Keyboard Shortcuts

Complete reference of keyboard shortcuts in ChartDB for faster diagram editing

Overview

ChartDB provides keyboard shortcuts to speed up your workflow. All shortcuts are context-aware and work seamlessly across macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Shortcuts are displayed using macOS notation by default. Windows/Linux users should substitute Cmd (⌘) with Ctrl.

Essential Shortcuts

These are the most frequently used shortcuts you should learn first:

Undo

macOS: ⌘Z

Windows/Linux: Ctrl+Z

Undo the last action

Redo

macOS: ⇧⌘Z

Windows/Linux: Ctrl+Shift+Z

Redo the previously undone action

Save Diagram

macOS: ⌘S

Windows/Linux: Ctrl+S

Save current diagram

Open Diagram

macOS: ⌘O

Windows/Linux: Ctrl+O

Open diagram browser

All Keyboard Shortcuts

File Operations

Open Diagram · shortcut

macOS: ⌘O (meta+o)

Windows/Linux: Ctrl+O (ctrl+o)

Opens the diagram selection dialog to load a saved diagram.

Save Diagram · shortcut

macOS: ⌘S (meta+s)

Windows/Linux: Ctrl+S (ctrl+s)

Saves the current diagram. ChartDB also auto-saves as you work.

Edit Operations

Undo · shortcut

macOS: ⌘Z (meta+z)

Windows/Linux: Ctrl+Z (ctrl+z)

Undoes the last change made to the diagram.

Undoable actions:

• Creating/deleting tables, relationships, areas, notes
• Modifying table properties and fields
• Moving elements on the canvas
• Changing colors and sizes

Redo · shortcut

macOS: ⇧⌘Z (meta+shift+z)

Windows/Linux: Ctrl+Shift+Z (ctrl+shift+z)

Redoes the action that was undone.

View Controls

Toggle Side Panel · shortcut

macOS: ⌘B (meta+b)

Windows/Linux: Ctrl+B (ctrl+b)

Toggles the sidebar panel visibility.

The sidebar contains:

• Tables list
• Relationships list
• Schema browser
• Diagram settings

Show All · shortcut

macOS: ⌘0 (meta+0)

Windows/Linux: Ctrl+0 (ctrl+0)

Fits all diagram elements in the viewport.

Use when:

• You’ve lost your position on the canvas
• You want to see the entire diagram
• Taking screenshots of the full diagram

Toggle Theme · shortcut

macOS: ⌘M (meta+m)

Windows/Linux: Ctrl+M (ctrl+m)

Switches between light and dark theme.

Toggle Filter · shortcut

macOS: ⌘F (meta+f)

Windows/Linux: Ctrl+F (ctrl+f)

Opens/closes the diagram filter panel.

Filter options:

• Filter by schema
• Filter by table name
• Show/hide views
• Show/hide specific tables

Canvas Navigation

These actions use mouse/trackpad controls:

Pan Canvas

Click and drag on empty canvas space

Move around the diagram

Zoom In/Out

Mouse wheel or pinch gesture

Zoom the canvas in or out

Select Element

Click on table, area, or note

Select for editing or moving

Multi-Select

Shift+Click or drag selection box

Select multiple elements

Context Menu Shortcuts

Right-click shortcuts vary by context:

Canvas Context Menu

Right-click on empty canvas:

• New Table - Create a table at cursor position
• New View - Create a database view
• New Relationship - Open relationship creation dialog
• New Area - Create an area for grouping
• New Note - Add a text annotation
• Import SQL/DBML - Import schema from SQL or DBML

Table Context Menu

Right-click on a table:

• Edit Table - Enter table edit mode
• Duplicate Table - Create a copy with _copy suffix
• Add Relationship - Start creating a relationship from this table
• Delete Table - Remove the table and its relationships

Area Context Menu

Right-click on an area:

• Edit Area Name - Rename the area
• Delete Area - Remove the area (tables remain)

Relationship Context Menu

Click on a relationship line:

• 1:1 / 1:N buttons - Change cardinality
• Switch (⇄) - Reverse relationship direction
• Details (◉) - Open in sidebar
• Delete (🗑) - Remove relationship

Table Editing Shortcuts

When editing a table (double-click or right-click → Edit):

Field Navigation

• Tab - Move to next field property
• Shift+Tab - Move to previous field property
• Enter - Save current field and create new field
• Escape - Exit edit mode without saving

Field Toggles

Quick toggle buttons for field properties:

• PK - Primary Key
• U - Unique
• NN - Not Null
• AI - Auto Increment (for integer types)

Field Deletion

• Delete icon on field row - Remove field
• Confirm in dialog that appears

Creating Elements

Quick Creation Workflows

1. Create Table

   1. Right-click canvas at desired position
   2. Select New Table
   3. Table enters edit mode automatically
   4. Add fields and configure
2. Create Relationship

   Method 1: Visual

   1. Right-click source table → Add Relationship
   2. Click target table
   3. Configure in dialog

   Method 2: Dialog

   1. Right-click canvas → New Relationship
   2. Select tables and fields
   3. Set cardinality
3. Create Area

   1. Right-click canvas at desired position
   2. Select New Area
   3. Resize and rename as needed
   4. Drag tables into area
4. Create Note

   1. Right-click canvas at desired position
   2. Select New Note
   3. Double-click to edit content
   4. Resize to fit content

Browser-Specific Shortcuts

Some shortcuts may conflict with browser shortcuts. ChartDB attempts to prevent default browser behavior, but some may still trigger.

