Keyboard shortcuts for visualization and data modeling diagrams

Palette and diagrams

Keyboard shortcut Action
Shift+Tab Moves between the diagram and the Palette
Spacebar Collapses or expands the selected drawer in the Palette  
Arrow keys Navigate in a group of controls
Alt+Right Arrow, Alt+Left Arrow Navigate between open diagrams

Shapes in the diagram

Keyboard shortcut Action
Enter Adds the selected shape in the Palette to the diagram
Arrow keys Selects a shape in the diagram
Shift+Arrow keys Selects multiple shapes in the diagram
Period (.) Moves through the move and resize handles in a clockwise direction on the selected shape
Shift+Period Moves through the move and resize handles in a counter-clockwise direction on the selected shape
Arrow keys Moves the selected shape or shapes
Esc Cancels the moving of shapes and return them back to their original locations
Arrow keys Resizes the selected shape or shapes when the resize handles are selected
Ctrl+Arrow keys Resizes the selected shape or shapes while maintaining the shapes' aspect ratio
Shift+Arrow keys Resizes the selected shape or shapes while maintaining the shapes' centers of view
Shift+Ctrl+Arrow keys Resizes the selected shape or shapes while maintaining the shapes' aspect ratio and centers of view
Alt+Up Arrow, Alt+Down Arrow Navigates the compartments in the selected shape
Alt+Down Arrow Navigates the items in the selected compartment
Up Arrow, Down Arrow Changes the selected list item in a compartment
Insert Adds a list item to the selected compartment in an Information Engineering (IE) notation diagram

Connectors in the diagram

Keyboard shortcut Action
Forward slash (/), Backslash (\) Selects a connector in the diagram
Arrow keys Selects the source shape
Enter Starts the connection at the selected shape
Arrow keys Selects the target shape
Period (.) or Shift+Period Selects the point on a connector where you want to add a bend point or move an existing bend point
Arrow keys Adds a bend point at the selected location where the plus sign (+) is displayed, or moves the selected bend point to a new location on the connector
Alt+Down Arrow Moves to the labels on the selected connector
Arrow keys Moves to the connector label that you want to move
Period (.) Selects the move handle for a selected label
Arrow keys Moves the label to a new location on the connector
Ctrl+Spacebar Deselects the selected connector

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