Switch between modes

Modes let you quickly switch between tasks such as editing project and source files, designing application UIs, configuring projects for building and running, and debugging or analyzing source code.

To switch between modes:

• Click the icons on the mode selector.
• Use the corresponding keyboard shortcut.

Mode		Keyboard Shortcut	Purpose	Read More
	Welcome	Ctrl+1	Open projects, tutorials, and examples.	User Interface
	Edit	Ctrl+2	Edit project and source files.	Edit Mode
	Design	Ctrl+3	Design and develop application user interfaces. This mode is available for UI files.	Designing User Interfaces
	Debug	Ctrl+4	Inspect the state of your application while debugging or use code analysis tools to detect memory leaks and profile code.	Debugging
	Projects	Ctrl+5	Configure how to build and run projects. This mode is available when a project is open.	Configuring Projects
	Extensions	Ctrl+6	Load Qt Creator extensions from the computer or the web.	Load extensions
	Help	Ctrl+7	Read documentation.	Get help

Some actions in Qt Creator trigger a mode change. For example, selecting Debug > Start Debugging > Start Debugging of Startup Project automatically switches to Debug mode.

Hide and show modes

To hide and show modes in the mode selector and to save space on the display, go to View > Modes:

• To hide the mode selector, select Hidden.
• To only show icons on the mode selector, select Icons Only.
• To hide modes that you don't use, clear the Show <Mode> checkboxes.

You can use the keyboard shortcuts to switch to the hidden modes.