Known Conflicts

macOS Safari

• ⌘L - Address bar (cannot be overridden)
• ⌘T - New tab (cannot be overridden)
• ⌘W - Close tab (cannot be overridden)

Workaround: Use context menus instead.

Windows Chrome

• Ctrl+T - New tab
• Ctrl+W - Close tab
• Ctrl+N - New window

Workaround: Use context menus for conflicting actions.

All Browsers

• Ctrl+F / ⌘F - ChartDB uses this for filter, but browser may try to open find dialog

Solution: ChartDB prevents default, so this should work correctly.

Productivity Tips

Learn the Big 5

Master these five shortcuts first:

1. ⌘Z / Ctrl+Z - Undo
2. ⌘S / Ctrl+S - Save
3. ⌘B / Ctrl+B - Toggle sidebar
4. ⌘0 / Ctrl+0 - Show all
5. ⌘F / Ctrl+F - Filter

These cover 80% of common operations.

Right-Click is Your Friend

The context menu adapts based on what you click:

• Empty canvas: Creation options
• Table: Table operations
• Area: Area operations
• Relationship: Relationship editing

When in doubt, right-click!

Use Undo Liberally

Don’t be afraid to experiment:

• ChartDB has comprehensive undo/redo
• Almost all actions are undoable
• Auto-save protects against data loss

Try things and undo if they don’t work out.

Sidebar Toggle for Focus

• Hide sidebar (⌘B / Ctrl+B) when working on canvas
• Show sidebar when you need to browse or search
• More screen real estate = easier diagram editing

Show All for Orientation

Press ⌘0 / Ctrl+0 regularly to:

• See where you are in the diagram
• Check overall layout
• Find elements you’ve lost track of
• Take mental snapshots of structure

Platform Differences

ChartDB automatically detects your operating system and adapts:

macOS

• Uses ⌘ (Command) key as modifier
• Displays shortcuts with Mac symbols (⌘, ⇧, ⌥)
• Follows Mac conventions

Key Mapping:

• ⌘ = Command (Cmd)
• ⌥ = Option (Alt)
• ⇧ = Shift
• ⌃ = Control

Windows/Linux

• Uses Ctrl key as modifier
• Displays shortcuts with standard notation
• Follows Windows conventions

Key Mapping:

• Ctrl = Control
• Alt = Alt
• Shift = Shift

Shortcut Reference Card

Print-friendly quick reference:

CHARTDB KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

File Operations:
  Open Diagram         ⌘O / Ctrl+O
  Save Diagram         ⌘S / Ctrl+S

Edit Operations:
  Undo                 ⌘Z / Ctrl+Z
  Redo                 ⇧⌘Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z

View Controls:
  Toggle Sidebar       ⌘B / Ctrl+B
  Show All Elements    ⌘0 / Ctrl+0
  Toggle Theme         ⌘M / Ctrl+M
  Toggle Filter        ⌘F / Ctrl+F

Canvas:
  Pan                  Click + Drag
  Zoom                 Mouse Wheel / Pinch
  Context Menu         Right-Click

Creation (via right-click):
  New Table            Right-click → New Table
  New Relationship     Right-click → New Relationship
  New Area             Right-click → New Area
  New Note             Right-click → New Note

Customization

ChartDB does not currently support custom keyboard shortcuts. The default shortcuts are optimized for common workflows and consistency across platforms.

If you need different shortcuts:

• Use browser extensions that allow keyboard remapping
• Consider accessibility tools that provide keyboard customization
• Submit feature requests for specific shortcuts you need

Accessibility

Keyboard-Only Navigation

ChartDB supports basic keyboard-only navigation:

• Tab - Navigate between interactive elements
• Enter - Activate buttons and inputs
• Escape - Close dialogs and cancel actions
• Arrow keys - Navigate within dropdowns and lists

Full keyboard-only navigation is limited for canvas operations. A mouse or pointing device is recommended for diagram creation and editing.

Screen Reader Support

ChartDB includes ARIA labels and semantic HTML for screen reader compatibility, but the visual canvas nature limits full accessibility. For accessible database documentation:

• Export schema to SQL with comments
• Generate text-based documentation
• Use the sidebar lists instead of canvas

Next Steps

Creating Diagrams

Start creating diagrams efficiently

Editing Schema

Learn table editing workflows

Managing Relationships

Master relationship creation

Quickstart

Get up and running quickly