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Cinema 4D Shortcut Keys

by
School of Motion

Want to improve your workflow in Cinema 4D? Learn these hot keys!

The difference between a beginner and master in Cinema 4D often comes down to knowing your keyboard shortcuts and how to streamline your workflow. We're always pushing the community to LEARN THOSE HOT KEYS, so we decided to buckle down and put together our ultimate guide. If you want to add a little jet fuel to your 3D animation, this is the article you've been waiting for.

You'll want to have a basic understanding of Cinema 4D before diving in, just to provide context for all the keys we'll be listing below. Bookmark this page so you can always come back and refresh your memory. If there is a specific function you need to find, use Ctrl + F to search, or use the helpful links below.

[File] [General] [Object Manager] [Picture Preview] [Motion Tracking] [Project] [Material Manager] [Attribute Manager] [Timeline] [Key Interpolation] [BodyPaint] [Modeling] [Editor] [Sculpting] [Viewport] [Asset Browser] [Rendering]

For all shortcut keys, use CTRL for Windows-based PCs and CMD for MACs.

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Ultimate Guide to Cinema 4D Shortcut Keys

File (Open, Save, etc)

Function Shortcut Keys
New Ctrl + N
Add Shift + Ctrl + 0
Open Ctrl + 0
Close All Shift + Ctrl + S
Save As Shift + Ctrl + S
Save Ctrl + S
Quit Ctrl + Q

General

Function Shortcut Keys
Close Window or Project Shift + W
Close Window Ctrl + W
Close All Ctrl + Shift + W
Quit Ctrl + Q
Cut Ctrl + X
Copy Ctrl + C
Paste Ctrl + V
Delete Backspace
Select All Ctrl + A
Invert All Shift + A
Deselct All Ctrl + Shift + A
Undo Ctrl + Z
Undo Action Shift + Z
Redo Ctrl + Y
Commander Shift + C

Object Manager

Function Shortcut Keys
Merge Objects Shift + Ctrl + 0
Show Search Bar Ctrl + F
Show Fitter Ctrl + U
Project Information Ctrl + I
Group Objects Alt + G
Expand Object Group Shift + G
New Object as Parent Object Alt + Create Object
New Object as Child Object Shift + Create Object
Select Object, Including Child Objects Click with RMB

Picture Preview

Function Shortcut Keys
Render to Picture Viewer Shift + R
Fullscreen Mode Ctrl + F
Play Spacebar
Set as A A
Set as B B
Swap AB S
Set as Preview Start I
Set as Preview End O
Zoom In/Out +/-
Switch 100% and Fullscreen Double-Click

Motion Tracking

Function Shortcut Keys
Move Sequence Alt + MMB
Scale Sequence Alt + RMB
Sequence Fullscreen Alt + 0
Create User Track Ctrl + LMB
Lasso Selection LMB
Zoom Alt

Project

Function Shortcut Keys
Open Render Settings Ctrl + B
Open Project Settings Ctrl + D
Open Preferences Ctrl + E
Open Project Information Ctrl + I
Activate Object Manager Shift + F1
Activate Materials Manager Shift + F2
Open Timeline (Dope Sheet) Shift + F3
Open Layer Manager Shift + F4
Open Attributes Manager Shift + F5
Open Picture Viewer Shift + F6
Open Coordinates Manager Shift + F7
Activate Asset Browser Shift + F8
Activate Structure Manager Shift + F9
Open Console Shift + F10
Open Script Manager Shift + F11
Open Customize Commands Shift + F12
Open Heads Up Display pop-up V

Material Manager

Function Shortcut Keys
Load Materials Ctrl + Shift + O
New Material Ctrl + N
Replace Material by Another Alt + Drag and Drop
New PBR Material Ctrl + Shift + N
New Node Material Ctrl + Option + N

Attribute Manager

Function Shortcut Keys
Parameter to Default RMB + Arrow
Increase/Decrease Parameter Change Speed with Arrows Alt or Shift
New Attribute Manager Shift + F5

Timeline

Function Shortcut Keys
Open Timeline Window Shift + F3
Key Mode / F-Curve Mode Spacebar
Make New F-Curve Timeline with Selected Tracks Ctrl + Spacebar
Record Active Objects F9
Record Current State Q
Play Backwards / Stop F6
Stop Playback F7
Play Forwards / Stop F8
Autokeying Ctrl + F9
Add Keyframe to Selected Track at Current Time Q
Goto Start of Animation Shift + F
Goto Previous Key Ctrl + F
Goto Previous Frame F
Goto Next Key Ctrl + G
Goto Next Frame G
Goto End Shift + G
Goto First Key Ctrl + P
Goto Last Key Ctrl + 0
Frame Selected S
Frame All H
Goto Current Frame (Cursor Dependent) Ctrl + F
Goto Start Alt + F
Goto End Alt + G
Frame Preview Range Alt + H
Goto Next Marker Shift + N
Goto Previous Marker Shift + P
Goto First Marker Ctrl + Shift + P
Goto Last Marker Ctrl + Shift + 0
Region Tool R
Ripple Edit Alt + R
Automatic Mode Alt + A
Show Search Bar (Cursor Dependent) Ctrl + F
Show Filter Ctrl + U

Key Interpolation

Function Shortcut Keys
Auto Tangents A
Break Tangents B
Zero Angle (tangents) 0
Zero Length (tangents) L
Clamp C
Linear Alt + L
Step Alt + T
Soft Alt + 5
Ease In Alt + 1
Ease Ease Alt + E
Ease Out Alt + O

BodyPaint

Function Shortcut Keys
Rotate Brush Clockwise Alt + .
Rotate Brush Counterclockwise Alt + [
Increase Brush Size , or [
Decrease Brush Size . or ]
Increase Brush Hardness Shift + ]
Decrease Brush Hardness Shift + [
Increase Brush Pressure Ctrl + I
Decrease Brush Pressure Ctrl + [

Modeling

For these shortcuts, press the keys in the sequence described.

