Daz3D Shortcuts and Time Saving Tips

These daz3d shortcuts and tips will help to speed up your workflow and have you completing your projects much more efficiently. We’ve also included a comprehensive list of shortcuts at the end of the tutorial so be sure to bookmark this page and use it as your go to reference!

  1. Hidden features of the Navigation Toolbar
  2. Quickly Navigate Around Scenes
  3. The Frame Selection Shortcut
  4. Quickly Change Views
  5. Quickly Change Draw Modes
  6. Using Preview Lights to Illuminate your Scene
  7. Using the Keyboard Controls to Navigate
  8. The Scene Navigator Tool
  9. Fullscreen Mode
  10. How to Change HotKeys in Daz3D
  11. Complete List of Daz3D Shortcuts

First Tip – The Navigation Toolbar

We are all familiar with the basic functions of the toolbar. What you may not know is that there are a few hidden functions for many of the tools!

You can activate these by pressing the right hand mouse button whilst using them. Some even have third functions by holding the control or command keys at the same time. Here is a summary of them below:

Tool 1: Orbit, Rotate and Bank

The first tool (orbit) has a second function of panning when the right mouse is clicked. If you hold Control / Command you can also Bank.

Tool 1 ControlsWindowsMac
OrbitLMB + DragLMB + Drag
RotateRMB + DragRMB + Drag
BankCtrl + RMB + DragCmd + RMB + Drag

Tool 2: Pan and Dolly

The Pan Tool can also Dolly when the right button is used.

Tool 2 ControlsWindowsMac
PanLMB + DragLMB + Drag
DollyRMB + DragRMB + Drag

Tool 3: Dolly Zoom and Focal Zoom

The Dolly Zoom is one of those classic cinematic shots and can really add intensity to animated scenes. By holding the right button you can also perform a Focal Zoom.

Tool 3 ControlsWindowsMac
Dolly ZoomLMB + DragLMB + Drag
Focal ZoomRMB + DragRMB + Drag

Tool 4: Frame and Aim

The Frame tool has an Aim function when the right button is used.

Tool 4 ControlsWindows Mac
FrameLMBLMB
AimRMBRMB

Super Daz3D HotKey to quickly Navigate around your scene

If you hold down Control and Alt or Option + Command on a Mac, you can quickly navigate your scene without even touching the Navigation toolbar! This is a super fast way to navigate the Daz3D Viewport without losing focus on your scene.

Simply hold Control + alt / Option + Command and use the left mouse button to Orbit your scene. The right button then becomes the Pan tool. The scroll wheel will allow you to Zoom in and out.

The Frame Selection Shortcut

You can see that I have Genesis 8 males hand selected in the image below.

If I want to quickly Zoom in and orbit around the hand by I can use Control + F / Command + F to quickly perform a Frame Select.

Quickly Change Views in the Daz Studio Viewport

Whilst posing and animating I find that I constantly need to view my scene from many angles. I could use the Views dropdown menu to switch views as as pictured below, but a much quicker way is to simply hold ctrl / cmd and use the arrow keys.

Here is a breakdown of the View HotKeys:

View HotKeysWindowsMac
Front viewCtrl+DownCmd+Down
Back viewCtrl+UpCmd+Up
Right viewCtrl+LeftCmd+Left
Left viewCtrl+RightCmd+Right
Top viewAlt+UpOpt+Up
Bottom viewAlt+DownOpt+Down
Perspective viewCtrl+PCmd+P

Changing Between Draw Modes

Another common thing that I need to do often whilst using Daz Studio is switch between draw modes. This normally means clicking into the Draw menu and selecting the option in the dropdown list.

