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Both the PC and console version of the game support keyboard, mouse, and controllers. Key Bindings let you use the keyboard and mouse to control interactions with the game. The following bindings are for the standard QWERTY keyboard layout that comes with the download of the PC game.

For Xbox controller mappings, see Xbox Controls. For PlayStation, see PlayStation Controls.

Keyboard layout

Important: Often the same key changes function depending on context, mainly whether the engineer is piloting (seated in a grid such as a spaceship/station/rover), or on foot, or jetpacking. For tips, see also troubleshooting below.


Basic Key Bindings[]

On Foot/Jet Pack Piloting, Driving Key Binding
Open Game Menu Escape key
Open Control Menu -
Walk/Jetpack Forward Thrust Forward W
Side Step/Jetpack Left Side Thrust Left A
Walk/Jetpack Backward Thrust Backward S
Side Step/Jetpack Right Side Thrust Right D
Sprint N/A Hold Left Shift
Toggle Walk / Role Player's Strut N/A Caps Lock
Jump / Jetpack Upward Thrust Up / Brake (wheeled vehicle only) Spacebar
Crouch / Jetpack Downward Thrust Down C
Toggle Jetpack / Magnetic Boots Charge up suspension jump (wheeled vehicle only) X
Match jetpack speed with targeted grid (relative Inertial Dampers) Match grid speed with target grid (relative Inertial Dampers) Ctrl+Z
Jetpack Roll Left (anti-clockwise) Roll Left (anti-clockwise) Q
Jetpack Roll Right (clockwise) Roll Right (clockwise) E
Rotate Self Up Pitch Ship Up Up Arrow
Rotate Self Down Pitch Ship Down Down Arrow
Rotate Self Left Yaw Ship Left Left Arrow
Rotate Self Right Yaw Ship Right Right Arrow
Use targeted block (e.g. enter Cockpit/Seat) Exit Cockpit / Seat / Camera / Turret F
Equip player toolbar item 1-9 Activate grid toolbar action 1-9 1-9
Switch to player toolbar 1-9 Switch to grid toolbar 1-9 ctrl 1-9
Unequip player toolbar item (empty hand) Deselect grid toolbar actions 0
Use primary mode of equipped tool Use primary mode of active Block Tool LMB
Use secondary mode of equipped tool Use secondary mode of active Block Tool RMB
Fire equipped handheld weapon Fire active ship weapon LMB
Use handheld weapon zoom (“aim down sight”) Use Block Weapon zoom (if applicable) RMB
N/A Toggle between single/all Block Weapons MMB-click
N/A Activate next Block Weapon MMB-double-click
Reload handheld weapon N/A R
Open/close helmet visor J
Open Player Inventory or targeted Grid Inventory Open Grid Inventory I
Open targeted Terminal Open Grid Terminal K
Open targeted Grid's Remote Access Screen Open this Grid's Remote Access Screen Shift+K
Toggle helmet lights on/off Toggle grid lights on/off L
Toggle first/third person view V
Free mouse look in third person view LeftAlt + drag
Zoom in/out in third person view LeftAlt + ScrollWheel
N/A Toggle Parking Brake P
N/A Toggle Power -- this grid only Y
N/A Toggle Power -- all connected grids Ctrl+Y
Configure Engineer Toolbar Configure Grid Toolbar G
Toggle Jetpack Inertial Dampers Toggle Grid Inertial Dampers Z
Respawn engineer (suicide) N/A Backspace
Quick Load / “undo“ F5
Quick Save Shift+F5
Pause Game Pause key, Escape key

In-Game View Options and Screens[]

Engineer/Jet Pack Seated in Grid Key Binding
Show/hide HUD Show/hide HUD Tab
Toggle Antenna broadcast / listen only Toggle Antenna broadcast / listen only O
Show Antenna signals on HUD: all/short/none Show Antenna Signals: all/short/none H
Open Chat console Enter
Open Contracts screen ;
Open Help F1
Open Multiplayer Screen F3
Take screenshot at 8k resolution, configurable in Options F4
In Terminal: Select all blocks Ctrl+A


Inventory and Build Planner[]

Engineer/Jet Pack Key Binding
Open Inventory I
Split a stack of items in inventory RMB + drag&drop
Queue up components in an Assembler RMB-click unwelded block with welder, or
Select block from toolbar and MMB-click inventory port
Produce queued-up components Shift+MMB-click an inventory port
Withdraw produced components, remove from queue MMB-click an inventory port
Withdraw produced components, keep in queue Ctrl+MMB-click an inventory port
Withdraw 10x produced components, keep in queue Alt+Ctrl+MMB-click an inventory port
Quick deposit ores and components into targeted Grid Inventory port Alt-MMB click an inventory port

See also Build Planner


Block Placement Mode[]

The following shortcuts are exclusive to Block Placement Mode (that is, when you have selected a block from your toolbar).

