# Trade without touching the mouse > Load symbols, move between desks, enter, scale out, manage stops and flatten using only the keyboard: a full hotkey workflow for scalping in Scalpel. Source: https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/keyboard-only-workflow Guide 14.3, Tips and tricks. Intermediate, 5 min read. Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on 2026-10-15. By Scalpel Team. **In short:** Every trading action in Scalpel has a key: `Shift`+`1` to `4` to buy, `Ctrl`+`Z`, `X`, `C`, `A` and `S` to sell, `B` for breakeven, `Shift`+`T` to trail, `Ctrl`+`Q` to cancel and `Esc` to flatten everything. Move between desks with the arrow keys and `Tab`, and let the voice confirm each action. The only mouse moment is putting the cursor in a symbol box: once you pick a symbol, the cursor leaves the box and the keys trade straight away. A scalp is decided in a second or two, and the mouse is slow: you have to look at the button to hit it. Scalpel is keyboard-first so your eyes can stay on Level 2 and the tape. Each key acts on the **focused desk** (the one with the accent outline), and each one is confirmed out loud, so you rarely need to look away ([guide 10.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/voice-callouts)). **Before you start:** - Your buy presets set up ([guide 4.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/sizing-presets)). - A few sessions in SIM, so the keys are in your fingers before money is ([guide 6.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/paper-trading-sim)). ## The keys | Action | Default key | Notes | |---|---|---| | Buy preset 1 to 4 | `Shift`+`1` to `Shift`+`4` | A marketable limit at the ask plus your offset | | Sell full (bid) | `Ctrl`+`Z` | The whole position, at the bid less your sell offset | | Sell half (bid) | `Ctrl`+`X` | | | Sell quarter (bid) | `Ctrl`+`C` | | | Sell half (ask) | `Ctrl`+`A` | Into strength, at the ask | | Sell half (mid) | `Ctrl`+`S` | Between the bid and the ask | | Stop to breakeven | `B` | Works with the market closed | | Toggle trailing stop | `Shift`+`T` | Works with the market closed | | Cancel all orders | `Ctrl`+`Q` (`Shift`+`Q` on a Mac) | On the focused desk. Works with the market closed | | Cheatsheet | `?` (`Shift`+`/`) | Shows every key | | Flatten everything | `Esc` | Every position on every desk. Works with the market closed. Fixed, not rebindable | | Next or previous desk | `Right` or `Tab`, `Left` | Only when you are not typing | | Settings | `Ctrl`+`,` | | | Zoom the cockpit | `Ctrl`+`=`, `Ctrl`+`-`, `Ctrl`+`0` | 70% to 125% | On a Mac, `Ctrl` is `Cmd` throughout, except **Cancel all orders**, which is `Shift`+`Q` because `Cmd`+`Q` quits a Mac app. Press `?` any time to see the live keymap, with each buy key showing its preset's size. *Screenshot: The cheatsheet (?) on the default Windows keys. Esc closes it.* ## A full trade on the keyboard ### 1. Load the symbol Click the symbol box in the desk's header (or the empty desk), type the ticker, use `Up` and `Down` to pick from the list and press `Enter`. The symbol loads and the cursor leaves the box, so your keys trade straight away. While you are still typing in a symbol box, letter and number keys type text and never place orders. A faster route skips typing entirely: click a scanner row, or a scanner toast, and the symbol loads on a free desk ([guide 2.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/load-symbols-and-desks)). ### 2. Move to the desk you want Press `Right` or `Tab` for the next desk and `Left` for the previous one. The accent outline shows which desk your keys act on. ### 3. Enter Press `Shift`+`2` (or whichever preset fits). You hear a blip as it is sent and "Filled, level two" when it fills. The stop and take-profit arm themselves. ### 4. Manage the trade Up a little? `B` moves the stop to your entry ("Breakeven"); it never lowers a stop that trailing has already lifted above your entry. Running? `Shift`+`T` starts the trail ("Trailing"). Into a spike, `Ctrl`+`A` sells half at the ask; on a stall, `Ctrl`+`X` sells half at the bid ([guide 4.5](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/scale-out-and-flatten)). ### 5. Exit `Ctrl`+`Z` sells the rest ("Out, full"), cancelling any buy still working on that stock first. If a resting sell is still working, the new sell replaces it, so you never need to cancel before you sell. `Ctrl`+`Q` cancels anything left over ("Cancelled"). In an emergency, `Esc` flattens every desk at once ("Flattened"). **Careful.** `Esc` closes whatever is open first: the cheatsheet, Settings, a panel's settings, or the symbol suggestion list. With nothing open it flattens every position on every desk, **even while your cursor sits in an empty symbol box**. Press it once to close a list, and know what a second press does. ## Make the keys yours Open **Settings > Hotkeys**, click the action you want to change, and press the new key or chord. The row reads **Press a key** while it waits. Click **Apply**. `Esc` and `Enter` are fixed and cannot be rebound ([guide 4.3](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/hotkeys)). *Screenshot: Settings, Hotkeys: Sell full (bid) waiting for its new key.* Good rebinds keep the hand still: buys on one side of the keyboard, sells on the other, and nothing dangerous next to something you press all day. **Tip.** In Settings, `Enter` applies your changes exactly like **Apply**, so you can rebind, press `Enter` and go straight back to the desk. ## What can go wrong - **A key did nothing.** The cursor is in a text box you were typing in (click the desk), the market is closed (only `B`, `Shift`+`T`, `Ctrl`+`Q` and `Esc` work then), the stock is halted (buys are blocked until it resumes), or the wrong desk is focused. - **The order went to the wrong desk.** Keys act on the focused desk only. Watch the outline, and use the arrow keys rather than clicking around mid-trade. - **A sell was refused.** Scalpel is long only: with no position on that desk there is nothing to sell ([guide 7.3](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/long-only)). ## Questions **Can I load a symbol without the mouse?** Not entirely. Typing a ticker needs the cursor in a symbol box, which takes a click. Once you pick the symbol, the cursor leaves the box by itself, and everything else, from entries to exits and desk focus, is on the keyboard. **Do hotkeys fire while I type a symbol?** No. Trading keys never fire while a text box has the cursor, so typing a ticker can never place an order. **Which desk does a hotkey trade?** The focused desk, outlined in the accent colour. Move focus with Left, Right and Tab, or by clicking a desk. **Can I change Esc so it does not flatten?** No. Esc and Enter are fixed keys. Esc always closes an open window or list first and flattens only when nothing is open. **Do the hotkeys work on a Mac?** Yes, with Cmd in place of Ctrl: Cmd+Z sells the full position, Cmd+, opens Settings. Cancel all orders is Shift+Q, because Cmd+Q quits a Mac app.