The following table lists keyboard shortcuts in the LabVIEW environment. You also can create custom shortcuts for VI menu items.
| Keyboard Shortcut |
Description |
|---|
| Object/Movement |
| Shift-click |
Selects multiple objects; adds object to current selection. |
| Arrow keys |
Moves selected objects one pixel at a time. |
| Shift-Arrow keys |
Moves selected objects several pixels at a time. |
| Shift-click (drag) |
Moves selected objects in one axis. |
| Ctrl+K |
Reorders objects in a stack of objects by moving the selected object one position higher in the stack. |
| Ctrl+J |
Reorders objects in a stack by moving the selected object one position lower in the stack. |
| Ctrl+Shift+K |
Reorders objects in a stack by moving the selected object to the top of the stack. |
| Ctrl+Shift+J |
Reorders objects in a stack by moving the selected object to the back of the stack. |
| Ctrl-click (drag) |
Duplicates selected object. |
| Ctrl-Shift-click (drag) |
Duplicates selected object and moves it in one axis. |
| Shift-resize |
Resizes selected object while maintaining aspect ratio. |
| Ctrl-resize |
Resizes selected object while maintaining center point. |
| Ctrl-Shift-resize |
Resizes selected object while maintaining center point and aspect ratio. |
| Ctrl-drag in the direction of open space |
Adds more working space to the front panel or block diagram. |
| Ctrl+Alt-drag in the direction of reducing space |
Reduces extra working space from the front panel or block diagram. |
| Ctrl-A |
Selects all front panel or block diagram items. |
| Ctrl-Shift-A |
Performs last alignment operation on objects. |
| Ctrl-D |
Performs last distribution operation on objects. |
| Double-click open space |
Adds a free label to the front panel or block diagram if automatic tool selection is enabled. |
| Ctrl-mouse wheel |
Scrolls through subdiagrams of a Case, Event, or Stacked Sequence structure. |
| Spacebar |
Switches between different selection modes when creating selection rectangles. |
| Spacebar (drag) | Disables preset alignment positions when moving object labels or captions. |
| Ctrl-U | Reroutes all existing wires and rearranges objects on the block diagram automatically. |
| Navigating the LabVIEW Environment |
| Ctrl-F |
Finds objects or text. |
| Ctrl-Shift-F |
Displays Search Results window or the Find Project Items dialog box with the previous search results. |
| Ctrl-G |
Searches VIs for next instance of an object or text. |
| Ctrl-Shift-G |
Searches VIs for previous instance of VIs, object, or text. |
| Ctrl-Tab |
Cycles through LabVIEW windows in the order the windows appear onscreen. (Linux) The order of the windows depends on the window manager you use. |
| Ctrl-Shift-Tab |
Cycles the opposite direction through LabVIEW windows. |
| Ctrl-L |
Displays the Error list window. |
| Ctrl-Shift-E |
Displays the current VI in the Project Explorer window. |
| Ctrl-Shift-W |
Displays the All Windows dialog box. |
| Ctrl-Shift-B |
Displays the Class Browser window. |
| Navigating Front Panels and Block Diagrams |
| Ctrl-E |
Displays the block diagram or front panel window. |
| Ctrl-Space |
Displays the Quick Drop dialog box. On Chinese keyboards, press the <Ctrl-Shift-Space> keys. (macOS) Press the <Command-Shift-Space> keys. |
| Ctrl-# |
Enables or disables grid alignment. On French keyboards, press the <Ctrl-"> keys. (macOS) Press the <Command-*> keys. |
| Ctrl-/ |
Maximizes and restores window. |
| Ctrl-T |
Tiles front panel and block diagram windows. |
| Ctrl-Shift-N |
Displays the Navigation window. |
| Ctrl-I |
Displays the VI Properties dialog box. |
| Ctrl-Y |
Displays the History window. |
| Navigating the VI Hierarchy Window |
| Ctrl-D |
Redraws the VI Hierarchy window. |
| Ctrl-A |
Shows all VIs in the VI Hierarchy window. |
| Ctrl-click VI |
Displays the subVIs and other nodes that make up the VI you select in the VI Hierarchy window. |
| Enter |
Finds the next node that matches the search string after initiating a search by typing in the VI Hierarchy window. |
| Shift-Enter |
Finds the previous node that matches the search string after initiating a search by typing in the VI Hierarchy window. |
| Debugging |
| Ctrl-Down arrow |
Steps into node. |
| Ctrl-Right arrow |
Steps over node. |
| Ctrl-Up arrow |
Steps out of node. |
| File Operations |
| Ctrl-N |
Opens a new, blank VI. |
| Ctrl-O |
Opens an existing VI. |
| Ctrl-W |
Closes the VI. |
| Ctrl-S |
Saves the VI. |
| Ctrl-Shift-S |
Saves all open files. |
| Ctrl-P |
Prints the window. |
| Ctrl-Q |
Quits LabVIEW. |
| Basic Editing |
| Ctrl-Z |
Undoes last action. |
| Ctrl-Shift-Z |
Redoes last action. |
| Ctrl-X |
Cuts selected objects. |
| Ctrl-C |
Copies selected objects. |
| Ctrl-V |
Pastes last cut or copied objects. |
| Help |
| Ctrl-H |
Displays the Context Help window. (macOS) Press the <Command-Shift-H> keys. |
| Ctrl-Shift-L |
Locks the Context Help window. |
| Ctrl-? or <F1> |
