Keyboard shortcuts in VU.CITY make it quicker to navigate the 3D environment, create and edit geometry, and work with analysis tools. Their behaviour depends on the active tool, camera mode and keyboard focus, so the same key may perform different actions in different contexts.

A few things are worth knowing before using keyboard shortcuts:

• Viewport focus: Click the 3D viewport before using camera or drawing shortcuts. If an input field or sidebar item has focus, keyboard shortcuts may behave differently. Navigation keys will not move the camera while typing in an input field.
• Esc: Press Esc to cancel the current operation or clear the active selection. Press it again to leave the tool where applicable.
• Enter: Enter does not have a universal confirmation function. Its behaviour depends on the active tool and selection.

Navigation and Viewpoints

Movement and camera controls vary depending on the active camera mode. Orbit, Free and Walk each offer different ways to move around the 3D environment.

Orbit

Orbit mode moves the camera around a selected point of interest.

W / S Move forward / backward

A / D Move left / right

Arrow keys Rotate around the orbit point

Q / E height movement is not available in Orbit mode.

Viewpoint: Free

Free camera mode allows movement in all directions, including vertically, relative to the direction of the camera.

W / S Move forward / backward in the direction of the view, including up or down

A / D Move left / right

Q / E Move down / up

Arrow keys Rotate the view

] / [ Increase / decrease movement speed

Mouse wheel Change focal length within the selected lens preset

Viewpoint: Walk

Walk mode keeps movement along the ground, maintaining an eye height of 1.6 m.

W / A / S / D Move along the ground

] / [ Increase / decrease movement speed

Mouse wheel Change focal length within the selected lens preset

Q / E vertical movement is not available in Walk mode. Fixed-focal-length lens presets cannot be adjusted using the mouse wheel.

Point of View (POV)

POV provides a ground-level perspective, with controls for moving through the environment and looking around.

W / A / S / D Move

Q / E Move down / up

Left-click and drag Look around

Click the ground or a building Move to that point

Esc Return to Orbit

If Q / E is used to move above ground level, the next W / A / S / D movement returns the camera to an eye height of 1.6 m.

Selected Viewpoint

Enter Start piloting the selected Viewpoint

When a Viewpoint is selected, Enter starts piloting it. When a sidebar item has focus, Enter renames that item instead. Click the 3D viewport first to start piloting the selected Viewpoint.

Create

Points, Lines and Areas

When creating Points, Lines and Areas, keyboard modifiers help control placement and snapping. The following shortcuts are available while drawing or editing geometry.

Hold Shift Context snap in 5° increments relative to the previous segment

Hold Ctrl Global snap in 5° increments relative to north / the global grid

Ctrl + Z Remove the last placed point

Backspace Remove the last point while drawing an Area, or delete a selected point when editing a finished shape

Esc Clear the unfinished drawing; press again to return to Select

Snapping modifiers apply while the key is held. The 5° increments also apply to Area and Massing footprints.

To close a shape, click its first point after placing at least three points. No modifier is required. If the only placed point is removed using undo, the drawing is cancelled but Create remains open.

Massing

Massing uses the same snapping shortcuts as the Create tools, with additional controls for drawing footprints, setting extrusion values and editing individual storeys.

Drawing and extruding

F2 Jump to the Distance input

Tab Move to the next input (wraps around)

Enter Apply the typed value or point

+ / − Add / remove a storey

Esc during extrusion Return to footprint drawing while keeping placed points; press again to clear the footprint

Distance accepts values greater than 0 m and up to 10,000 m. Bearing / angle accepts values between 0° and 360°.

Editing a Mass

Once a Mass is selected, Enter opens it for editing.

Enter (Mass selected in Select) Open the Mass for editing

Esc (face or split line selected) Return to selecting the whole Mass

Esc (no operation active) Return to Select while keeping the Mass selected

Selecting storey bands

Storey bands can be selected individually or as a continuous range.

Ctrl + click a band Add the band to, or remove it from, the selection

Shift + click a band Select a continuous range of bands

Esc Clear the band selection and show the gizmo again

Hide and Highlight

The Hide and Highlight tools use polygon drawing to define the area to be hidden or highlighted.

Left-click Add a polygon point

Click the first point, double-click or Enter Close the polygon (at least three points required)

Esc Clear the unfinished polygon; press again to stop drawing

The hide or highlight operation is applied as soon as the polygon is closed. Another area can then be drawn without leaving the tool.

Visibility tools and annotations

Some tools have their own keyboard controls, particularly when working with analysis results or editing annotations.

ZTV

Esc Clear selected targets while keeping session settings; press again with no targets selected to close the tool

Esc (cell popup open) Close the popup without deselecting the element

Dynamic Viewshed

Esc Close the tool and remove temporary observers and viewcones

Annotation text

Enter Start a new line

To save an annotation edit, click outside the text field. Enter starts a new line rather than confirming the text.