Autodesk 3ds Max/Shortcuts

Hotkey Description (all these letters should be lowercase) e.g A does not
toggle Angle Snap but a does.)

Be aware this chart is unaccurate in that respect. 3DS Max is

not case insensitive
a Toggle Angle Snap on/off.
b Change active viewport to "Bottom" view.
c Change active viewport to "Camera" view (there must be at least 1
camera in your scene for this command to work). If you have more
than 1 camera in your scene, this will toggle between cameras.
d Disable view (prevents view from updating; used when editing very
large scenes to improve performance)
e rotate selected object (does not Select).
f Change active viewport to "Front" view.
g Toggle grid on/off.
h Select hidden objects in select from scene dialog by name to unhide
those objects.
i Center active viewport to the mouse's position.
j Show hide selection brackets
l Change active viewport to "Left" view.
m Open the Material Editor.
N Toggle Auto Key on/off.
O Adaptive degradation, shows objects as boxes, speed up viewport
drawing in complex scenes
P Change active viewport to "Perspective" view.
Q Select Object.
R Select and Scale.
S Toggle Snap on/off.
T Change active viewport to "Top" view.
U Change active viewport to "User" view.
W Select and move.
X Hide/unhide gizmo.
z Zoom Extents All Selected.
6 Particle View (v6 & 7 only).
7 Polygon Count (displayed at upper left of viewport for selected
object).
8 Environment panel.
0 Render to texture
Space Lock selection
Up arrow Walkthrough mode
MMB Pan view
Ctrl+MMB 2x Pan speed
Ctrl+A Select all
Ctrl+I Invert selection
Ctrl+V Clone selected Object
Ctrl+C (this is not copy!)(in perspective viewport) create target camera
using the curent view.
Ctrl+X eXpert Mode
Ctrl+Z Undo
Ctrl+Y Redo
Ctrl+LMB(click) Add clicked object to current selection
Ctrl+LMB(hold) Marquee, Add multiple selected to current selection
Alt+LMB(click) Remove clicked object from current selection
Alt+LMB(hold) Marquee, Remove multiple selected from current selection
Shift+LMB(click) Clone selected/clicked object
Shift+LMB(click+drag) (with move selected) Clone and move selected/clicked object
Alt+MMB Rotate View
Alt+X Xray view mode
Alt+Q Isolates the selected objects
Alt+w Maximize viewport toggle

