Industry Compatible Keymap Proposal - Feedback Requested

[JulienKaspar]

Goal

This thread is to show and discuss all planned changes to the Industry Compatible keymap for Blender 4.0.

Draw, Paint and Sculpt modes are the main target (Any mode with brushes)
The improvements can be summarized as:

• Mode switching and selection/mask type switching is more accessible via number keys
• Select & Mask pie menus in all Paint & Sculpt modes
• Missing vital operators have been added
• Existing shortcuts have been standardized across all related modes
• Shortcut conflicts were solved

New features and design decisions will be kept to an absolute minimum.

Feedback wanted!

Feel free to leave any feedback or suggestions in this thread!
Below you can download pre-made keymap to test the changes (Although some shortcuts are not fully supported yet).

Prototype Keymaps for Testing

Download and use these prototype keymap here:
https://projects.blender.org/attachments/df0c79ef-cc03-44ee-9100-e44a981a1192

How to use the keymap

• Duplicate your Blender .config folder for safe keeping
• Copy & paste the contents of one of the keymap folders into your .config folder
• Start Blender

Overview of Changes

This is an overview of all changes.

Expand for the full list

All Modes

General

• All brush shortcuts have been removed for free custom mapping
• Redundant shortcuts have been removed such as
  • Line Session drawing (In GP Draw Tool)
  • Select Alternate in GP
• Shortcuts standards are now consitent across all modes (Like S & U for Brush size & strength)
• MMB = Additional shortcut for panning in the User Interface (popular request)

Mode Switching (Affects entire keymap)

• 1 - 3 = Switch selection/mask modes for the current mode (Previously this would always switch to edit mode)
• 1 - 3 = From Object mode will still always switch to Edit mode to the correct selection type
• 4 = Mode switching pie menu (previously 4-7 for individual modes)
• ` = Transfer Mode (Previously not mapped. Useful for instant object switching while keeping the current mode)
• 5 - 0 = Unassigned

Brush vs Selection

• Shift LMB= Smooth Brush / Stabilzed Stroke in GP Draw Mode / Toggle-Extend Selection on selection tools
• Ctrl LMB = Inverted Brush
• Shift Alt LMB = Set Selection
• Shift Alt Ctrl LMB = Toggle-Extend Selection
• Shift RMB = Set Cursor / Set Transform Pivot in Sculpt Mode

Stencil Controls

These have been remapped to avoid conflicts with vital navigation shortcuts.
(Shortcuts are reminiscent of Zbrush)

• Z Shift LMB = Rotate Stencil 1
• Z Shift MMB = Move Stencil 1
• Z Shift RMB = Scale Stencil 1
• Z Shift Alt LMB = Rotate Stencil 2
• Z Shift Alt MMB = Move Stencil 2
• Z Shift Alt RMB = Scale Stencil 2

Brush Size vs Select Linked

These were previously in direct conflict. Now they are both distinct and based on other DCC software.

• [ = Decrease Brush Size (Previously missing from many modes)
• ] = Increase Brush Size (Previously missing from many modes)
• Alt LMB double click = Select Linked Pick (Not in direct conflict with navigation)
• Shift Alt LMB double click = Deselect Linked Pick
• Ctrl L = Select Linked

Select & Mask

• Q = Cycle Masking/Selection Tools
• Shift Q = Toggle Mask Overlay in Sculpt Mode
• Alt A = Auto-Masking Pie Menu
• Shift A = Expand Mask by Topology / Grow Selection in Curve Sculpt Mode
• Shift Alt A = Expand Mask by Normals
• Ctrl A= Mask/Select Pie Menu in all Paint & Mask modes

Face Sets & Visibility

• Shift W = Face Set Expand
• Shift Alt W = Active Face Set Expand
• Ctrl W = Face Set Edit Pie Menu
• Ctrl H = Hide Active Face Set
• Shift H = Hide Inactive Face Sets / Toggle Visibility
• Page Up = Grow Active Face Set
• Page Down = Shrink Active Face Set

Transforming

For Sculpt and Weight Painting modes

• W = Move Tool
• E = Rotate Tool
• R = Scale Tool
• T = Transform Tool

Sculpting

• Shift D = Subdivsion level Down
• Shift Alt D = Subdivsion level Up
• Ctrl Shift D = Voxel Remesh / Dyntopo Flood Fill (Context dependent)
• Ctrl D Set Voxel/Dyntopo detail size (Context dependent)

