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Vector Display 2D includes a built-in keyboard shortcut to quickly toggle vector visibility during gameplay. This guide shows you how to use and customize this feature.

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Default Shortcut

The default shortcut to toggle vector visibility is:

Shift + V

Press Shift + V during runtime to show/hide all vector displays.
This shortcut works globally across all VectorDisplay2D nodes in your scene and is perfect for:
  • Quick debugging during playtesting
  • Toggling visualizations without modifying code
  • Demonstrating features in presentations
  • Comparing gameplay with and without vector displays

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How It Works

The shortcut is implemented through a shared InputEventKey resource that all VectorDisplay2D nodes reference: 
# From vector_display_settings.gd
const SHORTCUT: InputEventKey = preload("res://addons/vector_display_2d/display_shortcut.tres")
When pressed, it toggles the show_vectors property: 
# From vector_display_functions.gd
static func check_shortcut(event: InputEvent, settings: VectorDisplaySettings) -> bool:
    if event.is_pressed() and not event.is_echo() and event.is_match(settings.SHORTCUT):
        settings.show_vectors = not settings.show_vectors
        return true
    return false
The shortcut affects all VectorDisplay2D nodes simultaneously since they share the same settings resource or check the same SHORTCUT constant.

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Customizing the Shortcut

You can change the shortcut by editing the display_shortcut.tres resource file.
1

Locate the shortcut file

Navigate to the Vector Display 2D addon folder:
res://addons/vector_display_2d/display_shortcut.tres
Use the FileSystem dock in Godot Editor and search for “display_shortcut.tres”
2

Open in Inspector

Click on display_shortcut.tres to open it in the Inspector panel.You’ll see an InputEventKey resource with these properties:
  • Device: -1 (all devices)
  • Shift Pressed: true
  • Keycode: 86 (V key)
  • Unicode: 86
3

Modify the key binding

Change the properties to your preferred shortcut:Example 1: Change to Shift + D (Debug)
Device: -1
Shift Pressed: true
Keycode: 68  # D key
Unicode: 68
Example 2: Change to Ctrl + V
Device: -1
Ctrl Pressed: true
Shift Pressed: false
Keycode: 86  # V key
Unicode: 86
Example 3: Change to F9 (no modifiers)
Device: -1
Shift Pressed: false
Keycode: 4194378  # F9 key
Unicode: 0
4

Save the resource

Press Ctrl + S or use File > Save to save your changes.The new shortcut takes effect immediately in your running game.

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Finding Keycodes

To find the keycode for any key:
  1. Go to Project > Project Settings > Input Map
  2. Create a temporary action
  3. Click the ”+” button and select “Key”
  4. Press your desired key
  5. The keycode will be shown in the event details

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Advanced Customization

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Using Project Input Actions

For more flexibility, you can modify the addon to use your project’s Input Map:
This requires modifying addon source code, which may complicate updates. Consider copying the addon to a custom namespace first.
1

Create an Input Action

  1. Go to Project > Project Settings > Input Map
  2. Add a new action: toggle_vector_display
  3. Bind your preferred key(s)
2

Modify the shortcut check

Edit vector_display_2d.gd to use your action:
# Replace the _unhandled_key_input function
func _unhandled_key_input(event: InputEvent) -> void:
    if event.is_action_pressed("toggle_vector_display"):
        settings.show_vectors = not settings.show_vectors
        get_viewport().set_input_as_handled()
This approach allows you to:
  • Use multiple key bindings
  • Configure separately for different input devices
  • Leverage Godot’s built-in input remapping features

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Per-Node Shortcuts

If you want different shortcuts for different vector displays: 
# Custom script for specific VectorDisplay2D node
extends VectorDisplay2D

func _input(event):
    # Custom shortcut for this specific display
    if event.is_action_pressed("toggle_velocity_display"):
        settings.show_vectors = !settings.show_vectors
        get_viewport().set_input_as_handled()

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Conditional Shortcuts

Disable shortcuts in certain game states: 
# In your game manager or autoload
var allow_debug_shortcuts = true

func _ready():
    # Disable shortcuts in release builds
    if not OS.is_debug_build():
        allow_debug_shortcuts = false

# In a custom VectorDisplay2D script
func _unhandled_key_input(event: InputEvent) -> void:
    if not GameManager.allow_debug_shortcuts:
        return
    
    if VectorDisplayFunctions.check_shortcut(event, settings):
        get_viewport().set_input_as_handled()

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Shortcut Examples

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Example Configurations

F5 - Conflicts less with text editing
display_shortcut.tres:
Device: -1
Shift Pressed: false
Keycode: 4194376  # F5

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Troubleshooting

Shortcut not working?
Another node might be consuming the input event. Check your _input() or _unhandled_input() functions.
# Make sure you're not calling this for the shortcut key:
get_viewport().set_input_as_handled()
Ensure you saved display_shortcut.tres after editing. Check the file in a text editor:
[gd_resource type="InputEventKey" format=3]

[resource]
device = -1
shift_pressed = true
keycode = 86
unicode = 86
Ensure all modifiers match exactly:
  • shift_pressed
  • ctrl_pressed
  • alt_pressed
  • meta_pressed (Command on Mac)
Create a minimal test scene with only a VectorDisplay2D node to verify the shortcut works.
Shortcut works but toggles twice? You might have multiple VectorDisplay2D nodes or duplicate input handlers. The shortcut should only toggle once globally. Want different shortcuts for different displays? See the “Per-Node Shortcuts” section above for custom implementations.

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Next Steps

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