Shift +Drag

Move 6 shortcuts

Pans a model.
Ctrl +Left Ctrl +Left
Pans a model.
Ctrl +Right Ctrl +Right
Pans a model.
Ctrl +Up Ctrl +Up
Pans a model.
Ctrl +Down Ctrl +Down
Pans a model.
Ctrl +drag middle mouse button Ctrl +drag middle mouse button
Moves the selected drawing view and any related views together as if they are one entity. You can also move a dimension to a different view.
Shift +Drag Shift +Drag

Selection 4 shortcuts

Select the back faces in the View Selector cube.
Alt +Click Alt +Click
Select multiple entities.
Ctrl +Click Ctrl +Click
Select a transparent face on a part.
Shift Shift
Selects everything within the two selected items in the FeatureManager design tree.
Shift +Click Shift +Click

Sheet Metal 1 shortcut

Flips the direction of the forming tool when dragging the forming tool onto a face.
Tab Tab

Sketching 6 shortcuts

Symmetrically adjusts both handles of a control point in a spline.
Alt +Drag Alt +Drag
Suppresses inference lines when dragging an endpoint. / Turns off automatic sketch relations.
Ctrl +Drag Ctrl +Drag
Turns off automatic sketch relations.
Ctrl +Click Ctrl +Click
Turns on snapping.
Shift +Click Shift +Click
When sketching a line, the line snaps to specific lengths.
Shift +Drag Shift +Drag
Changes the XYZ plane when sketching in a 3D sketch.
Tab Tab

User Interface 5 shortcuts

Rebuilds the model.
Ctrl +B Ctrl +B
Redraws the screen.
Ctrl +R Ctrl +R
Moves among open documents.
Ctrl +Tab Ctrl +Tab
Repeats the last command.
Enter Enter
Opens the shortcut bar.
S S
Noticed errors or keyboard shortcuts that don't work? Please let us know about them here
BuildBox Macropad

We've Built 10s Of 1000s Of Keyboard Shortcuts Into The BuildBox Macropad

The BuildBox Macropad is the ultimate shortcut machine. One device with up to 160 configurable shortcuts for apps like SolidWorks available at your fingertips, a crystal clear display showing what every key does, and a hall-effect scroll wheel for scrubbing through video, audio and graphic editing applications like butter!

Drop your email below to be eligible for our first production run of 500 BuildBox units, at a HUGE discount price:

View All Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard Shortcuts for Similar Applications