Commonly used keyboard shortcuts in Harmony

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Harmony has too many keyboard shortcuts to fit into a single article, therefore this article will only introduce you to the most commonly used keyboard shortcuts for getting started in the software.

You can find and customize Harmony shortcuts by going to the following location:

  • Windows: Top menu > Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts…
  • macOS: Top menu > Harmony Premium/Advanced/Essentials > Keyboard Shortcuts…
NOTE: The usual shortcuts used for Undo and Save in Harmony are the same as other softwares and are therefore not included in this article.

General and Interface Shortcuts

The following shortcuts can be used for navigating within Harmony’s interface and views.

Function name Description Windows macOS
Preferences  Open the Preferences window. Ctrl+U ⌘+U
Zoom in and out Zooms in and out of the selected view (if available). 1 and 2 1 and 2
Hand tool Temporarily activates the Hand tool.  Clicking and dragging allows you to pan around the Camera, Drawing, Perspective, or Node views. Spacebar (Hold) Spacebar (Hold)
Rotate View tool Temporarily activates the Rotate View tool. Rotates the angle of the Camera, Drawing or Perspective views.

Ctrl+Alt

(Hold)

⌘+⌥ 

(Hold)

Reset Rotation Resets the rotation of the Camera, Drawing or Perspective views. Shift+X Shift+X
Reset View Resets the rotation and zoom of the Camera, Drawing or Perspective views. Shift+M Shift+M
Centre on Selection When selecting a layer, you can use this shortcut to jump to that layer in another view, like in the Node or Timeline views. O O

Drawing and Painting Shortcuts 

The following shortcuts can be used while drawing and painting in Harmony’s Camera, Drawing and Perspective views. Functions with an * cannot be found in the Keyboard Shortcuts window.

NOTE: Drawing tool shortcuts with Alt or ⌥ (Option) in front of them can be used temporarily by holding the letter without Alt or Option, then letting go to return to the previous tool.
Function name Description Windows macOS
Select tool Activates the Select tool. Alt+S ⌥ +S
Brush tool Activates the Brush tool. Alt+B ⌥ +B
Pencil tool Activates the Pencil tool. Alt+/ ⌥ +/
Eraser tool Activates the Eraser tool. Alt+E ⌥ +E
Paint tool Activates the Paint tool. Alt+I ⌥ +I
Dropper tool Activates the Dropper tool. Alt+D ⌥ +D
Light Table Toggles the Light Table on and off. Shift+L Shift+L
Keep proportions* Keeps objects in proportion while resizing. Also creates straight lines while drawing. Hold Shift Hold Shift
Change drawing tool brush size Adjusts the maximum size of the drawing tool you are currently using. O  
(Click & drag)
O  
(Click & drag)
Show Strokes Shows/hides all the strokes of visible and invisible drawing objects (vector info). K

Timeline Shortcuts

The following shortcuts can be used while navigating the Timeline.

Function name Description Windows macOS
Toggle Playback Play and stop your scene. Shift+Enter Shift+Enter
Insert Drawing (layer) Open the Add Drawing Layer window so you can add new drawing layers. Ctrl+R ⌘+R
Go to Previous/Next Drawing (frame) Jumps to the next or previous exposed drawing substitution on the timeline. F and G F and G
Go to Previous/Next  Keyframe Jumps to the next or previous keyframe on a peg or drawing layer. ; and ‘ ; and ‘
Previous/Next Frame Moves the playhead one frame ahead or behind at a time. < and > < and >

Animation Shortcuts

The following shortcuts can be used while creating paperless and cut-out animation. Functions with an * cannot be found in the Keyboard Shortcuts window.

Function name Description Windows macOS
Show/Hide Onion Skin Shows/hides the Onion Skin (requires a selection to work). Alt+O ⌥ +O
Add or Remove Drawing Exposure Adds or removes exposure from selected drawing frames. + and - + and -
Extend Drawing Exposure Extend the exposure of a drawing to the current frame. F5 F5 
Create/Remove Keyframe Creates or removes keyframes on drawing or peg layers. F6 and F7 F6 and F7
Create Motion Keyframe Adds an interpolation between two or more keyframes. Ctrl+K ⌘+K
Remove Motion Keyframe Removes existing Motion Keyframes and turns them into Stop-Motion Keyframes. Ctrl+L ⌘+L
Nudge Element Towards in Z-depth* Bring the element towards you in Z-space by one unit when using the Transform tool. Alt+↓ ⌥ +↓
Nudge Element Away in Z-depth* Push the element away from you in Z-space by one unit when using the Transform tool. Alt+↑ ⌥ +↑

Shortcuts for the Node view

The following shortcuts can be used while using the Node view to rig characters or composite scenes. Functions with an * cannot be found in the Keyboard Shortcuts window.

Function name Description Windows macOS
Deactivate a node Disables/hides the selected node. D D
Activate a node Enables/shows a disabled node. A A
Create a new Drawing node Open the Add Drawing Layer window. Ctrl+R ⌘+R
Create a new Composite Creates a new Composite node. This shortcut is the same for Windows and macOS. Ctrl+H ⌘+H
Add Peg to selection (single) Adds a single peg to the selected node or nodes. Ctrl+P ⌘+P
Add Pegs to selection (multiple) Adds a separate peg for each of the selected nodes. Ctr+Shift+P ⌘+Shift+P
Group selection Groups selected elements. Ctrl+G ⌘+G
Group selection with Composite Groups selected elements with a new Composite inside the group. Ctr+Shift+G ⌘+Shift+G
Slide node into connection * Automatically connects a node onto an existing wire. Hold Alt and drag the node in Hold ⌥ and drag the node in
Select Parent, Skipping Effects Move up the hierarchy layer by layer (skips effect nodes). B B
Select Child, Skipping Effects Move down the hierarchy layer by layer (skips effect nodes). Shift+B Shift+B

Shortcut Customization Suggestions

The following shortcuts are useful functions for specific tasks. They are available in the Keyboards Shortcuts window but are not assigned to any shortcut. It is recommended you assign your own shortcuts to them based on your needs.

For more information, see How do I customize my keyboard shortcuts?

Function name Description
Show Selected Deformers Helpful for quickly activating and hiding deformers on selected layers.
Hide Selected Deformers

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