Autodesk 3ds Max/Shortcuts

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Hotkey Description (all these letters should be lowercase) e.g. A does not toggle Angle Snap but a does.

Be aware this chart is unaccurate in that respect. 3DS Max is not case insensitive

a Toggle Angle Snap on/off.
b Change active viewport to "Bottom" view.
c Change active viewport to "Camera" view (there must be at least 1 camera in your scene for this command to work). If you have more than 1 camera in your scene, this will toggle between cameras.
d Disable view (prevents view from updating; used when editing very large scenes to improve performance)
e rotate selected object (does not Select).
f Change active viewport to "Front" view.
g Toggle grid on/off.
h Select hidden objects in select from scene dialog by name to unhide those objects.
i Center active viewport to the mouse's position.
j Show hide selection brackets
l Change active viewport to "Left" view.
m Open the Material Editor.
N Toggle Auto Key on/off.
O Adaptive degradation, shows objects as boxes, speed up viewport drawing in complex scenes
P Change active viewport to "Perspective" view.
Q Select Object.
R Select and Scale.
S Toggle Snap on/off.
T Change active viewport to "Top" view.
U Change active viewport to "User" view.
W Select and move.
X Hide/unhide gizmo.
z Zoom Extents All Selected.
6 Particle View (v6 & 7 only).
7 Polygon Count (displayed at upper left of viewport for selected object).
8 Environment panel.
0 Render to texture
Space Lock selection
Up arrow Walkthrough mode
MMB Pan view
Ctrl+MMB 2x Pan speed
Ctrl+A Select all
Ctrl+I Invert selection
Ctrl+V Clone selected Object
Ctrl+C (this is not copy!)(in perspective viewport) create target camera using the current view.
Ctrl+X eXpert Mode
Ctrl+Z Undo
Ctrl+Y Redo
Ctrl+LMB(click) Add clicked object to current selection
Ctrl+LMB(hold) Marquee, Add multiple selected to current selection
Alt+LMB(click) Remove clicked object from current selection
Alt+LMB(hold) Marquee, Remove multiple selected from current selection
Shift+LMB(click) Clone selected/clicked object
Shift+LMB(click+drag) (with move selected) Clone and move selected/clicked object
Alt+MMB Rotate View
Alt+X Xray view mode
Alt+Q Isolates the selected objects
Alt+w Maximize viewport toggle
Description Keyboard shortcut

Snaps Action Table 
Snap To Edge/Segment Toggle  Alt+F10  
Snap To Endpoint Toggle  Alt+F8  
Snap To Face Toggle  Alt+F11  
Snap To Grid Points Toggle  Alt+F5  
Snap To Midpoint Toggle  Alt+F9  
Snap To Pivot Toggle  Alt+F6  
Snap To Vertex Toggle  Alt+F7  
Main UI 
Adaptive Degradation Toggle  O  
Align  Alt+A  
Angle Snap Toggle  A  
Arc Rotate View Mode  Ctrl+R  
Auto Key Mode Toggle  N  
Background Lock Toggle  Alt+Ctrl+B  
Backup Time One Unit  ,  
Bottom View  B  
Camera View  C  
Clone  Ctrl+V  
Cycle Active Snap Type  Alt+S  
Cycle Selection Method  Ctrl+F  
Cycle Snap Hit  Alt+Shift+S  
Default Lighting Toggle  Ctrl+L  
Delete Objects  .  
Disable Viewport  D  
Display as See-Through Toggle  Alt+X  
Environment Dialog Toggle  8  
Expert Mode Toggle  Ctrl+X  
Fetch  Alt+Ctrl+F  
Forward Time One Unit  .  
