Keystroke shortcuts, or hotkeys, provide quick access to the features of Nuke. The following tables show these keystrokes.
The following conventions apply to instructions for mouse-clicks and key presses.
• LMB means click or press the left mouse button.
• MMB means click or press the middle mouse button
• RMB means click or press the right mouse button.
• When you see the word “drag” after a mouse button abbreviation (i.e., “MMB drag”), this tells you to press and hold the mouse button while dragging the mouse pointer.
• Keystroke combinations with the Ctrl, Alt, and Shift keys tell you to press and hold the key and then type the specified letter.
For example, “Press Ctrl+S” means hold down the Ctrl key, press S, and then release both keys.
NOTE: On Mac OS X, replace the Ctrl key with the Cmd key.
NOTE: Keystrokes in the tables appear in upper case, but you do not type them as upper case. If the Shift+modifier does not appear before the letter, just press the letter key alone.
NOTE: This section assumes you are using the default keyboard and mouse-button assignments. If the mouse buttons do not work for you as described here, try resetting the mouse control type back to the standard Nuke setting (Edit > Preferences > Viewers > 3D Control Type = Nuke).
Keystroke(s) |
Action |
/ |
Search by node name or class. |
Alt+G |
Go to a specific frame. |
Alt+I |
Display script information, such as the node count, channel count, cache usage, and whether the script is in full-res or proxy mode. |
Alt+S |
Make the active (floating) window fullscreen. |
Alt+Shift+S |
Save script and increment version number. (See also Shift+Ctrl+S under Viewers.) |
Ctrl+F# |
Save current window layout. The # represents a function key number, F1 through F6. |
Ctrl+I |
Open new Viewer window. |
Ctrl+LMB on panel name |
Float panel. |
Ctrl+N |
Launch a new project window in a new instance of Nuke. |
Ctrl+O |
Open a script file. |
Ctrl+Q |
Exit Nuke. |
Ctrl+T |
Cycle through tabs in the current pane. Note that this does not work if the focus is on the input pane of the Script Editor. |
Ctrl+U |
Enable or disable previewing output on an external broadcast video monitor. |
Ctrl+Y |
Redo last action. |
Ctrl+Z |
Undo last action. |
Shift+Ctrl+S |
Save script and specify name (Save As). (See also Alt+Shift+S under Viewers.) |
Shift+S |
Open the Nuke Preferences dialog. |
Space bar (short press) |
Expand the focused panel to the full window. |
Space bar (long press) |
Raise the right-click menu. |
Tab |
Auto-complete Python commands in the Script Editor. |
Keystroke(s) |
Action |
up or down arrow |
Increment (up) or decrement (down) the value in a parameter field. Click first on the field or press Tab to move focus to the parameter. |
Alt+LMB on a close (x) button |
Close all properties panels in the Properties Bin. |
Alt+LMB drag |
Increment (drag left) or decrement (drag right) while dragging over the value in a parameter field. |
Alt+R or Ctrl+R |
Fit Properties Bin to open panels. |
Ctrl+A |
Select all nodes in the Properties Bin. |
Ctrl+Enter (NUM) |
Close the current panel. |
Ctrl+LMB |
Reset slider value to default. |
Ctrl+LMB on a close (x) button |
Close all properties panels in the Properties Bin except the one clicked on. |
Ctrl+LMB drag |
Link values between parameter fields. |
Ctrl+Return |
Close panel (no parameters selected). |
Ctrl+Tab or Shift+Ctrl+Tab |
Move to next tabbed page (Ctrl+Tab) or the previous tabbed page (Shift+Ctrl+Tab) in the properties panel. |
LMB drag |
Copy the current value from one parameter field to another. |