A much faster way is to use the shortcuts below. You will find that you quickly memorise your most often used modes:

Draw Style CommandsWindowsMac
Wire Bounding BoxCtrl+1Cmd+1
Solid Bounding BoxCtrl+2Cmd+2
WireframeCtrl+3Cmd+3
Lit wireframeCtrl+4Cmd+4
Hidden lineCtrl+5Cmd+5
Wire shadedCtrl+6Cmd+6
Smooth shadedCtrl+7Cmd+7
Wire shadedCtrl+8Cmd+8
Textured shadedCtrl+9Cmd+9
NVIDIA IrayCtrl+0Cmd+0
Draw stopCtrl+QCmd+Q

Using Preview Lights to Illuminate your Scene

When you add lights into your scene you may notice that the scene goes completely dark. This can be really annoying when you need to keep working on your scene but don’t want to affect your painstakingly positioned lighting in your finished renders. If you press CTRL+L you can turn on preview lights that have no effect on on your rendered images. You can use the same shortcut to turn them off again if you wish. This is honestly one of the most helpful shortcuts in Daz Studio!!

Using the Keyboard Controls to Navigate

You can optionally use the keyboard to navigate the Daz Studio Viewport. You just have to ensure the keyboard setting is toggled on. You can use Shift + K to do this quickly. Here are some of the Keys you can use. Be sure to check out the shortcut list at the end of the tutorial for the full set of commands available.

Left Hand Keyboard ControlsWindowsMac
Zoom InWW
LeftAA
Zoom OutSS
RightDD
UpQQ
DownEE

You can also use your right hand on the keyboard at the same time as your left in order to take even more control. Here are the left hand keyboard controls.

Right Hand Keyboard ControlsWindowsMac
Look UpII
Look DownKK
Look LeftJJ
Look RightLL
Tilt LeftUU
Tilt RightOO
Level Pitch / RollPP

The Scene Navigator Tool

Next to the keyboard icon is the Scene Navigator Tool which is also commonly known as the “mouse look” tool.

This will allow you to take a first person look through your scene very much like first person video games use. You can also open up the Tool Settings pane to see all the options you can use with the Scene Navigator tool. Have an experiment with the different options to see what suits you best!

Fullscreen Mode

To get a fuller sense of how your rendered scene might look, use the full scene preview. Simply press Shift + F11 on Windows or Mac. You can use the same key combination to exit back to daz studio too.

How to change Hotkeys in Daz3d

Sometimes depending on your system settings, you may have trouble with the default daz3d shortcuts conflicting with your system shortcuts etc. The good news is that you can easily change them by simply pressing F3 to bring up a list of all the shortcuts. Simply right click the shortcut you want to change and select “Change keyboard shortcut”. Now you can change it to whatever you want.

