I used Ctrl+Q frequently in version 22, but in version 26 it’s set as the Exit shortcut and can’t be changed. Is there any way to modify it?
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Built-in shortcuts from your operating system cannot be changed.
No. This is a limitation/bug in SU2026. In SU2025, or earlier, you can assign Ctrl+Q as you wish.
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I’m having the same problem. Why was it taken away?
I don’t think it was intentional for windows, it’s locked on mac because it’s an OS command.
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Compared to previous versions, SketchUp 2026 has more keyboard shortcuts that cannot be set, but it can import shortcuts from previous versions, which is likely a bug.
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What a terrible change!
I’ve been using the Ctrl+Q shortcut for years to show and hide hidden geometry. Now I need to come up with a new shortcut for my left hand? But practically all the keys on the left side of the keyboard are already occupied. Think about it: how often do you need to use the shortcut to close the program and to show and hide hidden geometry while working in the program?
Here are two screenshots showing that in version 2026, Ctrl+Q is used by default to exit the program. This is not the case in 2025. Moreover, in version 2026, it is not possible to remove the Ctrl+Q shortcut for exiting the program.
If you export the shortcut file from 2025 to 2026, you see a message asking if you really want to reassign Ctrl+Q for hidden geometry. If you accept this question, the substitution occurs, and you can use Ctrl+Q for hidden geometry, but only within the current project. If you close the program and reopen it, this change reverts to the default behavior: Ctrl+Q is used again to close the program.
Is it possible to remove the Ctrl+Q shortcut for exiting the program, or will I have to write a plugin that will natively load a shortcut preset upon login and accept the Ctrl+Q replacement?
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I’m not really a programming whiz, but I found a temporary solution in a discussion with chatgpt: use the AutoHotkey program and a script added to the startup folder (C:\Users"YOUR USER NAME"\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup). For the script to work, the “View/Hidden Geometry” keyboard shortcut had to be assigned to Ctrl+Shift+H. AutoHotkey intercepts the Ctrl+Q shortcut for SketchUp only and replaces it with Ctrl+Shift+H.
Script code:
#NoEnv ; Recommended for compatibility
SendMode Input ; Faster keystroke sending
SetTitleMatchMode, 2 ; Allows searching for a window by part of its title; ======== Intercepting Ctrl+Q in SketchUp ========
#IfWinActive, SketchUp
^q::
; Send Ctrl+Shift+H instead of Ctrl+Q (or any other combination you use for Hidden Geometry)
Send, ^+h
return
#IfWinActive
But this isn’t a solution you’d want to use all the time. I just don’t understand why they had to add a shortcut for Exit that can’t be changed? Developers, please let experienced users change this shortcut! And just so you understand the inconsistency of this solution in SketchUp 2026, LayOut 2026 doesn’t have any shortcut for exiting programs by default, but you can add one via the Preferences > Shortcuts menu, as the user wishes. Where’s the logic?!
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I just realized a few shortcuts are hardcoded in Sketchup 2026.
This is really annoying.
It also interferes with some plugins.
Why break something that wasn’t causing any problems to force something that doesn’t bring any benefit?
Why force shortcuts for things that aren’t needed?
I understand that some shortcuts should be “illegal” for specific reasons (e.g., * / numbers, commas, and other symbols that shouldn’t intercept formulas in the VCB, and that sort of thing).
But why force a shortcut to close the program or exit a group, and things like that?
Who had this brilliant idea?
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The hardcoded shortcuts are (mostly?) Windows shortcuts that come from the operating system.
I didn’t know about Windows hardcoding “Esc” to close groups or Ctrl+Q to quit, can you elaborate on that?
I’ve been using SketchUp since version 6, and this key combination has never been blocked in any version. I used it to hide/show hidden geometry. Only now, in version 2026, have the developers hard-coded Ctrl+Q to exit the program. This is extremely inconvenient. I don’t want to relearn a new key combination for hide/show hidden geometry, and to close the program, I just left-click the cross icon of the active window. I don’t use Ctrl+Q to close programs anywhere in Windows. I don’t understand the rationale behind this decision. Besides, as I mentioned above, Layout 2026 still doesn’t have a default key combination for closing a program, and it can be added manually. This suggests the developers lacked logic and consistency in this matter. The solution I see is either to revert to the way it was (make the keyboard shortcut for exiting SketchUp empty), or to use Ctrl+Q to close, but remove the hard lock on it so that advanced users can customize their keyboard shortcuts. That’s exactly why I fell in love with SketchUp: almost all tools can be assigned to hotkeys, eliminating the need to click around the interface. This saves time and allows you to focus on the modeling process. And now we have this problem.
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Update:
I checked and it turned out that Microsoft, the creator of the Windows operating system, does not use Ctrl+Q to close even Word and Excel for its MS Office product, which is closely integrated into the system, while, for example, Ctrl+N works when creating a new document. Therefore, it is impossible to claim that this combination is tightly integrated into the system and cannot be changed. This decision is made by the developers of program. Previous versions of SketchUp and Layout 2026 are proof of this.
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The developers are aware of some of the issues with the 2026 shortcuts and are working on fixing them. ( Whether they can fix it and when is another question… 
)
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Command+Q is the shortcut for closing applications on Mac, the equivalent for Windows would be Alt+F4. The intention is that both of these are hardcoded for their respective platforms, as reassigning them in SketchUp would still result in the application closing. As for Ctrl+Q being hardcoded on Windows, that is a bug.
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Please, remove the hardcoded “Esc” to close a group/component too.