Oblivion:Controls

This page documents the controls available while playing Oblivion and their default settings on each platform. On all platforms, these controls can be remapped to other keys to suit individual user preferences, in which case the default settings provided here will no longer apply.

Default Controls

Control	PC	Xbox	PS3	Notes
Movement
Look/Turn	Mouse	Right Stick	Right Stick
Move	W, A, S, D	Left Stick	Left Stick
Jump	E
Dodge	Right Click+E	+	L1+	Only available once you reach journeyman level in Acrobatics.
Sneak Mode	Ctrl	Left Stick	Left Stick (L3)	Toggle crouch/sneak mode On Xbox and PS3, you click down on the left stick
Run	Shift	N/A	N/A	On Xbox and PS3, run/walk is controlled by how far the left thumb-stick is pressed. On PC a joystick has the same effect
Always Run	Caps Lock	N/A	N/A
Auto Move	Q	N/A	N/A
Combat
Attack	Left Click		R1	To attack with your equipped weapon (or hand to hand if no weapon has been equipped). If Telekinesis is active, the targeted item will be pushed further away from you.
Cast	C		R2	To cast your currently selected spell or scroll. Spells are selected in the spell menu (or with hotkey).
Ready Weapon / Sheathe Weapon	F			Toggles weapon between ready and sheathed (and toggles torch if equipped)
Block	Right Click, Alt		L1	Block with weapon or shield. If Telekinesis is active, the targeted item will be pulled closer to you; if the Attack key is simultaneously pressed, the item will be dropped.
Yield	Right Click+ Space	+	L1+	To yield to an opponent, you must Block while activating the character. Not all opponents will accept your yield; others may accept the yield but immediately resume fighting. Creatures never accept a yield.
General Gameplay
Activate / Use	Space			Activate (doors, triggers) or pick up (places object in your inventory)
Grab	Z		L2	Not the same as "Use". This does not put the item in your inventory but instead lets you carry the object in front of you. Grabbed items do not count towards your Encumbrance, but will count as stealing if they belong to someone else.
Change View	R / Middle Click	Right Stick	Right Stick (R3)	Switches camera mode between first- and third-person views On Xbox and PS3, you click down on the right stick
Vanity View	R (hold)	Right Stick (hold)	Right Stick (hold)	Activates a third-person camera view which can be moved to any angle. On Xbox and PS3, you click and hold down on the right stick On Xbox, Left Trigger zooms in; Right Trigger zooms out. On PS3, Left Trigger zooms in; Right Trigger zooms out. On PC, you click and hold down R button; mouse wheel zooms third-person view in and out
Open Journal	Tab			Accesses last viewed page in journal.
Open Journal	F1-F4	N/A	N/A	Direct access to each one of the four pages in journal.
Hotkeys	1-8	D-Pad	D-Pad	Assign Hotkey on PC: Open Inventory, press and hold a Hotkey, then left click on an item.
Wait	T	Back	Select
Pause/Menu	Esc	Start	Start	Pauses game and accesses menus such as save game and options
Quick Save	F5	N/A	N/A
Quick Load	F9	N/A	N/A
Inventory, Sell/Buy Mode
Equip / Unequip	Left Click or Enter Key			When in sell/buy mode, selecting an item sells/buys it. When in storage mode, selecting an item transfers it to/from the container. Selecting a weapon equips it as your active weapon; selecting an equipped weapon unequips it (your active weapon will become hand-to-hand combat). Selecting armor/clothing causes you to wear it; selecting armor/clothing you are already wearing causes you to take the item off. Selecting other items (e.g., repair hammers, soul gems) makes you use them. Note: Enter key will only work after hitting an arrow key to select an item or button.
Drop	Shift+ Left Click			Item is removed from your inventory and dropped on the ground in front of you. The inventory screen remains open. If you drop a stack of items, a dialog box will appear asking "How Many?".
Drop and Grab Item	Left Click and Hold		L2	Remove selected item from your inventory and transfer it to "Grab" mode. The inventory screen is automatically closed. If you drop/grab a stack of items, the entire stack is affected (you do not get a "How Many?" dialogue).
Toggle Inventory	Click icon / Shift + Left or Right Arrow key	/	L1/R1	To switch between viewing your own inventory and viewing what is in a container (if a container has been selected) or what is in a merchant's inventory (when bartering with a merchant): On the PC, click the left-hand sack icon for your own inventory or the right-hand sack icon for the container/merchant. Also Shift + Left Arrow key or Right Arrow Key can be used. On the Xbox, switches to your own inventory and switches to the container/merchant
Adjust Quantity	Left Click and Hold / Left/Right arrow keys			Up Arrow - Accept; Down Arrow - Cancel.
Select One	N/A		L2	When interacting with a stack of multiple items (i.e., when selling 25 arrows, or dropping 10 torches) and asked "how many items", this allows you to move the slider to the far left (one item). It is a mystery why this function was not made available on the PC version, especially since "Select One" was an undocumented feature in Morrowind, where the effect could be achieved with Ctrl+Left Click.
Select Max	N/A		R2	When interacting with a stack of multiple items (i.e., when selling 25 arrows, or dropping 10 torches) and asked "how many items", this allows you to move the slider to the far right (all items). It is a mystery why this function was not made available on the PC version, especially since "Select Max" was an undocumented feature in Morrowind, where the effect could be achieved with Shift+Left Click.
Haggle	Click Button			Haggle to adjust a merchant's buy/sell prices. See Commerce.
Highlight Item or Button	Arrow Keys			On a PC, this allows basic menu navigation via keyboard. In combination with the Enter key, you can scroll through your inventory, buying or selling items or spells rapidly without needing to move the mouse.
Map Mode
Fast Travel	Left Click			Select any discovered map marker shown in map mode to fast travel to that location
Add Marker	Shift+ Left Click			Place your own map marker on the map (a blue marker that appears on map and on compass). Only one custom map marker is possible at a time.
Scroll Map	Left Click		L2	Pressing this control at the same time as a directional control allows you to scroll the map even if your cursor is in the middle of the screen. Otherwise, you need to move your cursor to the edge of the map screen before the map will start to scroll.

