Plotra DocsKeyboard shortcuts
Every command and every key in a project, grouped as the app groups them, and how to change the ones you can.
Almost everything in a project can be done without the mouse. This page lists every command, the keys it starts with, and the keys the editor has built in.
The same list is in the app: press ⌘/, or choose Keyboard shortcuts from More in the ribbon or from the user menu. The list in the app shows the keys as you have set them and only the commands this project has.
This page writes keys the way a Mac shows them. On Windows and Linux, use Ctrl for ⌘ and Alt for ⌥; the app shows them as Ctrl+Shift+P.
How shortcuts work
- A command's shortcut works anywhere in the project, including while you are typing in the editor.
- A shortcut that has neither
⌘nor⌥in it, apart from the function keys, is ignored while you are typing in a text box, so a key you bind on its own doesn't get in the way of writing. - Every command is also in the command palette (
⌘P), with its current keys beside it. A command without keys can still be run from there. - Some shortcuts are also used by the browser.
⌘Pis the browser's Print and⌘Oits Open; inside a project, Plotra takes them.
Changing a shortcut
- Press
⌘/to open Keyboard shortcuts. - Find the command. The search box matches the name, the group, or the keys, typed as shown (
⌘P) or spelled out (mod+p). - Click the keys at the right of its row (or None, if it has no shortcut). The row shows "Press keys…".
- Press the new combination.
| While it says "Press keys…" | What happens |
|---|---|
| Any combination | Becomes the command's shortcut. If another command had it, that command loses it. |
⌫ or Delete | Removes the shortcut. The command shows None. |
Esc | Cancels. |
A row you have changed shows a Reset to default button, which gives it back the keys it started with.
The rows under Editor (fixed) can't be changed.
Where changed shortcuts are stored
Changed shortcuts are stored in your browser, not in your account. They apply to every project you open in that browser, and they don't follow you to another browser or computer. Clearing the site's data resets them. If the browser can't store them at all (a private window, or full storage), a change lasts until you close the tab.
Navigate
| Command | Keys |
|---|---|
| Open command palette | ⌘P |
| Quick switcher | ⌘O |
| Search project | ⌘⇧O |
In the quick switcher, ↵ opens the note, ⌘↵ opens it in a new tab and ⌘⌥↵ opens it to the right. See Finding things.
Binder
| Command | Keys |
|---|---|
| New note | ⌘⌥N |
| New folder | ⌘⌥⇧N |
| New scene | |
| New chapter | |
| New character | |
| New location | |
| New research | |
| New canvas | |
| New timeline | |
| New dialogue (with Interactive narrative) | |
| Rename current note | F2 |
| Reveal current note in binder | |
| Duplicate current note | |
| Move current note to trash | |
| New beat sheet (Save the Cat, Hero's Journey…) |
If the project has its own words for the kinds, the commands use them: "New session" in place of "New chapter". "Current note" is the note in the active tab, or the one selected in the binder if no note is open.
With the binder itself focused, these keys work as well. They are fixed.
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
↑ ↓ | Move the selection |
→ | Open a folder, then go to its first note |
← | Close a folder, then go to its parent |
↵ | Open the note, or open and close a folder |
⌘↵ | Open the note in a new tab |
⌘⌥↵ | Open the note to the right |
⌫ or Delete | Move the note to the trash |
With the mouse: click opens a note in the current tab, ⌘-click or middle-click in a new tab, and ⌘⌥-click to the right. The same goes for a link in the text. See Working in the binder.
Panes
| Command | Keys |
|---|---|
| Close tab | ⌥W |
| Split right | ⌘⌥\ |
| Split down | |
| Next tab | ⌘⌥→ |
| Previous tab | ⌘⌥← |
| Pin or unpin tab | |
| Maximize or restore pane | ⌘⇧M |
| Saved layouts… | ⌘⇧L |
See Tabs and panes.
View
| Command | Keys |
|---|---|
| Toggle binder | ⌘\ |
| Toggle inspector | ⌘⇧\ |
| Toggle light / dark | |
| Close all tabs | |
| Show comments | |
| Show version history | |
| Show tags | |
| Show backlinks | ⌘⇧B |
| Show canon and reveals |
The "Show" commands open the matching panel of the inspector, or the tags pane on the left.
