The Shortcut [B42]

Build Support: B42.12.3+ — SP / MP — Build 42 only

Fast shortcuts for items, crafting recipes, and building projects

The Shortcut adds a customizable shortcut bar for the things you use most in Project Zomboid.

Add items, crafting recipes, or building projects to your shortcut pages, then access them without repeatedly searching through inventories and menus.

• Double-click a shortcut to use, craft, or build when possible.
• Right-click to open the relevant vanilla menu or context menu.
• Customize the number of rows and columns, slot size, transparency, position, and hotkey.
• Create layouts from compact bars up to 16x16 slots.

Required: NeatUI Framework

Load order: NeatUI Framework → The Shortcut

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Item Shortcuts

Drag items from your inventory directly into shortcut slots.

• Double Click — perform supported actions such as drinking, eating, smoking, or reading.
• Right Click — open the item's normal context menu.
• The shortcut remains configured even when you temporarily have none of that item.
• Condition, fluid/resource state, freshness, and other supported item states can be reflected directly in the shortcut.

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Crafting Shortcuts

Open the crafting interface and use the + button to add a recipe.

• Double Click — craft immediately when the requirements are met.
• Green checkmark — the recipe is currently available.
• Right Click — open the crafting interface with that recipe selected.
• Mouse Over — view basic recipe information.

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Building Shortcuts

Building projects can also be added from the Build interface using the + button.

• Double Click — start placement when the project can currently be built.
• Green checkmark — requirements are currently met.
• Red preview — the project cannot currently be placed or built.
• Right Click — open the Build interface with the project selected.
• Mouse Over — view basic project information.

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Controls & Settings

Default hotkey: TAB

Use the hotkey to show or hide The Shortcut. Move the mouse wheel over the panel to switch between shortcut pages.

The Settings page lets you configure:

• Rows and columns
• Slot size
• Control widget direction
• Panel and slot transparency
• Hotkey
• Panel position
• Reset options

Layouts can be adjusted from a small shortcut bar to a large 16x16 grid.

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Configuration

Current versions store settings in:

C:\Users\<YourUser>\Zomboid\Lua\ShortcutConfig.txt

Older releases used:

ShortcutConfig.lua

The old Lua configuration is still recognized for migration, but ShortcutConfig.txt is the current format.

Shortcut configurations are kept when an assigned item is temporarily unavailable. This also makes existing configurations safer when an item belongs to a mod that has been disabled or changed.

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Languages

The Shortcut includes translations for all regular languages currently provided by Project Zomboid Build 42:

Argentine Spanish, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Spanish (Chile), Spanish (Mexico), Thai, Turkish, and Ukrainian.

Translations have been reviewed against vanilla terminology where applicable.

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Compatibility

• Supports Project Zomboid Build 42.12.3 and newer Build 42 versions.
• Currently reviewed for the B42.21 branch.
• Supports single-player and multiplayer.
• Requires NeatUI Framework.
• Does not add items, recipes, traits, map content, or permanent world data.

Possible conflicts are most likely with mods that heavily replace or rewrite the vanilla inventory, crafting, building, or UI systems.

Vanilla Moodles

The Shortcut does not hide the vanilla moodles shown on the right side of the screen.

If you want to customize or replace that display, Modern Status can be used alongside The Shortcut.

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Performance & Gamepad

The Shortcut includes throttled item, crafting, and building checks to reduce unnecessary UI work.

Very large layouts such as 16x16 naturally require more UI elements, so smaller layouts are recommended if you notice an FPS impact.

Gamepad navigation is not currently implemented. The mod is primarily designed for mouse and keyboard.

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Troubleshooting

If the panel disappears, settings do not save, slots unexpectedly reset, or only default slots appear:

• Close Project Zomboid.
• Unsubscribe from The Shortcut and allow Steam to remove the Workshop copy.
• Subscribe again.
• Verify Project Zomboid through Steam > Properties > Installed Files > Verify integrity of game files.

If necessary, back up and remove:

C:\Users\<YourUser>\Zomboid\Lua\ShortcutConfig.txt

and the old:

ShortcutConfig.lua

Then launch the game again to generate a clean configuration.

For compatibility testing, try a new save with only:

• NeatUI Framework
• The Shortcut

If it works there, add other mods back in small groups.

Bug Reports