MMB drag on a numeric field | Activate a virtual slider. |
Return |
Chooses selected UI control (default = OK). |
Shift+Ctrl+A |
Close all open properties panels. |
Shift+LMB drag |
Copy animation (curve or expression) from one parameter field to another. |
Tab or Shift+Tab |
Move focus to next (Tab) or previous (Shift+Tab) parameter. May need to click on a parameter first, to establish the focus inside the properties panel. |
Keystroke(s) |
Action |
+ |
Zoom-in (= also zooms-in). See also LMB+MMB. |
- |
Zoom-out. |
\ |
Snaps all nodes to the grid. (See also Shift+\). |
# |
Opens a new Viewer window with # representing the number of the connection (0 to 9) you want to establish between the new Viewer and the selected node. |
. |
Inserts Dot node. |
up or down arrow |
Selects the previous or next node in the tree. |
Alt+up arrow |
Increment the version number in the selected node’s file name. |
Alt+down arrow |
Decrement the version number in the selected node’s file name. |
Alt+# |
Zoom-out by a specific percentage. The # represents a number between 0 and 9, with 0=10%, 1=100%, 2=50%, 3=30%, 4=25%, 5=20%, 6=16%, 7=14%, 8=12%, and 9=11%. |
Alt+B |
Duplicate and branch selected nodes. |
Alt+C |
Duplicate selected nodes. |
Alt+F |
Generate flipbook for selected node using FrameCycler. |
Alt+K |
Clone selected nodes. |
Alt+LMB drag |
Pan workspace. |
Alt+MMB drag |
Zoom-in / zoom-out workspace. |
Alt+Shift+K |
Remove selected nodes from clone group (declone). |
Alt+Shift+U |
Splay last selected node to input A. |
Alt+U |
Splay first selected node to input A. |
B |
Insert Filter Blur node. |
C |
Insert a ColorCorrect node. |
Ctrl |
Display connector dots. Drag one to set a dot and create an “elbow.” |
Ctrl+create node |
Replace selected node with the newly created node. NOTE: This does not work if you are creating the new node using a hotkey, such as T to create a Transform node. |
Ctrl+down arrow |
Move selected node downstream. |
Ctrl+up arrow |
Move selected node upstream. |
Ctrl+# |
Zoom-in by a specific percentage. The # represents a number between 0 and 9, with 0=1000%, 1=100%, 2=200%, 3=300%, 4=400%, 5=500%, 6=600%, 7=700%, 8=800%, and 9=900%. |
Ctrl+G |
Nest selected nodes inside a Group node, replacing the original nodes with the Group. |
Ctrl+Alt+LMB on a node |
Open the node’s properties panel in a floating window. |
Ctrl+Alt+G |
Replace selected Group node with the nodes nested inside it. |
Ctrl+A |
Select all nodes in the Node Graph or group window. |
Ctrl+B |
Node buffer toggle. When this is on, the output from the node is cached or kept in memory, so that it can be read quickly. A yellow line displays under the node to indicate that the caching is on. |
Ctrl+C |
Copy selected nodes. |
Ctrl+D |
Disconnect upstream node from selected node. |
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+G |
Nest selected nodes inside a Group node, keeping the original nodes in the layout. Ctrl+Enter opens the new Group node. |
Ctrl+LMB on a node |
Highlight all upstream nodes. |
Ctrl+P |
Toggle proxy resolution, as defined on the Settings properties panel. (See also Ctrl+P under Viewers.) |
Ctrl+Return |
Open window for selected group node. |
Ctrl+Shift+/ |
Opens the Search and Replace dialog for the selected Read or Write nodes. |
Ctrl+Alt+A on a node |
Select all nodes in the node tree |
Ctrl+Shift+LMB on a node |
Select all upstream nodes. |
Ctrl+W |
Close current script file. |
D |
Disable / enable selected node. |
Delete |
Remove selected nodes. |
F |
Fit the selected nodes (or if no nodes are selected, the entire node tree) to the Node Graph panel or group window. |
