Reference
Keyboard shortcuts
A reference for drawing tools, canvas sizes, frames, saving and context menus in Pixl Studio.
Use these shortcuts while Pixl Studio is open and the drawing has focus. A text field, popup or side-panel control can handle its own keys first. Click the drawing before using a tool shortcut if typing is still going into a field.
On a Mac, use Command for the editing shortcuts shown below with Ctrl.
Tools
| Key | Tool |
|---|---|
B |
Pencil |
E |
Eraser |
G |
Fill |
I |
Eyedropper |
L |
Line |
R |
Rectangle |
O |
Ellipse |
M |
Select |
V |
Move |
X |
Swap primary and secondary colours |
Tool keys are ignored while you type in an editor text field. They are also ignored during text composition or with Alt held. Right-click Pencil or Eraser for its width and shape; right-click Rectangle or Ellipse for Hollow and Filled.
Drawing and saving
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+S |
Save the current artwork. |
Ctrl+Z |
Undo. |
Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y |
Redo. |
[ |
Change to the next smaller pixel grid. |
] |
Change to the next larger pixel grid. |
, |
Select the previous frame. |
. |
Select the next frame. |
Escape |
Close the top editor popup or list; otherwise close Pixl Studio. |
The bracket keys change the drawing’s dimensions, through 16, 32, 64 and 128 where allowed. They do not change brush width. Resizing reaches all layers and frames, so use Undo if you pressed a bracket accidentally.
Save is recognised while typing in the editor’s own fields, but side-panel controls and popups have their own key handling. Use the visible Save button when one of those controls has focus.
Pointer gestures
| Gesture | Action |
|---|---|
| Left-button drawing | Paint with the primary colour. |
| Right-button drawing | Paint with the secondary colour. |
Shift while dragging Rectangle or Ellipse |
Keep width and height equal. |
Ctrl or Command with the wheel |
Zoom the drawing about the pointer. |
| Pinch | Zoom where the browser supplies the supported gesture. |
| Scroll a drawing larger than its space | Pan it. |
The right button is also a context-menu trigger on layer rows, frame thumbnails, palette swatches and collection rows. On a joined board, a right press without a drawing drag opens the tile menu.
Panels and menus
Focus a layer, frame or palette swatch and press Shift+F10 or the Menu key to open its context menu. A focused layer row accepts Enter or Space to select it and F2 to rename it.
In a rename field, Enter applies and Escape cancels. In the colour field, Enter applies a valid hex value. Arrow keys adjust a focused colour wheel or slider.
In Pixl Studio’s search results, use up and down to move and Enter to choose. Escape closes the result list first, keeping the editor open. Closing the editor keeps a working draft when its write succeeds; check draft warnings before leaving an interrupted save.