Keyboard Shortcuts for Interactive Exploration in the Archify Viewer: Complete 2024 Guide

The Archify viewer supports keyboard-driven exploration with shortcuts for search (/), dependency tracing (U/D), route probing (R), and visual controls (S, T, E), allowing users to navigate complex diagrams without using a mouse.

Archify’s web-viewer is engineered for keyboard-driven interaction, enabling rapid navigation of architecture diagrams, workflows, and data flows. The keyboard shortcuts are defined in the viewer runtime and documented across the repository’s README.md, archify/SKILL.md, and archify/references/viewer-runtime.md files. These controls remain active regardless of diagram type—whether viewing Architecture, Workflow, Sequence, Data Flow, or Lifecycle artifacts—and were significantly expanded in release 2.13.0 (2026‑08‑03).

Navigation and Search Shortcuts

Quick orientation and node discovery are essential for large diagrams. The viewer provides immediate keyboard access to search and guidance functions.

Open the Diagram Guide. Pressing ? pops up a help pane that displays node counts, relationship statistics, and available reader tasks for the current artifact. This is documented in the Explore and share the output section of README.md.

Find and focus nodes. Press / to open a quick-search box. Type a node name and press Enter to jump directly to that semantic node. This shortcut is wired into the viewer’s command parser as defined in archify/references/viewer-runtime.md.

Live overview radar. Press M or type MAP to display a miniature radar view of the current viewport, helping maintain orientation while zoomed into complex architectures.

Analysis and Tracing Shortcuts

Deep exploration requires tracing dependencies and analyzing paths between components. These shortcuts manipulate the graph view directly from the keyboard.

Trace upstream and downstream. First, focus a node using the mouse or search (/), then press U to highlight all ancestors (upstream) or D for descendants (downstream). This reveals authored reach and dependency chains without manual traversal.

Probe directed routes. Press R or type PATH to calculate and display the shortest authored route between two nodes. The view switches to a step-by-step journey visualization, useful for understanding data flow or call chains.

Compare semantic roles. Press L or type LENS to open the Semantic Lens panel. Select one or two roles to visualize overlapping nodes and relationships, facilitating architecture consistency checks.

Visualization and Playback Controls

Presentation and export functions are fully keyboard-accessible, supporting both live demos and static analysis.

Story playback. Press P to play or pause a guided story. Navigate between chapters using [ (previous) and ] (next). This executes scripted walkthroughs automatically or advances them manually.

Presentation Stage. Press F to enter full-screen focus mode, hiding UI chrome for clean playback or screenshots.

Visual styling. Press S to cycle through visual presets (Classic → Signal-Flow → Blueprint). Toggle the UI theme between light and dark with T. Open the export dialog for PNG, SVG, or WebM formats using E.

Zoom controls. Adjust magnification with + (zoom in) and - (zoom out). Press 0 to reset the view to the default fit.

Programmatic Shortcut Execution

The viewer exposes these shortcuts via a JavaScript API for automation and testing. The viewer.execShortcut() method triggers the same actions as physical keypresses.

// Open the search box programmatically
viewer.execShortcut('/');

// Focus a specific node after opening search
viewer.searchNode('Auth Service');

// Cycle visual presets (equivalent to pressing "S")
viewer.execShortcut('S');

// Toggle story playback (equivalent to pressing "P")
viewer.execShortcut('P');

As implemented in tt-a1i/archify, the viewer.execShortcut function is part of the viewer runtime API and functions as the source of truth for all keyboard handling. Release 2.13.0 introduced the visual preset cycle (S), the story play/pause toggle (P), and the Diagram Guide shortcut (?), as noted in CHANGELOG.md.

Summary

• Navigation: Use / to search nodes, ? for the guide, and M for the overview radar.
• Analysis: Trace dependencies with U/D, probe routes with R, and compare roles with L.
• Playback: Control stories with P, [, ], and enter focus mode with F.
• Style & Export: Cycle themes with S and T, export with E, and adjust zoom with +/-/0.
• API: Trigger any shortcut programmatically via viewer.execShortcut() as defined in the viewer runtime.

Frequently Asked Questions

What keyboard shortcut opens the search functionality in Archify?

Press the / (forward slash) key to open a quick-search box. Type the node name and press Enter to jump directly to that semantic node in the diagram.

How do I trace upstream or downstream dependencies using only the keyboard?

First focus the target node via search or selection, then press U to highlight all upstream ancestors or D to highlight downstream descendants. This highlights the authored reach without requiring mouse interaction.

Can I trigger Archify keyboard shortcuts programmatically from code?

Yes. Call viewer.execShortcut('shortcutKey') where 'shortcutKey' is the character representing the shortcut (e.g., '/', 'S', or 'P'). This method is part of the viewer runtime API and executes the same logic as a physical keypress.

Do these keyboard shortcuts work for all diagram types in Archify?

Yes. According to archify/SKILL.md and the viewer runtime implementation, the keyboard shortcuts remain active across all diagram types including Architecture, Workflow, Sequence, Data Flow, and Lifecycle views.

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