These are the default keyboard shortcuts for the Windows build of Snes9x 1.63, taken from the readme bundled with that release and the program’s own default key table. The word “default” matters: every hotkey in Snes9x can be remapped under Input → Customize Hotkeys, so if a key below does nothing on your install, someone (possibly past you) has changed it. For first-time installation see the Windows setup guide, the setup hub and the download page.
Save and load state keys
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Shift+F1 to Shift+F10 | Save a save state (freeze file) into slots 1–10 of the current bank |
| F1 to F10 | Load the save state from slots 1–10 of the current bank |
| Shift+F11 | Open the save-state dialog with preview |
| F11 | Open the load-state dialog with preview |
Older documentation — including Snes9x’s own bundled readme text — describes only F1–F9, because it predates the tenth slot. The current program defines ten save keys and ten load keys, matching the storage model of 10 slots per bank across 10 banks, which is up to 100 states per game stored as files .000–.099. The save states and .srm guide explains banks, files and backups in full.
Gameplay and system keys
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Tab (hold) | Turbo / fast-forward while held |
| Pause | Pause or unpause emulation |
| Backslash | Frame advance — step one frame while paused |
| F12 | Take a screenshot |
| Alt+Enter | Toggle fullscreen / windowed mode |
| Esc | Show or hide the menu bar |
| R (hold) | Rewind — only if the rewind buffer is enabled (see below) |
A note on Tab: it is a hold-to-speed-up key by default. The program also contains a separate fast-forward toggle action, which ships unassigned — if you prefer a latching turbo, bind it yourself in Customize Hotkeys. The Pause entry is the keyboard’s actual Pause/Break key; do not confuse it with the frame-advance backslash, which only has an effect while emulation is paused.
Cheat keys
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt+G | Open the cheat editor |
| Alt+A | Open the cheat search (finder) |
These two were among the genuine hotkey additions in the 1.63 era — along with a new aspect-ratio hotkey, whose current binding you can check (and change) in Input → Customize Hotkeys rather than trusting any printed list, ours included, once you have remapped anything. The cheat codes guide covers what to do inside the editor and search once you have them open.
The reset key — an honest answer
You will see “Ctrl+R” printed as Snes9x’s reset shortcut on many websites. It matches neither official source. The readme bundled with 1.63 says Ctrl+Shift+R resets the game; the 1.63 source code’s default key table says Ctrl+Alt+R. The two official sources disagree with each other, so the only fully honest advice is: try the readme’s Ctrl+Shift+R on a standard install, and whatever your install actually uses, you can see and change the binding in Input → Customize Hotkeys. We print it this way rather than inventing certainty the sources do not support.
Rewind: R only works after you enable it
Rewind is a real Snes9x feature — it was added in version 1.54, and holding R rewinds gameplay while the key is down. But it is disabled out of the box: the rewind buffer size defaults to 0, and a zero buffer turns the feature off, so pressing R on a fresh install simply reports that rewinding is disabled. To use it, set a non-zero rewind buffer size in the emulation settings first. How much buffer you need depends on how far back you want to be able to scrub, so start with a modest value and raise it if your rewind runs out too quickly.
Getting more from the defaults
Three habits make the default layout worth learning rather than immediately replacing. First, treat the preview dialogs (Shift+F11 and F11) as your state browser: the quick keys are faster, but the dialogs show you what is actually in a slot before you overwrite or load it, which prevents the classic accident of saving over your only good state. Second, combine pause with the frame-advance backslash when a jump or a menu timing is giving you trouble — stepping frame by frame turns guesswork into observation, and it costs nothing to try. Third, remember that Tab’s turbo is momentary by design: it is meant for skipping a cutscene or fast-walking a corridor, then letting go. If you find yourself holding it for whole games, that is what the unassigned toggle action in Customize Hotkeys is for. None of this changes any default — it is just the defaults used as their designers laid them out, quick keys for speed and dialogs for certainty.
Remapping and restoring sanity
One reference, kept honest
A final word on why this page hedges where it hedges. Hotkey lists are the most-copied, least-checked content in emulation writing: one site’s stale table becomes ten sites’ fact within a year, which is exactly how the incorrect “Ctrl+R” reset shortcut spread and how the old nine-slot story outlived the tenth slot. Everything above is stated as the 1.63 default, sourced from that release’s own readme and key table, with the one genuine disagreement between those sources shown rather than smoothed over. When in doubt, your install’s Customize Hotkeys dialog outranks every website — including this one, the moment you have remapped a single key.
Open Input → Customize Hotkeys to change any binding: select an action, press the new key combination, and confirm. This is also the recovery tool when a printed reference (including a website’s) disagrees with your machine — the dialog shows your install’s truth. If you have remapped heavily and lost track, the dialog is still the place to audit action by action. Pair this reference with the controller setup guide for gamepad mapping, and browse everything else via the setup hub.