One of my students uses the temporary measure tool constantly. Click two points, read the number, move on. It lives at the top of the view and on the Modify tab as Measure Between Two References, and it’s great for checking how big something is without committing a dimension to the drawing. The problem is it has no keyboard shortcut. So every time, it’s a trip to the ribbon.
Check what a tool already has
Hover over any ribbon button and the tooltip shows its shortcut. Hover over Move and you get MV. Hover over Measure Between Two References and there’s nothing listed. That’s the tell. Revit ships with shortcuts for a lot of commands, but not all of them, and the ones you use most aren’t always covered.
Type KS and search
KS opens the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog. You can also reach it from the File menu under Options, but KS is faster. In the search box type “measure” and pick Measure Between Two References from the list. Click into the Press new keys field.
Here’s the thing I’ve found: most of the two-letter combinations are already taken, and Revit will warn you about conflicts. So I use a letter and a number. M1. Type it, click Assign, and click OK to close the dialog.
Test it
Back in the view, type M1 and the measure tool is live. Click two references, read the dimension, Esc out. It’s a small thing, but if you reach for this tool thirty times a day it adds up. And the shortcut is stored in your Revit settings, not the project, so it follows you into every file.
This works for any command, not just measure. If there’s a button you keep clicking on the ribbon, KS, search for it, give it a shortcut. The letter-plus-number pattern leaves you plenty of room without fighting the defaults.
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🔗 RESOURCES
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📐 Notion Business OS for Architects (free + paid templates): https://cpd.gumroad.com/l/civaw
📐 Free Notion Issue Tracker for Architects: https://cpd.gumroad.com/l/cjlls
🌐 More Revit tutorials: https://corbinteaches.com
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CHAPTERS
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0:00 Why the measure tool needs a shortcut
0:25 Hover to see existing shortcuts
0:49 KS, search and assign M1
1:23 Test the new shortcut
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CONNECT
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