# Hotkeys: the defaults and how to change them

> Every Scalpel hotkey and its default: buys, scale-outs, breakeven, trailing and cancel, each with a spoken confirmation. Esc's rules and how to rebind.

Source: https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/hotkeys
Guide 4.3, Placing trades. Beginner, 7 min read.
Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on 2026-10-15. By Scalpel Team.

**In short:**

Scalpel is built to be traded from the keyboard: `Shift`+`1` to `Shift`+`4` buy, `Ctrl`+`Z` sells everything at the bid, `Ctrl`+`X` sells half, `B` moves your stop to breakeven, and a voice confirms each one so your eyes never leave the book. Press `?` for the cheatsheet, and rebind any trading key in **Settings > Hotkeys** by clicking it and pressing the new key. `Esc` is fixed: with nothing open, it flattens every position.

In a fast small-cap move, the second you spend finding a button with the mouse is a second of price you do not get. Every trading action in Scalpel has a key, every key fires on the desk you have focused, and each one answers with a short spoken confirmation ("Filled, level two.", "Out, half.", "Breakeven.") so you can keep watching Level 2 and the tape instead of checking a panel.

**Before you start:**

- A symbol loaded on a desk ([guide 2.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/load-symbols-and-desks)).
- Your buy presets set up ([guide 4.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/sizing-presets)).
- SIM mode while you build the muscle memory ([guide 6.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/paper-trading-sim)).

## Every default key

These are the rebindable trading keys, in the order **Settings > Hotkeys** lists them. Each acts on the **focused desk** (the one with the blue outline).

| Action (as Settings names it) | Default key | What it does | You hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Buy preset 1** to **4** | `Shift`+`1` to `Shift`+`4` | Buys with that preset's size, as a marketable limit at the ask plus your buy offset ([guide 4.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/entries-and-fills)) | "Filled, level one." to "level four." |
| **Sell full (bid)** | `Ctrl`+`Z` | Sells the whole position at the bid minus your sell offset | "Out, full." |
| **Sell half (bid)** | `Ctrl`+`X` | Sells half, rounded down to whole shares | "Out, half." |
| **Sell quarter (bid)** | `Ctrl`+`C` | Sells a quarter, rounded down | "Out, quarter." |
| **Sell half (ask)** | `Ctrl`+`A` | Offers half at the ask | "Out, half." |
| **Sell half (mid)** | `Ctrl`+`S` | Offers half at the midpoint | "Out, half." |
| **Stop to breakeven** | `B` | Moves the working stop up to your entry price; a stop already above it stays put | "Breakeven." |
| **Toggle trailing stop** | `Shift`+`T` | Turns trailing on or off | "Trailing." or "Trail off." |
| **Cancel all orders** | `Ctrl`+`Q` (`Shift`+`Q` on a Mac) | Cancels the working orders on the focused desk's symbol | "Cancelled." |
| **Toggle cheatsheet** | `?` (`Shift`+`/`) | Shows or hides every key on screen | |

More voices follow on their own: "Out, in profit." or "Out, at a loss." when a trade closes, "Stopped out.", "Take profit.", "Rejected." when an order is refused, and "Flattened." after `Esc`. You can mute the voice or the sounds separately in **Settings > Audio** ([guide 10.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/voice-callouts)).

The scale-outs, breakeven and trailing are covered in [guide 4.5](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/scale-out-and-flatten) and [guide 5.3](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/breakeven-and-trailing-stops).

## The fixed keys

These are not in the rebind list and always do the same thing.

| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| `Esc` | Closes whatever is open first: the cheatsheet, Settings, a panel's or a scan's settings, or a symbol suggestion list. **With nothing open, it flattens every position on every desk**, the same as the header's **Flatten All**. |
| `Enter` | Applies Settings when it is open; otherwise loads the highlighted symbol from the suggestion list. |
| `Up` / `Down` | Move through the symbol suggestion list. |
| `Left`, `Right`, `Tab` | Move focus to the previous or next desk (when you are not typing in a box). |
| `Ctrl`+`,` | Opens or closes Settings. |
| `Ctrl`+`-`, `Ctrl`+`=`, `Ctrl`+`0` | Zoom the whole cockpit out, in, and back to 100% (70% to 125%). |

**This can cost you money.**

`Esc` flattens everything whenever nothing is open, even while your cursor sits in a symbol box. If a suggestion list is showing, the first `Esc` only closes the list; a second press flattens. Treat `Esc` as your panic key, never as "cancel what I was typing".