Description Keyboard shortcut

Snaps Action Table

Snap To Edge/Segment Toggle Alt+F10
Snap To Endpoint Toggle Alt+F8
Snap To Face Toggle Alt+F11
Snap To Grid Points Toggle Alt+F5
Snap To Midpoint Toggle Alt+F9
Snap To Pivot Toggle Alt+F6
Snap To Vertex Toggle Alt+F7
Main UI
Adaptive Degradation Toggle O
Align Alt+A
Angle Snap Toggle A
Arc Rotate View Mode Ctrl+R
Auto Key Mode Toggle N
Background Lock Toggle Alt+Ctrl+B
Backup Time One Unit ,
Bottom View B
Camera View C
Clone Ctrl+V
Cycle Active Snap Type Alt+S
Cycle Selection Method Ctrl+F
Cycle Snap Hit Alt+Shift+S
Default Lighting Toggle Ctrl+L
Delete Objects .
Disable Viewport D
Display as See-Through Toggle Alt+X
Environment Dialog Toggle 8
Expert Mode Toggle Ctrl+X
Fetch Alt+Ctrl+F
Forward Time One Unit .
Front View F
Go to End Frame End
Go to Start Frame Home
Hide Cameras Toggle Shift+C
Hide Geometry Toggle Shift+G
Hide Grids Toggle G
Hide Helpers Toggle Shift+H
Hide Lights Toggle Shift+L
Hide Particle Systems Toggle Shift+P
Hide Shapes Toggle Shift+S
Hide Space Warps Toggle Shift+W
Hold Alt+Ctrl+H
Isometric User View U
Left View L
Lock User Interface Toggle Alt+0
Material Editor Toggle M
Maximize Viewport Toggle Alt+W
MAXScript Listener F11
New Scene Ctrl+N
Normal Align Alt+N
Open File Ctrl+O
Pan View Ctrl+P
Pan Viewport I
Percent Snap Toggle Shift+Ctrl+P
Perspective User View P
Place Highlight Ctrl+H
Play Animation /
Quick Align Shift+A
Quick Render Shift+Q
Redo Scene Operation Ctrl+Y
Redo Viewport Operation Shift+Y
Redraw All Views `
Render Last F9
Render Scene Dialog Toggle F10
Restrict Plane Cycle F8
Restrict to X F5
Restrict to Y F6
Restrict to Z F7
Save File Ctrl+S
Scale Cycle Ctrl+E
Select All Ctrl+A
Select Ancestor PageUp
Select and Move W
Select and Rotate E
Select By Name H
Select Child PageDown
Select Children Ctrl+PageDown
Select Invert Ctrl+I
Select None Ctrl+D
Selection Lock Toggle Space
Set Key Mode '
Set Keys K
Shade Selected Faces Toggle F2
Show Floating Dialogs Ctrl+`
Show Main Toolbar Toggle Alt+6
Show Safeframes Toggle Shift+F
Show Selection Bracket Toggle J
Snap To Frozen Objects Toggle Alt+F2
Snaps Toggle S
Snaps Use Axis Constraints Toggle Alt+D, Alt+F3
Sound Toggle \
Spacing Tool Shift+I
Spot/Directional Light View Shift+4
Sub-object Level Cycle Insert
Sub-object Selection Toggle Ctrl+B
Top View T
Transform Gizmo Size Down -
Transform Gizmo Size Up =
Transform Gizmo Toggle X
Transform Type-In Dialog Toggle F12
Undo Scene Operation Ctrl+Z
Undo Viewport Operation Shift+Z
Update Background Image Alt+Shift+Ctrl+B
View Edged Faces Toggle F4
Viewport Background Alt+B
Virtual Viewport Pan Down NumPad 2
Virtual Viewport Pan Left NumPad 4
Virtual Viewport Pan Right NumPad 6
Virtual Viewport Pan Up NumPad 8
Virtual Viewport Toggle NumPad /
Virtual Viewport Zoom In NumPad +
Virtual Viewport Zoom Out NumPad -
Wireframe / Smooth+Highlights Toggle F3
Zoom Extents All Selected Z
Zoom Extents All Shift+Ctrl+Z
Zoom Extents Alt+Ctrl+Z
Zoom In 2X Alt+Shift+Ctrl+Z
Zoom Mode Alt+Z
Zoom Out 2X Alt+Shift+Z
Zoom Region Mode Ctrl+W
Zoom Viewport In [, Ctrl+=
Zoom Viewport Out ], Ctrl+-
Track View
Add Keys A
Apply Ease Curve Ctrl+E
Apply Multiplier Curve Ctrl+M
Assign Controller C
Copy Controller Ctrl+C
Expand Object Toggle O
Expand Track Toggle Enter, T
Filters Q
Lock Selection Space
Lock Tangents Toggle L
Make Controller Unique U
Move Highlight Down Down Arrow
Move Highlight Up Up Arrow
Move Keys M
Nudge Keys Left Left Arrow
Nudge Keys Right Right Arrow
Pan P
Paste Controller Ctrl+V
Scroll Down Ctrl+Down Arrow
Scroll Up Ctrl+Up Arrow
Snap Frames S
