Studio Shortcuts, the Right-Click Menu, and the Command Palette
Everything in the Studio has a button, but the quickest way to build a map is often a key, a right-click, or the search box that lists every action. This guide covers the three fast paths: single-key shortcuts, the menu that opens when you right-click the map, and the command palette.
5 min read · Updated October 13, 2026
What you'll learn
- Open the Shortcuts and Controls dialog and read it
- Use the right-click menu (or a long press on a touch screen) to add a pin, text, route, region, or slide exactly where you click
- Open the command palette with Ctrl or Cmd plus K and run any action by name
- Use the extra shortcuts for searching, copying, and the Timeline view
Step-by-step guide
- 1
Open the shortcuts list
Press the question mark key, or click Shortcuts in the bottom bar, to open Shortcuts and Controls. It lists how to move the map (Left Click and drag to pan, Ctrl and drag or Right Click and drag to rotate and pitch, the scroll wheel to zoom), the keyboard shortcuts, a Good to know list, and a Timeline View list. Single-letter shortcuts only work when no text field, dialog, or menu has the keyboard.
- 2
Add things with single keys
With a slide on the map: N makes a new slide (it also makes the first one on an empty project), slash focuses the place search, P lets you place pins by clicking the map, T adds text, C adds a caption on screen, R adds a route, and H starts highlighting a country. Space plays and pauses the preview, Delete or Backspace removes the selected element, and Esc deselects or closes.
- 3
Save, undo, copy, and export with Ctrl or Cmd
On a Mac use Cmd, elsewhere Ctrl. Plus S saves the project, plus E opens the export dialog (when you have at least two slides), plus Z undoes, plus D duplicates the selected element or slide, and plus K opens the command palette. Redo is Ctrl plus Y, or Cmd plus Shift plus Z. These combinations also work while you are typing in a field.
- 4
Right-click the map to add something here
Right-click anywhere on the map, or press and hold on a touch screen, to open a menu titled Add here. Pin here, Text here, and Route from here put that element at the exact spot you clicked instead of the center of the view. Route to here extends a route that is already selected, and is grayed out otherwise. Highlight with the country name (for example Highlight France) starts a region for the country under the pointer, and reads No country found here over open water. New slide centred here adds a slide framed on that spot, and is not shown in Timeline view. Copy coordinates copies the latitude and longitude, which the menu shows beside it. The letters beside each item work as shortcuts while the menu is open, the arrow keys move through it, and Esc closes it. Right Click and drag still rotates and tilts the map.
- 5
Open the command palette
Press Ctrl plus K (Cmd plus K on a Mac) to open a search box that lists every action in the Studio, each with its shortcut beside it. Type a few letters, such as pin, export, or route, use the arrow keys to move to a result, and press Enter. Press the same combination or Esc to close it. Words that describe the action also match: typing mp4 finds Export video. Actions that cannot run right now, such as Undo with nothing to undo, are left out of the list.
- 6
Know what is in the palette
The list covers Search a place, New slide, Duplicate slide, Pin at the centre, Place pins by clicking the map, Text, Caption on screen, Route, Highlight a country or region, Draw an area, Shape, Play preview, Undo, Redo, Save project, Export video, and Keyboard shortcuts. Draw an area has no key of its own, so the palette is the quickest way to start drawing a region freehand. In Timeline view the New slide entry gives way to Add a keyframe at the playhead, with the K key.
- 7
Use the extra shortcuts
The Good to know list covers actions with no button of their own. Ctrl or Cmd plus Enter after typing in the search box flies to the place without adding a pin or slide. Shift plus Enter picks several countries at once, and Shift plus click keeps picking regions on the map. To reorder slides, press and hold a slide, then drag. In Timeline view, K adds a slide at the playhead, double-clicking the ruler adds one at that spot, the left and right arrows step one frame (Shift for one second), Home and End jump to the start and end, Alt plus drag moves later slides too, Shift plus drag turns off snapping, and Ctrl or Cmd plus scroll zooms the timeline.
Interactive walkthrough coming soon
A visual step-by-step guide with annotated screenshots will be available here. In the meantime, follow the written steps above or watch the video tutorials.
Watch video tutorials →Pro tips
- Learn four keys first: slash to search, N for a new slide, Space to play, and Ctrl or Cmd plus K for everything else.
- Right-click beats the toolbar when a pin has to land on a specific street or border, because it uses the exact point you clicked.
- If a letter shortcut seems dead, click an empty part of the map first. A field, an open dialog, or an open menu takes the keyboard from the shortcuts.
- The palette is the fastest way to find a feature you cannot spot in the toolbar. Type what you want to do and see whether it is listed.
- On a laptop without a right mouse button, use a two-finger click, or press and hold on a touch screen.