Revit Tip - Shortcut Keys Not Working?

By Dennis Collin

Occasionally I have found full Revit and Revit LT seem to lose their keyboard shortcuts to certain commands. This can happen with various Revit versions. I am not sure of the cause of this problem, it could be because of a Windows update, system crash or perhaps it is a change in a Windows security policy, but if it happens to you the problem can be easily remedied.

The first thing we need to do is access another users’ Revit system. Access the Keyboard Shortcut Editor either by using the ‘KS’ Shortcut or access the interface via the Options or Views tab on the ribbon panel.

Once open, choose export and select a suitable location for the keyboard shortcuts XML file.

It is a good idea to locate it on a shared network location so if the problem happens again or to other users, the standard collection of keyboard shortcuts can be imported to other systems. Once exported, return to the original system where the shortcuts don’t work and choose the Options menu (KS shortcut will not work probably).

Choose Import and browse to the location of the XML file and click OK.

Once complete, test a few of the standard shortcuts.

“KS”  - Should activate the Keyboard Shortcut Environment.

“Ctrl+1” – Should toggle the properties palette.

The XML file can also be read into MS Excel, or Word should a ‘cheat sheet’ of shortcuts needs to be distributed amongst the Revit team.