Keyboard Essentials

You can do everything in livediagram with the mouse, but a few keyboard shortcuts make working on the canvas much faster. This is the short list worth committing to memory. For the complete reference, see keyboard shortcuts.

Switching tools

The canvas tools each have a single-key shortcut, matching the conventions in tools like Figma and Excalidraw. They work while nothing with a label is selected; with one labelled element selected, a letter key starts typing its label instead.

The essential single-key tool shortcuts, plus holding Space to pan from any tool.

V: Select tool (click, shift-click, and marquee-select elements).
S: Search the palette strip for any element to add.
H: Hand tool (drag empty canvas to pan around).
P: Freehand (sketch a stroke, kept as drawn).
F: Frame (draw a section backdrop that carries its contents).
K: Laser pointer (a glowing trail your collaborators see).
E: Eraser (press, or hold and drag, to delete elements).
Z: Zen mode, which hides all the toolbars and panels for distraction-free work. See Zen mode.

The number row works too: 1 Select, 2 Square, 5 Arrow, 7 Pencil, 8 Text, 0 Eraser and more. Draw mode has its own keys, shown on each tool in its dock: there P picks the Path tool, 1 to 3 pick the pens, S opens Shapes, and F and K do nothing.

Moving the view

You will pan and zoom constantly, and you do not need to leave the Select tool to do it:

Hold Space and drag to pan from any tool.
Middle-click and drag to pan as well (switch this off with Middle-Mouse Pan in Settings if you need the button for something else).
Cmd/Ctrl + + and Cmd/Ctrl + - zoom in and out, Cmd/Ctrl+0 resets to 100%, and Shift+1 zooms to fit everything on the tab.
Pinch on a trackpad or touch screen to zoom; the on-screen zoom buttons sit in the bottom-right of the canvas.

Everyday editing

A few shortcuts cover the actions you repeat most:

Cmd/Ctrl+Z undoes, and Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Z (or Ctrl+Y) redoes. The same controls sit in the bottom-right corner of the canvas.
Cmd/Ctrl+C, X and V copy, cut and paste through your system clipboard, and Cmd/Ctrl+D duplicates the selection. See Copy and Paste.
Delete or Backspace removes the selection.
Cmd/Ctrl+K opens search, which also runs commands.
Double-click a shape or arrow to edit its text label, or select it and press Space, or simply start typing to replace the label.
Tab (with the canvas focused) selects the next element, Shift+Tab the previous, so you can walk the canvas without the mouse. Selection changes are announced to screen readers.
Escape cancels an in-progress text edit, closes an open dialog, or clears the selection.
Enter confirms a dialog. In a shape, text or sticky label it starts a new line, and clicking away finishes the edit. On an arrow label Enter finishes and Shift+Enter starts a new line, and in a mind node's label Enter adds the next node while Shift+Enter starts a new line.

The editor has a built-in shortcut reference: open Settings from the gear at the bottom-right and pick Keyboard to see the full list any time without leaving the canvas. Holding Cmd (or Ctrl) also shows each palette tile's shortcut on the tile itself.

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