Shortcuts making your life easier
The Sims 3 offers a number of useful shortcuts, making your life much easier. When I started playing the Sims I didn’t use them at all – simply for the reason that I didn’t know how to use them. Once that I got used to them, I couldn’t even think about to play the Sims 3 with out using them any more, as each of those keyboard shortcuts makes the gameplay much smoother and nicer. So guys, if you also haven’t used any shortcuts so far, you should definitely have a look at the list below! 🙂
I have collected all shortcuts available and have listed them in the comprehensive overview, which you will find straight below this introduction. There are different shortcuts available depending on whether you are in the Live Mode or in the Buy and Build Mode. Please don’t forget that the shortcuts of the Live Mode do not work in the Buy and Build mode and vice versa. For the case I have missed anything in my overview please just leave me a message, I will be grateful for it!
Keyboard shortcuts overview
Live mode
| Shortcut | Result |
| Q | Quit game |
| P or 0 | Pause game |
| Enter | Center on active Sim |
| + – or Z X | Zoom in/ Zoom out |
| WASD | Move Forward/Left/Right/Back |
| , and . (or < and >) | Move camera left and right |
| Ctrl + 5 through Ctrl 9 | Save camera position |
| 5 through 9 | Recall camera position |
| V | Start/End video capture |
| B | Pause/Resume video capture |
| C | Take snapshot |
| Esc | Cancel |
| Tab | Free camera mode |
| M | Go to Map |
| F1 | Go to live mode |
| F2 | Go to Buy mode |
| F3 | Go to Build mode |
| F4 | Go to Story mode |
| F5 | Open options |
| F10 | Hide control panel |
| I | Open Skill journal |
| J | Open Adventure journal |
| 1-2-3-4 | Game speed: Normal-Fast-Ultra Fast-Ultra fast without stopping |
| Space or N | Switch to next Sim |
| Page Up/Page Down | Move up one floor/Move down one floor |
| Home/End | Next/Previous wall mode |
| Alt + Enter | Toggle Full-screen/Windowed mode |
Buy/Build mode
| Shortcut | Result |
| H | Hand tool |
| E | Eyedropper tool |
| R | Create-a-Style |
| L | Day/Night toggle |
| T | Top down view |
| K | Sledgehammer tool |
| , and . (or < and >) | Rotate object |
| Delete | Delete object |
| Ctrl + Z/Ctrl + Y | Undo/Redo |
| Ctrl + F | Full/Quarter tile toggle |
