Controls

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This page has been revised for the current stable version (41.78.16).
Help by adding any missing content. [edit]
PlushSpiffo.pngThis article is about the general controls of Project Zomboid. For customizing controls/key-bindings, see Options.
Screenshot of the in-game key bindings section of the game options.

The default controls are displayed below; most (not all) key bindings can be customized in the game options along with gamepad/controller configuration. In order to customize a key binding, the desired key change must be left-clicked, followed by the desired keystroke. If done correctly, the desired key will be displayed within the box.

General

Key Function Description
RMB Contextual Menu Pressing will display the contextual menu, which will contain all available interactions with that object.
LMB Select This is context specific and will vary depending on what it interacts with, such as picking up items, opening and closing of doors, windows curtains and light switches.
= / MSW Zoom-in Zooms the camera in closer to the player, decreasing the field of view.
- / MSW Zoom-out Zooms the camera out farther from the player, increasing the field of view.
ESC Main Menu
  • Pauses a single-player game.
  • Displays the pause menu, allowing the player to adjust options, exit game, etc.
  • Re-enables HUD (if hidden).

Player Control

Key Function Description
W Move Forward
  • The basic directional movement of the player. Holding both a horizontal and vertical movement key will cause the player to move diagonally.
  • Pressing the RMB and selecting move here, will cause the player to move to that location.
S Move Backward
A Move Left
D Move Right
⇧ Shift Run/Sprint *Press and hold (depending on the toggle run option) to increase movement speed, at the cost of generating more noise and exertion.
  • Double tapping will cause the player to sprint.
L. ALT Sprint Press and hold (depending on the toggle sprint option) to vastly increase movement speed, at the cost of generating significant amount of noise and high exertion.
  • Sprinting into a solid object will result in falling over backwards.
  • Sprinting through trees and over fences increases chance of tripping, causing damage and dropping equipped items.
E Interact
  • Pressing once will perform the first action on the contextual menu, without displaying it. (e.g. Opening a door, window...)
  • Holding will perform the follow up action on the contextual menu (e.g. Going through a window after opening).
  • Tapping rapidly will make an urgent action, causing the player to take drastic measures (e.g. Smashing a window with their arm).
⇧ Shift + E Special Interact

Most of the time this does nothing. Some objects have special interactions:

  • Pressing this near a window will open/close the curtains.
  • This list is not comprehensive; please add to it if more are discovered.
ESC Cancel Action Cancels any Action the player is currently performing.

Combat

Key Function Description
C Sneak (Crouch)
  • Generates less noise.
  • Reduces visibility. Crouching behind objects reduces visibility further (e.g. fences).
  • Toggle: pressing will perform the action until pressed again.
L. CTRL / RMB Aim
  • Holding causes the player to face in the direction of the mouse cursor.
  • Moving while held causes the player to generate less noise.
  • The longer it's held down, the more accurate the attack will be.
LMB Fire/Attack Pressing will cause the player to fire or attack in the direction the player is facing.
SPACE Melee Causes the player to perform an unarmed melee shove, or stomp in the direction the player is facing.
X Rack Firearm Racks a round into the chamber of a firearm, making it ready to fire. A round will be removed from the firearm if there is already a round in the chamber.
R Reload Weapon
  • Press: inserts/removes a magazine.
    • Swaps current magazine with a full magazine (if available)
    • Removes current magazine and fills (if available and not full)
    • Removes magazine (if full)
  • Hold: opens radial menu.
    • Only options that are available will appear: "Rack", "Eject Magazine", "Load Bullets into spare Magazine"
1 Hotbar 1 (Back)
  • Equips/Unequips the desired weapon type into the primary weapon slot, thus making it the active weapon/tool.
2 Hotbar 2 (Belt Left)
3 Hotbar 3 (Belt Right)
4 Hotbar 4 (Holster Left)
5 Hotbar 5 (Holster Right)
F Activate/Deactivate Light
  • Equips a light source as the secondary item if there is one available in the player's main inventory and activates it.
  • Activates/deactivates an already equipped light source.
L. ALT Manual Floor Attack Forces targetting prone enemies instead of standing enemies.

