Entity Framework Designer Keyboard Shortcuts

This page provides a list of keyboard shorcuts that are available in the various screens of the Entity Framework Tools for Visual Studio.

ADO.NET Entity Data Model Wizard

Step One: Choose Model Contents

Wizard One

Shortcut Action Notes
Alt+n Move to next screen Not available for all selections of model contents.
Alt+f Finish wizard Not available for all selections of model contents.
Alt+w Switch focus to the “What should the model contain?” pane.

Step Two: Choose Your Connection

Wizard Two

Shortcut Action Notes
Alt+n Move to next screen
Alt+p Move to previous screen
Alt+w Switch focus to the “What should the model contain?” pane.
Alt+c Open the “Connection Properties” window Allows for the definition of a new database connection.
Alt+e Exclude sensitive data from the connection string
Alt+i Include sensitive data in the connection string
Alt+s Toggle the “Save connection settings in App.Config” option

Step Three: Choose Your Version

Wizard Three

Shortcut Action Notes
Alt+n Move to next screen
Alt+p Move to previous screen
Alt+w Switch focus to Entity Framework version selection Allows for specifying a different version of Entity Framework for use in the project.

Step Four: Choose Your Database Objects and Settings

Wizard Four

Shortcut Action Notes
Alt+f Finish wizard
Alt+p Move to previous screen
Alt+w Switch focus to database object selection pane Allows for specifying database objects to be reverse engineered.
Alt+s Toggle the “Pluralize or singularize generated object names” option
Alt+k Toggle the “Include foreign key columns in the model” option Not available for all selections of model contents.
Alt+i Toggle the “Import selected stored procedures and functions into the entity model” option Not available for all selections of model contents.
Alt+m Switches focus to the “Model Namespace” text field Not available for all selections of model contents.
Space Toggle selection on element If element has children, all child elements will be toggled as well
Left Collapse child tree
Right Expand child tree
Up Navigate to previous element in tree
Down Navigate to next element in tree

EF Designer Surface

Designer Surface

Shortcut Action Notes
Space/Enter Toggle Selection Toggles selection on the object with focus.
Esc Cancel Selection Cancels the current selection.
Ctrl + A Select All Selects all the shapes on the design surface.
Up arrow Move up Moves selected entity up one grid increment.
If in a list, moves to the previous sibling subfield.
Down arrow Move down Moves selected entity down one grid increment.
If in a list, moves to the next sibling subfield.
Left arrow Move left Moves selected entity left one grid increment.
If in a list, moves to the previous sibling subfield.
Right arrow Move right Moves selected entity right one grid increment.
If in a list, moves to the next sibling subfield.
Shift + left arrow Size shape left Reduces the width of the selected entity by one grid increment.
Shift + right arrow Size shape right Increases the width of the selected entity by one grid increment.
Home First Peer Moves focus and selection to the first object on the design surface at the same peer level.
End Last Peer Moves focus and selection to the last object on the design surface at the same peer level.
Ctrl + Home First Peer (focus) Same as first peer, but moves focus instead of moving focus and selection.
Ctrl + End Last Peer (focus) Same as last peer, but moves focus instead of moving focus and selection.
Tab Next Peer Moves focus and selection to the next object on the design surface at the same peer level.
Shift+Tab Previous Peer Moves focus and selection to the previous object on the design surface at the same peer level.
Alt+Ctrl+Tab Next Peer (focus) Same as next peer, but moves focus instead of moving focus and selection.
Alt+Ctrl+Shift+Tab Previous Peer (focus) Same as previous peer, but moves focus instead of moving focus and selection.
< Ascend Moves to the next object on the design surface one level higher in the hierarchy. If there are no shapes above this shape in the hierarchy (that is, the object is placed directly on the design surface), the diagram is selected.
> Descend Moves to the next contained object on the design surface one level below this one in the hierarchy. If there are no contained object, this is a no-op.
Ctrl + < Ascend (focus) Same as ascend command, but moves focus without selection.
Ctrl + > Descend (focus) Same as descend command, but moves focus without selection.
Shift + End Follow to connected From an entity, moves to an entity which this entity is connected to.
Del Delete Delete an object or connector from the diagram.
Ins Insert Adds a new property to an entity when either the “Scalar Properties” compartment header or a property itself is selected.
Pg Up Scroll diagram up Scrolls the design surface up, in increments equal to 75% of the height of the currently visible design surface.
Pg Down Scroll diagram down Scrolls the design surface down.
Shift + Pg Down Scroll diagram right Scrolls the design surface to the right.
Shift + Pg Up Scroll diagram left Scrolls the design surface to the left.
F2 Enter edit mode Standard keyboard shortcut for entering edit mode for a text control.
Shift + F10 Display shortcut menu Standard keyboard shortcut for displaying a selected item’s shortcut menu.
Control + Shift + Mouse Left Click
Control + Shift + MouseWheel forward
Semantic Zoom In Zooms in on the area of the Diagram View beneath the mouse pointer.
Control + Shift + Mouse Right Click
Control + Shift + MouseWheel backward
Semantic Zoom Out Zooms out from the area of the Diagram View beneath the mouse pointer. It re-centers the diagram when you zoom out too far for the current diagram center.
Control + Shift + '+'
Control + MouseWheel forward
Zoom In Zooms in on the center of the Diagram View.
Control + Shift + '-'
Control + MouseWheel backward
Zoom Out Zooms out from the clicked area of the Diagram View. It re-centers the diagram when you zoom out too far for the current diagram center.
Control + Shift + Draw a rectangle with the left mouse button down Zoom Area Zooms in centered on the area that you've selected. When you hold down the Control + Shift keys, you'll see that the cursor changes to a magnifying glass, which allows you to define the area to zoom into.
Context Menu Key + ‘M’ Open Mapping Details Window Opens the Mapping Details window to edit mappings for selected entity

