Shortcuts & gestures
Everything the editor understands, in one searchable place. The same content is available inside the app with Ctrl / Cmd + Shift + H or by tapping the ? button in the toolbar.
Keyboard
Available on desktop browsers and on iPads paired with an external keyboard. Shortcuts are inert while focus is in a text input.
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 | Arm a ghost ring (penta / benz / septo / octo) — next click drops it. |
| Esc | Cancel armed ring / group / paste, or clear the current selection. |
| Hover + Del | Delete the atom or bond under the cursor (selection is left intact). |
| Backspace / Del | Delete the current selection. |
| Shift + Click | Toggle a fragment in the selection. Chain to pick several fragments. |
| ⌘ / Ctrl + C | Copy the current selection. |
| ⌘ / Ctrl + X | Cut the current selection. |
| ⌘ / Ctrl + V | Paste at the cursor (ghost preview until you click). |
| ⌘ / Ctrl + Shift + H | Toggle the in-app hints panel. |
Pen & touch gestures
Tuned for Apple Pencil on iPad but every gesture works with mouse and finger too. Stroke endpoints snap to nearby atoms within ~24 px so you don't have to land precisely.
| Gesture | What it does |
|---|---|
| ╱ | Single C–C bond. |
| △ | Triangle → cyclopentane (5). |
| ◯ | Closed loop → benzene (6). |
| ⬠ | Polygon (4+ corners) → cycloheptane (7). |
| ∞ | Figure-eight → cyclooctane (8). |
| ✕ | Scribble over an atom or bond to delete it. |
| · | Tap atom — opens the element / group dock. |
| 1s ─ | Long-press a bond — change order, wedge / hash, or break it. |
| 1s ◌ | Long-press the canvas — drop an atom on the nearest hex slot. |
| ▭ | Tap a group chip, then tap atoms to attach the substituent. |
1s = hold for one second before lifting.
Platform notes
- macOS / iPadOS with keyboard: ⌘ is the modifier. iPad text-shortcut popovers do not steal these — Hexink registers them on the canvas.
- Windows / Linux / ChromeOS: Ctrl is the modifier.
- Touch-only devices: the keyboard tab in the in-editor hints panel is still useful for the few combos that have no gesture equivalent (paste preview, in particular).
- Apple Pencil: double-tap on the Pencil itself is honoured by the OS, not by Hexink — configure it to "switch between current tool and eraser" in Settings → Apple Pencil for the most natural feel.