Keyboard Shortcuts
Complete keyboard shortcut reference for the PanelWave CMS editor — canvas, structure tree, timeline, and Graph Editor shortcuts, plus undo and redo.
The editor is built for a keyboard-first workflow. This page is the complete, verified reference, grouped by the area of the editor a shortcut works in.
Two quick notes before the tables:
- Ctrl means Cmd on macOS. Every
Ctrlshortcut also responds to⌘. - Shortcuts pause while you type. When the cursor is in a text field, shortcuts don't fire — so pressing Backspace in a title never deletes a layer.
You can open a shortcut reference inside the editor at any time: press Shift+? for the quick help overlay, or choose Keyboard shortcuts from the user menu / command palette.
General
Work everywhere in the editor:
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+K | Open the command palette |
| Ctrl+S | Save the current work |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Shift+Z | Redo |
| Shift+? | Show / hide the shortcuts help |
| Esc | Deselect all / cancel the current operation |
Command palette (while open)
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Type | Filter commands (save, undo, preflight, publish, assets, …) |
| ↑ / ↓ | Highlight the previous / next command |
| Enter | Run the highlighted command |
| Esc | Close the palette |
Canvas — selection & editing
For the canvas itself, see Canvas; layers are covered in Layers.
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Click | Select a panel / element |
| Shift or Ctrl+Click | Add / remove from the selection |
| Ctrl+A | Select all panels (page view) or all layers (panel view) |
| Delete / Backspace | Delete the selection — speech bubbles first, then hotspots, then panels, then layers |
| Ctrl+D | Duplicate the selected layers |
| Tab / Shift+Tab | Focus the next / previous item: panels in panel view, speech bubbles while the speech tool is active, otherwise hotspots |
| Alt+L / Alt+Shift+L | Layer Navigator: select the next / previous unlocked layer (announced for screen readers) |
| Esc | Clear the selection |
Moving elements
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| ← ↑ → ↓ | Nudge the selection by 1 px — layers, speech bubbles, and hotspots (panel view) |
| Shift+Arrow | Nudge the selection by 10 px |
Nudging is ignored while the tree, a tab strip, a dialog, or a select has the keyboard, and with Ctrl/Cmd/Alt held.
Clipboard (page view)
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+C | Copy the selected panels |
| Ctrl+X | Cut the selected panels |
| Ctrl+V | Paste panels |
Arranging panels (page view, 2+ panels selected)
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Shift+L / E | Align left / right |
| Ctrl+Shift+T / B | Align top / bottom |
| Ctrl+Shift+H / M | Align centers horizontally / vertically |
| Ctrl+Alt+H / Y | Distribute horizontally / vertically (3+ panels) |
Canvas — view
Zoom shortcuts require the mouse pointer to be over the canvas:
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl++ / Ctrl+− | Zoom in / out |
| Ctrl+0 | Fit to view |
| G | Toggle grid |
| Ctrl+G | Toggle grid visibility |
| Ctrl+Shift+G | Toggle snap to grid |
| Shift+R | Toggle rulers |
Polygon editing (hotspots)
While editing a polygon hotspot's points:
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Delete | Delete the selected point |
| I | Insert a point after the selected one |
| Enter | Finish polygon editing |
| Esc | Stop polygon editing |
Structure tree
These work while the structure sidebar has focus (see Pages & Panels):
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| ↑ / ↓ | Move to the previous / next visible item |
| ← | Collapse the item, or jump to its parent |
| → | Expand the item, or jump to its first child |
| Delete / Backspace | Delete the selected chapter, page, or panel (with confirmation) |
| Ctrl+, | Open properties for the selected work or page |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y | Redo |
| Esc (in the search box) | Clear the search and return focus to the tree |
Timeline
These work while the timeline area or its playhead has focus:
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Play / pause |
| ← / → | Step one frame back / forward |
| Shift+← / → | Jump one second back / forward |
| Home / End | Jump to the start / end (shows the first / last panel) |
The timecode display is editable: click it, type HH:MM:SS:FF, MM:SS, or plain seconds, and press Enter to seek.
Graph Editor
These work inside the Graph Editor:
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| ← ↑ → ↓ | Move the node selection in that direction |
| C | Connect: start creating an edge from the selected node |
| Enter | Create the pending edge |
| Ctrl+A | Select all nodes |
| Delete / Backspace | Delete the selected nodes / edges |
| L | Auto-layout the graph |
| V | Run validation |
| Esc | Cancel connect mode / stop the simulation / clear selection |
| Mouse wheel | Zoom |
| Drag empty canvas | Pan |
Undo & redo
Undo in the editor is action-based: each recorded action knows how to reverse itself, and Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z walk that history. The header shows Undo and Redo buttons (grayed out when there is nothing to undo or redo) plus a View Undo History button.
What is recorded today:
- Structure operations — reordering chapters, pages, and panels, and adding/removing a panel on a page (via drag & drop in the structure tree). These live in the main history, which keeps the 50 most recent actions.
- Hotspot editing — shape and property edits in the hotspot inspector keep their own history of up to 100 steps (there, Ctrl+Y also works for redo).
Not every edit is in the undo history yet — canvas layer edits and most inspector property changes are applied directly. When in doubt, check the History panel before assuming an action can be reversed, and save deliberate checkpoints with Ctrl+S.
The History panel (header → View Undo History) shows two lists:
- Undo Stack — everything you can undo, newest first, with the current position marked ← Current. Entries are plain descriptions like Reorder chapter "Chapter 1" with relative timestamps.
- Redo Stack — actions you have undone and can redo.
A Clear History button empties both lists. As in most editors, performing any new action clears the redo stack — you can't redo into a timeline that no longer exists.