MAME has a lot of keyboard controls when running. Here is a list of all the shortcuts...
| In Game Keys | Description |
| Scroll Lock | This key enables/disables typing on computer and keyboard based systems. If enabled, you will not be able to access any UI controls. |
| 5,6,7,8 | Insert coin into coin slots 1 - 4 |
| 1,2,3,4 | Player 1-4 start buttons |
| Arrow Keys | Up, Down, Left Right (Player 1) |
| LCtrl | Fire 1 (Player 1) |
| LAlt | Fire 2 (Player 1) |
| Space | Fire 3 (Player 1) |
| LShift | Fire 4 (Player 1) |
| Z | Fire 5 (Player 1) |
| X | Fire 6 (Player 1) |
| R,F,G,D | Up, Down, Left Right (Player 2) |
| A | Fire 1 (Player 2) |
| S | Fire 2 (Player 2) |
| Q | Fire 3 (Player 2) |
| W | Fire 4 (Player 2) |
| No Default | Fire 5 (Player 2) |
| No Default | Fire 6 (Player 2) |
| Backspace | Bill 1 |
| T | Tilt |
| LShift | Player 1 Start (Mega Tech/Play) |
| W | Player 1 Start (Mega Tech/Play) |
| 9 | Reset (Mega Tech/Play) |
| 0 | Select (Mega Tech/Play) |
| - | Enter (Mega Tech/Play) |
| 5 | Add Time (Playchoice 10) |
| 0 | Select Game (Playchoice 10) |
| 1 | Toggle 1 or 2 Player Mode (Playchoice 10) |
| 2 | Start Game (Playchoice 10) |
| 9,0,-,= | Insert service coin (Only works in service mode). |
| F1 | Enable crosshairs on lightgun games |
| F2 | Service Mode |
| F3 | Reset Game |
| LShift + F3 | Hard Reset |
| F4 | Show system graphics, tiles and pallettes. Press F4 to close. Palette/colortable mode: [ ] - switch between palette and colortable modes Up/Down - scroll up/down one line at a time Page Up/Page Down - scroll up/down one page at a time Home/End - move to top/bottom of list -/+ - increase/decrease the number of colors per row Enter - switch to graphics viewer Graphics mode: [ ] - switch between different graphics sets Up/Down - scroll up/down one line at a time Page Up/Page Down - scroll up/down one page at a time Home/End - move to top/bottom of list Left/Right - change color displayed R - rotate tiles 90 degrees clockwise -/+ - increase/decrease the number of tiles per row Enter - switch to tilemap viewer Tilemap mode: [ ] - switch between different tilemaps Up/Down/Left/Right - scroll 8 pixels at a time Shift+Up/Down/Left/Right - scroll 1 pixel at a time Control+Up/Down/Left/Right - scroll 64 pixels at a time R - rotate tilemap view 90 degrees clockwise -/+ - increase/decrease the zoom factor Enter - switch to palette/colortable mode Note: Not all games have decoded graphics and/or tilemaps. |
| Alt + LCtrl + F5 | Toggle HLSL Post-Processing. |
| F6 | Enable / Disable Cheat if cheats are enabled. |
| F7 | Load a saved system state from a saved slot. |
| LShift + F7 | Save a systems current state to 1 of 10 slots (If supported). |
| LCtrl + F6 | Decrease Prescaling. |
| LCtrl + F7 | Increase Prescaling. |
| F8 | Decrease frame skip during a game. |
| F9 | Increase frame skip during a game. |
| F10 | Speed Throttle (Makes the current system run as fast as your system will allow by removing internal frame and cpu limitations) |
| F11 | Shows the current systems frames per second and frameskip information. |
| LShift + F11 | Enables the profiler in debug versions. |
| F12 | Saves image of system screen to snaps directory. |
| LShift + F12 | Save your system usage as a movie file. |
| P | Pause the system. |
| LShift + P | Skip one frame forward if paused. |
| LShift + Tilde | Skip one frame back if rewind is activated. "~" Key |
| ESC | Return to the UI (if enabled). |
| "~" or "¬" (Above Tab) | Open slider controls. |
| Insert | Runs the system at full throttle and full frameskip. |
| Tab | Access the systems configuration menu |
| UI Control Keys | Description |
| Arrow Keys | Up, Down, Left, Right, Increase Value, Decrease Value |
| Enter | Select Option/System. |
| Tab | Select Frame. |
| Escape | Exit MAME. |