Keyboard Shortcut Reference¶
Settings > Shortcut Keys lets you pick a key scheme (a preset). Whichever you choose, every individual key can still be rebound.
Choosing a key scheme¶
| Preset | Character |
|---|---|
| Zenith Standard | One key, one action. The long-standing assignments. If you are upgrading from an earlier version, this is what you have |
| Zenith 2 (two-key) | Ctrl+K then one key opens a view; Ctrl+B drives the panes and the layout. Hold the prefix a moment and the keys you can press next appear, so there is nothing to memorise. This is the default on a fresh install |
| Explorer-style | Backspace to go back, Alt+↑ to go up — the finger habits of Windows Explorer |
| Total Commander style | F5 to copy, F6 to move, F8 to delete. A function-key-centred scheme |
Switching schemes keeps any keys you rebound yourself.
Zenith Standard keys¶
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Tab |
Toggle focus between Pane A and Pane B (under Zenith 2 it goes back to stepping through the elements on screen) |
F6 / Shift + F6 |
Step through the areas: left nav top → left nav bottom → pane A → pane B → right nav top → right nav bottom. Closed areas, and pane B in single-pane mode, are skipped. This is also how you get out of the terminal |
Left Arrow |
When focus is on Pane B, switch to Pane A (in icon view it moves the selection left instead) |
Right Arrow |
When focus is on Pane A, switch to Pane B (in dual-pane mode; in icon view it moves the selection right instead) |
Ctrl + wheel |
Resize icons steplessly over the file list (also moves between list view and icon view) |
Ctrl + Tab |
Switch to the next tab |
Ctrl + T |
Open a new tab |
Ctrl + W |
Close the current tab |
Space |
Quick Preview: Overlay preview of the selected file's contents (supports text, images, PDF, HTML, Excel/CSV, Office documents; press Space again or Esc to close) |
Left Arrow / Right Arrow (during preview) |
Switch to previous/next file during Quick Preview (directories are skipped, stops at list edges) |
Enter |
Open folder / Execute file / Folder shortcuts (.lnk) open the link target folder in a new tab |
Backspace |
Go up one level |
Alt + Left Arrow |
Go back to the previous folder |
Alt + Right Arrow |
Go forward to the next folder |
F2 |
Rename |
Shift + F2 |
Batch Rename: rename the selected items in one pass, following a rule set (Batch Rename) |
Ctrl + Shift + N |
Create a new folder (focus moves to it with rename ready) |
F5 |
Refresh folder contents |
Ctrl + C |
Copy |
Ctrl + X |
Cut |
Ctrl + V |
Paste |
Ctrl + Z |
Undo (rename, move, copy, create, etc.) |
Delete |
Delete (to recycle bin) |
Ctrl + Shift + E |
Toggle the app's visibility (global hotkey): when the app is the foreground window it is hidden (stored to the tray and removed from the taskbar in resident mode, otherwise minimized); when hidden/minimized/in the background it is brought to the front and focus moves to the active file pane. This is the one shortcut registered system-wide, so it cannot be claimed if another app — a background utility, for example — is already using the same combination. A warning then appears under Control Deck → "Shortcuts"; pick a free key there instead |
Ctrl + Shift + X |
Open the current folder in Windows Explorer |
Ctrl + Shift + 1 |
Switch sidebar to "Favorites" |
Ctrl + Shift + 2 |
Switch sidebar to "Tree View" |
Ctrl + 3 |
Top/bottom split (completing the Ctrl + 1 / Ctrl + 2 row) |
Ctrl + Shift + 3 |
Switch sidebar to "Browse History" |
Ctrl + Shift + 4 |
Switch sidebar to "Index Search Settings" |
Ctrl + Shift + 5 |
Switch sidebar to "Working Sets" |
Esc (in search bar) |
Multi-stage reset: 1st press clears keyword, 2nd press also clears size/date/scope filters and exits search |
Ctrl + F |
Focus on the active pane's search bar (exits index search mode if active) |
Ctrl + Shift + F |
Focus on the search bar and enter index search mode |
Ctrl + Shift + G |
Switch to file content search (grep) mode |
Ctrl + Shift + Q |
Switch to single-pane mode (Pane A only) |