Painting

• Backspace = Set Color/Weight
• I = Sample Color/Weight
• Alt I = Sample Vertex Group
• X = Swap Colors

Grease Pencil

• Shift S = Animation Menu
• Shift Alt S = Insert Blank Keyframe
• Alt H = Unhide Layers
• Ctrl H = Hide Active Layer
• Shift H = Hide Inactive Layers
• T = Active Layer Menu
• Alt Y = Material Menu
• Alt Backspace/Delete = Delete Active Keyframe

Other

• F = Center View to Mouse (Overrides ‘Frame Selected’ in Draw, Paint & Sculpt modes)
• D = Annotate Tool
• L = Toggle Stabilize Stroke

More Info

For more detailed information, read the design task and the included spreadsheets:

Sculpt/Painting Modes: Revamp Keymap

[Stimes]

Why not proposal 2 design ? Classical by default (Actual) and one other called “Industry standard” ?

Why not let the user choose his own preference create a new option called “Key presets” and let the user choosen if he want standard or industry ?

[omr]

That is what is being proposed

[Stimes]

My apologige this dude talking just add some key binding for the industry key maps… And not changing the défault key binding…

[omr]

No worries! There is a separate thread for changing the default key binding.

[SpookyDoom]

The only thing I request to keep in mind for any keyboard map changes or improvements (be it the industry compatible or the Blender default one) is to avoid mapping the tilde key for anything vital or difficult to change. There are many european keyboard layouts where this key simply does not work or is only reachable as an active key with a lot of work or workarounds.

For example just google: “blender tilde key german keyboard” or “tilde key german keyboard”.

[JulienKaspar]

For convenience I allowed the Tilde key to be used for the Transfer Mode operator.
It’s a very useful operator that can be used very frequently, but isn’t essential.
The key location is ideal since it’s right next to the mode switching keys and easy tor reach.
But the Tilde key issue needs a solution in general, I agree.

Any notes on the rest of the keymap?

[JulienKaspar]

I’m thinking of some adjustments to the proposal to keep the keymap simple:

• Remove some selection shortcuts to stay consistent with the focus on the Toolbar.
  If these are removed, the user needs to switch to a selection tool with Q first.

  • Remove Shift Ctrl LMB for Lasso Unmask/Select
  • Remove Alt Ctrl LMB for Lasso Mask/Deselect
  • Remove Shift Alt LMB for Set Selection
  • Remove Shift Alt Ctrl LMB for Toggle-Extend Selection

• Remove some advanced shortcuts that are also accessible from the UI

  • Remove Alt Ctrl I for Vertex Group Lock Pie (Hard to use on this keybinding anyway)
  • Remove Shift Y for Merge Layer Down (Shortcut can be added manually if needed)

• Change Stencil controls to be consistent with viewport navigation

  • Z Shift MMB = Move Stencil
  • Z Shift LMB = Rotate Stencil
  • Z Shift RMB = Scale Stencil

[SpookyDoom]

No, sorry. I’m on the regular Blender keymap with a few modifications, myself. I don’t think any feedback from my side beyond the tilde key, which is a problem in any keymap with Blender, would be grounded enough to be useful.
I love immediately going into edit mode with 1-3, though but just switching when another mode is active. I’m very accustomed to this behaviour from another program.

Beyond that my current feedback would be more useful on the regular Blender keymap.

[Dragosh]

I kind of love and hate the Tilde key, on one hand it’s practical to focus back on object, on the other it always saves the input for the next key, so when i have anything to type it immedietly types in the tilde sign which is infuriating, but that’s a windows thing i think

[SpookyDoom]

It simply doesn’t register on regular german keyboard layouts in Blender and everything you can do to make it work screws up something else. At least on Windows. I never found a satisfying workaround that was easy to apply. If it worked it would be fantastic because the key is just so reachable. But as is it will stay a dead key on my layout and I know at least a few other Blender users who also simply don’t use the key for the same reasons.

