ExactCAD Hotkeys

1Introduction

ExactCAD Hotkeys are single keystrokes that run a layout action the instant you press the key. Each key is tied to a small command that acts on whatever you currently have selected, or on the object under your cursor — with no dialog box, no menu hunting, and no extra clicks.

The idea is simple: one keypress is far faster than reaching for the mouse, opening a menu, dropping down to the item you want, clicking it, and moving back into the design. Over a full day of layout, replacing those repeated menu trips with one-touch keys saves a real amount of time and keeps your hands on the keyboard and your eyes on the board.

The hotkeys come in two matching sets. One set runs while you are working on a board in Xpedition Layout, and a second, smaller set runs while you are working in the Xpedition Drawing Editor. The two sets share the same keys for the same kinds of actions wherever it makes sense, so the muscle memory carries over from one environment to the other.

2Requirements & Setup

The hotkeys run inside Xpedition and act on the active design. A few things need to be in place before they will work.

• A supported version of Xpedition Layout (or the Drawing Editor), with a design open and active.
• A valid ExactCAD license available to the design. Most hotkeys license the active document the moment you press the key; if licensing fails, the key quietly does nothing and a short message appears in the status bar.
• The ExactCAD installation in place, with its location known to Windows. The hotkeys find their files and the tools they launch through an environment setting created during installation, so a normal ExactCAD install is all that is needed.
• The matching key-binding file loaded for your environment — one file for Xpedition Layout and a separate one for the Drawing Editor. The binding file is what tells Xpedition which key runs which action.

Loading the Hotkeys

The key assignments live in a binding file that Xpedition reads. Running that file registers every key for the active environment. You can run it manually from Xpedition's scripting menu, or have it loaded automatically when a design opens. Once loaded, the keys stay active for that session.

3How the Hotkeys Work

A few rules apply to all of the hotkeys. Knowing them up front will save you guesswork later.

• Click in the design window first. Keyboard input goes to whichever window has focus. If a panel, dialog, or another window is active, the key goes there instead. Click once inside the board view, then press the key.
• Most keys act on the current selection. Select the trace, pin, via, component, or net first, then press the key. If nothing relevant is selected, the action simply has nothing to do.
• A few keys act on the cursor instead. These ask you to hover over a target as you press the key; the description tells you which keys work that way.
• No confirmation dialogs. Hotkeys are designed to be instant, so most run silently. Watch the status bar at the bottom of the window for messages.
• Modifier keys matter. The same letter can do different things with Ctrl, Shift, or Alt held down. Read the key column carefully.
• Case does not matter for the plain letters. Letter keys are registered for both upper- and lower-case, so they respond whether or not Caps Lock is on. Combinations that include Shift are separate assignments.
• Some keys open a full tool. A handful of keys launch a complete ExactCAD application in its own window. Those are listed in Section 11, each with a link to its own user guide.

4Selecting, Locking & Highlighting

These keys speed up the everyday work of grabbing whole nets, protecting objects from accidental edits, and clearing highlights.

5Editing Modes & Active Layer

These keys switch the editor between its working modes and set which layer is active, without leaving the keyboard.

6Visibility & Display Schemes

These keys turn classes of objects on and off and switch between saved display setups, so you can quickly clear the view to focus on what you are working on.

7Trace Width & Routing Edits

These keys help you match trace widths to pads and make quick routing edits while you work.

8Planes, Vias & Copper Nets

These keys speed up common copper-and-plane chores around RF and power work.

9Placing & Arranging Parts

These keys move, rotate, group, and line up components. Select the part or parts first, then press the key.

10Text, Net Names & Layers

These keys handle net names, text, and user-layer housekeeping.

11Hotkeys That Open a Tool

A few keys do more than run a quick command — they open a complete ExactCAD tool in its own window. Each of these is a separate application with its own settings, and several have their own user guide. Press the key, and the tool takes over from there.

12Drawing Editor Hotkeys

The Drawing Editor has its own, smaller set of hotkeys. They use the same keys for the same actions as the Layout set wherever it makes sense, so the keys you already know carry over. Load the Drawing Editor's binding file while you are in that environment to turn them on.

13Customizing Your Hotkeys

Every key in this guide is just a default. The full list of assignments lives in a plain-text binding file — one for Xpedition Layout and a separate one for the Drawing Editor — and you are free to edit it.

What the binding file contains

The binding file holds one line per key. Each line names a key (or key combination) and the action it should run. When Xpedition reads the file, it registers every line, and your keys are live for the session.

Changing, adding, or removing a key

1. Open the binding file for the environment you want to change — the Layout file for Layout keys, the Drawing Editor file for Drawing Editor keys.
2. To change a key, find the line for the action and edit the key named at the start of that line.
3. To add a key, copy an existing line, then change the key and the action to suit.
4. To remove a key, delete its line (or comment it out so it is easy to restore later).
5. Save the file, then reload it in Xpedition so your changes take effect.

14Tips & Troubleshooting

• A key does nothing. Click once inside the board view so it has keyboard focus, then try again. If a panel or dialog is open, the key is going there instead.
• A key still does nothing. Confirm the binding file is loaded for this environment, and that the design has a valid ExactCAD license. Many keys quietly do nothing and post a short status-bar message if licensing fails.
• "Send vias to ground" does not work. That key looks for a net named GND. If your ground net has a different name, the key will not find it. Rename the net, or change that key to point at your ground net's name.
• A selection-based key did nothing. Make sure the right kind of object is selected first — a trace, pin, via, component, or net, depending on the action. With nothing relevant selected, the key has nothing to act on.
• A built-in Xpedition shortcut stopped working. One of the hotkeys has probably taken over that key for the active design. Change or remove that key in the binding file (Section 13).
• A "open a tool" key does nothing. Those keys launch separate ExactCAD applications. Confirm the matching tool is installed as part of your package.
• Watch the status bar. Because the hotkeys run without dialogs, the status bar at the bottom of the window is where messages and confirmations appear.

15Full Hotkey Reference

15.1 Xpedition Layout

15.2 Drawing Editor