Keyboard shortcuts
Every keyboard shortcut in DemoTake for Mac and DemoTake Web, grouped by where you use them. Recording shortcuts work from the menu bar too, so you never have to switch back to DemoTake.
DemoTake is built to be driven from the keyboard while your hands stay on the app you're demoing. Menu shortcuts use ⌘; the editor also has single-key shortcuts that work whenever you're not typing in a text field.
⇧⌘R starts recording after a 3-2-1 countdown, ⌘D ends each scene at a checkpoint, ⌘. stops.
App and File
| Action | Shortcut | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New Take… | ⌘N | File › New Take… |
| New Reviewer Take… | ⇧⌘N | Starts a new take set up for reviewers |
| Settings | ⌘, | |
| Back | ⌘[ | Previous screen (View menu) |
| Forward | ⌘] | Next screen (View menu) |
| Quit DemoTake | ⌘Q |
During onboarding, ⌘← goes back a step and Return continues.
Take menu (while recording)
These work on a take's recording screen, from the Take menu.
| Action | Shortcut | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Rehearse | ⌘R | Walk through the flow with a live preview; nothing is recorded. ⌘R again for Finish Rehearsal |
| Start Recording | ⇧⌘R | 3-2-1 countdown, then the first pending scene starts. Press Esc or click to start right away |
| Pause / Resume | ⌘P | Paused time isn't recorded |
| Create Checkpoint | ⌘D | Ends the scene at a stable state and starts the next pending one |
| Stop Recording | ⌘. | Saves the take. Scenes you didn't record stay pending |
| Session Inspector | ⌥⌘I | Shows or hides the inspector on the recording screen |
While you record, the DemoTake icon in the menu bar shows the elapsed time and has Checkpoint Scene and Stop Recording, so you can stay in the app you're demoing.
Editor
The editor's commands are also in the Take menu: Export…, Contact Sheet…, Exact Frame and Open in Reviewer Mode.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Export… | ⌘E |
| Focus the command bar | ⌘L |
| Undo | ⌘Z |
| Redo | ⇧⌘Z |
| Show or hide the Inspector | ⌥⌘I |
Editor single keys
These work whenever the editor is in front and you're not typing in a text field, so they never interfere with captions or the command bar.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Play or pause |
| ← / → | Step back or forward a frame. With ⇧, one second |
| ↑ / ↓ | Previous or next scene |
| J | Pause and step back one second |
| K | Pause |
| L | Play. Press again to speed up: 2×, then 4× |
| H | Hold the frame at the playhead |
| Z | Add a zoom at the playhead |
| R | Draw a redaction (press again to stop) |
| C | Add a caption |
| I / O | Trim the scene's start or end to the playhead |
| E | Exact Frame: show the frame at the playhead exactly as the export draws it |
| F | Focus the stage |
| Delete | Remove the selected event, or exclude the selected scene |
| Esc | Stop drawing a redaction, clear a range selection, or leave focus |
Excluding a scene with Delete is an edit like any other. The footage stays in the take, and ⌘Z brings the scene back.
Large previews
Click a screenshot, a contact-sheet frame, a range's edge frame or the custom overlay preview to see it large. Zoom in to read small text: pinch on the trackpad, or hold ⌘ and scroll, and the image zooms around the pointer. Double-click a spot to see it at 100% (one pixel of the image per pixel of your screen), and double-click again to fit. A zoomed-in image moves when you drag it or scroll. The zoom buttons next to Copy Image show the zoom level and go up to 800%.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘+ / ⌘− | Zoom in or out |
| ⌘0 | Fit the whole image |
| ⌘1 | Actual size (100%) |
| ↑ / ↓ | Move a zoomed-in image up or down |
| ← / → | Previous or next image (each opens fitted) |
| Esc or Space | Close |
The preview also has Copy Image and Save…. They copy and save the whole image, whatever the zoom.
Blur review
Review Blurs… (screenshots) and Review in Large View (scenes) zoom the same way, so you can blur exactly the right line. Because dragging there draws a hidden area, you move around differently:
| Key or gesture | Action |
|---|---|
| Pinch, or ⌘ + scroll | Zoom around the pointer |
| Scroll, or hold Space and drag | Move around a zoomed-in image |
| ⌘+ / ⌘− / ⌘0 / ⌘1 | Zoom in, zoom out, fit, 100% |
| Hold O | Peek at the original, without any blur |
| ← / → | Previous or next shot (with nothing selected) |
| ↑ / ↓ | Move a zoomed-in image (with nothing selected) |
| Arrow keys | Nudge the selected blur or hidden area (⇧ for 10 pixels) |
| Delete | Turn the selected blur off, or remove the selected hidden area |
| ⌘Z / ⇧⌘Z | Undo / Redo |
| Esc | Clear the selection, then close |
DemoTake Web
The browser editor uses the same keys where it can. On Windows and Linux, use Ctrl wherever you see ⌘.
| Where | Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Library | ⌘K or / | Search your takes |
| Editor | ⌘S | Save |
| Editor | ⌘L | Focus the command bar |
| Editor | ⌘E | Export |
| Editor | ⌘Z / ⇧⌘Z | Undo / Redo (⌘Y also redoes) |
| Editor | Space | Play or pause |
| Editor | J / K / L | Back two seconds / Pause / Play |
| Editor | ← / → | Step a frame. With ⇧, one second |
| Editor | ↑ / ↓ | Previous or next scene boundary |
| Editor | Home / End | Jump to the start or end |
| Editor | I / O | Trim the scene's start or end to the playhead |
| Editor | H / Z / C / R | Hold, zoom, caption, draw a redaction |
| Editor | Delete | Delete the selection: exclude a scene, remove a caption, redaction or event, or cut a selected range |
| Editor | Esc | Stop drawing a redaction, or clear the selection |
| Editor | [ / ] | Show or hide the scene list / the inspector |
| Editor | ? | Show all shortcuts |
| Scene list | ⌥↑ / ⌥↓ | Move the focused scene up or down |
| Timeline | ⌘ + scroll | Zoom the timeline |
Where to go next
- Record your first take puts the recording shortcuts to work.
- The command bar for everything ⌘L can do.
- Undo and history