Keyboard Commands to Manipulate a 2-D Plot

These commands are described in terms of the Contour Plot, where their effect is easy to understand. Most of them also work in other 2-D display modes, producing a comparable result.
The equivalent of the first shortcut can also be found in the dialog Format > Axes & Scales. The equivalents of the other shortcuts are found in the dialog Format > Levels & Colors.

Action Shortcut
Transpose the XY Plane Shift-T
Increase the Number of Positive Levels o
Decrease the Number of Positive Levels u
Increase the Number of Levels Shift-O
Decrease the Number of Levels Shift-U
Reset Levels to Default k
Decrease the Distance Between Levels Alt-Plus on the Mac(*) or Right Bracket ( ] ) on all platforms
Increase the Distance Between Levels Alt-Minus on the Mac(*) or Left Bracket ( [ ) on all platforms
Switch to the Next Fast Plot Palette with a White Background 4
Switch to the Next Fast Plot Palette with a Black Background 6

(*) On the Mac you can modulate the effect of these two commands by holding down the Shift key ⇧ or the control key.

Related Topics

Basic Manipulations