Front View  F  
Go to End Frame  End  
Go to Start Frame  Home  
Hide Cameras Toggle  Shift+C  
Hide Geometry Toggle  Shift+G  
Hide Grids Toggle  G  
Hide Helpers Toggle  Shift+H  
Hide Lights Toggle  Shift+L  
Hide Particle Systems Toggle  Shift+P  
Hide Shapes Toggle  Shift+S  
Hide Space Warps Toggle  Shift+W  
Hold  Alt+Ctrl+H  
Isometric User View  U  
Left View  L  
Lock User Interface Toggle  Alt+0  
Material Editor Toggle  M  
Maximize Viewport Toggle  Alt+W  
MAXScript Listener  F11  
New Scene  Ctrl+N  
Normal Align  Alt+N  
Open File  Ctrl+O  
Pan View  Ctrl+P  
Pan Viewport  I  
Percent Snap Toggle  Shift+Ctrl+P  
Perspective User View  P  
Place Highlight  Ctrl+H  
Play Animation  /  
Quick Align  Shift+A  
Quick Render  Shift+Q  
Redo Scene Operation  Ctrl+Y  
Redo Viewport Operation  Shift+Y  
Redraw All Views  `  
Render Last  F9  
Render Scene Dialog Toggle  F10  
Restrict Plane Cycle  F8  
Restrict to X  F5  
Restrict to Y  F6  
Restrict to Z  F7  
Save File  Ctrl+S  
Scale Cycle  Ctrl+E  
Select All  Ctrl+A  
Select Ancestor  PageUp  
Select and Move  W  
Select and Rotate  E  
Select By Name  H  
Select Child  PageDown  
Select Children  Ctrl+PageDown  
Select Invert  Ctrl+I  
Select None  Ctrl+D  
Selection Lock Toggle  Space  
Set Key Mode  '  
Set Keys  K  
Shade Selected Faces Toggle  F2  
Show Floating Dialogs  Ctrl+`  
Show Main Toolbar Toggle  Alt+6  
Show Safeframes Toggle  Shift+F  
Show Selection Bracket Toggle  J  
Snap To Frozen Objects Toggle  Alt+F2  
Snaps Toggle  S  
Snaps Use Axis Constraints Toggle  Alt+D, Alt+F3  
Sound Toggle  \  
Spacing Tool  Shift+I  
Spot/Directional Light View  Shift+4  
Sub-object Level Cycle  Insert  
Sub-object Selection Toggle  Ctrl+B  
Top View  T  
Transform Gizmo Size Down  -  
Transform Gizmo Size Up  =  
Transform Gizmo Toggle  X  
Transform Type-In Dialog Toggle  F12  
Undo Scene Operation  Ctrl+Z  
Undo Viewport Operation  Shift+Z  
Update Background Image  Alt+Shift+Ctrl+B  
View Edged Faces Toggle  F4  
Viewport Background  Alt+B  
Virtual Viewport Pan Down  NumPad 2  
Virtual Viewport Pan Left  NumPad 4  
Virtual Viewport Pan Right  NumPad 6  
Virtual Viewport Pan Up  NumPad 8  
Virtual Viewport Toggle  NumPad /  
Virtual Viewport Zoom In  NumPad +  
Virtual Viewport Zoom Out  NumPad -  
Wireframe / Smooth+Highlights Toggle  F3  
Zoom Extents All Selected  Z  
Zoom Extents All  Shift+Ctrl+Z  
Zoom Extents  Alt+Ctrl+Z  
Zoom In 2X  Alt+Shift+Ctrl+Z  
Zoom Mode  Alt+Z  
Zoom Out 2X  Alt+Shift+Z  
Zoom Region Mode  Ctrl+W  
Zoom Viewport In  [, Ctrl+=  
Zoom Viewport Out  ], Ctrl+-  
Track View 
Add Keys  A  
Apply Ease Curve  Ctrl+E  
Apply Multiplier Curve  Ctrl+M  
Assign Controller  C  
Copy Controller  Ctrl+C  
Expand Object Toggle  O  
Expand Track Toggle  Enter, T  