F12 |
Clear buffers. |
G |
insert a Grade node. |
I |
Display information for selected node. |
K |
Insert Copy node. Note that for this to work, you first need to click on the Node Graph to select it. If you have selected the Viewer, pressing K stops playback. (See K under Appendix A: Hotkeys.) |
LMB+MMB |
Drag to zoom in the Node Graph. |
M |
Insert Merge node. |
MMB |
Hold and drag to pan in the Node Graph. Click to fit selected nodes (or entire tree) to screen. |
N |
Rename the selected node. |
O |
Insert Roto node. |
P |
Insert RotoPaint node. |
R |
Insert a Read node. NOTE: Pressing R with an existing Read node selected, opens the file browser at the location specified by that node. |
Return |
Open panel for selected node(s). |
Shift+\ |
Snaps selected node to the grid. (See also \ under Appendix A: Hotkeys.) |
Shift+0, 1, 2, 3, ... |
Connect the selected node to Viewer as reference input. |
Shift+create node |
Create a node in a new branch of the node tree. |
Shift+drag |
Duplicate selected arrow. |
Shift+A |
Insert an AddMix node. |
Shift+Ctrl+C |
Set color for selected nodes. |
Shift+Ctrl+X |
Extract selected nodes. |
Shift+U |
Splay selected nodes to last selected node. |
Shift+X |
Swap A/B inputs on selected node. |
Shift+Y |
Connect second selected node to the output of the first selected node. |
Tab |
Open a text field where you can enter the first letters of a node name to bring up a list of matches. Press Return to insert a node from the list. |
T |
Insert a Transform node. |
U |
Splay selected nodes to first selected node. |
W |
Insert a Write node. |
Y |
Connect first selected node to the output of the second selected node. |
Keystroke(s) |
Action |
Alt+Ctrl+V |
Paste knob values. |
Backspace |
Erase or Delete Left. |
Ctrl+B |
Left justify selected text. |
Ctrl+C |
Copy. |
Ctrl+E |
Move cursor to end of selected text. |
Ctrl+F |
Right justify selected text. |
Ctrl+K |
Delete text from the cursor to the next space. |
Ctrl+N |
Bottom justify selected text. |
Ctrl+P |
Top justify selected text. |
Ctrl+V |
Paste. |
Ctrl+X |
Cut. |
Shift+Ctrl+V |
Paste (see Ctrl+V). |
Keystroke(s) |
Action |
- |
Zoom-out. (See also LMB+MMB.) |
+ |
Zoom-in (= also zooms-in). |
. |
Gain display, increase. |
; (semicolon) |
Switch to the previous view in a multi-view project. |
‘ (forward single quote) |
Switch to the next view in a multi-view project. |
! |
Turn on Viewer “blend,” split-screen display. (See also W under Viewers for toggle on/off). |
{ |
Show / hide top toolbar. |
} |
Show / hide bottom toolbar. |
0, 1, 2, 3, ... |
Establish a numbered connection (1 - 9, 0) between the selected node and the active Viewer. Displays the node’s output in that Viewer. |
Shift+0, 1, 2, 3, ... |
Connect reference inputs to Viewer. |
Numeric keypad |
Nudge on-screen controls left, right, up, or down. (See also Shift+numeric keypad under Appendix A: Hotkeys.) |
Right arrow |
Step forward one frame. |
Left arrow |
Step back one frame. |
, (comma) |
Gain display, decrease. |
‘ (accent key) |
Show / hide all Viewers. |
A |
Display the alpha channel or the channel displayed in the list at the top of the Viewer. |
Alt+left arrow |
Previous keyframe. |
Alt+right arrow |
Next keyframe. |
Alt+# |
Zoom-out by a specific percentage. The # represents a number between 0 and 9, with 0=10%, 1=100%, 2=50%, 3=30%, 4=25%, 5=20%, 6=16%, 7=14%, 8=12%, and 9=11%. |
Alt+G |
Go to specific frame. |
Alt+LMB drag |
Pan inside the Viewer window. |
Alt+MMB drag |
Zoom in (drag right) or out (drag left) in the Viewer window. |
