Keyboard shortcuts

Use Preferences > Keyboard to set your preferred keyboard shortcuts. The following shortcuts are the initial default settings:

Key Combination Action
Help   Show Help
Delete   Clear Selection
Shift-Delete   Clear Outside
Tab   Next Step
Return   Start/Stop Generating
Left   Scroll Left
Right   Scroll Right
Up   Scroll Up
Down   Scroll Down
Space   Next Generation
Shift-Space   Advance Outside
Control-Space   Advance Selection
'   Show Tool Bar
Command-'   Show Tool Bar
+   Faster
Shift-+   Faster
,   Preferences...
Command-,   Preferences...
-   Slower
.   Show All States
Command-.   Show All States
/   Show Edit Bar
Command-/   Show Edit Bar
Shift-Command-/   Show Help
0   Change Origin
1   Set Scale 1:1
2   Set Scale 1:2
4   Set Scale 1:4
Command-5   Random Fill
6   Set Scale 1:16
8   Set Scale 1:8
9   Restore Origin
Command-9   Restore Origin
;   Show Status Bar
Command-;   Show Status Bar
<   Rotate Anticlockwise
=   Faster
>    Rotate Clockwise
?   Show Help
Command-?   Show Help
F2   Cursor Mode: Draw
F3   Cursor Mode: Pick
F4   Cursor Mode: Select
F5   Cursor Mode: Move
F6   Cursor Mode: Zoom In
F7   Cursor Mode: Zoom Out
F11   Full Screen
[   Zoom Out
Command-[   Zoom Out
\   Show Layer Bar
Command-\   Show Layer Bar
]   Zoom In
Command-]   Zoom In
_   Slower
Shift-_   Slower
A   Select All
Command-A   Select All
B   Invert Colors
Command-B   Invert Colors
C   Cycle Cursor Mode
Command-C   Copy Selection
E   Show Exact Numbers
Command-E   Show Exact Numbers
F   Fit Pattern
Command-F   Fit Pattern
Shift-F   Fit Selection
Shift-Command-F   Fit Selection
H   Show Help
Option-H   Open: Rules/LifeHistory.rule
I   Pattern Info
Command-I   Pattern Info
Option-J   Open: Scripts/Lua/toLife.lua
K   Remove Selection
Command-K   Remove Selection
L   Show Grid Lines
Command-L   Show Grid Lines
Option-L   Open: Help/Lexicon/lex.htm
Shift-L   Cycle Paste Location
M   Middle
Command-M   Middle
Shift-M   Cycle Paste Mode
Command-N   New Pattern
Command-O   Open Pattern...
Shift-Command-O   Open Clipboard
P   Show Patterns
Command-P   Show Patterns
Shift-P   Show Scripts
Shift-Command-P   Show Scripts
Command-Q   Quit Golly
Command-R   Reset
S   Shrink and Fit
Command-S   Save Pattern...
Shift-S   Open: Scripts/Lua/shift.lua
T   Auto Fit
Command-T   Auto Fit
Shift-T   Show Timing
Command-U   Use Hashing
V   Paste
Command-V   Paste
X   Flip Left-Right
Command-X   Cut Selection
Y   Flip Top-Bottom
Z   Undo
Command-Z   Undo
Shift-Z   Redo
Shift-Command-Z   Redo