A
Attack
Press A, then left-click a unit or the ground. Right-click puts the key down and gives no order.
Field manual
Shortcuts
The keys a match starts with. Letters are the QWERTY positions painted on the command bar.
Orders
The left of the command bar is eighteen keys, six across and three down. A button in a cell is what that letter presses. An empty cell other than the gold ones does nothing. When the selection can attack-move, A, C and V stay reserved for attack, hold position and move.
Q, W, E, R, T, Y, F and G press the button in that cell. A attacks, S stops, D attack-moves, X guards, C holds position and V moves. Z ejects, B sets the rally point, N sells, and on the GLA worker H switches between the real structures and the fakes. Anywhere else H presses the button in that cell. Shift still presses the cell, so a build button queues a batch. Empty cells fill from the top left, Q, A, W, Z, S, E, X, D, R, C, F, T, V, G, Y, B, H, N, and a cell that already holds its order is skipped. Buildings come first, then abilities and upgrades. Gold letters keep that order when the cell is empty.
A
Left drag
Attack circle
Hold A, press on the ground and drag. The ring is the area, and the guns that can shoot share the enemies inside it. A click with no drag is an ordinary attack. Shift adds that unit's shots to the queue. Undetected units, and anything under the fog, stay out.
S
Stop
Stops the selection. One of your own buildings still going up is cancelled and the money comes back.
D
Attack move
Press D, then left-click. The group moves there and shoots what it meets on the way.
D
Left drag
Attack-move line
The drag spreads the group along the curve. Each unit attack-moves to its own station.
X
Guard
Press X, then left-click. The whole group posts on that spot.
X
Left drag
Guard line
Each unit holds its station on the line and shoots from there.
C
Hold position
Takes effect at once, with no click. Each unit guards the ground it is already on.
V
Move
Press V, then left-click. The group moves there. A button standing on V is what the key presses.
V
Left drag
Move line
The drag lays the group along the line. Each unit moves to its own station.
Z
Eject
When the selection has it. Passengers leave a transport, and a garrison leaves a building.
B
Rally point
On a building, this is where finished units walk out. On the demolition worker it is the suicide charge.
N
Sell
Sells a building. On a dozer or a worker it clears mines.
H
Fake buildings
On the GLA worker, this switches between the real structures and the fakes. Otherwise H presses the button in that cell.
Placing buildings
With a structure chosen on a worker or a dozer.
Left drag
Aim
Drag with the left button and the ghost turns to face along the drag. That heading carries to the next structure.
Ctrl
Wheel
Turn
Before the aim drag starts, each notch of the wheel turns the ghost by an eighth of a turn. The camera stays where it is.
Shift
Click
Place another
Places one structure and leaves the ghost up, so the next click places another.
Shift
Drag
A row
Ordinary buildings go down in a row along the drag. While the row is anchored, the wheel opens or closes the gap by one grid square a notch, from flush up to 20 squares, and the camera stays put. The row stops when the money runs out, and a square of rock is skipped. Releasing the drag ends placement even while Shift is still held.
Right-click
Esc
Cancel
Drops the ghost.
Production
On a build button, and on the queue beside it.
Shift
Queue five
One click on a build button queues five.
Ctrl
Queue twenty
One click queues twenty.
Shift
Ctrl
Queue a hundred
One click asks for a hundred. The batch stops when the money runs out or the queue is full.
Right-click
Take them back
Right-click on the queue pulls units back out. Shift, Ctrl, and the two together take five, twenty and a hundred.
Click
The production strip
Click a factory on the strip over the battlefield and the camera goes to it. Right-click or Ctrl-click on a queued item cancels that one.
Selection
A box or a double-click takes what is on screen. The category keys do the same, and a second press takes the rest of the map once the screen has nothing new left to add.
Left drag
Box
Workers inside a mixed box are left where they are. A box of only workers takes them.
Alt
Left drag
Fighters only
Takes combat units. Structures stay unselected, and an empty box selects nothing.
Ctrl
Left drag
Remove
A left drag with Ctrl pulls units out of the selection.
Double-click
Same type
Double-click a unit and every one of that type on screen joins it. A structure ignores the double-click. Alt and a double-click takes that type across the map. Shift and a double-click keeps what you already had selected.
Shift
Click
Add, and queue
Shift-click adds a unit to the selection. Shift on an order click appends that order, and each queued point keeps its own marker.
Ctrl
Q
Infantry
Your infantry on screen.
Ctrl
W
Ground vehicles
Your ground vehicles on screen. Aircraft, dozers, harvesters and buildings stay unselected.
