Controls Reference

For a list of keyboard shortcuts in Universe Sandbox, click Home > Help within the app.

Mouse

Left Click	Select a body. Click a selected body to focus on it.
Right Click	Click on a body to show properties popup.

Click and Drag	Rotate your view around the focused body.
Mouse Wheel	Zoom in and out

F	Create a new body
Z	Zero system momentum
X	Halve all velocities
O (the letter)	Orbit All - forces all bodies to orbit their current gravitational parent

Spacebar	Start & stop time (play/pause)

E or Numpad +	Speed up time
D or Numpad -	Slow down time
A or Numpad Enter	Auto time step
R	Reverse all velocities
Ctrl-Numpad Enter	Real Time (where 1 simulated sec = 1 real sec)

= (plus key)	Increase gravity
- (minus key)	Decrease gravity
0 (the number)	Turn gravity off
9	Set gravity to 1.0 (normal)
8	Set gravity to 0.5
7	Set gravity to 0.25
6	Set gravity to -1.0 (negative)

U	Toggle between collision modes

Shift-i	Change the collision elasticity in bounce mode.

Select a body to use these commands.

V	Light Pulse
Ctrl-W	Sets the radius of the body so that its escape velocity equals the speed of light (this is the Schwarzschild radius)
P	Set body to the center of the system. This shows all movement of other bodies relative to the hovered body.
M	Move Body: Hold down this key and move the cursor to move the hovered body.
N	Rotate Body: Hold down this key and move the cursor left or right to rotate the hovered body. While holding down the key also press Shift or Ctrl to rotate on the other 2 primary axis.

W or F7	Zoom In
S or F8	Zoom Out

Shift-F7	Decrease Camera FOV (field of view)
Shift-F8	Increase Camera FOV (field of view)

B	Show / hide bodies
T	Show / hide trails
L	Show / hide labels
H	Show / hide highlights
G	Show / hide grid
; (semicolon)	Show / hide relationship lines (connects bodies with their gravitational parent)

Ctrl-D	Clear dust
Ctrl-T	Clear trail data

C	Next color mode
Shift-C	Previous color mode
Ctrl-C	Toggle 3D mode on/off

Ctrl-B	Toggle Background on/off
Ctrl-G	Toggle Glow on/off

Q	Toggle drawing size of bodies (always visible or true to scale)

[	Decrease # of drawn trail segments
]	Increase # of drawn trail segments

F4	Toggle movie record (multiple screenshots)

F9	Take hi-res screenshots
F12	Take screenshot
Ctrl+F12	Take screenshot with UI
Ctrl-F2 Shift-F2 Alt-F2	Set hi-res screenshot to 2x2, 4x4, or 5x5 (default is 3x3)

Shift-B	Toggle between different calculation modes for particles/dust. (effect is not obvious - the default mode is more accurate)
Ctrl-N	Toggles between normal and Modified Newtonian Dynamics (currently disabled)
J	Strange forces - Causes bodies to repel each other when they get too close. Works great with the simulation "Moons, small cluster" (This isn't based on anything real.)
3	Restore saved camera position (not currently working)
Ctrl-F7 Ctrl-F8	Adjust engine scale (outdated controls, no longer works)
Ctrl-1 Ctrl-2 Ctrl-3 Ctrl-4 Ctrl-5	Quick load a specific simulations (used for testing)
Y	Fire a 'photo torpedo' - Triggers an explode command on any body it intersects
Ctrl-L	Toggles experimental light mode
F3	Toggle between zoom and normal modes (not currently working)
Shift-R	Create rope between body #1 & #2
Ctrl-Shift-R	Show/hide rope slider controls

(currently only works in Universe Sandbox 1)