Ctrl + Shift + W |
Switch to dual-pane mode (Pane A + Pane B) |
Ctrl + Shift + ` |
Toggle between single-pane and dual-pane mode |
Ctrl + Shift + [ |
Show/hide the left navigation pane |
Ctrl + Shift + ] |
Show/hide the right navigation pane |
Ctrl + Shift + 6 |
Switch sidebar to "Recent Folders" |
Ctrl + Shift + 7 |
Switch sidebar to "Recently Opened Files" |
Ctrl + Shift + 8 |
Switch sidebar to "Properties" |
Ctrl + Shift + D |
Duplicate tab |
Ctrl + N |
Duplicate the current tab's folder into the other pane (switches to dual-pane when only one is shown) |
Ctrl + L |
Focus on the address bar |
Ctrl + Shift + A |
Show tab list |
Ctrl + Shift + Tab |
Switch to the previous tab |
Ctrl + P |
Quick Jump |
Ctrl + 1 |
Single-pane mode |
Ctrl + 2 |
Side-by-side dual-pane mode |
Ctrl + Shift + 2 |
Top-bottom dual-pane mode |
Ctrl + A |
Select all |
A-Z / 0-9 |
Incremental search: In detail view, moves selection to a file/folder starting with the pressed key. Pressing the same key repeatedly cycles through items with the same initial letter. Pressing different keys within 500ms performs a prefix jump (excludes Ctrl/Alt combinations) |
Ctrl + Alt + F4 |
Full exit in resident mode |
Esc |
Close breadcrumb dropdown menus / Close sub-windows like changelog and manual |
Zenith 2 two-key shortcuts¶
Press Ctrl+K or Ctrl+B, then one more key — you can keep Ctrl held down, or let go; either works. Hold the prefix for a moment and the keys you can press next appear at the bottom of the window. Type straight through and the list never shows. The list is clickable. Esc, or two seconds of waiting, cancels.
Ctrl + K — open a view (focus moves there; press the same keys again to return to the file list)
| Key | View | Key | View |
|---|---|---|---|
F |
Favorites | M |
Macros |
T |
Tree | N |
Remote sites |
H |
History | C |
Terminal |
Shift + H |
Search history | Shift + C |
Terminal 2 |
I |
Index search | L |
Tab list |
S |
Search presets | Shift + L |
AI tab management |
W |
Working sets | O |
AI folder organiser |
R |
Recent files | / |
AI manual |
Shift + R |
Frequent folders | P |
Properties |
D |
Drives | V |
Preview |
Ctrl + B — panes and layout
| Key | Action | Key | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
1 / 2 / 3 |
Single / side-by-side / top-bottom split | L |
Window layout presets |
Z |
Toggle single ⇔ dual pane | N |
Nav pane layout |
[ / ] |
Show or hide the left / right nav pane | W |
Working set quick access |
C |
Copy the selection to the other pane | M |
Move the selection to the other pane |
Under Zenith 2 the sidebar keys Ctrl+Shift+1–8 and the pane keys Ctrl+Shift+Q/W/`/[/]/L/J/S are replaced by the two above. Tab is released from pane switching and goes back to stepping through the elements on screen (moving between panes is what ← → are for).
Keys inside the nav pane (the same everywhere)¶
Every nav pane view answers the same keys with the same meaning. Where a view has no such operation, the key does nothing at all — it never quietly means something else.
| Key | Meaning |
|---|---|
↑ ↓ |
Pick a row |
Enter |
Use that row (open a folder, apply a set, run a macro, connect to a site) |
Esc |
Back to the file list (the view stays open) |
| The same keys that opened the view | Also returns to the file list |
F2 |
Rename (where the view has one) |
Delete |
Delete or unregister (where the view has one) |
Insert |
Add or save (where the view has one) |
Ctrl + F |
Filter within the view (where the view has a filter box) |
Views without a list at all — preview, properties, macros, the AI panels — still answer Esc. The terminal is the one exception: inside it the app takes no keys whatsoever, and F6 is the only way out.
Being told about shortcut keys¶
Press a toolbar or status bar button with the mouse and, if that operation has a key bound to it, a notification says so: "'Dual pane' also runs with Ctrl+Shift+W". Three times per operation, then it goes quiet. Nothing appears when you use the keyboard. Turn it off at the top of Settings > Shortcut Keys.