Filters  Q  
Lock Selection  Space  
Lock Tangents Toggle  L  
Make Controller Unique  U  
Move Highlight Down  Down Arrow  
Move Highlight Up  Up Arrow  
Move Keys  M  
Nudge Keys Left  Left Arrow  
Nudge Keys Right  Right Arrow  
Pan  P  
Paste Controller  Ctrl+V  
Scroll Down  Ctrl+Down Arrow  
Scroll Up  Ctrl+Up Arrow  
Snap Frames  S  
Zoom Horizontal Extents Keys 
 Alt+X  
Zoom  Z  
Material Editor 
Background  B  
Backlight  L  
Cycle 3X2, 5X3, 6X4 Sample Slots  X  
Get Material  G  
Go Backward to Sibling  Left Arrow  
Go Forward to Sibling  Right Arrow  
Go to Parent  Up Arrow  
Make Preview  P  
Options  O  
Schematic View 
Add Bookmark  B  
Display Floater  D  
Filters  P  
Free All  Alt+F  
Free Selected  Alt+S  
Invert Selected Nodes  Ctrl+I  
Move Children  Alt+C  
Next Bookmark  Right Arrow  
Previous Bookmark  Left Arrow  
Rename Object  R  
Select All Nodes  Ctrl+A  
Select Children  Ctrl+C  
Select None  Ctrl+D  
Show Grid  G  
Toggle Shrink  Ctrl+S  
Use Connect Tool  C  
Use Select Tool  S  
Zoom Selected Extents  Z  
ActiveShade 
Close  Q  
Draw Region  D  
Render  R  
Select Object  S  
Toggle Toolbar (Docked)  Space  
Video Post 
Add Image Filter Event  Ctrl+F  
Add Image Input Event  Ctrl+I  
Add Image Layer Event  Ctrl+L  
Add Image Output Event  Ctrl+O  
Add New Event  Ctrl+A  
Add Scene Event  Ctrl+S  
Edit Current Event  Ctrl+E  
Execute Sequence  Ctrl+R  
New Sequence  Ctrl+N  
NURBS 
CV Constrained Normal Move  Alt+N  
CV Constrained U Move  Alt+U  
CV Constrained V Move  Alt+V  
Display Curves  Shift+Ctrl+C  
Display Dependents  Ctrl+D  
Display Lattices  Ctrl+L  
Display Shaded Lattice  Alt+L  
Display Surfaces  Shift+Ctrl+S  
Display Toolbox  Ctrl+T  
Display Trims  Shift+Ctrl+T  
Local Select Sub-Object By Name  Ctrl+H  
Lock 2D Selection  Space  
Select Next in U  Ctrl+Right Arrow  
Select Next in V  Ctrl+Up Arrow  
Select Previous in U  Ctrl+Left Arrow  
Select Previous in V  Ctrl+Down Arrow  
Select Sub-Object By Name  H  
Set Tessellation Preset 1  Alt+1  
Set Tessellation Preset 2  Alt+2  
Set Tessellation Preset 3  Alt+3  
Soft Selection  Ctrl+S  
Switch To Curve CV Level  Alt+Shift+Z  
Switch To Curve Level  Alt+Shift+C  
Switch To Imports Level  Alt+Shift+I  
Switch To Point Level  Alt+Shift+P  
Switch To Surface CV Level  Alt+Shift+V  
Switch To Surface Level  Alt+Shift+S  
Switch To Top Level  Alt+Shift+T  
Transform Degrade  Ctrl+X  
Editable Poly 
Bevel Mode  Shift+Ctrl+B  
Border Level  3  
Chamfer Mode  Shift+Ctrl+C  
Connect  Shift+Ctrl+E  
Constrain to Edges  Shift+X  
Cut  Alt+C  
Edge Level  2  
Element Level  5  
Extrude Mode  Shift+E  
Face Level  4  
Grow Selection  Ctrl+PageUp  
Hide Unselected  Alt+I  
Hide  Alt+H  
Object Level  6  
Quickslice Mode  Shift+Ctrl+Q  