Action Key Binding
Toggle Block Placement Mode while seated in a Cockpit Ctrl+G
Place selected block from toolbar LMB
Toggle Free / gravity-aligned block placement & rotation B
Reset block orientation T
Open Color palette to select color P
Use Color picker to copy color Shift+P
Select Previous Color from list [
Select Next Color from list ]
Paint the targeted block MMB
Paint 3x3 around targeted block Ctrl+MMB
Paint 7x7 around targeted block Shift+MMB
Paint the whole grid one colour Ctrl+Shift+MMB
Rotate block preview: vertical axis + Page Down
Rotate block preview: vertical axis - Delete
Rotate block preview: horizontal axis + Home
Rotate block preview: horizontal axis - End
Rotate block preview: depth axis + Insert
Rotate block preview: depth axis - Page Up
Rotation directions diagram

Creative Mode[]

Engineer/Jet Pack Key Binding
In Block Placement Mode: Place selected block from toolbar LMB
In Block Placement Mode: Delete targeted block RMB
Change block preview distance Ctrl+ScrollWheel
Switch Symmetry Mode on/off N
In Symmetry Configuration: Cycle through Symmetry planes M
In Symmetry Configuration: Enable the current Symmetry plane LMB
In Symmetry Configuration: Disable the current Symmetry plane RMB
Cut whole grid Ctrl+X
Cut subgrid Ctrl+Shift+X
Copy whole grid Ctrl+C
Copy subgrid Ctrl+Shift+C
Paste a copied/cut grid Ctrl+V
Delete the targeted grid Ctrl+Delete
Delete the targeted subgrid Ctrl+Shift+Delete
Place multiple blocks in a straight line Ctrl+Drag LMB
Place multiple blocks on a plane Ctrl+Shift+Drag LMB
Remove multiple blocks in a straight line Ctrl+Drag RMB
Remove multiple blocks on a plane Ctrl+Shift+Drag RMB

With a Voxel Hands tool selected:

Engineer/Jet Pack Key Binding
Open Voxel Hands Options K
Place voxels RMB
Reset voxels Ctrl+RMB[1]


See also Building.

Advanced Key Bindings[]

Engineer/Jet Pack Key Binding
Enter custom value for slider in Control Panel Screen Ctrl+LMB the slider
Reset slider in Control Panel Screen to default value MMB+click the slider
Open Creative Spawn Items Menu Shift+F10
Open Admin Screen Alt+F10
Open Blueprint Menu F10
Create Blueprint of the targeted grid and its subgrids Ctrl+B
Create Blueprint of one targeted subgrid only Ctrl+Shift+B
Create Blueprint of the targeted grid including magnetically locked grids Ctrl+Alt+B
Configure Warning Options Shift+F1
Enter Spectator Mode, Locked Mode F7
Enter Spectator Mode, Free Mode F8
Enter Spectator Mode, Static Camera F9
Increase or decrease Spectator movement speed Shift+ScrollWheel
Increase or decrease Spectator rotation speed Ctrl+ScrollWheel
Exit Spectator Mode, return to character F6
Show Debug Draw Info F11
Enable Modding View Alt+Shift+F12
Toggle performance statistics overlay Ctrl+H
Export 3D model of targeted grid as OBJ file to Desktop
Save game first! May freeze game for a while
CTRL+ALT+E
Open developer console (?) ~

Tips[]

Where are the taken Screenshots?[]

The built-in screenshot key (F4 key) will save a high-resolution picture of the game including the HUD into the Screenshots folder. For PC players, that folder is "%appdata%/Space Engineers/Screenshots".

Depending on your Game Store, there may be additional shortcuts to take screenshots stored in its own folder. For example, when using Steam, its screenshot key is (F12 key) and you find the images through the Steam app.

Thirdly, there used to be Nvidia Ansel for highest quality screenshots.

Tip: To hide the HUD from the screenshot, cycle through the HUD detail modes by pressing (TAB key) before taking the shot!

Why does this shortcut not work?[]

If a shortcut doesn't work as expected, ask yourself whether you are in the right context, for example:

  • Are you in Creative Mode or Survival Mode?
  • Is the engineer standing, or seated in a Grid (that is, any Cockpit or seat), or using the Terminal?
  • Are you in Block Placement Mode (that is, a toolbar slot is selected), holding a tool, or are you empty-handed (toolbar slot 0 is selected)? For example, outside of Block Placement Mode, the block rotation shortcuts are not active.
  • Did you enable Spectator Mode for that world before you tried to use it?

And so on.

Why can’t I look around or turn properly?[]

The arrow keys let you rotate the character when jetpacking, and pitch and yaw a flying ship.

  • Press ArrowUp and ArrowDown to look down at your shoes or up at the sky (pitch).
  • Press ArrowLeft and ArrowRight to turn left and right (yaw).

Often it is more intuitive however to use the mouse instead:

  • Move the mouse forward and backward to look up and down (pitch).
  • Move the mouse left and right (yaw).

This is called Mouselook.

If turning a ship is too slow, that is typically not due to key bindings or your mouse. Because in a ship, rotation speed depends on Gyroscope mechanics, you need to build more (or stronger) Gyroscopes.

If turning feels "backwards" to you, press (ESCAPE key) and click Options -> Controls -> Controllers and choose to Invert the Y axis.

If you’re in F8 Spectator Mode and can hardly turn or move, use Ctrl+MouseWheel to change your turning speed and Shift+MouseWheel to change the Spectator’s movement speed. In F7 Spectator Mode, hold the Alt key to turn and move! In F9 Static Spectator mode, you cannot move at all, that’s intended; press F6 to return to your character.

How to close the annoying Performance Profiling Overlay?[]

It can happen that, by accident, you press a shortcut that opens a developer tool, often in combination with keys on the NumPad. The Performance Profiling overlay obstructs your view of the game, and you cannot tell how to close it.

Here some things to try to close the various overlays:

  • Pressing (CTRL+H key) closes the overlay in most cases.
  • Pressing (ALT+NUMPADCOMMA key) is an alternative to close it.
  • Or you can save and quit and restart the game.

If you actually want to navigate and use the overlay:

  • Alt + NumPadPlus toggles between page 1 and 2 of the Performance Profiling Overlay, Network Monitor and Statistics.
  • Alt + NumPad1 toggles between different modes of the Performance Profiling Statistics Overlay.
  • Alt + home/end/insert toggles between different detail modes of the Performance Profiling Overlay.
  • Alt NumpadEnter pauses the profiling.

References[]

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