Mapping Details Window

Mapping Details Shortcuts

Shortcut Action Notes
Tab Switch Context Switches between the main window area and the toolbar on the left
Arrow keys Navigation Move up and down rows, or right and left across columns in the main window area. Move between the buttons in the toolbar on the left.
Enter
Space
Select Selects a button in the toolbar on the left.
Alt + Down Arrow Open List Drop down a list if a cell is selected that has a drop down list.
Enter List Select Selects an element in a drop down list.
Esc List Close Closes a drop down list.

Visual Studio Navigation

Entity Framework also supplies a number of actions that can have custom keyboard shortcuts mapped (no shortcuts are mapped by default). To create these custom shortcuts, click on the Tools menu, then Options.  Under Environment, choose Keyboard.  Scroll down the list in the middle until you can select the desired command, enter the shortcut in the “Press shortcut keys” text box, and click Assign. The possible shortcuts are as follows:

Shortcut
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Add.ComplexProperty.ComplexTypes
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.AddCodeGenerationItem
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.AddFunctionImport
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.AddNew.AddEnumType
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.AddNew.Association
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.AddNew.ComplexProperty
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.AddNew.ComplexType
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.AddNew.Entity
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.AddNew.FunctionImport
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.AddNew.Inheritance
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.AddNew.NavigationProperty
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.AddNew.ScalarProperty
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.AddNewDiagram
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.AddtoDiagram
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Close
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Collapse
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.ConverttoEnum
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Diagram.CollapseAll
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Diagram.ExpandAll
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Diagram.ExportasImage
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Diagram.LayoutDiagram
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Edit
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.EntityKey
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Expand
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.FunctionImportMapping
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.GenerateDatabasefromModel
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.GoToDefinition
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Grid.ShowGrid
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Grid.SnaptoGrid
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.IncludeRelated
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.MappingDetails
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.ModelBrowser
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.MoveDiagramstoSeparateFile
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.MoveProperties.Down
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.MoveProperties.Down5
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.MoveProperties.ToBottom
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.MoveProperties.ToTop
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.MoveProperties.Up
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.MoveProperties.Up5
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.MovetonewDiagram
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Open
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Refactor.MovetoNewComplexType
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Refactor.Rename
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.RemovefromDiagram
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Rename
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.ScalarPropertyFormat.DisplayName
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.ScalarPropertyFormat.DisplayNameandType
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Select.BaseType
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Select.Entity
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Select.Property
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Select.Subtype
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.SelectAll
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.SelectAssociation
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.ShowinDiagram
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.ShowinModelBrowser
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.StoredProcedureMapping
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.TableMapping
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.UpdateModelfromDatabase
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Validate
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.10
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.100
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.125
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.150
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.200
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.25
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.300
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.33
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.400
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.50
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.66
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.75
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.Custom
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.ZoomIn
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.ZoomOut
OtherContextMenus.MicrosoftDataEntityDesignContext.Zoom.ZoomtoFit
View.EntityDataModelBrowser
View.EntityDataModelMappingDetails