Views
Each view has a command that opens it. Three have keys to begin with.
| Command | Keys | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Open graph view | ⌘G | |
| Open codex | ⌘⇧C | |
| Open relationship map | ⌘⇧R | |
| Open outline | ||
| Open plot grid | ||
| Open corkboard of current folder | ||
| Open manuscript (Scrivenings) of current folder | ||
| Read / print preview of current folder | ||
| Open activity feed | ||
| Open writing stats and goals | ||
| Open local graph of current note | ||
| New timeline | ||
| Open release roadmap | Releases & reveals | |
| Open secrets & setups | Releases & reveals | |
| Open continuity | World bible | |
| Open sources | Research & sources | |
| Open reviews | Review & editorial | |
| Open production | Production | |
| Open quest designer | Interactive narrative | |
| Open strings (short-text fields) | Interactive narrative | |
| Open translate | Localization | |
| Open publish | Publishing | |
| Open AI chat | AI switched on |
The commands "of current folder" open on the folder or chapter that is selected, or on the one the open note is in. See Views.
Writing
| Command | Keys |
|---|---|
| Toggle focus mode | ⌘⇧F |
| Toggle typewriter scrolling | ⌘⇧T |
| Toggle suggesting (track changes) | ⌘⇧E |
| Comment on selection | ⌘⌥M |
| Tag block (canon, reveal, fact-check)… | ⌘⌥T |
Esc leaves focus mode. See Focus mode, Suggestions and Block tags.
File
| Command | Keys | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Import… (Markdown, Word, plain text, Obsidian vault) | Edit access | |
| Export… (Markdown, Word, plain text, PDF) |
See Import and export.
Script
Only with the Script formats module on.
| Command | Keys |
|---|---|
| Import Fountain… | |
| Export as Fountain |
See Scripts.
AI
Only where AI is on for the workspace and the project, and for people who can edit.
| Command | Keys |
|---|---|
| Ask AI… | |
| AI: Draft this scene or chapter | |
| AI: Check this chapter | |
| AI: Carry a change through the project… | |
| AI: Build the project from a premise… |
In the editor, ⌘J opens the AI menu on the selection. That key belongs to the editor and can't be changed. See AI.
App
| Command | Keys |
|---|---|
| Project settings (type, modules, workflow)… | |
| Customize: ribbon, inspector and the look of the page | |
| Keyboard shortcuts | ⌘/ |
| Back to the workspace (or "Back to shared projects", for a guest) |
Editor (fixed)
These belong to the editor. They work while the cursor is in the text and can't be changed.
Formatting
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
⌘B | Bold |
⌘I | Italic |
⌘U | Underline |
⌘⇧X | Strikethrough |
⌘E | Inline code |
⌘⇧H | Highlight |
⌘K | Link to a web address |
⌘⌥1, ⌘⌥2, ⌘⌥3 | Heading 1, 2 and 3 |
⌘⇧. | Quote |
Moving and undoing
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
⌘↵ | New paragraph below the block |
⌘⇧↵ | New paragraph above the block |
⌘Z | Undo |
⌘⇧Z | Redo |
↵ or ↓ at the end of the title | Move from the title into the text |
Esc in the title | Put the old title back |
Typed in the text
| Type | What it does |
|---|---|
/ | Opens the block menu |
[[ | Links to a note |
![[ | Embeds a note |
#name | Tags the note |
#, ##, ### and a space | Heading 1, 2, 3 |
- or * and a space | Bulleted list |
1. or 1) and a space | Numbered list |
[ ] or [x] and a space | To-do, open or ticked |
> and a space | Quote |
--- or ___ | Divider |
**text** | Bold |
*text* or _text_ | Italic |
***text*** | Bold and italic |
~~text~~ | Strikethrough |
==text== | Highlight |
`text` | Inline code |
[text](address) | Link to a web address |
-- | Em dash |
... | Ellipsis |
-> | Arrow |
(c) | Copyright sign |
Straight quotes become curly ones as you type. With the Research & sources module on, [@ starts a citation.
In a script
In a note written in a script format, Tab and Shift+Tab change the element the line is: scene heading, action, character, dialogue. See Scripts.
The editor's blocks, toolbar and menus are described on The editor.
Elsewhere
| Where | Keys | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Command palette, quick switcher, saved layouts | ↑ ↓, ↵, Esc | Move, choose, close |
| A drawer or a dialog | Esc | Close it |
| The edge of the binder or the inspector, when focused | ← → | Make the sidebar narrower or wider |
| A tag, alias or multi-select field | ↵ or , | Add what you typed |
| The same field, when empty | ⌫ | Remove the last one |
| A property field | ↵, Esc | Keep the value, or put the old one back |
| A tab | Middle-click | Close it |
The views have keys of their own, for example ⌘ and scroll to zoom the timeline. See Views and the pages for each view.
Modules
Switch on only the tools your project needs. What a module is, the ten there are, what each adds, and what happens when you switch one off.
Project types
The eleven project types: what each is for, the modules it starts with, the format of its scenes, what its releases are called and the ribbon it opens with.