SimCity 3000: Unlimited Keyboard Shortcuts & Hotkeys

by Fernando Diaz / Articles, Misc. Guides / 02 Jul 2021

SimCity 3000 and its souped-up version, SimCity 3000 Unlimited, are total gems from the era when games were a labor of love… Remember when games came in those huge boxes with actual manuals inside?? That’s this vibe. As the mayor, you’re in charge, dealing with everything from alien invasions to the kind of traffic that makes you miss LA rush hour. It’s actually fun—juggling your city’s budget and building it up feels like you’re back in the ’90s, in the best way.

And yeah, it’s an oldie, but it’s still got a bunch of fans, old and new. If you’re jumping in or just need to brush up, our quick guide on controls and hotkeys is here to help.

All PC Settings

Keyboard Shortcuts & Controls

Data Windows:

Ctrl+A: Meet Advisors and Petitioners

Ctrl+B: Budget

Ctrl+W: Neighbors

Ctrl+O: Ordinances

Ctrl+M: View Data

Demolishing:

B: Demolish Tool

Alt+Click: Demolish Tile

Education:

K: School

Shift+K: College

File Operations and System:

Ctrl+P: Preferences

Ctrl+N: New City

Ctrl+L: Load City

Ctrl+F: Starter Town

Ctrl+T: Real City Terrain

Ctrl+S: Save City

Ctrl+Alt+S: Save As

Ctrl+Q: Exit Game

F4: Preferences

F5: New City

F3: Load City

F6: Starter Town

F7: Real City Terrain

F2: Save City

F1: Save As

F10: Exit Game

Landmarks and Rewards:

Ctrl+D: Landmark Building

Ctrl+R: Rewards and Opportunities

Landscape:

U: Plant Trees

Shift+U: Surface Water

Miscellaneous:

Escape: Close Window / Centering Tool

Shift+Click: Cancel Action

Movement:

Page Down/Up: Rotate View

Arrow Keys: Scroll View

Spacebar: Center View

Query:

Ctrl+Click: Query Tile

Shift+C: Find Coordinates

Recreation:

J: Small Park

Shift+J: Large Park

Services:

P: Police Station

Shift+P: Jail

F: Fire Station

H: Hospital

Ctrl+Y: Waste Management

Snapshots:

Ctrl+Shift+S: Snapshot

Ctrl+Shift+A: View Snapshots

Speed:

/: Pause/Unpause

.: Increase Speed

,: Decrease Speed

Transportation:

R: Road

Shift+R: Highway

Alt+R: Bus Stop

T: Rail

Alt+T: Train Station

Shift+T: Subway Rail

Shift+Alt+T: Subway Station

Utilities:

L: Power Lines

I: Water Pipes

Ctrl+E: Power Plant

Ctrl+I: Water Structures

View Options:

G: Terrain Grid

Ctrl+G: City Layer Views

Numlock/F12: Toolbar

Zoning:

Q/W/E: Residential Zones

A/S/D: Commercial Zones

Z/X/C: Industrial Zones

Y: Landfill

V: Dezone

Zooming:

+/-: Zoom In/Out

1-5: Zoom Levels

Building Architect Plus:

Ctrl+L: Load Building

Ctrl+S: Save Building

Ctrl+A: Save Building As

Q: Tools Cycle

E: Eraser

R: Eyedrop

Ctrl+K: Remove Paints/Details

Undo/Redo:

U: Undo

Y: Redo

View Options (Architect Plus):

F9: Blocks Grid

F10: Background Image

F11: Props Visibility

Scenario Creator Script Editor:

Ctrl+X/C/V: Cut, Copy, Paste

Shift+P: Print Script

Ctrl: Multi-Line Select

Shift+A: Select All

Fernando Diaz

Fernando is doing what he always did, sharing his honest opinions about games whenever he can. The difference is now he is writing and not talking about it.
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