Alt+P |
Open the controls of the currently active Viewer process. |
Alt+R |
Resize Viewer to image (see also Ctrl+R under Viewers). |
Alt+Shift+R |
Resize Viewer and image to fit frame. |
Alt+W |
Activate the ROI feature, or if a ROI exists, clear the current ROI. Drag to define a new ROI. (See also Shift+W under Appendix A: Hotkeys.) |
Alt+Z |
Toggle lock/unlock the Viewer to a specified zoom level for all inputs. |
B |
Display blue channel / RGB toggle. |
Backspace |
Cycle through Viewer inputs in reverse order. If wipe is active, cycles through inputs on the left-hand side. |
Ctrl+right arrow |
Move to midpoint between current frame and next keyframe/last frame. |
Ctrl+left arrow |
Move to midpoint between current frame and previous keyframe/first frame. |
Ctrl+# |
Zoom-in by a specific percentage. The # represents a number between 0 and 9, with 0=1000%, 1=100%, 2=200%, 3=300%, 4=400%, 5=500%, 6=600%, 7=700%, 8=800%, and 9=900%. |
Ctrl+Alt+LMB |
Sample a single pixel’s color value from the node’s input while viewing its output. (See also Ctrl+LMB under Appendix A: Hotkeys.) |
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+LMB |
Sample range of pixels from the node’s input while viewing its output. (See also Ctrl+Shift+LMB under Appendix A: Hotkeys.) |
Ctrl+LMB |
Sample a single pixel’s color value from the Viewer. (See also Ctrl+Alt+LMB under Appendix A: Hotkeys.) |
Ctrl+P |
With the mouse pointer over the Viewer, this keystroke toggles pixel aspect ratio between square and non-square, according to the setting of the default format under the Settings properties panel. This is not the same as toggling proxy resolution (see also Ctrl+P under Appendix A: Hotkeys). |
Ctrl+R |
Resize Viewer window to image (see Alt+R under Appendix A: Hotkeys). |
Ctrl+Shift+LMB |
Sample range of pixels from the Viewer. (See also Ctrl+Alt+Shift+LMB under Appendix A: Hotkeys.) |
Ctrl+U |
Enable or disable previewing output on an external broadcast video monitor. |
End |
Go to last frame. |
Esc |
Close Viewer. |
F |
Fit image to Viewer. |
G |
Display green channel / RGB toggle. |
H |
Fill image in Viewer. |
J |
Play backward. |
K |
Stop playback. Note that for this to work, you first need to click on the Viewer to select it. If you have selected the Node Graph, pressing K inserts a Copy node. (See K under Appendix A: Hotkeys.) |
L |
Play forward. |
LMB+MMB |
Drag to zoom in the Viewer. |
M |
Display Matte, or alpha channel as transparent overlay. |
MMB |
Drag to pan inside the Viewer window. Click to fit Viewer to frame. |
O |
Show / hide overlays. |
P |
Disable (pause) the display refresh of the Viewer. |
R |
Display red channel / RGB toggle. |
RMB (or press and hold the spacebar) |
Display Viewer menu. |
S |
Display Viewer Settings dialog. |
Shift+left arrow |
Move left on the timeline by the specified increment amount. |
Shift+right arrow |
Move right on the timeline by the specified increment amount. |
Shift+A |
Display “other” channel / RGB toggle. Current input only. (Default = Alpha). |
Shift+B |
Display Blue channel / RGB toggle. Current input only. |
Shift+Backspace |
Activate Wipe. Cycle images on right side. |
Shift+Ctrl+R |
Resize Viewer to maximum and fit image. |
Shift+F |
Maximum Viewer window toggle. |
Shift+G |
Display Green channel / RGB toggle. Current input only. |
Shift+L |
Display Luminance / RGB toggle. Current input only. |
Shift+M |
Display Matte / RGB toggle. Current input only. |
Shift+numeric keypad |
Nudge on-screen controls left, right, up, or down by increment. (See also Numeric keypad under Appendix A: Hotkeys.) |