Inventory

Key Function Description
I Toggle Inventory Toggles between the inventory windows being displayed and hidden.
RMB Display Contextual Menu Can be used on any item in the player's or a container's inventory to display their uses - whether they can be eaten, drunk, equipped or used in crafting recipes.
LMB Highlighting
  • This will highlight the selected item.
  • Holding and dragging will select all items within the selection box.
  • After selecting an item, Ctrl + LMB can be used when selecting a second item, highlighting the second item while keeping the initial one highlighted.
  • Alternatively, ⇧ Shift + LMB can be used when selecting the second item, also highlighting all items between the two selections.

NPC Interaction

Key Function Description
Q Shout Causes the player to shout, drawing nearby zombies. Crouching will result in a quieter shout, reducing the noise radius and intensity.
Q Emotes Wheel Long press to enable the radial emotes menu.

Multiplayer

Key Function Description
G Toggle Safety Toggles the ability to hurt or be hurt by other players.
T Toggle Chat Opens the chat window to type.
RETURN Alt Toggle Chat Opens the chat windows to type.
Tab ↹ Switch Chat Stream Switches between chat modes, e.g., world chat and admin chat.
L. ALT Push-to-talk Key Allows the player to talk in game if voice chat is enabled.

Debug

All of these options require the player to be in debug mode, which can be enabled by adding the -debug launch option.

Key Function Description
F11 Toggle Lua Debugger toggles the Lua debugger window, which can be used by modders.
" Toggle Lua Console Toggles the Lua Command Console.
N Toggle God Mode and Invisible Toggles God Mode and Invisible.
F3 Toggle Models Enabled Toggles 3D models. I.e. Characters and vehicles. Does not affect world items.
F6 Toggle Animation Text Toggles text about the character properties.

Vehicle

General Vehicle Operation

Key Function Description
W Accelerate/Forward
S Brake/Reverse
A Turn left
D Turn right
Spacebar Hand brake
SHIFT + W Increase Cruise Control Speed
  • If cruise control is off, this will turn it back on at the previous cruise control speed, or the current speed if none exists.
  • When cruise control is enabled, pressing this will increase the cruise control speed by 5 MPH.
SHIFT + S Decrease Cruise Control Speed
  • If cruise control is off, this will turn it back on at the previous cruise control speed, or the current speed if none exists.
  • When cruise control is enabled, pressing this will decrease the cruise control speed by 5 MPH.

Vehicle Radial Menu

Key Function Description
V Vehicle Radial Menu
  • Displays the vehicle radial menu, which can be used to perform all the vehicle's available actions.

VehicleRadialMenu.png

F Toggle Headlights Toggles the headlights between an on and off state.
NorW Start Engine Attempts to start the engine, either by key or hot-wiring.
O Heater Toggles the heater panel which can be used to adjust the vehicle's heating and cooling.
U Info Displays the vehicle mechanics/info, which can take a few seconds - the player must be outside the vehicle, otherwise they'll be removed from the vehicle before opening the panel.
E Enter/Exit Vehicle The vehicle can be entered when standing next to a door (displaying a green square) or through the radial menu. The player exits the vehicle from the side based on their current seat.
Z Switch Seat Displays the vehicle's seats, showing the player's and any occupied seats. The player can move seats by either clicking the desired seat, or by pressing the designated numbered hotkey shown on the seat. The player may also choose which seat to exit the vehicle from this menu.
Q Horn Sounds the vehicle's horn until the key is released, or if using the radial menu, it will sound for 2 seconds. Attracts any zombies towards the vehicle.
Device Options:
Displays the panel of the installed radio.
Open Window:
Opens the player's seat window, making the inside temperature the same as the outside temperature. Will also allow zombies to attack the player.
Sleep:
Allows the player to sleep in the vehicle.

Vehicle Dashboard

Note: This section has been updated to version 40.43, and may not match the whole page's last updated version.

Displays the current status of the vehicle. Some icons can be activated by clicking with the LMB.
Dashboard 4043.png
Numbers in red are status icons and those in green are accessories and other interactables.

Status Icons

Displayed in red

1. Engine Status

  1. Dashboard Engine Off.png: The engine is off(not ignited).
  2. Dashboard Engine Igniting.png: The engine is currently in the process of ignition.
  3. Dashboard Engine Ignited.png: The engine is on(ignited).
  4. Dashboard Engine Broken.png: The engine is broken or not present in the car.

2. Battery

  1. Dashboard Battery Off.png: The car key is not inserted into the key slot, no info is given.
  2. Dashboard Battery On.png: The battery is charged and functional.
  3. Dashboard Battery NoCharge.png: The battery is discharged or not present in the car.

