Keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts in Tekla Structural Designer are described in the tables below.
General keyboard shortcuts
Keys that perform general functions in Tekla Structural Designer are listed below.
Key | Function |
---|---|
F1 | Displays the Tekla Structural Designer Help. |
Ctrl | Holding down Ctrl while selecting entities adds the new entities to the current selection. |
Esc | Cancels the current command. |
Ctrl+D | Runs the model validation process - on completion the Project Workspace switches to the Status page if not already active. |
Ctrl+F | Opens the Find dialog |
Ctrl+O | Open a file |
Ctrl+P | Open/close the Process Window |
Ctrl+N | Starts a new file |
Keyboard shortcuts in 2D and 3D Views
The following keys function as described below in the Structural View and other graphical views.
Key | Function |
---|---|
ZA | Zooms to the extents of the model. |
ZS | Zooms to the selected entities. Note: Prior to using this shortcut, at least one
entity must be selected in order for the command to zoom
to it.
|
Z1 | Zooms to 1m (3ft) area around the cursor. |
Z2 | Zooms to 2m (6ft) area around the cursor. |
Z3 | Zooms to 3m (9ft) area around the cursor. |
Up/Down arrow keys | Allows you to scroll between entities in
the Select Entity tooltip when Tekla Structural Designer has detected multiple entities. ![]() |
Ctrl | Holding down Ctrl while selecting entities adds the new entities to the current selection. |
Ctrl+C | First make a selection of entities then press Ctrl+C to start the copy operation. |
Ctrl+R,1..6 | To change the view regime press the Ctrl+R followed by a number key from 1 to 6 to activate the associated view regime as follows (note this only functions with the number keys above keyboard letter keys, not the numpad) : 1 = Structural View, 2 = Solver View, 3 = Results View, 4 = Wind View (only if Wind model exists), 5 = Review View, 6 = Slab Deflection View. |
Ctrl+T | For any planar view, press Ctrl+T to toggle between 2D and 3D view options. |
F2 |
Whenever
you are prompted to pick a point, the Data Entry tooltip displays the co-ordinates at the cursor
position.
![]() Pressing
F2 enables keyboard input of the exact
co-ordinates required.
![]() |
F3 | The active co-ordinate system is indicated in the Status
bar:
|
F8 | Switches between displaying and hiding the
ViewCube in 3D views.![]() |
Keyboard shortcuts in Properties windows
Keys that perform specific functions in any Properties window are described below.
Key | Function |
---|---|
Up/Down arrow keys | Move between different properties and navigate within combo-box drop-down lists. |
Tab | Tab - Enter or leave (and save) property editing mode. |
Space | Space - Toggle check-boxes and expand
combo-boxes.![]() |
Enter | Select and save property editing. |

Key | Function |
---|---|
A |
Press A to cycle through attributes in the [A]ttibute list. Tip: If this doesn't work it is probably
because the focus is in the Properties window. Click the Review View to makes it active
and try again.
|
M |
Press M to cycle through modes in the [M]ode list. Tip: If this doesn't work it is probably
because the focus is in the Properties window. Click the Review View to makes it active
and try again.
|
Keyboard shortcuts in tree structures
Keys that perform specific functions in any tree structure are described below.
Key | Function |
---|---|
Right/Left arrow keys | Expand and collapse headings. ![]() |
Keyboard shortcuts to the Quick Access Toolbar


Keyboard shortcuts to ribbon commands
All commands on the ribbon toolbars can be accessed from the keyboard after pressing the Alt key.
- Press Alt then the appropriate letters (summarized in the table below) to open the
required ribbon toolbar.
- Press the appropriate letter(s) for the command you want to run.
Example: Press Alt HFN to open the Home toolbar and run the Find command shown above.
Toolbar | Shortcut |
---|---|
File |
Press Alt AP then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |
Home |
Press Alt H then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |
BIM Integration |
Press Alt B then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |
Model |
Press Alt M then the letter(s) shown against the required command. . |
Edit |
Press Alt E then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |
Load |
Press Alt LO then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |
Analyze |
Press Alt AN then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |
Design |
Press Alt DE then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |
Slab Deflection |
Press Alt SL then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |
Foundations |
Press Alt FO then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |
Report |
Press Alt RE then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |
Draw |
Press Alt DR then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |
Windows |
Press Alt W then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |
Loading Analysis |
Press Alt LA then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |
Results |
Press Alt RS then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |
Review |
Press Alt RV then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |
Review Data |
Press Alt RV then the letter(s) shown against the required command. |