Shift+R |
Display Red channel / RGB toggle. Current input only. |
Shift+W |
Region of interest (ROI) toggle. (See also Alt+W under Appendix A: Hotkeys.) |
Tab |
2D / 3D view toggle. |
U |
Update Viewer display. Used when Pause is active (press P). |
W |
Toggles Viewer “blend,” split-screen display, on/off. This was previously called the “wipe” mode. (See also ! under Appendix A: Hotkeys). |
Keystroke(s) |
Action |
Alt+LMB |
Translate Viewer perspective on y (drag up/down) or z (drag left/right). |
Alt+MMB |
Zoom Viewer perspective in (drag right) or out (drag left). |
Alt+RMB |
Rotate Viewer perspective on x (drag up/down) or y (drag left/right). |
Ctrl+LMB |
Rotate Viewer perspective on x (drag up/down) or y (drag left/right). Ctrl+LMB on the 3D view mode button activates Interactive mode. |
Ctrl+L |
Toggle between Unlocked and Locked 3D view mode for selected Camera or Light. (See Ctrl+LMB if you want to activate the Interactive mode.) |
Ctrl+Shift+LMB |
Rotate Viewer perspective on z. |
Shift+C |
3D view, bottom orthographic. |
Shift+X |
3D view, left-side orthographic. |
Shift+Z |
3D view, back orthographic. |
Tab |
3D / 2D view toggle. |
V |
3D view, perspective. |
X |
3D view, right-side orthographic. |
Z |
3D view, front-side orthographic. |
Keystroke(s) |
Action |
C |
Toggle between Clone and Reveal tools. |
Ctrl+A |
Select all points. |
Ctrl+Alt+click (when editing a stroke/shape) |
Add a point to a stroke/shape. |
Ctrl+click (when editing points) |
Break tangent handles for selected points. |
Backspace (on the stroke/shape list) |
Delete an item from the stroke/shape list. Note that if the RotoPaint node is selected in the Node Graph, pressing Backspace deletes the entire node. |
Ctrl+click (when drawing a Bezier or B-spline shape) |
Sketch a Bezier or a B-spline shape. |
Ctrl+drag (when the Clone or Reveal Tool is active) |
Set the offset between the source and destination. |
Ctrl+Shift+drag (when the B-spline Tool is active) |
Increase (drag right) and decrease (drag left) tension of the B-spline shape. |
Ctrl+Shift (when the transform box is active) |
Drag the transform box points to move them. |
D |
Toggle between Dodge and Burn tools. |
Delete |
Remove selected points. |
E |
Increase feather for selected points. |
I |
Pick color. |
N |
Toggle between Brush and Eraser tools. |
Q |
Toggle between Select All, Select Curves and Select Points tools. |
Return (when the Bezier or B-spline tool is active) |
Close shape. |
Shift+click (when drawing a Bezier shape) |
Create a sharp point on the previous point. |
Shift+click (when editing points in a stroke/shape) |
Bring up a transform box for the points selected. |
Shift+drag (when editing points in a Bezier or B-spline shape) |
Move both tangent handles at the same time. |
Shift+drag (when the Brush, Eraser, Clone or Reveal tool is active) |
Change brush size. |
Shift+E |
Remove feather outline from selected points. |
Shift+Z |
Make selected points linear (Cusp). |
T (when Select tool active) |
Display a transform box (for points) or a transform jack (for a whole shapes). |
T (when Clone tool active) |
Show/hide source as onion skin with transform box/jack. |
Z |
Make tangent handles horizontal on selected points (Smooth). |
V |
Toggle between Bezier, B-Spline, Ellipse and Rectangle tools. |
X |
Toggle between Blur, Sharpen, and Smear tools. |
Keystroke(s) |
Action |
Alt+D |
Toggle the always in the Dope Sheet box on the node’s properties panel. When active, the node always displays in the Dope Sheet, instead of just displaying when its properties panel is open. |