3. Door Lock

This icon does not need the car key to be inserted into the key slot to display the current state.

  1. Dashboard Door Unlocked.png: The car doors are unlocked and can be opened without car keys.
  2. Dashboard Door Locked.png: The car doors are locked and can only be opened using car keys.

4. Gearshift Position

  • Displays the current gear the vehicle is in.

5. Tachometer

  • Gauge that measures the rotation speed of the engine's crankshaft, displayed in RPM.

6. Speedometer

  • Gauge that measures the vehicle's current speed, displayed in MPH.

7. Fuel Gauge

  • Gauge that measures the current amount of fuel in the fuel tank, displayed in Litres (L).

8. Cruise Control Speed (not pictured)

  • At the time of writing this, no screen shot of this exists.
  • The Cruise Control Speed indicator may be found below the Gearshift Position (#4) and to the left of the Tachometer (#5).
  • When cruise control is off, the indicator will be dark gray in color. When it is enabled, the indicator will display in a green color.
  • The number displayed on the Cruise Control Speed indicator represents the current cruise control speed that the vehicle is set to.

Interactables

Displayed in green

1. Headlights

This icon does not need the car key to be inserted into the key slot to display the current state.

  1. Dashboard Headlights Off.png: The headlights are off.
  2. Dashboard Headlights On.png: The headlights are on.
  3. Dashboard Headlights Broken.png: The headlights are broken, damaged or not present in the car.

2. Heater

This icon does not need the car key to be inserted into the key slot to display the current state.

  1. Dashboard Heater Off.png: The heater is off.
  2. Dashboard Heater On.png: The heater is on.

3. Trunk Lock

This icon does not need the car key to be inserted into the key slot to display the current state.

  1. Dashboard Trunk Unlocked.png: The trunk is unlocked and can be opened without car keys.
  2. Dashboard Trunk Locked.png: The trunk is locked and can only be opened using car keys.

4. Key Slot

  1. Dashboard Key Empty.png: The car key is not inserted into the key slot, therefore the engine is not ignited and is off.
  2. Dashboard Key NotIgnited.png: The car key is inserted into the key slot, but is not turned, therefore the engine is not ignited and is off.
  3. Dashboard Key Ignited.png: The car key is inserted into the key slot and turned, therefore the engine is ignited and is on.
  4. Dashboard Key Hotwire.png The car key is not present, but the vehicle has been hot-wired. There is no way to tell if the engine is ignited or not by looking at the key slot in this state.

The key can be stored in the key slot with the engine off, draining the battery if any of the accessories are left on.

UI

The user interface, or just UI, displays information to the player, some of which is interactable.

Key Function Description
F1 Toggle Survival Guide Toggles the survival guide, which is an brief in-game contextual tutorial describing certain aspects of Project Zomboid.
V Toggle UI
  • Toggles the HUD. Ideal for taking uncluttered screenshots.
  • Note that this will not function when nearby a vehicle, and will instead trigger the vehicle radial menu.
K Display FPS Toggles the display of FPS (Frames Per Second) in the top-left corner of the screen.
F10 Take screenshot *Pressing will take a screenshot and store it in the \Users\USERNAME\Zomboid\Screenshots folder.
  • There is no in-game confirmation that a screenshot has been taken, therefore the player should be aware that each keystroke will save a new screenshot.
J Info Panel Toggles the info panel. Providing:
  • Portrait view of character
  • Name
  • Weight - displays a chevron indicating whether the player's weight is increasing or decreasing.
  • Occupation
  • Traits
  • Hair - including options to cut hair.
  • Training Materials - list of books, magazines, CDs and VHSes that the played has read, watched and listened to.
  • Zombies killed
L Skill Panel Displays all the players skills.
P Protection Panel Dispalys the player's protection rating for each body part.

Time Controls

TimeDisplay.png

UI Key Function Description
PauseAnim.gif F2 Pause Pauses the game. Different to ESCAPE as it does not bring up the menu.
PlayAnim.gif F3 Play Changes the game speed back to the default speed. 10 minutes of in-game time corresponds to 25 seconds of real time.
FFwd1Anim.gif F4 Fast-Forward x5 Increases game speed to 5x the default.
FFwd2Anim.gif F5 Fast-Forward x20 Increases game speed to 20x the default.
WaitAnim.gif F6 Fast-Forward x40 Increases game speed to 40x the default.
ClockAlarmLarge Anim.png Alarm Toggles the alarm being set. Can also be toggled in the item's contextual menu.

