Skip to content

Keyboard shortcuts

Fly through formatting without reaching for the mouse — set element types, navigate, fix capitalization, undo, and save, all from the keyboard.

Nabu's editor borrows the keyboard feel of professional screenwriting software. You can write an entire script touching the mouse only when you want to. None of this is required — if you'd rather click buttons or just type, that works too (see Screenplay formatting) — but a few of these are worth keeping in your fingers.

On Mac, use Cmd. On Windows or Linux, use Ctrl everywhere Cmd is shown — both keys do the same thing.

Picking and changing element types

The fastest way to tell Nabu "this line is dialogue" or "start a scene heading here."

Shortcut What it does
Cmd+1 Make the current line a Scene Heading
Cmd+2 Make the current line Action
Cmd+3 Make the current line a Character cue
Cmd+4 Make the current line a Parenthetical
Cmd+5 Make the current line Dialogue
Cmd+6 Make the current line a Transition
Tab Move forward through the natural element types for where you are
Shift+Tab Move backward through element types
Cmd+Shift+D Turn the current character's dialogue into dual dialogue (two speakers side by side), or undo it

Tip: Tab is smart about context. On an Action line it offers a Character cue; on a Character cue it offers a Parenthetical; on Dialogue it starts the next speaker. You rarely need the number keys once Tab feels natural.

Note: Tab behaves a little differently on a scene heading — instead of jumping straight to Action, it walks you through small menus to finish the heading (the INT./EXT. prefix, then the location, then the time of day). See Screenplay formatting for how that guided completion works.

The double-Enter element picker

There is no "/" slash menu in Nabu. When you want to pick an element by hand, press Enter on a second, empty line in a row — a small popup appears. Then press a letter:

Key Inserts
s Scene Heading
c Character
d Dialogue
p Parenthetical
t Transition
n Note (a non-printing annotation)

You can also use ↑ / ↓ to highlight a choice and Enter to pick it, or press Esc to dismiss the popup and keep typing.

Tip: This double-Enter popup is the closest thing to an "insert" menu. If you ever feel like you're hunting for a way to add an element, just press Enter twice on a blank line.

Capitalization and naming

Shortcut What it does
Cmd+K Toggle the selected text (or the current line) between ALL CAPS and lowercase

Character cues and location names capitalize themselves automatically, so you rarely need Cmd+K for those. It's handy for a transition or a stretch of action you want shouting in caps.

Note: Nabu does not do "smart quotes" or other typographic auto-replacement — what you type is what you get, apart from the automatic uppercasing of cues and locations.

When you change an existing character's name in a cue, a small popup asks what you meant: press 1 to change just that one cue, or 2 to rename that character everywhere in the script. Press Esc to dismiss it. (Brand-new names don't trigger this — Nabu just adds them.)

Undo and redo

Shortcut What it does
Cmd+Z Undo your last edit
Cmd+Shift+Z Redo

Note: Undo and redo cover your typing in the current editing session. They are not the same as Nabu's version history. To get a much older state of your script back — even after closing the tab — use Save Version and the History page instead (open it from History in the project sidebar).

Saving

Your work saves itself as you type — there is no Save button. These two shortcuts are for the moments you want to be deliberate about it.

Shortcut What it does
Cmd+S Flush your pending edits to the server right now (instead of waiting for autosave)
Cmd+Shift+S Save a named version you can return to later — a permanent point in your History

Tip: Use Cmd+Shift+S before a big rewrite or at the end of a good session. It first makes sure your latest edits are saved, then drops a marker you can always come back to. A toast confirms it and offers to Open History.

Note: If your edits can't be saved at that moment, Cmd+Shift+S won't make a version — Nabu would rather not save a half-written state than save the wrong thing. You'll see a message asking you to save your changes first.

Shortcut What it does
Cmd+G Open Go To Page — type a page number and press Enter to jump there
Cmd+= Zoom in
Cmd+- Zoom out
Cmd+0 Reset zoom to 100%

On a touchpad or mouse you can also hold Ctrl and scroll to zoom. On a phone, use the normal pinch gesture instead — the zoom buttons are hidden there.

Inside an AI suggestion

When Nisaba — your AI writing partner — proposes an edit, it appears underlined in your script. Click it to open the review popup, then:

Key What it does
A Accept the suggestion
D Dismiss it
Tab Cycle between alternative suggestions (A, B, …) when more than one is offered
Esc Close the popup without deciding

Note: Note-type suggestions are advisory — there's nothing to accept, so they have no A action.

Good to know

  • Bold and italic: Nabu doesn't add toolbar buttons for these, and screenplay text is conventionally plain. Your browser's standard Cmd+B / Cmd+I may work, but it isn't a documented Nabu shortcut — don't rely on it for formatting.
  • The toolbar mirrors the keyboard. Every element type also has a button at the top of the editor, and so do undo and redo — if a shortcut slips your mind, the button is right there. See The editor.
  • Voice control. If your plan includes voice, you can dictate text and even speak element commands instead of using these keys. Depending on your plan, this may not be visible yet.