Keyboard shortcuts
Files and tabs#
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+N | New plan |
| Ctrl+O | Open a plan |
| Ctrl+S | Save |
| Ctrl+Shift+S | Save As |
| Ctrl+W | Close the current tab |
| Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab | Next / previous tab |
| Ctrl+1 … Ctrl+9 | Go to tab 1 … 9 |
Editing#
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Y or Ctrl+Shift+Z | Redo |
| Ctrl+D | Duplicate the selected tasks |
| Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V | Copy / paste one column (Task, Start, End or Duration) |
Building the plan#
Wherever Microsoft Project has a key for something, Desktop Plan uses the same one. Ctrl+Shift+M, Ctrl+Shift+K, Ctrl+Shift+T, Alt+Shift+P and Alt+Shift+R are Desktop Plan’s own. These work on the selected rows, but not while you are typing in a cell. Holding a key down inserts, deletes or links only once; the Alt+Shift+arrow moves, Undo and Redo repeat as usual.
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| Insert | Add a task above the selected row |
| Ctrl+Shift+M | Add a milestone below the selected row |
| Ctrl+- | Delete the selected tasks |
| Alt+Shift+Right | Indent |
| Alt+Shift+Left | Outdent |
| Alt+Shift+Up / Alt+Shift+Down | Move the selected rows up / down |
| Ctrl+F2 | Link the selected tasks, each to the one below it (finish to start) |
| Ctrl+Shift+F2 | Remove the links between the selected tasks (with one task: all its links) |
| Shift+F2 | Open the task form |
| Ctrl+Shift+K | Mark the selected tasks done (or, if they all are, not done) |
If a key can’t act, for example Indent on the first task, nothing happens. Where there is a reason to give, it is shown beside the chart.
Phases, finding and filtering#
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| Alt+Shift+- | Fold the selected phase (with a task selected: the phase it is in) |
| Alt+Shift+= | Open the selected phase |
| Alt+Shift+* | Open every phase |
| Ctrl+F | Go to Search name or notes |
| F3 | Clear the search and the filters |
The project#
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| Alt+Shift+P | Project details |
| Alt+Shift+R | The Resources panel |
| Ctrl+P | Export to PDF (on the dashboard or team calendar: that page) |
| F1 | The user guide, in your browser |
Moving around the grid#
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| Arrow keys | Move one cell |
| Shift+Up / Shift+Down | Select more rows |
| Home / End | First / last column of the row |
| Tab / Shift+Tab | Next / previous cell |
| Any letter or number | Start typing in the cell, replacing what is there |
| Enter, F2 or Space | Edit the cell, keeping what is there (on Done: tick or untick) |
| Click a selected cell again | Edit it in place, keeping what is there |
| Delete or Backspace | Clear the cell, ready to type (on Resources: take everyone off). To delete the row, press Ctrl+- |
| Alt+Down | Open the calendar, the priority list or the people list |
| Shift+mouse wheel | Scroll the grid sideways |
While typing in a cell#
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| Enter | Keep, then move down a row (past rows that cannot be typed into, such as a phase’s Duration) |
| Shift+Enter | Keep, then move up a row |
| Tab / Shift+Tab | Keep, then edit the next / previous cell |
| Esc | Cancel |
In the task form, Project details and the Resources panel#
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| Enter | Keep, then move to the next box, with its contents selected |
| Shift+Enter | Keep, then move to the previous box |
| Tab / Shift+Tab | Next / previous box, list or button |
| Esc | In the task form: put back what was there; with nothing typed, close the form. Elsewhere: close |
Enter stops only at boxes you type in. It never goes into Notes, where Enter starts a new line. In the Resources panel it stays within one group: a person’s details, the working hours, or the days-off boxes. In Reason, Enter adds the days off.
In the calendar pop-up#
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| Arrow keys | Move a day, or a week with Up and Down |
| Page Up / Page Down | Previous / next month |
| Enter | Pick the date |
| Esc | Close |
The chart and the view#
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| Alt+Page Up / Alt+Page Down | Chart back / forward one screen |
| Alt+Left / Alt+Right | Chart back / forward one step, like the round arrows |
| Alt+Home / Alt+End | Chart to the start / end of the plan |
| Ctrl+Shift+T | Go to today |
| Ctrl+Shift+F5 | Scroll the chart to the selected task |
| Ctrl+Shift+= / Ctrl+Shift+- | Zoom the timeline in / out (Hour … Year) |
| Ctrl+0 | Plan size back to 100% |
| Ctrl+Shift+mouse wheel (over the chart) | Zoom the timeline in or out (Hour … Year) |
| Ctrl+mouse wheel | Make the whole plan bigger or smaller (50% … 200%) |
| Esc while dragging a bar | Cancel the drag |
| F11 | Open or close the dashboard page |
| Esc on the dashboard or team calendar | Back to the plan |