MolDraw Docs

Keyboard shortcuts

Short answer: Press ? in the editor to see every shortcut. The most used are Ctrl+Z to undo, Ctrl+C to copy, 1, 2 and 3 for bond types, and letters like O or N to pick an element.

Last updated · By the MolDraw team at LabCanvas

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On a Mac, use ⌘ where this page says Ctrl. Change any shortcut in Settings, Shortcuts.

Editing#

Action Keys
Cancel edit / clear selection / close menus Esc
Erase selected object Delete or Backspace
Undo Ctrl Z
Redo Ctrl Y or Ctrl Shift Z
Select all Ctrl A
Copy fragment Ctrl C
Paste fragment Ctrl V
Save entire canvas (.moldraw) Ctrl S

Selection (Select menu)#

Action Keys
Deselect Ctrl Shift A
Invert selection Ctrl Shift I
Select connected Ctrl Shift C
Grow selection Ctrl Shift G
Same as selection Ctrl Shift S
Select all rings Ctrl Shift R
Select heteroatoms Ctrl Shift H
Chain atoms Alt Shift C
Longest path Alt Shift L
Side chains Alt Shift S
All 5-rings Alt Shift 5
All 6-rings Alt Shift 6
Aromatic atoms Alt Shift A
Charged atoms Alt Shift Q
Wedge / dash atoms Alt Shift W
CIP R / S centers Alt Shift R
Aliases / R-groups Alt Shift G
Bonds in selection Alt Shift B
All bonds Ctrl Alt B
Select tool V
Lasso select tool L
Action Keys
Pan canvas (hand tool) Hand drag
Temporary pan (hold, then drag) Space drag
Pan Middle-click drag
Pan vertically Scroll wheel
Pan horizontally Shift Scroll
Zoom toward pointer Ctrl Scroll or ⌘ Scroll
Zoom in Ctrl = or Ctrl +
Zoom out Ctrl -
Reset zoom (100%) Ctrl 1
Fit all objects Ctrl 0
Pinch zoom Two-finger pinch
Two-finger pan Two-finger drag
Touch pan on empty canvas Touch drag

Tools#

Action Keys
Single bond 1
Double bond 2
Triple bond 3
Benzene ring B
Select tool V
Lasso select tool L
Open this shortcuts panel ? or Shift /

Atom labels (placement element when no atom selected)#

Action Keys
Carbon C
Nitrogen N
Oxygen O
Sulfur S
Phosphorus P
Fluorine F
Hydrogen H
Chlorine Shift C
Bromine Shift B
Iodine I

Type-to-rename (one atom selected)#

Action Keys
Open inline label editor seeded with letter A to Z
Multi-char symbols (Cl, Si, Br): keep typing C + l
Abbreviations (Me, Et, Ph, Boc, OMe, NH2, …) type group
Accept suggestion Tab or Enter
Commit current text Enter
Cancel Esc
Quick rename (select tool) Double-click atom

3D Structure Perspective#

Action Keys
3D Clean Up (canvas pose: then drag to rotate) Ctrl Shift D or ⌘ Shift D
Perspective tool / toggle depth shading Alt D

Modifiers & canvas#

Action Keys
Select entire connected molecule (atom or bond) Ctrl click or ⌘ click
Add / toggle atom or bond in selection Shift click
Esc priority: alias editor → deselect text → deselect arrow → clear atoms → close menu → select tool Esc
Select tool on empty canvas: drag rectangle (marquee); Shift+drag for lasso Shift drag
Rebind shortcuts in Settings → Shortcuts Settings
Undo / redo / copy / paste use Ctrl on Windows/Linux or ⌘ on macOS Ctrl

Tip

Shortcuts do not fire while you type in a text box or label.

Questions and answers

How do I see all shortcuts in the app?

Press ? in the editor.

Can I change shortcuts?

Yes. Open Settings, then Shortcuts.