Zoom Horizontal Extents Keys
Alt+X
Zoom Z
Material Editor
Background B
Backlight L
Cycle 3X2, 5X3, 6X4 Sample Slots X
Get Material G
Go Backward to Sibling Left Arrow
Go Forward to Sibling Right Arrow
Go to Parent Up Arrow
Make Preview P
Options O
Schematic View
Add Bookmark B
Display Floater D
Filters P
Free All Alt+F
Free Selected Alt+S
Invert Selected Nodes Ctrl+I
Move Children Alt+C
Next Bookmark Right Arrow
Previous Bookmark Left Arrow
Rename Object R
Select All Nodes Ctrl+A
Select Children Ctrl+C
Select None Ctrl+D
Show Grid G
Toggle Shrink Ctrl+S
Use Connect Tool C
Use Select Tool S
Zoom Selected Extents Z
ActiveShade
Close Q
Draw Region D
Render R
Select Object S
Toggle Toolbar (Docked) Space
Video Post
Add Image Filter Event Ctrl+F
Add Image Input Event Ctrl+I
Add Image Layer Event Ctrl+L
Add Image Output Event Ctrl+O
Add New Event Ctrl+A
Add Scene Event Ctrl+S
Edit Current Event Ctrl+E
Execute Sequence Ctrl+R
New Sequence Ctrl+N
NURBS
CV Constrained Normal Move Alt+N
CV Constrained U Move Alt+U
CV Constrained V Move Alt+V
Display Curves Shift+Ctrl+C
Display Dependents Ctrl+D
Display Lattices Ctrl+L
Display Shaded Lattice Alt+L
Display Surfaces Shift+Ctrl+S
Display Toolbox Ctrl+T
Display Trims Shift+Ctrl+T
Local Select Sub-Object By Name Ctrl+H
Lock 2D Selection Space
Select Next in U Ctrl+Right Arrow
Select Next in V Ctrl+Up Arrow
Select Previous in U Ctrl+Left Arrow
Select Previous in V Ctrl+Down Arrow
Select Sub-Object By Name H
Set Tessellation Preset 1 Alt+1
Set Tessellation Preset 2 Alt+2
Set Tessellation Preset 3 Alt+3
Soft Selection Ctrl+S
Switch To Curve CV Level Alt+Shift+Z
Switch To Curve Level Alt+Shift+C
Switch To Imports Level Alt+Shift+I
Switch To Point Level Alt+Shift+P
Switch To Surface CV Level Alt+Shift+V
Switch To Surface Level Alt+Shift+S
Switch To Top Level Alt+Shift+T
Transform Degrade Ctrl+X
Editable Poly
Bevel Mode Shift+Ctrl+B
Border Level 3
Chamfer Mode Shift+Ctrl+C
Connect Shift+Ctrl+E
Constrain to Edges Shift+X
Cut Alt+C
Edge Level 2
Element Level 5
Extrude Mode Shift+E
Face Level 4
Grow Selection Ctrl+PageUp
Hide Unselected Alt+I
Hide Alt+H
Object Level 6
Quickslice Mode Shift+Ctrl+Q
Repeat Last Operation ;
Select Edge Loop Alt+L
Select Edge Ring Alt+R
Shrink Selection Ctrl+PageDown
Unhide All Alt+U
Vertex Level 1
Weld Mode Shift+Ctrl+W
Edit/Editable Mesh
Bevel Mode Ctrl+V, Ctrl+B
Chamfer Mode Ctrl+C
Cut Mode Alt+C
Detach Ctrl+D
Edge Invisible Ctrl+I
Edge Level 2
Edge Turn Ctrl+T
Element Level 5
Extrude Mode Ctrl+E
Face Level 3
Polygon Level 4
Vertex Level 1
Weld Selected Ctrl+W
Weld Target Mode Alt+W
Edit Normals
Break Normals B
Copy Normal Ctrl+C
Edge Level Ctrl+3
Face Level Ctrl+4
Make Explicit E
Normal Level Ctrl+1
Object Level Ctrl+0
Paste Normal Ctrl+V
Reset Normals R
Specify Normals S
Unify Normals U
Vertex Level Ctrl+2
FFD
Switch To Control Point Level Alt+Shift+C
Switch To Lattice Level Alt+Shift+L
Switch To Set Volume Level Alt+Shift+S
Switch To Top Level Alt+Shift+T
Edit Poly
Bevel Mode Shift+Ctrl+B
Border Level 3
Chamfer Mode Shift+Ctrl+C
Connect Shift+Ctrl+E
Constrain to Edges Shift+X
Cut Alt+C
Edge Level 2
Element Level 5
Extrude Mode Shift+E
Grow Selection Ctrl+PageUp
Hide Unselected Alt+I
Hide Alt+H
Object Level 6
Polygon Level 4
Quickslice Mode Shift+Ctrl+Q
Repeat Last Operation ;
Select Edge Loop Alt+L
Select Edge Ring Alt+R
Shrink Selection Ctrl+PageDown
Unhide All Alt+U
Vertex Level 1
Weld Mode Shift+Ctrl+W
Physique
Copy Envelope Ctrl+C
Delete Ctrl+D
Next PageDown
Paste Envelope Ctrl+V
Previous Selection Level Shift+
Previous PageUp