Function Shortcut Keys
Create Point M > A
Bridge B, M > B
Brush M > C
Close Polygon Hole M > D
Create Polygon M > E
Edge Cut M > F
Iron M > G
Knife K, M > K
Magnet M > I
Mirror M > H
Set Point Value M > L
Slide M > O
Stitch and Sew M > P
Weld M > Q
Weight Subdivision Surfaces M > R
Bevel M > S
Extrude D, M > T
Extrude Inner / Inset I, M > W
Matrix Extrude M > X
Smooth Shift M > Y
Normal Move M > Z
Normal Scale M > -
Normal Rotate M > ,
Split U > P
Reverse Normals U > R
Remove N-gons U > E
Subdivide U > S
Melt U > Z
Collapse U > C
Triangulate N-gons U > T
Disconnect U > D
Align Normals U > A
Make Editable C
Retriangulate N-gons U > G
Un-triangulate U > U
Move Object without Children 7 + LMB
Move E
Rotate R
Scale T
Toggle Active Tool Space
Toggle Modeling Mode Return
Undo (action) Shift + Z
X-Axis / Heading X
Y-Axis / Pitch Y
Z-Axis / Bank Z
Select All Ctrl + A
Select Connected U > W
Deselect All Shift + Ctrl + A
Lasso Selection 8
Live Selection 9
Rectangle Selection 0
Invert U > I
Convert Selection U > X
Outline Selection U > Q
Fill Selection U > F
Grow Selection U > Y
Ring Selection U > B
Loop Selection U > L
Shrink Selection U > K
Volume Mesh U > H
Mirror Selection U > V

Editor

Function Shortcut Keys
Object Manager Shift + F1
Materials Manager Shift + F2
Timeline Shift + F3
Layer Manager Shift + F4
Attributes Manager Shift + F5
Picture Viewer Shift + F6
Coordinates Manager Shift + F7
Content Browser Shift + F8
Structure Manager Shift + F9
Script Manager Shift + F11
Customize Commands Manager Shift + F12
Change Coordinates System W
Close Window Shift + W
Delete Backspace / Delete
Heads Up Display Hold V
Togle Parent Generator Q
Modify Interactive Animation Timeline J + LMB
Help (Select Property Name) Ctrl + F1

Sculpting

Function Shortcut Keys
Smooth for All Brushes Shift
Reverse Brush Effect Ctrl
Switch Symmetry Alt + X / Y / Z
Move / Scale / Rotate Template T + LMB

Viewport

Function Shortcut Keys
Render View Ctrl + R
Redo Camera View Ctrl + Shift + Y
Undo Camera Move Ctrl + Shift + Z
Adjust Camera Focal Length Hold 2 + RMB
Show Axis Alt + D
Configure All Views Alt + V
Configure View Shift + V
View 1 F1
View 2 F2
View 3 F3
View 4 F4
All Views F5
Redraw View A
Frame Geometry H
Frame Selected Elements S
Open Display N
Gourad Shading Mode N > A
Gourad Shading with Wireframe N > B
Quick Shading Mode N > C
Quick Shading with Wireframe N > D
Constant Shading Mode N > E
Hidden Lines Mode N > F
Lines Mode (Wireframe Only) N > G
Wireframe Mode N > H
Isoparms Mode N > I
Box Mode N > K
Skeleton Mode N > L
Tags Mode N > O
Use Backface Culling N > P
Use Textures N > Q
View Active Objects in X-Ray N > R
Isoline Editing Mode Alt + A

Asset Browser

Function Shortcut Keys
New Ctrl + N
Search Bar Ctrl + F
Computer U
Desktop D
Home Directory H
Presets P
Catalogs C
Recent Items R
Search Results S
Favorites F

Rendering

Function Shortcut Keys
Render Settings Ctrl + B
Make Preview Alt + B
Interactive Render Region Alt + R
Render Active Viewport Ctrl + R
Render to Picture Viewer Shift + R
Render to Picture Viewer (IR) Ctrl + Shift + R

‍

Look at you! Now you've got a handy guide—some would even say the "ultimate"—to all the shortcuts in Cinema 4D. If you're pumped to get back into the program and go straight coconuts, maybe it's time you challenged yourself even more...with Cinema 4D Ascent.

In Cinema 4D Ascent, you'll learn to master marketable 3D concepts in Cinema 4D from Maxon Certified Trainer, EJ Hassenfratz. Over the course of 12 weeks, this class will teach you the fundamental 3D concepts you need to know to create beautiful renders and tackle any task a studio or client might throw at you.

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