# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Keystroke, Button, and Menu Notation

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As you read through these tutorials, you will encounter cryptic codes
such as  and *Timeline → End
Frame*. They describe actions you perform using the keyboard and mouse.
The notation used in this book comes from the standard used by the
Blender community. We will try to import those standards here to
facilitate our studies.

If you\'re reading this book online, you may wish to print this page for
future reference. In addition, or as an alternative, you can bookmark it
in your browser for faster reference.

## Hotkeys

!A typical
numpad{width="100"} Most
computer keyboards have number keys in two different places. A row above
the letters, and in a  (numeric
keypad) to the right of the keyboard. While many applications use these
two sets of keys interchangeably, Blender does not. It assigns different
functions to each set. If you\'re using a laptop keyboard without a
separate numeric keypad, this might cause some difficulty. You\'ll need
to use your *function key* to do some things. It is possible to indicate
to Blender the type of keyboard you are using, but we strongly recommend
you use a standard external keyboard if you use a laptop for these
tutorials as it will make your studies and usage of Blender much more
straightforward and enjoyable.

This book often assumes your keyboard has a numpad. If yours doesn\'t,
consult the tutorial on Non-standard Input
Devices for
alternative ways to access the numpad\'s functions.


### Key Notation

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+----------------------------------+----------------------------------+
| Notation                         | Corresponding key or action      |
+==================================+==================================+
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When a key is used in a module, it means press that key. For exammple:

-       means \"press the **M** key\"

-       means \"press the **0** key thats found on the numpad.\"

Combinations that involve holding down a key while performing another
action are written with a plus sign (+). For example:

-       means \"press  while holding down
    \"

-       means \"press  while holding down
    both  and
    \"

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### Mouse Notation

Blender uses three mouse buttons and the scroll wheel, if you have one.
If your mouse only has one or two buttons, consult the tutorial on
Non-standard Input
Devices for
alternative ways to access the functions assigned to these buttons.

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+-----------------------+---------------------------------------------+
| Notation              | Corresponding action                        |
+=======================+=============================================+
| Mouse and keyboard actions are often combined.
 means to click
 while holding down
.

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## Navigating Menus

Blender uses both pop-up and pull-down/pull-up menus. Many menus have
**sub menus** (menus that are reached via another menu). If a menu item
displays a triangle, that means it leads to a sub menu.

!The File
menu{width="100"}

You can move through items in a menu by either:

-   Moving the mouse pointer up and down

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-   Pressing  and
    

You can enter a sub menu by either:

-   Moving the mouse pointer to the right

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-   Pressing  while hovering
    over a menu item that shows a triangle on its side.

You can leave a sub menu by doing one of the following:

-   moving the mouse pointer to the left

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-   pressing 

To initiate a menu action, you can:

-   click 

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-   press 

You can escape from a menu by:

-   moving the mouse pointer away from the menu

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-   pressing 

For each menu, Blender remembers your last choice and highlights it for
you the next time you enter the menu.

### Notation

Menu notation is fairly self-explanatory.

*Mesh → UV Sphere*

Means:

1.  Press Shift+A
2.  In the menu that pops up, move through the items until *Mesh* is
    highlighted
3.  Enter the *Mesh* sub menu
4.  Move through the items until *UV Sphere* is highlighted
5.  Press Enter or click the left mouse button to initiate the action

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## Additional Resources

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