Reset Envelopes Ctrl+E
Unwrap UVW
Break Selected Vertices Ctrl+B
Detach Edge Verts D, Ctrl+D
Edit UVW's Ctrl+E
Filter Selected Faces Alt+F
Freeze Selected Ctrl+F
Get Face Selection From Stack Alt+Shift+Ctrl+F
Get Selection From Faces Alt+Shift+Ctrl+P
Hide Selected Ctrl+H
Load UVW Alt+Shift+Ctrl+L
Lock selected vertices Space
Mirror Horizontal Alt+Shift+Ctrl+N
Mirror Vertical Alt+Shift+Ctrl+M
Move Horizontal Alt+Shift+Ctrl+J
Move Vertical Alt+Shift+Ctrl+K
Pan Ctrl+P
Planar map faces/patches Enter
Show Seams In Viewport Alt+E
Snap Ctrl+S
Texture Vertex Contract Selection NumPad -, -
Texture Vertex Expand Selection NumPad +, =
Texture Vertex Move Mode Q
Texture Vertex Rotate Mode Ctrl+R
Texture Vertex Weld Selected Ctrl+W
Texture VertexTarget Weld Ctrl+T
Unwrap Options Ctrl+O
Update Map Ctrl+U
Zoom Extents Selected Alt+Ctrl+Z
Zoom Extents X
Zoom Region Ctrl+X
Zoom To Gizmo Shift+Space
Zoom Z
Crowd
Solve S
Biped
Change Leg State Alt+Ctrl+S
Collapse Move All Mode changes Alt+M
Copy Posture Alt+C
Fix Graphs Alt+Ctrl+F
Lock Selected Keys (toggle) Alt+Ctrl+L
Paste Posture Opposite Alt+B
Paste Posture Alt+V
Play Biped V
Reset all limb keys Alt+K
Scale In Transform (toggle) Alt+Ctrl+E
Set Key 0
Set Range Alt+R
Toggle Biped Keys in TrackBar Alt+T
TV Select end of footsteps Alt+D
TV Select entire foostep Alt+S
TV Select start of foosteps Alt+A
Biped Curve Editing
Pos Curve Relative To Bip Root Ctrl+A
Pos Curve Relative To World Ctrl+A
Show Pos Accel Curve Ctrl+A
Show Pos Curve Ctrl+A
Show Pos Jerk Curve Ctrl+A
Show Pos Speed Curve Ctrl+A
Show Quat Curve Ctrl+A
Show Rot Accel Curve Ctrl+A
Show Rot Speed Curve Ctrl+A
Toggle Draw Every Frame Ctrl+A
Toggle Layered Edit Ctrl+A
Toggle Limit Quat Curve to 180 Ctrl+A
Toggle Manipulate Subanims Ctrl+A
Toggle Show Z Ctrl+A
Toggle Show X Ctrl+A
Toggle Show Y Ctrl+A
Toggle Subanims Ctrl+A
Reaction Manager
Set Max Influence Ctrl+I
Set Min Influence Alt+I
Particle Flow
Particle Emission Toggle ;
Particle View Toggle 6
Particle Flow
Selected Particle Emission Toggle Shift+;
Particle Flow
Copy Selected In Particle View Ctrl+C
Paste In Particle View Ctrl+V
Select All In Particle View Ctrl+A
ActiveShade (Scanline)
Initialize P
Update U
ToneOperatorAndRadiosityActionTable
Advanced Lighting Panel 9
Object Display Culling
Object Display Culling Alt+O
WalkThrough
Accelerate Toggle Q
Back S, Down Arrow
Decelerate Toggle Z
Decrease Step Size [
Down C, Shift+Down Arrow
Forward W, Up Arrow
Increase Step Size ]
Left A, Left Arrow
Level Shift+Space
Lock Vertical Rotation Space
Reset Step Size Alt+[
Right D, Right Arrow
Up E, Shift+Up Arrow
Macro Scripts
Add/Edit Parameters... (TV) Ctrl+1
Cap (Poly) Alt+P
Collapse (Poly) Alt+Ctrl+C
Collect Parameters SV Alt+3
Collect Parameters TV Alt+4
Create Camera From View Ctrl+C
Cut (Poly) Alt+C
Extrude Face (Poly) Alt+E
Geometry Selection Visibility Toggle Alt+G
Isolate Selection Alt+Q
Meshsmooth (Poly) Ctrl+M
Parameter Collector Alt+2
Parameter Editor Alt+1
Parameter Wiring Dialog... Alt+5
Render to Texture Dialog Toggle 0
Smart Scale R
Smart Select Q
Start Parameter Wiring... Ctrl+5
Sub-Object Level 1 1
Sub-Object Level 2 2
Sub-Object Level 3 3
Sub-Object Level 4 4
Sub-object Level 5 5
WalkThrough View Mode Up Arrow
Quad Menu Sets
Animation [Alt+RMB]
Custom [Shift+Ctrl+Alt+RMB]
Custom [Shift+Ctrl+RMB]
Lighting | Render [Ctrl+Alt+RMB]
Modeling [Ctrl+RMB]
reactor [Shift+Alt+RMB]
Snap [Shift+RMB]
Viewports V

! Some useful commands for the command lane !!

gc() Garbage Collection.
freescenebitmaps() Cleans up in texture memory.
clearUndoBuffer() Removes your Undo’s