Showtime keyboard shortcuts
Space pauses, → advances, R restarts the current row, S starts an armed row, Esc exits BigClock. Disabled while typing.
Once the show is running, your hands stay on the keyboard. Showtime has four single-key shortcuts that cover every common call-the-show action — plus Esc to bail out of BigClock mode.
The shortcuts
Heads up
Shortcuts are disabled while you're typing in any input, textarea, or content-editable field — and any combo with Ctrl/Cmd/Alt is left alone so your browser shortcuts (Cmd+W to close, Cmd+R to reload) still work. They're also disabled for anyone without Call show permission.
| Key | What it does | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Space | Pause or resume the current cue's timer | Q&A runs long, technical issue, anything that stops the clock |
| → (Right Arrow) | Advance to the next row — marks current done, makes next NOW | The cue finished naturally; move on |
| R | Restart the current row from 0:00 | You fired the cue early; reset the timer without losing your place |
| S | Start the current row's timer (only when armed) | You just used Stop to hold; press S when you're ready to roll again |
| Esc | Exit BigClock mode | You're in stage-display BigClock and need to see the full cue list |
What "armed" means
A row is armed when it's the current cue but its timer hasn't started — usually because you hit Stop on the previous cue (which holds without auto-starting the next one). In armed state, Space does nothing on purpose (ambiguous between "start" and "pause") — use S to start the timer.
Mouse equivalents
Every shortcut has an on-screen button too — useful when your show caller is right-clicking on the row instead of using the keyboard:
- The big Pause / Resume button is in the row toolbar (Pause icon turns into Play after paused).
- The checkbox at the left edge of the NOW row advances to the next cue.
- The circular arrow (RotateCcw) icon next to the timer is Restart.
- The square (Stop) icon next to Restart is Stop row — different from Restart; it marks the row done but holds before starting the next one.
Pro tip — show caller fingers
Most show callers rest their index finger on → and their thumb on Space. That covers 95% of a live show. Add R when you need to redo a cue.