Ctrl
E
Aircraft
Your aircraft on screen.
Ctrl
A
All units
Your units on screen, leaving out dozers, harvesters, structures, and anything that ignores select-all.
Ctrl
D
Same types
Every selected type, on screen. Press it again within half a second and it takes them across the whole map.
Ctrl
Z
Barracks
Your barracks and other infantry buildings, on screen.
Ctrl
X
War factories
Your war factories, on screen.
Ctrl
C
Airfields
Your airfields and helipads, on screen.
I
Next idle worker
The next dozer or worker with nothing to do. The camera goes to it.
Ctrl
H
Hero
Your hero. The camera goes to it.
Ctrl
Left
Right
Previous and next unit
Ctrl with left or right steps through your units on screen.
Ctrl
Up
Down
Previous and next worker
Ctrl with up or down steps through your workers.
Tab
Shift
Tab
Portraits and the scoreboard
With two or more units selected, Tab and Shift+Tab cycle their portraits. Otherwise hold Tab and the scoreboard stays open until you release it.
Control groups
Ten groups, numbered 0 to 9.
0
9
Select
Selects the group. Press the number again quickly and the camera moves to it, leaving the selection as it is.
Ctrl
0
9
Assign
The current selection becomes that group.
Shift
0
9
Add
Adds the selection to the group. A selected building is dropped first. A quick second press moves the camera there and adds nothing.
Alt
0
9
Look
Moves the camera to the group and leaves the selection alone.
1
5
Buy a promotion
While the promotion screen is open, 1 through 5 buy that column, and the groups wait.
Camera
The view, the saved spots, and the power bar.
Arrows
Scroll
The arrow keys scroll the view.
Screen edge
Edge scroll
The view scrolls when the cursor meets the edge of the screen. In a window that waits on its option. The edge stays still while the spectator camera is driving.
Right drag
Pan
A right drag pans the camera.
Middle drag
Rotate
A middle drag rotates the heading. With the option on, it snaps to eighths of a turn.
Middle click
Reset
A middle click restores the angle, the pitch and the zoom.
Wheel
Zoom
The wheel zooms, toward the cursor when that option is on. While Ctrl is turning a ghost, or a building row is anchored, the wheel changes that instead.
Num 4
Num 6
Rotate
Hold numpad 4 or 6 to rotate.
Num 8
Num 2
Zoom
Hold numpad 8 or 2 to zoom.
Num 5
Reset
Numpad 5 restores the camera.
Space
Last radar event
Space jumps to the last event the radar reported.
Ctrl
F1
F8
Save a view
Ctrl and F1 through F8 save the camera. Eight slots.
Shift
F1
F8
Go to a view
Shift and F1 through F8 return to a saved camera.
F1
F8
General powers
F1 through F8 press the general's power bar, top right, in order. The last three powers have no key.
Allies and chat
Chat, signals, and the things that exist with other players.
Enter
Allies
Opens chat with your allies. A dead player, or someone watching, talks to everyone. This is multiplayer. Enter inside the box sends the line.
Shift
Enter
Everyone
Opens chat with everyone in the match.
Alt
Z
Attack here
Smoke in your colour and crossed swords, for ten seconds, where the cursor is or on the radar spot under it. Allies and observers see it. Network games, one signal a second.
Alt
X
Defend here
Smoke and a shield, for ten seconds, on the same rules.
Alt
C
Look here
Smoke and an eye, for ten seconds, on the same rules.
Ctrl
B
Beacon
Places a beacon, up to the cap. Delete removes it. Multiplayer.
Delete
Remove beacon
Takes your beacon off the map.
Shift
Ctrl
C
Cheer
The selection cheers. Multiplayer.
Shift
Ctrl
X
Scatter
The selection scatters.
Ctrl
F
Lock a formation
Locks the offsets the group has now, or clears them when they are already locked. The lines you drag with D, X and V are separate.
The match
The screens around the fighting.
\
Promotions
Opens and closes the general's promotion screen. On a German keyboard that same key is #.
P
Pause
Pauses a single-player game or a replay.
F9
Command bar
Hides and shows the command bar.
Esc
Cancel, then the menu
Drops the promotion screen, an unspent power, a placement or an armed command, whichever is up. With none of those up, it opens the quit menu.
F12
Screenshot
Saves a screenshot, in a match and in the menus.
`
Console
The key above Tab opens the console, and while it is open the keys you type go there. Cheats answer in a campaign and in a skirmish you are playing.
Q
W
E
R
T
Y
A
Watching a match
While you are watching, these switch the stat list: net worth, cash, income, army value, kills, rank, power.