Controls, commands, and cheats for Total Annihilation Zero are documented below. Many of these are new or different from Total Annihilation. Use the in-game chat box to input commands and cheats.
Controls
| TAB | Display game menu |
| PAUSE | Pause game |
| ENTER | Send chat messages or input commands and cheats |
| INSERT | Repeat previous command or cheat (skirmish only). |
| SPACEBAR | Display game status information and kills and losses for all players |
| SHIFT | Hold down to queue multiple commands and view previously queued commands |
| LEFTCLICK/RIGHTCLICK | Select units and issue commands (exact function of each button depends on mouse interface setting in Options menu) |
| LEFTCLICK on unit | Select unit |
| DOUBLELEFTCLICK on unit | Select all units of the same type currently on screen |
| DRAGLEFTCLICK on map | Select all units within the selection box |
| MOUSEWHEEL | Zoom in and out of megamap |
| W | Hold while dragging a selection box to only select mobile units with weapons |
| B | Hold while dragging a selection box to only select construction units |
| Y | Hold while dragging a selection box to only select factories |
| X | Hold and drag-click mouse to build in a line or hold and click on an existing unit to surround; in either case adjust spacing with mouse wheel (autoclick key, can be edited in advanced interface options menu) |
| Q | Select structure or order unit in top left build menu slot. |
| M | Move |
| A | Attack |
| D | Use special weapon or ability |
| G | Guard |
| P | Patrol |
| R | Repair |
| E | Reclaim |
| C | Capture |
| K | Cloak |
| L | Load |
| U | Unload |
| S | Stop |
| F | Toggle fire orders |
| V | Toggle move orders |
| T | Lock camera to selected unit (can cycle through if multiple units selected) |
| N | Move camera to next unit offscreen |
| H | Display sharing menu (multiplayer only) |
| CTRL+1-9 | Assign unit groups (assigning a factory to a group assigns all future units built by that factory to the group instead) |
| 1-9 | Select unit groups |
| CTRL+A | Select all units |
| CTRL+C | Select commander |
| CTRL+B | Cycle through idle construction units |
| CTRL+SHIFT+B | Select all construction units |
| CTRL+F | Cycle through idle factories |
| CTRL+SHIFT+F | Select all factories |
| CTRL+D | Self-destruct selected units |
| CTRL+S | Select all units with weapons currently on screen |
| CTRL+SHIFT+S | Select all units currently on screen |
| CTRL+Z | Select all units of the same type as selected unit |
| CTRL+G | Select mobile ground units |
| CTRL+L | Select frontline mobile ground units |
| CTRL+O | Select supporting mobile ground units |
| CTRL+K | Select kbots |
| CTRL+T | Select vehicles |
| CTRL+H | Select hovercraft |
| CTRL+V | Select mobile air units |
| CTRL+Y | Select fighters |
| CTRL+M | Select bombers |
| CTRL+P | Select gunships |
| CTRL+W | Select mobile water units |
| CTRL+N | Select mobile surface water units |
| CTRL+U | Select mobile underwater units |
| CTRL+X | Select mobile experimental units |
| CTRL+Q | Select structures with long-ranged weapons |
| CTRL+R | Select units with radar or sonar |
| CTRL+J | Select units with radar jamming or sonar jamming |
| Z or . (period) | Next build menu page for selected unit |
| , (comma) | Previous build menu page for selected unit |
| ALT+1-9 | Show specified build menu page for selected unit |
| LEFTCLICK on button | Order 1 unit at a time |
| RIGHTCLICK on button | Cancel 1 unit at a time |
| SHIFT+LEFTCLICK on button | Order 5 units at a time |
| SHIFT+RIGHTCLICK on button | Cancel 5 units at a time |
| CTRL+SHIFT+LEFTCLICK on button | Order 100 units at a time |
| CTRL+SHIFT+RIGHTCLICK on button | Cancel 100 units at a time |
| \ | Hold to enable drawing and erasing (whiteboard key, can be edited in advanced interface options menu) |
| \+LEFTCLICK | Draw lines or move existing markers |
| \+DOUBLELEFTCLICK | Create or edit text marker |
| \+MIDDLECLICK | Create dot marker |
| \+RIGHTCLICK | Wipe eraser (100×100) |
| \+DOUBLERIGHTCLICK | Spot eraser (20×20) |
| CTRL+\ | Move camera to newest ally marker |
| CTRL+F5-F8 | Save camera position |
| F5-F8 | Recall camera position |
| F1 | Display unit information (point mouse over unit or build button first) |
| F2 | Display game menu |
| F3 | Move camera to unit that last reported |
| F4 | Toggle megamap (or display kills and losses for all players, if megamap key is changed to something else) |
| F12 | Clear notifications and chat messages |
| CTRL+F2 | Display advanced interface options menu (also shown by default in Options menu) |
| F11 | Execute chat macro (set in advanced interface options menu) |
| PRINTSCREEN or CTRL+F9 | Saves a screenshot to the game folder in .pcx format |
| ~ (tilde) | Toggle damage bars |
| + (plus) | Increase game speed |
| – (minus) | Decrease game speed |
Commands
| .sharemappos | Allows your allies to see your camera position on their minimap as a color-coded rectangle. |
| .take | Use to claim an ally's units (excluding Commander) when he or she has dropped from the match. |
| .takecmd | Use to claim an ally's units (including Commander) when he or she has dropped from the match. |
| .cmdwarp | (Game lobby command, host only) Starts game paused and allows players to choose their Commander's warp-in point. |