Daz3D Shortcuts

1. File ShortcutsWindowsMac
NewCtrl+NCmd+N
OpenCtrl+OCmd+O
SaveCtrl+SCmd+S
Save sceneCtrl+Shift+SCmd+Shift+S
MergeCtrl+Shift+OCmd+Shift+O
ExitCtrl+QCmd+Q
2. Customize ViewportWindowsMac
Lock/Unlock DockingCtrl+UCmd+U
PreferencesF2F2
CustomizeF3F3
Save layout AsF4F4
3. View ShortcutsWindowsMac
Front viewCtrl+DownCmd+Down
Back viewCtrl+UpCmd+Up
Right viewCtrl+LeftCmd+Left
Left viewCtrl+RightCmd+Right
Top viewAlt+UpOpt+Up
Bottom viewAlt+DownOpt+Down
Zoom in (+)Shift+ZShift+Z
Zoom out (-)Shift+AShift+A
Frame selectionCtrl+FCmd+F
Full view modeShift+F11Shift+F11
Aim at selected objectCtrl+Shift+ACmd+Shift+A
Perspective viewCtrl+PCmd+P
Reset the cameraCtrl+Alt+RCmd+Opt+R
4. Pose ShortcutsWindowsMac
Zero poseCtrl+Shift+FCmd+Shift+F
Move to floorCtrl+DCmd+D
SymmetryShift+YShift+Y
Enable IK (Inverse Kinematics)Ctrl+KCmd+K
Unlock selected nodeShift+UShift+U
Bake to transformShift+BShift+B
5. Edit ShortcutsWindowsMac
UndoCtrl+ZCmd+Z
RedoCtrl+YCmd+Y
Cut selectedCtrl+XCmd+X
Copy selectedCtrl+CCmd+C
Paste to selectedCtrl+VCmd+V
Delete selectedDeleteDelete
Restore selectedCtrl+ECmd+E
Invert selectionCtrl+Shift+ICmd+Shift+I
Select allCtrl+ACmd+A
Select all connectedCtrl+*Cmd+*
Grow selectionCtrl++Cmd++
Shrink selectionCtrl+-Cmd+-
Invert selectionCtrl+/Cmd+/
Select boundaryCtrl+|Cmd+|
6. Tool CommandsWindowsMac
Active poseAlt+Shift+POpt+Shift+P
Geometry editorAlt+Shift+GOpt+Shift+G
Joint editorAlt+Shift+JOpt+Shift+J
Next ToolPeriod
Previous tool,(Comma)
Node selectionAlt+Shift+VOpt+Shift+V
Node weight map brushAlt+Shift+WOpt+Shift+W
Region navigatorAlt+Shift+NOpt+Shift+N
Scene navigatorAlt+Shift+FOpt+Shift+F
RotateAlt+Shift+ROpt+Shift+R
ScaleAlt+Shift+SOpt+Shift+S
Surface selectionAlt+Shift+MOpt+Shift+M
TranslateAlt+Shift+TOpt+Shift+T
UniversalAlt+Shift+UOpt+Shift+U
7. Surface CommandsWindowsMac
Refresh ImagesCtrl+ICmd+I
8. Weight Map CommandsWindowsMac
Paint brushShift+PShift+P
Smooth brushShift+SShift+S
Edge selectionCtrl+]Cmd+]
Polygon selectionCtrl+[Cmd+[
Vertex selectionShift+\Shift+\
Geometry selectionShift+LShift+L
Directional GradientShift+GShift+G
Sphere gradientShift+HShift+H
9. Light CommandsWindowsMac
Preview LightsCtrl+LCmd+L
10. Keyboard Navigation CommandsWindowsMac
Turn On Keyboard NavigationShift+KShift+K
Move upQQ
Move downEE
Move forwardWW
Move backSS
Move leftAA
Move rightDD
Increase Move speed]]
Decrease Move speed[[
Reset Move speedAlt+[Opt+[
Look up (Pitch +)II
Look down (Pitch -)KK
Look left (yaw -)JJ
Look right (yaw +)LL
Bank left (roll -)UU
Bank right (roll +)OO
Increase rotation speed}}
Decrease rotation speed{{
Reset rotation speedAlt+]Opt+]
Level (pitch/roll)PP
Snap levelAlt+POpt+P
11. Draw Style CommandsWindowsMac
Wire Bounding BoxCtrl+1Cmd+1
Solid Bounding BoxCtrl+2Cmd+2
WireframeCtrl+3Cmd+3
Lit wireframeCtrl+4Cmd+4
Hidden lineCtrl+5Cmd+5
Wire shadedCtrl+6Cmd+6
Smooth shadedCtrl+7Cmd+7
Wire shadedCtrl+8Cmd+8
Textured shadedCtrl+9Cmd+9
NVIDIA IrayCtrl+0Cmd+0
Draw stopCtrl+QCmd+Q
12. Render CommandsWindowsMac
Spot renderAlt+Shift+COpt+Shift+C
Render settingsCtrl+Shift+RCmd+Shift+R
RenderCtrl+RCmd+R
13. Script CommandsWindowsMac
Close scriptCtrl+WCmd+W
Close all scriptsCtrl+Shift+WCmd+Shift+W
Convert to uppercaseCtrl+Shift+UCmd+Shift+U
Convert to lowercaseCtrl+Shift+LCmd+Shift+L
Cut to clipboardCtrl+XCmd+X
DebuggerShift+F5Shift+F5
DeleteCtrl+DeleteCmd+Delete
Find nextShift+F3Shift+F3
Go to lineCtrl+GCmd+G
Interrupt scriptCtrl+F5Cmd+F5
PreferencesCtrl+F2Cmd+F2
Run scriptF5F5
Replace and find nextCtrl+HCmd+H
Run to cursorCtrl+F10Cmd+F10
Save scriptF8
14. Help ShortcutsWindowsMac
DAZ studio helpF1F1
Online helpCtrl+F1Cmd+F1
What’s thisShift+F1Shift+F1
Lesson recordShift+RShift+R