## Typing a symbol never places an order

The trading keys only fire when no text box has the key. While you type in a desk's symbol box, `Shift`+`1` is just a "!" in the box. As soon as you pick a symbol (`Enter` or a click on a suggestion), the cursor leaves the box, so the keys trade straight away. If you clicked into a box and changed your mind, click the desk (or its chart) to give the keys back to trading.

## The cheatsheet

Press `?` to see every key as it is bound right now. The buy rows show each preset's size ("Buy 250 sh", "Buy Risk $100"), so the cheatsheet is also a quick check of what your four keys will buy. Press `?` again, click outside it, or press `Esc` to close it.

*Screenshot: The cheatsheet with the default keys and the default share ladder. It always shows your current bindings. Demo data.*

## Rebind a key

### 1. Open Settings, then Hotkeys

Press `Ctrl`+`,` (or click **Settings** in the header) and choose **Hotkeys**. Every action is listed with its key.

*Screenshot: Settings, Hotkeys: the thirteen rebindable actions. Esc and Enter are fixed and not listed.*

### 2. Click the key you want to change

The key turns blue and reads **Press a key**. Click it again to back out without changing anything.

*Screenshot: Waiting for a new key for Stop to breakeven.*

### 3. Press the new key or chord

Press a letter, number or punctuation key, alone or with `Ctrl`, `Shift` or both. If another action already had that chord, it loses it and shows **Unbound**: there are never two actions on one key.

### 4. Click Apply

Changes only take effect when you click **Apply**. **Cancel** (or `Esc`) closes Settings and keeps your old keys.

What you cannot bind: `Esc`, `Enter`, the arrow keys, `Tab`, `Space` and the function keys, and the fixed `Ctrl`+`,` and zoom chords. `Alt` is not part of a chord.

## On a Mac

Wherever this guide says `Ctrl`, press `Cmd`: `Cmd`+`Z` sells the position, `Cmd`+`,` opens Settings. The cheatsheet and the Hotkeys tab still write "Ctrl".

The one exception is **Cancel all orders**: on a Mac it defaults to `Shift`+`Q`, because `Cmd`+`Q` quits apps on macOS, and quitting Scalpel switches off its stops ([guide 5.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/how-stops-work)). An older binding on `Cmd`+`Q` moves to `Shift`+`Q` by itself.

## Tips for a keyboard-only setup

- **Keep sizes in the same order everywhere.** Smallest on `Shift`+`1`, biggest on `Shift`+`4`, so a slip of the finger buys less, not more.
- **Learn the exits first.** In SIM, practise `Ctrl`+`X` then `Ctrl`+`Z` until you do not look down.
- **Use `Tab` to change desks**, so your left hand never leaves the keyboard.
- **Let the voice confirm.** If you did not hear "Filled", look before you press again: the order may have been rejected or only partly filled.

More in [guide 14.3](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/keyboard-only-workflow) and the full Hotkeys tab reference in [guide 11.8](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/settings-hotkeys).

## Questions

**What are the default hotkeys in Scalpel?**

Shift+1 to Shift+4 buy your four presets; Ctrl+Z sells all at the bid; Ctrl+X half and Ctrl+C a quarter at the bid; Ctrl+A half at the ask; Ctrl+S half at the mid; B moves the stop to breakeven; Shift+T toggles trailing; Ctrl+Q (Shift+Q on a Mac) cancels working orders; ? shows the cheatsheet; Esc flattens everything when nothing is open.

**Why did my hotkey not do anything?**

Usually a text box had the key. Click the desk to hand the keys back. Buys and sells are also blocked when the market is closed (04:00 to 20:00 ET is open), with a Market closed - orders disabled toast; breakeven, trailing and cancel still work. Buys are refused while the stock is halted.

**Which desk does a hotkey trade?**

The focused desk, the one with the blue outline. Click a desk, or move focus with Left, Right or Tab. Esc is the exception: it flattens every desk.

**Can I change what Esc does?**

No. Esc and Enter are fixed. Esc closes an open overlay or suggestion list first, and flattens every position only when nothing is open.

**Do hotkeys work on a Mac?**

Yes, with Cmd in place of Ctrl. The exception is Cancel all orders, which is Shift+Q on a Mac, because Cmd+Q quits apps there.