Keyboard shortcuts and how to change them

LivePen has four global shortcuts, which work whatever app is in front, and a set of single keys that work on the canvas while you draw. You can re-record the global ones in Preferences. There’s also a printable list on the shortcuts page.

Global shortcuts

Action	Default	Active
Start / stop drawing	⌥⇧D	Always
Undo	⌘Z	Only while drawing
Redo	⇧⌘Z	Only while drawing
Clear the canvas	⌥⇧C	Only while drawing

Canvas keys

These reach LivePen once the canvas has focus, which your first click on it gives it. Until then, use the toolbar.

Key	Action
1 to 9, 0	Pick a tool, in toolbar order. See The drawing tools
⇧1 to ⇧6	Pick the colour in that position
[ / ]	Thinner / thicker
S	Cycle the line style
Esc	Stop drawing

Change a global shortcut

1. Click the pen in the menu bar and choose Preferences…
2. Go to Shortcuts.
3. Click Record next to the action.
4. Press the new key combination. It needs ⌃, ⌥ or ⌘ (or a function key). Esc cancels.

LivePen refuses a combination that another LivePen action already uses, or that another app has already taken, and tells you which.

Why ⌘Z only works while drawing

Undo and redo use the standard ⌘Z and ⇧⌘Z, so a graphics tablet’s built-in Undo and Redo buttons work without any setup. That’s only reasonable because LivePen claims them while drawing is on and releases them the moment you stop. The rest of the time, ⌘Z belongs to your other apps.

Some other software watches ⌘ shortcuts across the whole system and may still react to them. If that’s a nuisance, re-record undo as something like ⌥⇧Z.

Start / stop drawing has to work when nothing is being drawn, so LivePen claims it all the time. That’s why its default isn’t a ⌘ shortcut.

If a shortcut doesn’t work, see A shortcut does nothing.