Alt+LMB drag |
Pan inside the Curve Editor or Dope Sheet. |
Alt+Shift+LMB drag |
Move a single point, leaving any other selected points where they are. |
Alt+MMB drag |
Variable zoom: zoom in or out on the x or y axis only. |
C |
Change interpolation of selected control points to Cubic. |
Ctrl+A |
Select all curves. |
Ctrl+Alt+LMB |
Add a point to the current curve. In the Dope Sheet, add a keyframe. |
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+LMB drag |
Sketch points freely on the current curve. |
Ctrl+C |
Copy selected keys. |
Ctrl+E |
Copy expressions. |
Ctrl+L |
Copy links. |
Ctrl+LMB drag |
Remove horizontal/vertical constraint on moving points. |
Hold down Ctrl+Shift |
Hide points to make it easier to click on the selection box or transform jack. |
Ctrl+V |
Paste curve. |
Ctrl+X |
Cut selected keys. |
H |
Change interpolation of selected control points to Horizontal. |
K |
Change interpolation of selected control points to Constant. |
L |
Change interpolation of selected control points to Linear. |
LMB |
Select a single point on the curve. |
LMB+MMB |
Drag to zoom in the Curve Editor. |
LMB drag on blank space |
Draw a box to select multiple points. |
LMB drag on a point |
Move all selected points. |
LMB drag on a selection box |
Resize a selection box and scale the points inside. |
LMB drag on a transform jack |
Move all points inside the selection box. |
MMB or F |
Fit selection in the window. |
MMB drag |
Draw a box around an area and zoom to fit that area in the Editor. |
R |
Change interpolation of selected control points to Catmull-Rom. |
Shift+Ctrl+C |
Copy selected curves. |
Shift+LMB |
Add or remove points to/from selection. |
Shift+LMB drag |
Draw box to add/remove points to/from selection. |
X |
Break selected control points’ handles. |
Z |
Change interpolation of selected control points to Smooth (Bezier). |
Keystroke(s) |
Action |
Ctrl+[ |
Step back to the previous statement. |
Ctrl+] |
Step forward to the next statement. |
Ctrl+Backspace |
Clear output pane. |
Ctrl+Enter (numeric keypad) |
Run the script in the Editor. |
Ctrl+Return |
Run the script in the Editor. |
Ctrl+Shift+[ |
Decrease the indentation level of selected text. |
Ctrl+Shift+] |
Increase the indentation level of selected text. |
Shift+Tab |
Decrease the indentation level. |
Tab |
Increase the indentation level. |
Keystroke(s) |
Action |
MMB |
Repeat the last item used from the menu. |
Keystroke(s) |
Action |
Ctrl+LMB |
Open the selected menu item in a floating window. |
Keystroke(s) |
Action |
Drag right or left (ona slider label or arrow button) |
Scrub the value up or down. |
Alt on a color wheel |
Activate absolute cursor positioning. |
Alt+drag right or left (on a slider label or arrow button) |
Scrub the value up or down slowly. |
Alt+LMB (on a slider label or arrow button) |
Decrement the value by 0.001. |
Alt+RMB (on a slider label or arrow button) |
Increment the value by 0.001. |
Ctrl on a color wheel |
Only affect the hue of the selected color. |
Ctrl+Shift+drag right or left on a color wheel |
Only affect the value of the selected color. |
LMB (on a slider label or arrow button) |
Decrement the value by 0.01. |
RMB (on a slider label or arrow button) |
Increment the value by 0.01. |
Shift+drag right or left (on a slider label or arrow button) |
Scrub the value up or down fast. |
Shift+LMB (on a slider label or arrow button) |
Decrement the value by 0.1. |
Shift+RMB (on a slider label or arrow button) |
Increment the value by 0.1. |
Shift on a color wheel |
Only affect the saturation of the selected color. |