[tintwotin]

The VSE never had any Industry Compatible shortcuts. If the urge suddenly and unexpectedly arises, here are some guidelines to go by: Video editing applications handbook - Kdenlive

[JulienKaspar]

Some changes to the prototype keymaps and proposal:

• MMB = Panning in the User Interface (In additon to old shortcuts)
• Remove Shift Ctrl LMB for Lasso Unmask/Select
• Remove Alt Ctrl LMB for Lasso Deselect
• Kept Lasso Mask on Shift Ctrl LMB like before the proposal

It’s easy to add a custom shortcut to lasso select/mask. This way the keymap is a bit lighter by default.
The only other editors that have a lasso select shortcut are the ones that don’t have a lasso select tool as an alternative.

Flipped these Stencil controls to be consistent with viewport navigation

• Z Shift MMB = Move Stencil
• Z Shift LMB = Rotate Stencil

New Dyntopo & Voxel remeshing shortcuts to not overlap with Multires shortcuts:

• Ctrl D Set detail size
• Ctrl Shift D Remesh / Flood Fill mesh

Also some fixes:

• 1-3 now used in Painting Modes for masking mode toggling

[mingoo]

@JulienKaspar

abilzed Stroke in

Sounds great!
-Get rid of the 1-0 keys (isolate collection) in object mode. 1-3 switch directly into edit mode- great!
-Would love to see a select element (connected faces) on key 4 for object&edit mode, and
a selection for segments in curve mode on key 2, but that’s another topic i guess.
-key 5-0 free is a good idea
-industry standard means the q-w-e-r-t concept in my understanding? Still like the idea even though got used to g-s-r. q-w-e-r-t in blender “industry-standard” is not really worked out.
-Please don’t give up the q for Quick Favorites! Position at least on the left side of the keyboard is a Must.

• Would also love to see a better way to change the editors. Specially cycling though some common editors (like SHIFT+F3) is not really intuitive.

[omr]

speaking of cycling through the editors I think the collections keys (1-10) could be reused for that purpose.

[Doowah]

Just out of curiosity. Are these changes being reflected in any of the current downloadable builds?

I would much rather we all stop idealizing what good these hotkeys are in “theory” and find out how well they flow in “practice”.

As a professional in digital sculpting, I would much rather “test” these changes out before we all say “I” to any declaration. Because when using the sculpt mode, I try “not to” equate my thinking to how Blender operates, but in essence, how do similar sculpting apps work. Then I waywardly think about “how would I do that in Blender?”.

I am paying attention to what everyone is writing. What doesn’t make any sense to me, is the conflating of Blenders hotkeys with the rest of the software’s “modes”. I don’t know who in their right mind believes you can simultaneously use (edit mode) in conjunction with “sculpt mode” at the same exact time… It would be much better suited to realize (sculpt mode) set of hotkeys in a way that makes complete “sense” to the user who is now doing digital sculpting work in the software on every front.

The stencil hotkeys seem a bit odd in finger placement for fluid use. z + Shift +(mouse click type)
My suggestion: Use the “S” key for stencils.
(Assuming if a stencil “operation” is being activated. Use the common language shared across all apps that use Stencils as a sculpt/paint feature by common hotkey.)
s + left click = rotate stencil
s + middle mouse = pan/translate stencil
s + right mouse = scale stencil

Maybe the best question for me to end off with before I get ahead of myself is;
Can Blender designate unique hotkey sets per (mode) ? - i.e (layout, modeling, sculpting, uv editing, texture paint, shading, etc.

If the answer is yes, fantastic!
If the answer is, no. This needs to happen.
( This it will solve the hot-key dilemma for good on the end user. Because then Blender can be what a user makes it to be.(completely) Rather than that a single developer who wants them to see it be. Because of some theorized x,y,z reason they thought about, more than, had they tried it out. If I, the user wants modeling to have a set of unique hotkeys, I can arrange them to be so. If I want Sculpt mode to act like another application when entered (mode), then it will be. Because I can say Blender gives me that option!, same applies towards UV editing, shading, and animation.)

I know the last bit CAN happen. The question for any developer who knows the hotkey framework. Would you be willing make this happen for the long-haul? Because this would be that kind of task that lives on eternally and you can say, you did that!

