My favourite hotkeys

Every time you lift your hand off the keyboard and reach for your mouse or touchpad, you're wasting valuable seconds. That's why I want to share some cool tricks that can help you save a lot of time and make you more productive. Okay… you might need your mouse for some tricks, but I don't want to keep those from you. You might know some of them, but there are absolutely some hidden gems that you wouldn't have heard of before. Once you start using them, you will notice how easy working in BlueDolphin can be.  

Here are my top 5 favourite hotkeys:  

1. Open objects 

When modeling in a view with the object viewer open, you can quickly jump from object to object in the (dynamic) diagram tab. Just use the right mouse button and click on 'open object' to open the object's diagram. Note that you can also copy the diagram to a new view and proceed from there (for instance, using the 'spider tool' to add related objects). 

2. CTRL + ALT + drag 

Since I almost always use a free shape template view when implementing BlueDolphin at customers, I learnt to use it when selecting the CTRL + ALT + drag shortcut. This shortcut allows you to select all objects placed on a free shape background. 

3. Double-clicking on the canvas  

When you are modelling and want to create a new object quickly, double-clicking on the canvas gives you the 'add new object' popup. 

4. Creating the same size 

If you are modelling using objects or free shapes, a neat trick to set them to the same size quickly is first to click the object or shape that you wish to use, then click on the other object(s) or shape(s) using CTRL and right-click on the other object(s)/shape(s) and select 'Alignment'> 'Set Same Size'. This same trick can be used to align objects next to each other using the 'Top', 'Bottom-', 'Left-' and other alignment options. The same can be used for text. 

5. Nesting objects 

BlueDolphin can sometimes adjust the shape of an object that you are nesting other objects in using drag and drop. When right-clicking on an object, you have the option to click 'Child objects' and add any related 'child' objects when a composition relationship is used. This way, BlueDolphin correctly arranges the child objects within the parent object. 

Did you already know these shortcuts? Or do you have some other hidden gems you want to share with the rest of the BlueDolphin community? Please let us know in the comments below!