Adobe Substance 3D Painter keyboard shortcuts
Substance 3D Painter combines editable application shortcuts with fixed mouse and layer-stack controls. This reference separates tools, viewport navigation, painting gestures, masks, layers, and project commands so each chord keeps its working context.
Windows, macOS · 90 shortcutsApplication and projects
These editable commands manage files, interface modes, baking, export, and the application's main workspaces.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Show or hide the interface | Tab | Tab |
| Undo | CtrlZ | CmdZ |
| Redo | CtrlY | CmdY |
| Open Baking mode | F8 | F8 |
| Open Painting mode | F9 | F9 |
| Open Rendering mode | F10 | F10 |
| Open a project | CtrlO | CmdO |
| Close the project | CtrlF4 | CmdW |
| Save the project | CtrlS | CmdS |
| Create a new project | CtrlN | CmdN |
| Quit Substance 3D Painter | AltF4 | CmdQ |
| Open Bake Mesh Maps | CtrlShiftB | CmdShiftB |
| Open Export Textures | CtrlShiftE | CmdShiftE |
Tools and manipulator
Number keys select paint tools. Q, W, E, and R control the transform manipulator, with Shift variants for surface placement and warping.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Show the manipulator | Q | Q |
| Increase manipulator size | + | + |
| Decrease manipulator size | - | - |
| Cycle manipulator coordinate spaces | T | T |
| Toggle Warp transform and Edit vertices modes | ShiftV | ShiftV |
| Activate translation | W | W |
| Activate rotation | E | E |
| Activate scaling | R | R |
| Activate the surface tool | ShiftW | ShiftW |
| Toggle symmetry | L | L |
| Pause or resume engine computation | ShiftEsc | ShiftEsc |
| Activate Paint | 1 | 1 |
| Activate Paint with particles | Ctrl1 | Cmd1 |
| Activate Eraser | 2 | 2 |
| Activate Eraser with particles | Ctrl2 | Cmd2 |
| Activate Projection | 3 | 3 |
| Activate Projection with particles | Ctrl3 | Cmd3 |
| Activate Polygon Fill | 4 | 4 |
| Activate Smudge | 5 | 5 |
| Activate Clone with a relative source | 6 | 6 |
| Activate Clone with an absolute source | Ctrl6 | Cmd6 |
Painting and stencils
These editable and fixed chords adjust the active brush, draw constrained strokes, position stencils, and set a clone source.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Increase brush size | ] | ] |
| Decrease brush size | [ | [ |
| Invert the current grayscale value | X | X |
| Pick a material | P | P |
| Toggle Lazy Mouse | D | D |
| Paint a stroke | Left click | Left click |
| Paint a straight line | ShiftLeft click | ShiftLeft click |
| Paint a snapped straight line | CtrlShiftLeft click | CmdShiftLeft click |
| Rotate the stencil | SLeft drag | SLeft drag |
| Rotate the stencil with snapping | ShiftSLeft drag | ShiftSLeft drag |
| Move the stencil | SMiddle drag | Not documented |
| Scale the stencil | SRight drag | SRight drag |
| Adjust brush size and hardness | CtrlRight drag | CmdRight drag |
| Adjust brush flow and rotation | CtrlLeft drag | CmdLeft drag |
| Set the clone source | VLeft click | VLeft click |
| Ignore the stencil while painting | N | N |
| Resume the previous stroke | A | A |
Camera and viewport
Camera drags use different modifier chords on Windows and macOS. View commands change projection, channel display, layout, or framing.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Rotate the camera | AltLeft drag | OptionLeft drag |
| Rotate the camera with snapping | AltShiftLeft drag | ShiftCmdLeft drag |
| Translate the camera | AltMiddle dragorCtrlAltLeft drag | OptionCmdLeft drag |
| Zoom the camera | AltRight drag | Middle drag |
| Hide or ignore geometry excluded by the Geometry Mask | AltH | OptionH |
| Use perspective projection | F5 | F5 |
| Use orthographic projection | F6 | F6 |
| Display the next channel | C | C |
| Display the previous channel | ShiftC | ShiftC |
| Display the full material | M | M |
| Display the next mesh map | B | B |
| Display the previous mesh map | ShiftB | ShiftB |
| Center the mesh in the viewport | F | F |
| Show 3D and 2D views | F1 | F1 |
| Show the 3D view | F2 | F2 |
| Show the 2D view | F3 | F3 |
| Swap the 3D and 2D viewports | F4 | F4 |
| Isolate the current Texture Set | AltQ | OptionQ |
| Rotate the environment | ShiftRight drag | ShiftRight drag |
| Set the Depth of Field autofocus point | CtrlMiddle click | Not documented |
| Select a Texture Set from the viewport | CtrlAltRight click | OptionCmdRight click |
| Open the viewport context menu | Right click | Right click |
Masks, layers, and animation
Quick-mask and animation commands are editable. Layer-stack clipboard commands are fixed defaults in Adobe's reference.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle Quick Mask | U | U |
| Clear the Quick Mask | Y | Y |
| Invert the Quick Mask | I | I |
| Play or pause animation | Space | Space |
| Copy the selected layer | CtrlC | CmdC |
| Cut the selected layer | CtrlX | CmdX |
| Paste a layer | CtrlV | CmdV |
| Delete the selected layer | Delete | Delete |
| Duplicate the selected layer | CtrlD | CmdD |
| Group selected layers | CtrlG | CmdG |
| Copy layer content | CtrlShiftC | OptionCmdC |
| Paste layer content | CtrlShiftV | OptionCmdV |
| Display a layer mask | AltLeft click | OptionLeft click |
| Enable or disable a layer mask | ShiftLeft click | ShiftLeft click |
| Drag a material without opening its menu | CtrlDrag | CmdDrag |
| Constrain or snap the manipulator | Shift | Shift |
| Mirror manipulator-point movement around its pivot | Ctrl | Cmd |