Keyboard Shortcuts
All keyboard shortcuts for OSC-1 Oscilloscope, organized by category.
Open Settings → SHORTCUTS, or press Ctrl/Cmd+/, for the complete reference for your current mode. Shortcut help lives in Settings.
Standalone keys work when focus is not in a text input. When the Virtual Keyboard synth is active in Creator or Performance mode, bare letter shortcuts (g, v, h, r, 1, 2, 3) are suppressed automatically. The in-app Shortcuts tab hides those unavailable actions at the same time.
Transport
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Space | Play / Pause — with nothing loaded, loads and plays the demo track |
Ctrl+M | Mute / Unmute audio |
Cmd/Ctrl+S | Save project (see Sessions & Projects) — except while a laser is armed and ready, when it is START (below) |
Laser output
These keys work while a laser DAC or the DAC Simulator is connected. The ARM, BLACKOUT and START buttons show them.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Esc | BLACKOUT — stops output and holds it off until you click RELEASE BLACKOUT. Works in text fields, with a panel open, during MIDI LEARN and in fullscreen |
Cmd/Ctrl+B | BLACKOUT (same as Esc) |
Cmd/Ctrl+A | ARM — press twice to arm, once more to disarm. Not while typing in a field, where it selects text |
Cmd/Ctrl+S | START — only while armed, connected and not blacked out; at any other time it saves your project. It never stops output |
In fullscreen, a quick Esc blacks out the laser; press and hold Esc, or press Cmd/Ctrl+F, to leave fullscreen. See keyboard control.
Mode Switching
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
1 | Switch to Oscilloscope mode |
2 | Switch to Creator mode |
3 | Switch to Performance mode |
Display
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
g | Cycle Graticule: Off → Green → Dark |
v | Toggle Vertical Cursors |
h | Toggle Horizontal Cursors |
r | Toggle Cursor Readout |
Ctrl+Shift+P | Freeze / unfreeze every trace (XY, SWEEP, SCOPE, SPECTRUM, WAVE) |
Edit History
The undo and redo buttons in the global header name the next available action.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Cmd/Ctrl+Z | Undo the most recent edit |
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Z | Redo |
Cmd/Ctrl+Y | Redo (alias) |
Edits to generators, effects, sources, display settings, scenes, layers, presets, and the canvas view share the same history. One slider drag is one step. While a text field is focused, the same shortcuts edit that field instead.
Zoom Navigation
Zoom into the XY display with the mouse; these shortcuts navigate the zoom state:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Scroll wheel | Zoom in / out at the cursor |
Shift+Scroll | Zoom X axis only |
Ctrl/Cmd+Scroll | Zoom Y axis only |
Alt+Drag | Pan (while zoomed in; middle-mouse drag also pans) |
Home | Reset zoom |
Right-click | Open the canvas menu (see UI Modes → Canvas Menu) |
Double-click | Reset zoom |
Synth
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+K | Show / hide the on-screen synth keyboard (visual only — QWERTY and MIDI keep playing) |
← / → | Previous / next synth preset (while the synth panel is open, not typing in a field) |
Computer Keyboard Note Map
The in-app Settings → Shortcuts tab includes a piano-style map with each computer key and the note it plays. The same mapping is summarized here:
| Range | Natural notes | Sharp notes |
|---|---|---|
| C4–E5 | Q W E R T Y U I O P | 2 3 5 6 7 9 0 |
| C3–B3 | Z X C V B N M | S D G H J |
Each key in the in-app map also shows its exact note name, such as Q = C4, 2 = C#4, and M = B3. The map visibly switches between Synth On and Synth Off, so it never implies that note keys are active when the current mode cannot play them.
Hiding the keys reclaims canvas without silencing the synth: you can keep performing from the computer keyboard or a MIDI controller with the piano tucked away. Switching the synth OFF hides the keys automatically. There's also a keyboard icon in the synth bar that does the same thing.
View / Panels
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+f | Toggle Fullscreen — the display alone, with every button and readout hidden (measurement cursors you have placed stay) |
Ctrl+[ | Toggle Left Panel |
Ctrl+] | Toggle Right Panel |
Ctrl+\ | Toggle Both Panels |
Settings
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+k | Toggle the Settings modal (opens it — and closes it if already open) |
Ctrl+/ | Open Keyboard Shortcuts (Settings → Shortcuts tab) |
Esc | Close the open modal |
OSC-1 uses Ctrl+ modifiers for view and settings shortcuts. Bare letter keys (g, v, h, r, 1, 2, 3) are display and mode shortcuts — they are suppressed when the synth is active to avoid conflicts with musical note input.
For the full rationale behind BeamTracer's keyboard shortcut system across all apps, see Keyboard Shortcut Philosophy.