Select objects (mouse) |
| click | click a non-selected object to select |
| Alt+click | select under |
| Alt+mouse wheel | cycle z-order |
| Shift+click | toggle selection |
| These work the same as in Selector. The nodes or handles of the single selected object become editable. |
Select nodes (mouse) |
| click | select a node |
| Clicking on a node selects it. |
| click | select two adjacent nodes |
| Clicking on a selected path between the nodes selects the two nodes closest to the click point. |
| Shift+click | toggle selection |
| This adds/removes a node (if clicked on node) or two nodes (if clicked on path) to/from the node selection. |
| click | deselect |
| Clicking in an empty space deselects all selected nodes. Next click will deselect the object. |
Rubberband selection |
| mouse drag | select multiple nodes |
| Dragging around nodes does "rubberband" selection; previous node selection is deselected. |
| Shift+mouse drag | add nodes to selection |
| Normally, you need to start from a point not over a path or a node to initiate a rubberband. |
| However, if you press Shift before dragging, Inkscape will do rubberband selection even if you start over the path. |
Select nodes (keyboard) |
| Tab | select next node |
| Shift+Tab | select previous node |
| These keys select nodes within the selected path. |
| Ctrl+A | select all nodes in subpath(s) |
| If the path has multiple subpaths and some nodes selected, this selects all only in subpaths with already selected nodes. |
| Ctrl+Alt+A | select all nodes in path |
| This selects all nodes in the entire path. |
| ! | invert selection in subpath(s) |
| If the path has multiple subpaths and some nodes selected, this inverts selection only in subpaths with already selected nodes. |
| Alt+! | invert selection in path |
| This inverts selection (deselects what was selected and vice versa) in the entire path. |
| Esc | deselect all nodes |
Grow/shrink node selection |
| PgUp,
PgDn | grow/shrink selection (spatial) |
| mouse wheel | grow/shrink selection (spatial) |
| Ctrl+PgUp,
Ctrl+PgDn | grow/shrink selection (along path) |
| Ctrl+mouse wheel | grow/shrink selection (along path) |
| Your mouse pointer must be over a node for growing/shrinking. |
| Each key press or turn of the mouse wheel selects the nearest unselected node or deselects the farthest selected node. |
| Distance to nodes can be calculated directly (spatial mode) or along path. |
Move nodes (mouse) |
| mouse drag | move selected nodes |
| Ctrl+mouse drag | restrict movement to horizontal or vertical |
| Ctrl+Alt+mouse drag | move along handles |
| This restricts movement to the directions of the node's handles, their counter directions and perpendiculars (total 8 snaps). |
| If the node has straight lines on one or both sides, this will snap it to these lines' directions and perpendiculars instead. |
| Shift+mouse drag | temporarily disable snapping |
| Shift+mouse drag | drag out handle |
| If a node has a retracted handle, dragging with Shift lets you drag it out of the node. |
| mouse drag+Space | drop a copy |
| When dragging nodes with mouse, each Space leaves a copy of the selected object. |
| You can press and hold Space while dragging for a nice "trail." |
| Alt+mouse drag | sculpt selected nodes |
| Sculpting moves the selected nodes so that the dragged node moves all the way, the farthest selected nodes stay put; all intermediate selected nodes move intermediate distances, governed by a bell-like curve. |
| Sculpting is pressure-sensitive with a tablet; press harder for a blunter drag profile, press lightly for a sharper profile. |
| To stop sculpting without losing the pressure-sensitive profile, release Alt first and then lift the pen. |
Move nodes (keyboard) |
| arrows | move selected node(s) by the nudge distance |
| Shift+arrows | move selected node(s) by 10x nudge distance |
| The default nudge distance is 2 px (SVG pixel units, not screen pixels). |
| Alt+arrows | move selected node(s) by 1 pixel |
| Shift+Alt+arrows | move selected node(s) by 10 pixels |
| The actual distance for pixel movements depends on zoom level. Zoom in for finer movement. |
Move node handle (mouse) |
| mouse drag | move a node handle |
| Ctrl+mouse drag | snap the handle to angle steps |
| The default angle step is 15 degrees. This also snaps to the handle's original angle, its counter direction and perpendiculars. |
| Shift+mouse drag | rotate both handles |
| Alt+mouse drag | lock the handle length |
| Ctrl, Shift, Alt can be combined when dragging handles. |
| Ctrl+click | retract the handle |
| Retracted handle is zero length; use Shift+drag to drag it back out. |
Scale handle (1 node selected) |
| <,
> | contract/expand both handles by scale step |
| The default scale step is 2 px (SVG pixel units, not screen pixels). May apply to more than one node. |
| Left Ctrl+<,
Left Ctrl+> | scale left handle by the scale step |
| Right Ctrl+<,
Right Ctrl+> | scale right handle by the scale step |
| Left Alt+<,
Left Alt+> | scale left handle by 1 pixel |
| Right Alt+<,
Right Alt+> | scale right handle by 1 pixel |
