Cancelling and Undoing Deconstruction in Factorio

Cancelling Pending Deconstruction Orders

Queued deconstruction orders can be cancelled by holding Shift while click-dragging a deconstruction planner over the affected area.

When Shift is held down the area selection border will change from red to blue to indicate cancellation mode is in effect.

Undoing Completed Deconstruction

The undo tool can be used to revert the actions of a deconstruction planner. This applies both to pending deconstruction orders and completed removals.

Undo is triggered by pressing Control + Z (on macOS: Command + Z)

Performing an undo will cancel any queued removal orders (red Xs) that have not yet been actioned. Any ghosts that were removed will be immediately replaced. Where built entities and tiles have already been removed the undo will reinstate them in the form of new ghosts that can then be re-built by any construction robots in range.

Items that were removed as part of the deconstruction – for example the inventory of chests or items carried by a transport belt – will not be restored by an undo. This means that a deconstruction that consisted exclusively of items, for example picking up stone from the ground, cannot be undone.

It is also not possible to undo the removal of trees, rocks, cliffs and fish.

Conclusion

The ability to cancel queued deconstruction jobs makes it easy to undo mistakes when redesigning your Factorio factory. Before robots act, simply shift-click to remove all removal marks instantly. Afterwards, shift-clicking will reinstate any already removed entities and tiles as ghosts for quick rebuilding. With good use of cancellation and blueprints, you can remodel your factory smoothly without extended delays.