Shortcuts

Shortcuts binds keys to the plugin’s actions. No action has a key at the start. You bind the actions you want. A shortcut fires while the leader key is held and the bound key is pressed. The leader key starts as P.

What it makes possible:

• An effect tested without the mouse. Hold P and tap one key to emit, another to stop.
• A clear viewport for a screenshot. Bind Toggle UI, tap it to hide every panel, and tap it again to bring them back.
• Chords with Ctrl or Alt in place of the leader, if P is in the way. Remove the leader.

Opening and closing

To	Do this
Open the panel	Press ≡, then Settings, then Shortcuts. The panel opens in the middle of the viewport.
Close the panel	Press Shortcuts again, or press X in the header.
Fold the panel away	Press the minimise button beside X. A chip appears in a row under the HUD.
Open or close with a key	Bind the action Toggle Shortcuts.

The panel is titled Shortcuts. It can be dragged by its header and resized by its edges. See Panels.

The panel

Part	Reads	What it does
Description	Bind a chord. Hold the leader (below) then tap the chord. Don’t press the leader during capture.	Tells how a shortcut is used.
Leader row	Leader: P, or Leader: (none)	Shows the leader key.
Leader row ▸ Set		Chooses another leader key.
Leader row ▸ (none)		Removes the leader.
Search box	Search shortcuts… while empty	Narrows the list by action name.
Unbind all		Removes every binding. It asks for a second press.
List	Category headings, and one row for each action	Each row shows the action’s name, its binding or (unbound), a Bind button and an X button.

The leader key

The leader is a key that is held while a bound key is tapped.

• The leader starts as P.
• A shortcut fires when the leader is held and the bound key is pressed.
• While the leader is held, several bound keys may be tapped one after another.
• The leader pressed alone does nothing.

To	Do this
Change the leader	Press Set. The row reads Press leader key… (Esc cancels). Press the new key.
Back out of the change	Press Esc.
Remove the leader	Press (none). The row reads Leader: (none). Bound keys then fire with no key held first.

Ctrl, Alt and Shift are not accepted as a leader.

The list shows each binding with the leader in front, as in P + I or P + Shift+T. With no leader, a binding shows alone, as in Ctrl+I.

Binding a key

Step	Control	Action	Result
1	The action’s row ▸ Bind	Press	The row reads Press key… (hold P + key; Esc cancels). With no leader it reads Press key… (Esc cancels).
2	The keyboard	Press the key to bind, with Ctrl, Alt or Shift held if they are wanted	The binding is saved at once. The row shows it.

• A key alone may be bound: one letter, or a function key.
• Ctrl, Alt or Shift pressed alone is not a binding. The row keeps waiting.
• The leader key cannot be the bound key. Do not press the leader while the row is waiting.
• Esc cancels the wait.

To	Do this
Remove one binding	Press X on the action’s row. The row reads (unbound).
Remove every binding	Press Unbind all. The button reads Click again to confirm. Press it again within a few seconds.
Move a key to another action	Bind the key on the other action’s row. The new action takes the key.

When a key is taken from an action, that action’s row shows a message in red for a few seconds. The message reads Reassigned to and the name of the new action.

The bindings and the leader are kept for the next session.

The actions

There are 27 actions, in five categories. Every action starts unbound.

UI

Action	What it does
Toggle Inventory	Shows or hides the Inventory.
Toggle Motion Preview	Switches Motion Preview on or off.
Toggle Properties	Shows or hides the Properties panel.
Toggle Theme Editor	Opens the Theme Editor. Used while the editor is open, it closes the editor as a Cancel.
Toggle UI	Hides or shows the whole of the plugin’s interface. Nothing is lost while it is hidden.

Tools

Action	What it does
Toggle Clipboard	Brings the Clipboard tab forward. Used while that tab is showing, it closes the panel.
Toggle Emit Code	Shows or hides the Emit Code panel.
Toggle Hue	Shows or hides the Hue panel.
Toggle Randomize	Opens the Randomize panel. Used while the panel is open, it cancels the panel.
Toggle Resize	Brings the Size tab forward. Used while that tab is showing, it closes the panel.
Toggle Retime	Brings the Time tab forward. Used while that tab is showing, it closes the panel.
Toggle Settings	Shows or hides the Settings panel.
Toggle Shifter	Brings the Shifter tab forward. Used while that tab is showing, it closes the panel.
Toggle Shortcuts	Shows or hides the Shortcuts panel.

Edit

Action	What it does
Delete Selection	Stops and deletes the selected emitters. Ctrl+Z brings them back. Stock ParticleEmitters and Trails are left alone.
Repair Selection	Runs the same repair as Fix in the Fix box, on the selected emitters.
Transform Selection	Transforms the selection.
Transform as Camera Shake	Does what the entry of the same name does, on the ▾ menu beside Transform.
Transform as Distortion	As above.
Transform as Lightning	As above.
Transform as Rocks	As above.
Transform as Rope	As above.

Animate

Action	What it does
Toggle Animate Mode	Changes the selected emitters between Emit mode and Animate mode. Lights, Sounds and Trails are skipped.

Emit

Action	What it does
Emit Now	Emits the selection.
Stop Emits	Stops Auto-emit and everything playing in the selection.
Toggle AutoEmit	Switches Auto-emit on or off.
Toggle Enable	Does what the Enable toggle on the HUD does.

When a shortcut does not fire

Case	Reason
The cursor is in a text box	No shortcut fires while you type.
A row of the Shortcuts panel is waiting for a key	No shortcut fires during the wait.
The Shortcuts panel is open	Only Toggle Shortcuts and Toggle UI fire.
Ctrl, Alt or Shift is held and was not part of the binding, or was part of it and is not held	Ctrl, Alt and Shift must match the binding exactly.
The leader is not held	With a leader set, a bound key does nothing without it.

Keys that are fixed

These keys are built into the plugin. The Shortcuts panel does not list them and cannot change them.

Where	Key	What it does
The graph editor	Arrow keys	Move the selected keypoints by a small step.
The graph editor	Delete, Backspace	Delete the selected keypoints.
The graph editor	C, V	Copy the graph, and paste the last graph copied.
The graph editor	Esc	Closes the box opened by a double-click, if it is open. Otherwise closes the editor as a Cancel.
The Shortcuts panel	Esc	Cancels the wait for a key.
Studio	Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Y	Studio’s undo and redo. Either one cancels an open Randomize panel. Ctrl+Z closes an open graph editor as a Cancel.

The graph editor lists its mouse actions and keys in full.

Limits

• The plugin’s actions do not appear in Studio’s own Customize Shortcuts window. Bind them in this panel.
• One key belongs to one action. Binding it again moves it.
• Reset Layout in Settings closes the Shortcuts panel.