| The actual size increment for pixel scaling depends on zoom level. Zoom in for finer scaling. |
| Instead of the < and > keys, you can use the , (comma) and . (period) keys respectively. |
Rotate handle (1 node selected) |
| [,
] | rotate both handles by the angle step |
| The default angle step is 15 degrees. ] rotates clockwise, [ rotates counterclockwise. May apply to more than one node. |
| Left Ctrl+[,
Left Ctrl+] | rotate left handle by the angle step |
| Right Ctrl+[,
Right Ctrl+] | rotate right handle by the angle step |
| Left Alt+[,
Left Alt+] | rotate left handle by 1 pixel |
| Right Alt+[,
Right Alt+] | rotate right handle by 1 pixel |
Handles visibility |
| Ctrl+H | toggle handles |
Scale nodes (>1 nodes selected) |
| These commands scale the selected nodes as if they were an "object". |
| If mouse is over a node, that node becomes the axis of scaling; otherwise it scales around geometric center of selected nodes. |
| .,
> | scale nodes up by the scale step |
| ,,
< | scale nodes down by the scale step |
| The default scale step is 2 px (SVG pixel units, not screen pixels). |
| Alt+.,
Alt+> | scale nodes up by 1 pixel |
| Alt+,,
Alt+< | scale nodes down by 1 pixel |
| The actual size increment for pixel scaling depends on zoom level. Zoom in for finer scaling. |
| The default size increment is added to (or subtracted from) either the node selection's height or width, whichever one is larger. Scaling keeps the proportions of the node selection. |
Rotate nodes (>1 nodes selected) |
| These commands rotate the selected nodes as if they were an "object". |
| If mouse is over a node, that node becomes the axis of rotation; otherwise it rotates around geometric center of selected nodes. |
| [,
] | rotate nodes by the angle step |
| The default angle step is 15 degrees. ] rotates clockwise, [ rotates counterclockwise. |
| Alt+[,
Alt+] | rotate nodes by 1 pixel |
| The actual angle for pixel rotation depends on zoom level. Zoom in for finer movement. |
Flip nodes (>1 nodes selected) |
| These commands flip the selected nodes as if they were an "object", around the center of that object. |
| h | flip nodes horizontally |
| v | flip nodes vertically |
| If mouse is over a node, that node becomes the axis of flipping; otherwise it flips around geometric center of selected nodes |
Change segment(s) |
| Shift+L | make line |
| Shift+U | make curve |
| These commands require that more than two adjacent nodes be selected. |
Change node type |
| Shift+C | make cusp |
| First Shift+C changes type of node; if you do another Shift+C on an already cusp node, it retracts its handles. |
| Shift+S | make smooth |
| If a cusp node is adjacent to a line segment, first Shift+S makes it half-smooth with one handle collinear
with the segment; another Shift+S will expand a second handle. |
| Shift+Y | make symmetric |
| When making smooth or symmetric, you can lock the position of one of the handles by hovering mouse over it. |
| Shift+A | make auto |
| Ctrl+click | toggle smooth/cusp/symmetric/auto |
Join/break |
| Shift+J | join selected nodes |
| This requires that exactly two end nodes within the path be selected. |
| You can lock the position of one of the two joined nodes by hovering mouse over it. |
| Alt+J | join selected end nodes with new segment |
| Shift+B | break selected node(s) |
| After break, only one of each two new nodes is selected. May apply to more than one node. |
Delete, create, duplicate |
| Backspace,
Del | delete selected node(s) |
| Ctrl+Backspace,
Ctrl+Del | delete without preserving shape |
| Deleting without Ctrl adjusts handles on the remaining nodes to preserve the shape of the curve as much as possible. |
| Deleting with Ctrl does not touch the remaining nodes. |
| Alt+Backspace | delete segment between pairs of adjacent selected nodes |
| Ctrl+Alt+click | create/delete node |
| Ctrl+Alt+click on a node deletes it; Ctrl+Alt+click on the path between nodes creates a new node in the click point. |
| Deleting nodes this way always tries to preserve the shape of the curve (same as Del/Backspace). |
| double-click | create node |
| Double clicking on the path between nodes creates a node in the click point. |
| Ins,
Shift+I | insert new node(s) |
| This adds new node(s) in the middle(s) of selected segment(s), so it requires that more than two adjacent nodes be selected. |
| Shift+D | duplicate selected node(s) |
| New nodes are created on the same path; they are placed exactly over the old ones and are selected. |
Reverse |
| Shift+R | reverse path direction |
Edit shapes |
| Node tool can also drag the handles of shapes (rectangles, ellipses, stars, spirals). Click on a shape to select it. |
| See the corresponding shape tools for their editing shortcuts, all of which also work in node tool. |
Edit fills and path effects |
| Node tool can also edit the handles of a pattern fill, gradient fill, and the editable handles of path effects. |
Cancel |
| Esc | cancel rubberband or move |
| Press Esc while mouse button is still down to cancel rubberband selection, node move, or handle move. |
