Keyboard Shortcuts

A complete reference for Caddis keyboard shortcuts, grouped by where they apply.

TIP

Most shortcuts are ignored while you're typing in a text field.

This page lists the defaults — most shortcuts can be rebound in Preferences → Shortcuts (Cmd+,). Menu actions (Save, Open…) and structural keys (Escape, Undo) are fixed.

Several keys do different things depending on which panel is focused — for example, O is the ellipse tool in the viewer but solos a node to the Output in the node graph. Those collisions are called out in each section.

Global

These work regardless of the focused panel (but not while typing).

Shortcut	Action
Space	Play / pause
Page Up	Step playhead back one frame
Page Down	Step playhead forward one frame
Numpad 0	Start / stop RAM preview
Cmd Z	Undo
Cmd Shift Z / Cmd Y	Redo
Cmd K	Composition settings
Cmd ,	Preferences
K	Toggle auto-key
F	Fit the panel under the cursor (see Fit)
` (backtick)	Maximize / restore the panel under the cursor
Escape	Context-sensitive cancel (see Escape)

File

Bound through the application menu.

Shortcut	Action
Cmd N	New project
Cmd O	Open project
Cmd S	Save
Cmd Shift S	Save as
Cmd I	Import assets

Tools & viewport modes

Press a tool key once to activate it; press it again (or Escape) to return to the Select tool. The Text, Rectangle, Ellipse, and Polygon tools are single-use — they revert to Select after you create a shape. The Pen and Pan tools stay active until you switch.

Shortcut	Action
V	Select mode (also cancels the active tool — e.g. exits Pan)
E	Edit mode (when the active layer has an editable shape/text). With a Transform selected, walks up to the shape/text feeding it
T	Text tool
R	Rectangle tool
O	Ellipse tool (viewer only — see note)
P	Polygon tool
G	Pen tool
H	Pan tool

O collision

In the node graph, O instead solos the focused node to the Output (press again to restore the previous connection). The ellipse tool has no meaning while the graph is focused, so the two never clash.

Viewer

Shortcut	Action
↑ ↓ ← →	Nudge selected layer(s) by 1 px
Shift ↑ ↓ ← →	Nudge selected layer(s) by 10 px
Cmd D	Duplicate selected layer(s)
Cmd C	Copy selected layer(s)
Cmd V	Paste layer(s) — works across compositions
Delete / Backspace	Delete selected layer(s) (Select mode only — in Edit mode it deletes shape points, and the Pen tool uses it for the last-placed point)

Nudging auto-inserts a Transform2D on layers that have spatial content but no transform yet (procedural-only layers are skipped).

Node graph

Active when the node graph panel is focused.

Shortcut	Action
Tab	Open the node-creation menu at the cursor
Enter	Rename the single selected node
F2 / Enter	Rename the selected group
↑	Select the node feeding this node's main input
↓	Select the node this node feeds
O	Solo the focused node to the Output (toggle)
D	Toggle bypass on selected node(s)
D	Insert a Dot node (while dragging an edge)
Cmd G	Group selected nodes
Cmd D	Duplicate selected nodes in place
Cmd C	Copy selected nodes
Cmd V	Paste nodes
Cmd Shift V	Paste linked (pasted nodes mirror their source's params)
Cmd A	Select all nodes
Delete / Backspace	Delete selected nodes / edges (or the selected group). With Heal on delete on (toolbar toggle, default), deleting mid-chain nodes reconnects their neighbors
Alt + drag	Cut — draw a line across connections to delete every one it crosses
Escape	Exit group-draw mode / deselect group

Timeline

Active when the timeline panel is focused.