Display time

Having either of the below in the player's main inventory will display the in-game time in the upper-right corner. The time format can be adjusted in the options menu. Some of these items add extra functionality to the time display, such as: Date, temperature and ability to set an alarm.

Icon Item Time Date Temp. Alarm
Classic Wrist Watch Classic Wrist Watch Displays time No date display No temperature display No alarm function
Digital Watch Digital Watch Displays time Displays date Displays temperature Has alarm function
Alarm Clock Alarm Clock Displays time No date display No temperature display Has alarm function

Left-side HUD Icons

Leftsidehud.png
# Key Function Description
1 Primary Displays the primary equipped item.
2 Secondary Displays the secondary equipped item.
3 I Inventory Toggles the inventory when left-clicked.
4 H Health Toggles the player health panel, which can be used to navigate to the info J and skills C panels.
5 B Crafting Toggles the crafting panel, where the player's known recipes can be found.
6 Move Furniture Enables furniture-moving, which may require certain skills and tools depending on the furniture.
7 END Search Mode Toggles the investigate area panel, where search mode can be enabled.
8 M Map Toggles the map overlay.
9 Debug Menu Toggles the debug menu. Only available in debug mode.
10 Server Controls Toggles the user panel. Only available in multiplayer.
11 G Safety Toggles PVP. Only available in multiplayer.

Moveable Panel

Key Function Description
R Rotate Building
  • Rotate: Rotates the selected object 90° each press.
  • Pick Up/Disassemble: Cycles through objects on tile.
  • Place: Cycles through placeable objects in player's inventory.
  • Place Item: Holding will rotate an item clockwise. Holding ⇧ Shift will rotate it counter-clockwise
Tab ↹ Toggle Mode

Cycles through furniture-moving modes.

  • Furniture Pickup.png Pick-up: places the object in the player's inventory.
  • Furniture Place.png Place places the object on ground.
  • Furniture Rotate.png Rotate: moving the mouse will rotate the object to face that direction.
  • Furniture Disassemble.png Disassemble: alternatively the RMB can be pressed on the desired object followed by selecting "dismantle" in the context menu.
ESCAPE Cancel Action Exits the build/move mode
LMB Place/Rotate
  • Pressing will place the object on the highlighted tile.
  • Holding will rotate the object to face the direction of the cursor on the tile that was highlighted when first pressing the key.

Xbox 360 Controller

See also Project Zomboid Gamepad Basics: control scheme and quick start guide (Xbox controller)

It is possible to use a gamepad rather than the standard mouse and keyboard, which is ideal for local 4 player split-screen co-op. To use a controller, it must first be connected and installed correctly in the operating system.

Any controller can be tested from the controller tab in the game options, to ensure all buttons are functioning correctly. The controller sensitivity can also be adjusted there.

360 controller.png
Controls of a standard XBox 360 controller

The controls for a controller are usually context based and can change depending on the action, however they will usually be displayed on-screen. The general controls for a controller are displayed below.

Left stick
Player movement
Left stick (press)
Toggle between walking and running
Directional Pad
Navigate contextual menus
Right stick
Sneak/aim
Navigate radial menu
Abutton.png A button
Primary button to interact with world objects, such as opening doors, windows and turning on/off lights.
Context specific and will vary depending on what it interacts with
Bbutton.png B button
Secondary button to interact with world objects, such as smashing windows and climbing over fences.
Close/cancel contextual menus and panels (excluding inventory)
Expand inventory item lists
Xbutton.png X button
Display contextual menu, displaying available interactions
Quick loot/drop item
Ybutton.png Y button
Open/close inventory menu
Left bumper
Navigate tabs - rotates through player inventory tabs
Cycle build mode
Right bumper
Navigate tabs - rotates through container inventory tabs
Left trigger
Shove/stomp (triggered on release)
Right trigger
Fire/attack (triggered on release)
Back
Press and hold to display radial menu
Usage:
  1. Hold "Back" to display radial menu
  2. Move the "Left stick" to the desired option
  3. Release "Back" before the "Left stick" to select the option.
Options:
  • Player Info (Info, Skills, Health)
  • Crafting
  • Move Furniture
  • Zoom In
  • Zoom Out
  • Pause/Play
  • Fast-Forward Time
Start
Tap once to only pause the game, or tap twice to open pause menu