Beam Bench Docs
Reference

Hotkeys

Every default keyboard binding in Beam Bench, grouped by category. Rebind any of them in the Hotkey Editor.

Beam Bench ships with a default keyboard binding for most actions. Bindings are platform-aware: on macOS, Ctrl here means ⌘ (Cmd). On Windows and Linux, Ctrl is Ctrl.

All editable bindings can be changed in the Hotkey Editor dialog. A small number are reserved and cannot be rebound (noted below).

File

ActionHotkeyEditable
NewCtrl+N✓
OpenCtrl+Oreserved
ImportCtrl+I✓
SaveCtrl+Sreserved
Save AsCtrl+Shift+Sreserved
ExportAlt+X✓
Print BlackCtrl+P✓
Print ColorsCtrl+Shift+P✓
Save Machine FilesAlt+Shift+L✓

Edit

ActionHotkeyEditable
UndoCtrl+Z✓
RedoCtrl+Shift+Z✓
Select AllCtrl+A✓
Invert SelectionCtrl+Shift+I✓
CutCtrl+Xreserved
CopyCtrl+Creserved
PasteCtrl+Vreserved
Paste in PlaceAlt+V✓
DuplicateCtrl+D✓
DeleteBackspace✓
Convert to PathCtrl+Shift+C✓
Convert to BitmapCtrl+Shift+B✓
Auto-JoinAlt+J✓
OptimizeAlt+Shift+O✓
Delete DuplicatesAlt+D✓
Select Open Shapes,✓

Tools

ActionHotkeyEditable
SelectEsc✓
Draw LinesCtrl+L✓
RectangleCtrl+R✓
EllipseCtrl+E✓
Triangle,✓
Pentagon,✓
Polygon,✓
Octagon,✓
Star,✓
Dual Star,✓
TrimCtrl+K✓
TextCtrl+T✓
MeasureCtrl+M✓
Edit NodesCtrl+` ✓
Position LaserCtrl+Shift+L✓
Add TabsCtrl+Tab✓
Offset ShapesAlt+O✓
Weld ShapesCtrl+W✓
Boolean UnionAlt++✓
Boolean SubtractAlt+-✓
Boolean IntersectionAlt+*✓
Boolean AssistantCtrl+B✓
Cut ShapesAlt+Shift+C✓
Adjust ImageAlt+I✓
Trace ImageAlt+T✓

Arrange

ActionHotkeyEditable
GroupCtrl+G✓
UngroupCtrl+U✓
Bring ForwardPageUp✓
Send BackwardPageDown✓
Bring to FrontCtrl+PageUp✓
Send to BackCtrl+PageDown✓
Two-Point Rotate / ScaleCtrl+2✓
Flip HorizontalCtrl+Shift+H✓
Flip VerticalCtrl+Shift+V✓
Mirror Across LineCtrl+Shift+M✓
Rotate 90° CW.✓
Rotate 90° CCW,✓
Align LeftAlt+Left✓
Align RightAlt+Right✓
Align TopAlt+Up✓
Align BottomAlt+Down✓
Align Horizontal CentersAlt+PageDown✓
Align Vertical CentersAlt+PageUp✓
Move H TogetherAlt+Shift+H✓
Move V TogetherAlt+Shift+V✓
Move to Page Centerp✓
Jog Laser LeftAlt+Ctrl+[✓
Jog Laser RightAlt+Ctrl+]✓
Jog Laser UpCtrl+Shift+]✓
Jog Laser DownCtrl+Shift+[✓
Break ApartAlt+B✓

Window

ActionHotkeyEditable
PreviewAlt+P✓
Zoom to PageCtrl+0✓
Zoom InCtrl+=✓
Zoom OutCtrl+-✓
Frame SelectionCtrl+Shift+A✓
Toggle Wireframe / FilledAlt+Shift+W✓
Side PanelsF12✓

Laser Tools

ActionHotkeyEditable
Material Test,reserved
Focus Test,reserved
Interval Test,reserved

Preferences

ActionHotkeyEditable
SettingsCtrl+,reserved
Edit Hotkeys,reserved
Import Prefs,reserved
Export Prefs,reserved

App

ActionHotkeyEditable
QuitCtrl+Qreserved

Selection nudge keys (not editable)

ActionHotkey
Nudge selectionArrow keys
Fine nudgeShift+Arrow
Coarse nudgeCtrl+Arrow

Nudge distances are configured in Settings, Units & Grid.

Canvas gestures (not editable)

ActionGesture
PanMiddle-mouse drag, or hold Space + left-drag
ZoomScroll wheel (or Ctrl+scroll, per Settings, Display)
Zoom to fitCtrl+0
Frame SelectionCtrl+Shift+A
Cancel current tool / clear selection / exit text editEsc
Add to selectionShift+click
Toggle in selectionCtrl+click
Marquee selectdrag
Enter text editdouble-click text object

Reserved combinations

These cannot be rebound in the Hotkey Editor:

  • Ctrl+Q (Quit)
  • Ctrl+Tab (system / app switching, Add Tabs)
  • Ctrl+Space
  • Alt+Tab (OS app switcher)

Plus the OS-reserved equivalents on macOS (⌘+Q, ⌘+Tab, ⌘+Space).

Customizing hotkeys

Open Hotkey Editor (from Preferences). For each rebindable command, click the current binding and press the new combination. Conflicts are highlighted; the editor will not let you save a conflict.

You can export and import a hotkey configuration via the Preferences menu, useful for sharing your setup across machines.

Settings, File & Import

Behavior for importing files into the project and counting tool layers in bounds.

Menus

How menus and the command surface work in Beam Bench. Where to find what.

On this page

FileEditToolsArrangeWindowLaser ToolsPreferencesAppSelection nudge keys (not editable)Canvas gestures (not editable)Reserved combinationsCustomizing hotkeysRelated