Logisim-evolution Tips and Keyboard Shortcuts

Every shortcut below was verified against the Logisim-evolution v5.0.0 source and built-in help. (On macOS, use Cmd instead of Ctrl. Most shortcuts can be remapped under File → Preferences.)

Simulation shortcuts

Shortcut	Action (Simulate menu)
Ctrl+E	Auto-propagate — make the circuit “live” so outputs update as you edit
Ctrl+I	Single-step propagation — advance the simulation one step
Ctrl+R	Reset simulation — clear all circuit state
Ctrl+T	Manual tick, half cycle — advance clocks once
F9	Manual tick, full cycle
Ctrl+K	Auto-tick enabled — start/stop the clock

Editing shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z	Undo / redo
Ctrl+1 … Ctrl+0	Select toolbar tools 1–10 (1 is the wiring tool)
Arrow keys (while placing)	Change the component’s facing direction before you click to place it
Esc	Back to the pointer (edit) tool
Backspace	Undo the last component placement

Workflow tips

• Tick with the keyboard, not the mouse. When debugging sequential circuits, keep one hand on Ctrl+T / Ctrl+K instead of opening the Simulate menu each time.
• Rotate before placing. Select a gate tool, tap an arrow key to set its facing, then click — much faster than placing and rotating afterwards.
• Reset before re-testing. Hit Ctrl+R between test cases; leftover state in flip-flops and registers is a classic source of “it worked a minute ago” confusion.
• Name your tunnels. Long wires across the canvas become unreadable; tunnels with clear names make the schematic reviewable.
• Subcircuit early. Once a block works (adder, decoder), convert it to a subcircuit — the top level stays a one-page diagram.

Shortcuts verified from the v5.0.0 source (AppPreferences defaults) and the built-in Simulate-menu help. If a key does nothing on your machine, check File → Preferences for remapped bindings.