Repeat Last Operation  ;  
Select Edge Loop  Alt+L  
Select Edge Ring  Alt+R  
Shrink Selection  Ctrl+PageDown  
Unhide All  Alt+U  
Vertex Level  1  
Weld Mode  Shift+Ctrl+W  
Edit/Editable Mesh 
Bevel Mode  Ctrl+V, Ctrl+B  
Chamfer Mode  Ctrl+C  
Cut Mode  Alt+C  
Detach  Ctrl+D  
Edge Invisible  Ctrl+I  
Edge Level  2  
Edge Turn  Ctrl+T  
Element Level  5  
Extrude Mode  Ctrl+E  
Face Level  3  
Polygon Level  4  
Vertex Level  1  
Weld Selected  Ctrl+W  
Weld Target Mode  Alt+W  
Edit Normals 
Break Normals  B  
Copy Normal  Ctrl+C  
Edge Level  Ctrl+3  
Face Level  Ctrl+4  
Make Explicit  E  
Normal Level  Ctrl+1  
Object Level  Ctrl+0  
Paste Normal  Ctrl+V  
Reset Normals  R  
Specify Normals  S  
Unify Normals  U  
Vertex Level  Ctrl+2  
FFD 
Switch To Control Point Level  Alt+Shift+C  
Switch To Lattice Level  Alt+Shift+L  
Switch To Set Volume Level  Alt+Shift+S  
Switch To Top Level  Alt+Shift+T  
Edit Poly 
Bevel Mode  Shift+Ctrl+B  
Border Level  3  
Chamfer Mode  Shift+Ctrl+C  
Connect  Shift+Ctrl+E  
Constrain to Edges  Shift+X  
Cut  Alt+C  
Edge Level  2  
Element Level  5  
Extrude Mode  Shift+E  
Grow Selection  Ctrl+PageUp  
Hide Unselected  Alt+I  
Hide  Alt+H  
Object Level  6  
Polygon Level  4  
Quickslice Mode  Shift+Ctrl+Q  
Repeat Last Operation  ;  
Select Edge Loop  Alt+L  
Select Edge Ring  Alt+R  
Shrink Selection  Ctrl+PageDown  
Unhide All  Alt+U  
Vertex Level  1  
Weld Mode  Shift+Ctrl+W  
Physique 
Copy Envelope  Ctrl+C  
Delete  Ctrl+D  
Next  PageDown  
Paste Envelope  Ctrl+V  
Previous Selection Level  Shift+  
Previous  PageUp  
Reset Envelopes  Ctrl+E  
Unwrap UVW 
Break Selected Vertices  Ctrl+B  
Detach Edge Verts  D, Ctrl+D  
Edit UVW's  Ctrl+E  
Filter Selected Faces  Alt+F  
Freeze Selected  Ctrl+F  
Get Face Selection From Stack  Alt+Shift+Ctrl+F  
Get Selection From Faces  Alt+Shift+Ctrl+P  
Hide Selected  Ctrl+H  
Load UVW  Alt+Shift+Ctrl+L  
Lock selected vertices  Space  
Mirror Horizontal  Alt+Shift+Ctrl+N  
Mirror Vertical  Alt+Shift+Ctrl+M  
Move Horizontal  Alt+Shift+Ctrl+J  
Move Vertical  Alt+Shift+Ctrl+K  
Pan  Ctrl+P  
Planar map faces/patches  Enter  
Show Seams In Viewport  Alt+E  
Snap  Ctrl+S  
Texture Vertex Contract Selection  NumPad -, -  
Texture Vertex Expand Selection  NumPad +, =  
Texture Vertex Move Mode  Q  
Texture Vertex Rotate Mode  Ctrl+R  
Texture Vertex Weld Selected  Ctrl+W  
Texture VertexTarget Weld  Ctrl+T  
Unwrap Options  Ctrl+O  
Update Map  Ctrl+U  
Zoom Extents Selected  Alt+Ctrl+Z  
Zoom Extents  X  
Zoom Region  Ctrl+X  
Zoom To Gizmo  Shift+Space  
Zoom  Z  
Crowd 
Solve  S  
Biped 
Change Leg State  Alt+Ctrl+S  
Collapse Move All Mode changes  Alt+M  
Copy Posture  Alt+C  
Fix Graphs  Alt+Ctrl+F  
Lock Selected Keys (toggle)  Alt+Ctrl+L  
