Patterndo's tool keys are clustered on the left side of the keyboard. With your right hand on the mouse, you press W for wire, D for jumper, A for add part, and R for rotate with your left hand, so you can keep working without moving the mouse to the toolbar. This article sorts the editor's shortcuts into tools, editing, and view, and also explains mouse and touch operations, command search, and what to check when a key does not respond. Pressing the ? key inside the editor shows the same list right away.
Left-hand tool keys
| Key | Tool | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Q V S | Normal move | Selects parts and wires and drags them to move |
| Shift+Q or L | Linked move | When you move a part, the wires connected to it follow too |
| W | Wire | Press and drag to draw a wire |
| D or J | Jumper | Draws a hopping jumper wire |
| C or N | Net alias | Puts a label on a hole on a wire |
| E | Delete | Pressing it makes the delete tool, and pressing again cycles the scope through all, wires, parts |
| G or H | Pan | Drag to move the view |
| Space | Temporary pan | While held before dragging, pans; when released, returns to the original tool |
| X | Cancel | If you are drawing a wire or jumper, cancels what you were drawing |
| A | Add part | Opens and closes the add-part window |
Keys written on the same row all do the same thing, so use whichever is comfortable.
The difference between normal move and linked move
Normal move moves only the part, and wires you already drew stay where they are. Linked move reconnects the connected wire paths when you drop the part so they are kept. During a linked move, the status bar shows the hint "Drag · Release to apply · Esc to cancel". If it cannot find a safe path or touches another net while moving, it is not applied, and the items "No safe route" and "Touching another net" are shown in diagnostics (Reading Diagnostics Messages).
How to use the delete tool
With the delete tool, pressing and dragging erases continuously what you pass over. There are three scopes.
- All: erases wires, jumpers, and parts.
- Wires: erases only wires and jumpers.
- Parts: erases only parts.
The current scope is shown in the status bar as "Delete · All", "Delete · Wires", or "Delete · Parts". If you erased something by mistake, undo with Ctrl+Z.
Editing keys
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| R | Rotate the selected part 90 degrees |
| Enter | Open the selected part's properties panel |
| X Del Backspace | Delete the selected item |
| Ctrl+C Ctrl+X Ctrl+V | Copy, cut, paste |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Y or Ctrl+Shift+Z | Redo |
| Arrow keys | Move the selected item 1 hole |
| Shift+arrow keys | Move the selected item 5 holes |
| F | Flip the board (switch between component side and copper side) |
| Esc | Deselect, close open windows, cancel a move in progress |
| Ctrl+S | On a board opened from a share link (/s/…), save to that link |
Arrow key movement works in the normal move tool and is handy for one-hole adjustments that are hard to do by dragging with the mouse. Ctrl+S works only on boards opened from a share link, and on the ordinary editor screen the address bar value updates automatically, so there is no separate save key (Saving, Sharing, and Backing Up Boards). On a Mac, use ⌘ (Command) instead of Ctrl.
View keys
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| 2 | 2D view |
| 3 | 3D view |
| Mouse wheel | Zoom in and out |
| + - | Zoom in and out around the screen center |
| 0 or Ctrl+0 | Fit to screen |
| Drag with the middle button | Pan |
| Ctrl+K | Command search |
| ? | Shortcut list |
The difference between the 2D and 3D views is explained in 2D and 3D Views and Flipping Between Component and Copper Side.
Mouse and touch
- Right button or long press (0.5 seconds): a menu suited to the target appears. On a part: properties, rotate 90°, copy, delete; on a wire: naming the net and delete; on an empty spot: add part, paste, fit to screen.
- Drag from an empty spot (normal move tool): selects several items at once with a rectangle.
- Pinch with two fingers: zooms the screen in and out on a touch screen.
- Tap lightly with two fingers: undo; tap lightly with three fingers: redo (in the 2D view when not simulating).
- Tap a wire or hole during simulation: opens the net probe window showing that wire's voltage and current (Using Patterndo Simulation).
Command search (Ctrl+K)
For features without a shortcut, type the name in the command search window opened with Ctrl+K and run it. Commands are grouped into tools, editing, view, board, and simulation, and commands that have a shortcut show the key together.
| Group | Representative commands |
|---|---|
| Board | Import schematic, auto-rewire, board settings, DRC rule settings, copy share link, save to current link, create new link, export and import RAW JSON, reset the whole board |
| Simulation | Start and stop simulation |
| View | 2D and 3D view, flip board side, fit to screen, show 3D controls hint again, shortcut list |
Simulation has no dedicated shortcut. Use the Sim button on the top bar or "Start simulation" in command search.
Keys are recognized by position
Tool keys are recognized not by the letter but by the physical position on the keyboard (based on a QWERTY layout). So even in environments with a different layout like Dvorak, the key at the W position is wire and the key at the A position is add part. In places where you type text, such as the part search box or a property input, shortcuts are turned off and typing takes priority. If a Korean input method is on, depending on the browser and operating system, key input may be handed to the input method and not work, so if there is no response, switch to English input with the language toggle key.
When a key does not respond
- Check whether focus is on an input or button. If an input, button, select box, or link has focus, that element handles the key. Click an empty spot on the board to move focus and try again.
- Check whether a window is open. If a window such as settings, add part, share, auto-rewire, or command search is open, tool keys other than Esc are blocked. Close the window first.
- Alt combinations do not work. They are combinations used by browsers and operating systems, so the editor does not intercept them.
- Holding a key runs it only once. Commands like switching tools ignore key repeat.
Example workflow
Summarizing the flow of making an LED circuit around keys gives the following (Getting Started with Patterndo).
- Open the add-part window with A and choose a resistor.
- Drag the part into place and set the orientation with R.
- Open the properties panel with Enter and enter the value.
- Switch with W and connect the pins and rails. If you are drawing something wrong, cancel with X.
- At crossings, place a jumper with D.
- Check the 3D look with 3 and return with 2.
- Open command search with Ctrl+K and run "Start simulation".
Summary
The basic way of working in Patterndo is pressing W, D, A, R, and E with your left hand while your right hand stays on the mouse. If you cannot remember a shortcut, open the list with ? and command search with Ctrl+K. When a key doesn't work, first check input focus and open windows. The feature that tidies wiring automatically is explained in Using Auto-Rewire.