Displays the LabVIEW Help. |
| Tools and Palettes |
| Ctrl |
Switches to next most useful tool. |
| Shift |
Switches to Positioning tool. |
| Ctrl-Shift over open space |
Switches to Scrolling tool. |
| Spacebar |
Toggles between two most common tools if automatic tool selection is disabled. |
| Shift-Tab |
Enables automatic tool selection. |
| Tab |
Cycles through four most common tools if you disabled automatic tool selection by clicking the Automatic Tool Selection button. Otherwise, enables automatic tool selection. |
| Arrow keys |
Navigates temporary Controls and Functions palettes. |
| Enter |
Navigates into a temporary palette. |
| Esc |
Navigates out of a temporary palette. |
| Shift-right-click |
Displays a temporary version of the Tools palette at the location of the cursor. |
| SubVIs |
| Double-click subVI |
Displays the subVI front panel. |
| Ctrl-double-click subVI |
Displays the subVI block diagram and front panel. |
| Drag VI icon to block diagram |
Places that VI as a subVI on the block diagram. |
| Shift-drag VI icon to block diagram |
Places that VI as a subVI on the block diagram with constants wired for controls that have non-default values. |
| Ctrl-right-click block diagram and select VI from palette |
Opens the front panel of that VI. |
| Execution |
| Ctrl-R |
Runs the VI. |
| Ctrl-. |
Stops the VI, when used while VI is running. |
| Ctrl-M |
Changes to run or edit mode. |
| Ctrl-Run button |
Recompiles the current VI. |
| Ctrl-Shift-Run button |
Recompiles all VIs in memory. |
| Ctrl-Down arrow |
Moves key focus inside an array or cluster, when used while VI is running. |
| Ctrl-Up arrow |
Moves key focus outside an array or cluster, when used while VI is running. |
| Tab |
Navigates the controls or indicators according to tabbing order, when used while VI is running. |
| Shift-Tab |
Navigates backward through the controls or indicators, when used while VI is running. |
| Wiring |
| Ctrl-B |
Deletes all broken wires in a VI. If you select a structure or area of the block diagram with broken wires, this shortcut deletes the broken wires in only the selected area. |
| Esc, right-click, or click terminal |
While wiring, cancels a wire you started. |
| Single-click wire |
Selects one segment. |
| Double-click wire |
Selects a branch. |
| Triple-click wire |
Selects the entire wire. |
| A |
While wiring, temporarily disables automatic wire routing. |
| W |
While wiring, toggles automatic wire connectivity when an object moving in and out of a structure is connected to an object in the structure. |
| Double-click |
While wiring, tacks down wire without connecting it. |
| Spacebar |
While wiring, switches the direction of a wire between horizontal and vertical. |
| Spacebar |
While moving objects, toggles automatic wiring. |
| Shift-click |
Undoes last point where you set a wire. |
| Ctrl-click input on function with two inputs |
Switches the two input wires. |
| Text |
| Double-click |
Selects a single word in a string. |
| Triple-click |
Selects an entire string. |
| Ctrl-Right arrow |
Moves forward in string by one word when using text that has characters that use single bytes, such as Western character sets. Moves forward in string by one character when using text that has characters that use multiple bytes, such as Asian character sets. |
| Ctrl-Left arrow |
Moves backward in string by one word when using text that has characters that use single bytes, such as Western character sets. Moves backward in string by one character when using text that has characters that use multiple bytes, such as Asian character sets. |
| Home |
Moves to the beginning of the current line in a string. |
| End |
Moves to the end of the current line in a string. |
| Ctrl-Home |
Moves to the beginning of the entire string. |
| Ctrl-End |
Moves to the end of the entire string. |
| Shift-Enter |
Adds new items when entering items in enumerated type controls and constants, ring controls and constants, or Case structures. In string constants, press the <Shift-Enter> keys on the keyboard to disable autosizing if it is enabled. If autosizing is disabled, press the <Shift-Enter> keys on the keyboard to display a scroll bar in the constant. |
| Ctrl-Shift-Enter |
Duplicates the visible subdiagram of a Case structure when editing the text of the case selector label. |
| Esc |
Cancels current edit in a string. |
| Ctrl-Enter |
Ends text entry. |
| Ctrl-= |
Increases the current font size. |
| Ctrl-- |
Decreases the current font size. |
| Ctrl-0 |
Displays the Font Style dialog box. |
| Ctrl-1 |
Changes to the Application font in the Font Style dialog box. |
| Ctrl-2 |
Changes to the System font in the Font Style dialog box. |
| Ctrl-3 |
Changes to the Dialog font in the Font Style dialog box. |
| Ctrl-4 |
Changes to the current font in the Font Style dialog box. |
| Ctrl-B |
Bolds text. |
| Ctrl-I |
Italicizes text. |
| Ctrl-U |
Underlines text. |