| .syncon # # | (Game lobby command, host only) Locks game speed to specified range, for example ".syncon -5 +5" or ".syncon 0 0". |
| .votego | (Game lobby command, everyone) Vote to start game. If all players use this command it will automatically vote in idle watchers and start the game. |
| .autopause | (Game lobby command, host only) Starts game paused and unpauses only when all players have entered the ".ready" command or the host unpauses the game. |
| .ready | Vote to unpause the game when it has been started paused due to the ".autopause" command. |
| +shareall | Enables "+sharemetal" and "+shareenergy" at once. |
| +sharemetal | Enables sharing of metal with human allies. |
| +shareenergy | Enables sharing of energy with human allies. |
| +setsharemetal # | Sets amount of reserve metal that will not be shared (for example, "setsharemetal 1000"). |
| +setshareenergy # | Sets amount of reserve energy that will not be shared (for example, "setshareenergy 1000"). |
| +give # # metal | Give the specified player a certain amount of metal, where players are numbered 0-9. For example, "+give 3 1000 metal" gives player 4 1000 metal. |
| +give # # energy | Give the specified player a certain amount of energy, where players are numbered 0-9. For example, "+give 3 1000 energy" gives player 4 1000 energy. |
| +clock | Toggles display of game clock (persistent setting). |
| +dither | Toggles fog of war between grayscale (default) or dithered color (persistent setting). |
| +showranges | Toggles display of various range information for selected units, viewable by holding the Shift key. |
| +bps | Toggles display of networking statistics. |
| +screenchat | Toggles display of chat messages. |
| +contour # | Toggles display of topographic contour lines with specified density on the map, for example "+contour 7". Use "+contour" to disable. |
| +logo # | Change your player color, where colors are numbered 0-9. For example, "+logo 1" will make you red. This command does not affect what other players see. |
| +logo # # | Change the color of the specified player, with the first value being the color (0-9) and the second value being the player (0-9). For example, "+logo 1 5" will make player 6 red. This command does not affect what other players see. |
| +bigbrother | Toggles automatic cycling selection of your units by chronological build order. |
| +lostype | Toggles between "true" and "circular" line of sight. |
| +nometal | Reduces your metal to 0. |
| +noenergy | Reduces your energy to 0. |
| +nometal # | Reduces metal of specified player (0-9) to 0 (skirmish only). |
| +nometal # | Reduces energy of specified player (0-9) to 0 (skirmish only). |
Cheats
| +unitname # | Spawns the selected unit for the selected player (0-9) at the cursor location, based on the internal unitname; for example "+armt1infkbot" will spawn an Arm Marine for yourself while "+armt1infkbot 3" will spawn an Arm Marine for player 4. Remember that the INSERT key can be used to repeat the previous command or cheat. To discover the internal unitname for any unit, check the filename for the unit's image in the unit guides. |
| +atm | Completely fills the metal and energy storage of the currently viewed player (by default, you). |
| +view # | Change view to another player (0-9), for example "+view 3" will switch to player 4's view. Use "+view" to return to your view. |
| +control # | Change control to another player (0-9), for example "+control 3" will make you control player 4. This only works on AI players. Use "+control" to control your player again. Sometimes when using this cheat the view does not get switched along with the control, in which case you must use the "view #" cheat. |
| +ai # | Disables or enables the AI for the specified player (0-9), for example "+ai 3" disables or enables the AI for player 4. Using "+ai" enables or disables the AI for the currently controlled player. Note that AI profiles are not loaded for the human player, so enabling the AI for the human player results in unpredictable performance due to missing weights and limits. |
| +los | Enables or disables "permanent" line of sight. |
| +radar | Enables or disables radar coverage of entire map. |
| +mapping | Toggles between mapped and unmapped mapping mode. |
| +nowisee | Enables permanent line of sight and mapped mapping mode, but does not disable if used again (must use "+los" and "+mapping" to undo). |
| +doubleshot | Doubles the damage of all attacks, based on current setting (using after "+halfshot" will revert to normal damage). |
| +halfshot | Halves the damage of all attacks, based on current setting (using after "+doubleshot" will revert to normal damage). |
| +meteor | Unleashes a weather effect at a random location (meteors unless a different effect is set for the current map). |
| +makeposter | Saves a 3200×2400 screenshot to the game folder in .bmp format. |
| +makeposter # # | Saves a screenshot of specified width and height to the game folder in .bmp format, with minimum size 3200×2400 and maximum size dependent on the map, for example, "+makeposter 6400 4800". If specified size is below or above the limit the minimum or maximum will be used instead. |
| +makeposter all | Saves a screenshot of the entire map to the game folder in .bmp format. |