Paste Posture Opposite  Alt+B  
Paste Posture  Alt+V  
Play Biped  V  
Reset all limb keys  Alt+K  
Scale In Transform (toggle)  Alt+Ctrl+E  
Set Key  0  
Set Range  Alt+R  
Toggle Biped Keys in TrackBar  Alt+T  
TV Select end of footsteps  Alt+D  
TV Select entire foostep  Alt+S  
TV Select start of foosteps  Alt+A  
Biped Curve Editing 
Pos Curve Relative To Bip Root  Ctrl+A  
Pos Curve Relative To World  Ctrl+A  
Show Pos Accel Curve  Ctrl+A  
Show Pos Curve  Ctrl+A  
Show Pos Jerk Curve  Ctrl+A  
Show Pos Speed Curve  Ctrl+A  
Show Quat Curve  Ctrl+A  
Show Rot Accel Curve  Ctrl+A  
Show Rot Speed Curve  Ctrl+A  
Toggle Draw Every Frame  Ctrl+A  
Toggle Layered Edit  Ctrl+A  
Toggle Limit Quat Curve to 180  Ctrl+A  
Toggle Manipulate Subanims  Ctrl+A  
Toggle Show Z  Ctrl+A  
Toggle Show X  Ctrl+A  
Toggle Show Y  Ctrl+A  
Toggle Subanims  Ctrl+A  
Reaction Manager 
Set Max Influence  Ctrl+I  
Set Min Influence  Alt+I  
Particle Flow 
Particle Emission Toggle  ;  
Particle View Toggle  6  
Particle Flow 
Selected Particle Emission Toggle  Shift+;  
Particle Flow 
Copy Selected In Particle View  Ctrl+C  
Paste In Particle View  Ctrl+V  
Select All In Particle View  Ctrl+A  
ActiveShade (Scanline) 
Initialize  P  
Update  U  
ToneOperatorAndRadiosityActionTable 
Advanced Lighting Panel  9  
Object Display Culling 
Object Display Culling  Alt+O  
WalkThrough 
Accelerate Toggle  Q  
Back  S, Down Arrow  
Decelerate Toggle  Z  
Decrease Step Size  [  
Down  C, Shift+Down Arrow  
Forward  W, Up Arrow  
Increase Step Size  ]  
Left  A, Left Arrow  
Level  Shift+Space  
Lock Vertical Rotation  Space  
Reset Step Size  Alt+[  
Right  D, Right Arrow  
Up  E, Shift+Up Arrow  
Macro Scripts 
Add/Edit Parameters... (TV)  Ctrl+1  
Cap (Poly)  Alt+P  
Collapse (Poly)  Alt+Ctrl+C  
Collect Parameters SV  Alt+3  
Collect Parameters TV  Alt+4  
Create Camera From View  Ctrl+C  
Cut (Poly)  Alt+C  
Extrude Face (Poly)  Alt+E  
Geometry Selection Visibility Toggle  Alt+G  
Isolate Selection  Alt+Q  
Meshsmooth (Poly)  Ctrl+M  
Parameter Collector  Alt+2  
Parameter Editor  Alt+1  
Parameter Wiring Dialog...  Alt+5  
Render to Texture Dialog Toggle  0  
Smart Scale  R  
Smart Select  Q  
Start Parameter Wiring...  Ctrl+5  
Sub-Object Level 1  1  
Sub-Object Level 2  2  
Sub-Object Level 3  3  
Sub-Object Level 4  4  
Sub-object Level 5  5  
WalkThrough View Mode  Up Arrow  
Quad Menu Sets 
Animation  [Alt+RMB]  
Custom  [Shift+Ctrl+Alt+RMB]  
Custom  [Shift+Ctrl+RMB]  
Lighting | Render  [Ctrl+Alt+RMB]  
Modeling  [Ctrl+RMB]  
reactor  [Shift+Alt+RMB]  
Snap  [Shift+RMB]  
Viewports  V

! Some useful commands for the command lane !! 
gc() Garbage Collection.
freescenebitmaps() Cleans up in texture memory.
clearUndoBuffer() Removes your Undo’s