Shortcut	Action
Tab	Cycle Layers → Dope Sheet → Graph Editor
+ / =	Zoom in
-	Zoom out
B	Set work area (preview range) start to playhead
N	Set work area (preview range) end to playhead
[	Slide active layer's in-point to playhead (keeps duration, moves keyframes)
]	Slide active layer's out-point to playhead (keeps duration, moves keyframes)
Alt [	Trim layer's in-point to playhead (changes duration, keyframes stay)
Alt ]	Trim layer's out-point to playhead (changes duration, keyframes stay)
Enter	Rename the active layer (Layers mode)
Delete / Backspace	Delete selected layer(s) (Layers mode)
Alt ↑ / Alt ↓	Move the active layer up / down in the stack (Layers mode)
Cmd Shift D	Split layer(s) at the playhead (Layers mode)
Cmd Shift R	Reverse the stacking order of the selected layers (Layers mode, 2+ selected)

Slide/trim apply to all selected layers when more than one is selected.

Dope Sheet & Graph Editor

Active in the Dope Sheet or Graph Editor with one or more keyframes selected.

Shortcut	Action
H	Set interpolation to Hold
L	Set interpolation to Linear
S	Set interpolation to Smooth
B	Set interpolation to Bezier
1	Bezier handle mode: Auto
2	Bezier handle mode: Clamped
3	Bezier handle mode: Free
Cmd A	Select all keyframes in the composition
Cmd C	Copy selected keyframes
Cmd V	Paste keyframes relative to the playhead
Cmd C / Cmd V	With a param row selected (and no keyframes), copy the row's whole keyframe set / paste it onto selected rows with the same parameter
Delete / Backspace	Delete selected keyframes

B collision

With keyframes selected, B sets Bezier interpolation. With no keyframes selected, B sets the work-area start instead.

Pen tool

Active while the Pen tool is drawing.

Shortcut	Action
Click	Place an anchor point
Drag	Pull out bezier tangents
Shift Click	Constrain to 45° from the previous point
Alt Click	Convert an anchor / break tangents
Double-click	Finish an open path
Enter	Finish the path
Escape	Cancel the path
Backspace / Delete	Remove the last point
Cmd Z	Undo the last point

Shape tools

Modifiers while drawing with the Rectangle, Ellipse, or Polygon tool.

Shortcut	Action
Drag	Draw from a corner
Shift Drag	Constrain to a square / circle
Alt Drag	Draw from the center outward
Cmd Drag	Draw into the active layer (instead of a new layer)

Color picker

Shortcut	Action
I	Activate the eyedropper — click the viewport to sample, Esc cancels (while a color picker is open)

Properties & Assets

Shortcut	Action
Tab / Shift Tab	Commit the value and hop to the next / previous parameter field (value arrives selected — just type). Cycles within the panel
Alt click a parameter name	Reset that parameter to its default
Enter	Rename the selected asset (Assets panel)
Delete / Backspace	Delete the selected asset(s)/folder(s) — comps are never deleted this way (Assets panel)
Cmd D	Duplicate the selected composition(s) (Assets panel)

Assistant

Shortcut	Action
⌘ Enter	Send the message (Assistant panel composer)

Fit (F)

F fits whatever you're pointing at, falling back to the active panel:

• Viewer — fit the canvas to the frame (same as the "Fit" zoom control)
• Node Graph — frame all nodes
• Timeline Graph Editor — fit the visible keyframes in both axes

Escape

Escape steps back one level at a time, in this order:

1. Exit text editing (stays in edit mode)
2. Switch the active tool back to Select
3. Clear the focused node
4. Exit Edit mode back to Layer mode
5. Clear the current selection

Canvas navigation — Viewer & Node Graph

Mouse and trackpad gestures for zooming and panning.

Gesture	Action
Scroll wheel (mouse)	Zoom
Cmd scroll (mouse or trackpad)	Zoom (explicit)
Pinch (trackpad)	Zoom
Two-finger swipe (trackpad)	Pan
Middle-mouse drag	Pan

Zooming is cursor-centered. A plain mouse scroll wheel always zooms; only a trackpad two-finger swipe pans. Touch-surface mice (Apple Magic Mouse, free-spin wheels) are detected as trackpads, so a swipe pans — hold Cmd to zoom with them.

In the timeline's Dope Sheet and Graph Editor the same split applies: a trackpad swipe slides the timeline (and pans the value axis in the Graph Editor) while pinch zooms the time axis. See Canvas navigation for the full breakdown.