[JulienKaspar]

For testing there are some premade .config folders that you can download and test.
There will be patches soon to go into 4.0.
I strongly encourage to test the keymap and share feedback on the shortcut bindings if any.

I agree about the modes. It’s very important for the IC keymap to not reinvent the conventions and general workflows of how to use Blender. It’s just to give a keymap that has more overlap with other industry tools.
There are many suggestions for the keymap but many are just not possible because in the end the keymap mostly needs to operate like Blender normally does.

@Doowah

Use the “S” key for stencils.

The key software that is used as a reference is Zbrush for sculpting/painting, although there is some influence from various other tools.
So the S key is already used for the brush size.
Z is typically used in Zbrush for the spotlight feature, so the stencil hotkeys are imitating those closely.

@Doowah

Can Blender designate unique hotkey sets per (mode) ?

Yes and no. Each module of Blender (modeling, video editing, uv editing, sculpt/paint, etc) needs to be free to add their own shortcuts and operators, so that their workflows are optimized.
But for 4.0 a big effort is put on synchronizing “common shortcuts”. As many modes as reasonable will share similar or the same shortcuts if the operations are the same (like stencils, brush size, color picking, etc).
So it won’t feel like opening a new software every time you switch modes.
Every module team (artists included) will have to judge any changes for how sensible they are before they go in

[Doowah]

@JulienKaspar

Yes and no. Each module of Blender (modeling, video editing, uv editing, sculpt/paint, etc) needs to be free to add their own shortcuts and operators, so that their workflows are optimized.
But for 4.0 a big effort is put on synchronizing “common shortcuts”. As many modes as reasonable will share similar or the same shortcuts if the operations are the same (like stencils, brush size, color picking, etc).
So it won’t feel like opening a new software every time you switch modes.
Every module team (artists included) will have to judge any changes for how sensible they are before they go in

If I was a head engineer of Blender. Here’s the autonomous call I would make to do the following:

Create a keymap structure that (Allows) splits to key mappings across all (modes) for (user) preference(s). After that has been established. Make a uniform keymap across (All) of Blenders modes as a baseline foundation for key mapping that a new user launches into Blender with.

If a user who fancies Blender as their go-to application for Sculpting. They can have the option to do the following.

1. Learn the foundation base key mapping that sits across Blender as a (novice, or expert user).

2. Decide (if preferred) to override the baseline key mapping input(s) for (Sculpt mode)

3. User assigns a combination of favorite fluid hotkeys from a few apps (ZBrush, Mudbox, Silo, etc.) that uniquely sits in Sculpt (mode). - Overriding the developers set preferences that built the key mapping foundation.

4. User moves into modeling (mode) to adjust the mesh, or creates additional mesh components to existing sculpt mesh. (This mode, would still contain or have active the Blender base foundation key mapping.) - Same logic is applied should the user go into Layout, UV Editing, Animation, etc. (Until user changes those (modes) to their preference.)

5. Blender is designed to be customizable, and the (user) should have the choice to designate how any part their software should behave. All this suggests, is there’s a bit of work left to be done to make this feasible. Which would be a HUGE pay off and win for Blender. Ultimately how a user can navigate is the biggest and most profound effect how popular a software can be in the eye’s of its user-base, second would be its feature-set.

I haven’t read good reason(s) to shut me up about this design approach philosophy to wager a means to be against it. Just to be fair, everything I have been advocating for (everybody) doesn’t impede or override the foundations (the developer) would set in place.

We really need to stop looking at what can happen to Blender like Blender is a living (internet connected) app that if (I) a user changes something. That will somehow migrate to everyone else’s builds who has downloaded and (is) actively using Blender. That’s completely false & not fair.

[JulienKaspar]

This is already how Blender works. Users actually have extreme amount of control over keymap customizability.

But this is off topic. The thread is about feedback on the proposed keymap changes.
So let’s return to that

[JulienKaspar]

@Doowah A WIP patch and a downloadable test build is now available.

Some changes still need to be included but testing and feedback is very appreciated!

@Mantasku @LudvikKoutny @duarte.framos @KevinBurke
You also expressed interest in the IC keymap at some point.
Would you be interested in testing out the changes and giving your opinion on them?
Are you still using the IC keymap (or used it recently)?
What would you like to see changed or fixed?