Notes

• Xbox: and are the left and right triggers, respectively (on the front of the controller and labeled "LT" and "RT")
• Xbox: and are the left and right bumpers, respectively (on the front of the controller and labeled "LB" and "RB")

Remapping Controls

Controls can be remapped using the "Controls" menu available under "Options":

• On PC, hit Esc, then select "Options"
• On PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, click the Start button, then select "Options"

Xbox 360 Controller for Windows

It is possible to use an Xbox 360 controller (or any controller which supports Xinput) to play Oblivion under Windows. However, the controller does not include any software to map the controller buttons and Oblivion does not recognize the left or right trigger buttons. This guide will get you up and running with this controller.

Setup

• Install this mod. Do not run the application, simply install the .esp. This is so that the controls using for scrolling in the game menu do not change your perspective while walking.
• Download and install JoyToKey. It is recommended to keep a profile with no mappings for when you do not wish to use JoyToKey.
• Copy and paste the following into a file named Oblivion.cfg and save it in your JoyToKey folder. This setup is designed to be especially useful for UI mods which were designed for keyboard and mouse.

[General]
FileVersion=51
NumberOfJoysticks=1
DisplayMode=3
UseDiagonalInput=0
UsePOV8Way=0
Threshold=20
Threshold2=20
KeySendMode=0
[Joystick 1]
Axis1n=1, DD:00:00:00, 0.000, 0, 0
Axis1p=1, DD:00:00:00, 0.000, 0, 0
Axis2n=2,    0,   0, 100, 0, 0, 0, 0.000, 0, 95, 1.0, 100, 0
Axis2p=2,    0,   0,-100, 0, 0, 0, 0.000, 0, 95, 1.0, 100, 0
Axis3n=2, -100,   0,   0, 0, 0, 0, 0.000, 0, 95, 1.0, 100, 0
Axis3p=2,  100,   0,   0, 0, 0, 0, 0.000, 0, 95, 1.0, 100, 0
Axis4n=2,    0,-100,   0, 0, 0, 0, 0.000, 0, 95, 1.0, 100, 0
Axis4p=2,    0, 100,   0, 0, 0, 0, 0.000, 0, 95, 1.0, 100, 0
Axis5n=1, 4D:27:00:00, 0.000, 0, 0
Axis5p=1, 12:25:00:00, 0.000, 0, 0
Button01=2,    0,   0,   0, 1, 0, 0, 0.000, 0, 95, 1.0, 100, 0
Button05=1, 10:00:00:00, 0.000, 0, 0
Button08=1, 1B:00:00:00, 0.000, 0, 0

• For this control scheme to work, some keys must be remapped from inside Oblivion. This is easier to do when the JoyToKey profile is disabled.
  • Go to the Mouse Controls, click on Attack, and hit ESC to un-map it. Do the same for Block. In Keyboard Controls, map Attack to the M button.
  • Also in Keyboard Controls, change Run from L-shift to ] (right bracket).
  • In Gamepad Controls, unmap the Attack and Block buttons. Remap Activate to the X button, Ready Weapon to the LB button, Cast to the RB button, Sneak to the left stick button, Jump to the Y button, Change View to the right stick button, Journal to the B button, Wait to the Back button, and Grab to the A button.
• In JoyToKey, click on "Preferences", select "Associate profiles with applications...", and select "Add". Under "Application Name" put "Oblivion", under "Application Path" put "Oblivion.exe", and under "Associated Profile" select "Oblivion". It is recommended that under "Default behavior" you select "Specify a default profile" and select the aforementioned profile with no mappings. This way the Oblivion profile will be run when you are playing Oblivion and at no other time.
• Set JoyToKey to run on startup. It can be useful to set JoyToKey to hide from the taskbar while minimized, in the preferences menu.
• These are the controls:

Button	Function
Back	Wait
Start	ESC (Menu)
Left Trigger	Alt (Block)
Right Trigger	M (Attack)
Left Bumper	Lshift (For shift-clicking), Ready Weapon
Right Bumper	Cast
Left Thumb-stick	Moving your character The left and right directions are mapped to "]" (right bracket) because running diagonally does not normally work with a controller. You will still walk if the thumb-stick is only tilted slightly. The up and down directions are also mapped to the scroll wheel so scrolling in menus is easier.
Right Thumb-stick	Looking around, moving the mouse If you prefer an inverted look, change the controls for the Stick2 buttons in JoyToKey to go in the opposite direction.
A	Grab, Left Click (For clicking on menus)
B	Open Menu
X	Activate
Y	Jump
D-pad	Hotkeys