Controls tab within the Options menu, listing the keyboard shortcuts in the game.
Keyboard shortcuts are keys or combinations of keys that can be used to quickly perform one of the specific preprogrammed actions. They involve moving the camera, constructing or demolishing buildings, opening in-game menus, toggling tools/modes (like copy tool), etc. All actions that can be bound to key combinations already have their default keyboard shortcuts assigned to them, though most of them can be individually adjusted to the player's preferences.
Keyboard shortcuts are listed and can be changed within the Options menu, in its Controls tab. Options and controls can be accessed from the main menu of the game or from the pause menu available during the gameplay. To assign a different key combination to a specific action, it is necessary to click the shortcut next to appropriate action and then press the desired key combination on the keyboard.
List of keyboard shortcuts[]
The table below presents all shortcuts available in the Options menu, listing available actions and default key combinations assigned to them. Some of the shortcuts cannot be customised, as indicated in the Comments column of the table.
| Default key combination | Function | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + S | Save Game | |
| PrintScreen | Screenshot | Not customisable |
| Keypad - | Decrease Game Speed | |
| Keypad + | Increase Game Speed | |
| Up | Pan Camera Forward | |
| Down | Pan Camera Backward | |
| Left | Pan Camera Left | |
| Right | Pan Camera Right | |
| Z | Rotate Camera Left | |
| X | Rotate Camera Right | |
| PageUp | Zoom Camera In | |
| PageDown | Zoom Camera Out | |
| B | Toggle Build Menu | |
| N | Toggle Ship List | |
| V | Toggle Blueprint Mode | |
| M | Toggle Move Mode | |
| C | Toggle Copy Mode | |
| D | Toggle Demolish Mode | |
| P | Toggle Pause | |
| L | Toggle Infolayer | |
| Ctrl + G | Toggle HUD | |
| Delete | Destroy Selected Object | |
| S | Build Road | |
| Shift + S | Build Street | |
| W | Build Warehouse | |
| H | Build Residence | |
| G | Build Farmfield | |
| R | Toggle diplomacy menu | |
| T | Toggle trade routes menu | |
| A | Toogle company menu | |
| , | Rotate Building Left | |
| . | Rotate Building Right | |
| Shift + V | Change Appearance | |
| K | Open Storage | |
| U | Upgrade Selection/Upgrade Mode | |
| Shift + U | Upgrade All | |
| F | Pause Production of Selected Building | |
| Shift + F | Pause All Production of Selected Type | |
| Tab | Jump to Next Ship | |
| Tab + Shift | Select Next Ship | |
| Space | Show/Hide World Map | |
| Shift + Space | Jump to Selection | |
| F1 | Toggle Postcard View | |
| F3 | Auto Rotate Camera | |
| Home | Reset Camera Position | |
| F5 | Jump to Camera Position #1 | |
| Ctrl + F5 | Store Camera Position #1 | |
| F6 | Jump to Camera Position #2 | |
| Ctrl + F6 | Store Camera Position #2 | |
| F7 | Jump to Camera Position #3 | |
| Ctrl + F7 | Store Camera Position #3 | |
| F8 | Jump to Camera Position #4 | |
| Ctrl + F8 | Store Camera Position #4 | |
| F9 | Jump to Camera Position #5 and Rotate | |
| Ctrl + F9 | Store Camera Position #5 | |
| F10 | Jump to Camera Position #6 and Rotate | |
| Ctrl + F10 | Store Camera Position #6 | |
| 1 | Select Group #1 | Not customisable |
| Ctrl + 1 | Create Group #1 From Selection | Not customisable |
| 2 | Select Group #2 | Not customisable |
| Ctrl + 2 | Create Group #2 From Selection | Not customisable |
| 3 | Select Group #3 | Not customisable |
| Ctrl + 3 | Create Group #3 From Selection | Not customisable |
| 4 | Select Group #4 | Not customisable |
| Ctrl + 4 | Create Group #4 From Selection | Not customisable |
| 5 | Select Group #5 | Not customisable |
| Ctrl + 5 | Create Group #5 From Selection | Not customisable |
| 6 | Select Group #6 | Not customisable |
| Ctrl + 6 | Create Group #6 From Selection | Not customisable |
| 7 | Select Group #7 | Not customisable |
| Ctrl + 7 | Create Group #7 From Selection | Not customisable |
| 8 | Select Group #8 | Not customisable |
| Ctrl + 8 | Create Group #8 From Selection | Not customisable |
| 9 | Select Group #9 | Not customisable |
| Ctrl + 9 | Create Group #9 From Selection | Not customisable |
| 0 | Select Group #0 | Not customisable |
| Ctrl + 0 | Create Group #0 From Selection | Not customisable |
| Return | Confirm | Not customisable |
| Escape | Close Window | Not customisable |
| Escape | Cancel/Open Game Menu | Not customisable |
| Shift + F2 | Toggle Uplay Overlay | Not customisable |
| Alt + F4 | Quit Game | Not customisable |
| Return | Show Chat | Not customisable |
| F11 | Push-To-Talk | |
| Ctrl + Q | Open Production Statistics | |
| Ctrl + W | Open Storage Statistics | |
| Ctrl + E | Open Finance Statistics | |
| Ctrl + R | Open Population Statistics | |
| Ctrl + T | Open Item Management View | |
| Ctrl + Y | Open Ship Breakdown | |
| Keypad 1 | Enter "The Old World" | |
| Keypad 2 | Enter "The New World" | |
| Keypad 3 | Enter "Cape Trelawney" | |
| Keypad 4 | Enter "The Arctic" | |
| Keypad 5 | Enter "Enbesa" | |
| Ctrl + D | Donate to Science | |
| J | Jump to Next Ruin | |
| Shift + G | Change Ornament Grass Colour | |
| I | Add Floor to Selection / Add Floor Mode | |
| Shift + I | Add Floor to All | |
| Alt + Space | Jump to Last Notification | |
| E | Toggle Skin Painter Mode | |
| O | Toggle Stamp Mode |
Additional uses for keys[]
Hovering over the Upgrade tool shows information about how to use it and about keys which can improve or modify the tool's function.
In addition to shortcuts listed in the Options menu, there are some other keys that can also be used during gameplay. They might help with using some in-game menus faster or can modify the function of the currently toggled tool. The infotips, which appear when hovering over many in-game buttons, typically contain information about appropriate keys that can be used with combination of the button/tool. The situations in which such keys are available include:
- Transferring goods from a ship's slot directly to island's storage is possible by left-clicking on the slot while holding Ctrl.
- Changing skins of buildings with the Skin Painter: holding Shift while clicking and dragging over an area changes the skins of applicable buildings to the same skin used by the first selected building; holding Alt while selecting an area changes the appearance of buildings to the previous skin instead of the next one.
- Downgrading buildings with the Upgrade tool: using the Upgrade tool while holding Alt allows to downgrade selected buildings instead of upgrading them.
- Highlighting residences or skyscrapers of the same tier and level: holding Shift while having a residence selected highlights all buildings of the same type on the island
- Jumping to a ship from Trade Routes menu: holding Ctrl and left-clicking on a ship within the Trade Routes menu allows to jump to that ship's location.
- While setting up a trade route, copying the configuration of one cargo slot to other cargo slots is possible by left-clicking on the slot while holding Shift.