Character Menu The menu is a way to interact with the inventory , skills , and magic in . The interface is accessed by the ' B ' button on , the ' Tab ' button on the PC , and the ' O ' button on PS3 . It consists of an up , down , left and right compass leading to magic ( left ) items ( right ) skills ( up ) and map ( down ) . Items . In the items tab , there are 11 sub - menus : Favorites , All , Weapons , Apparel , Potions , Scrolls , Food , Ingredients , Books , Keys and miscellaneous items . In the favorites menu , it shows all your Favorited items . In the All menu , it shows all items . The weapons menu holds swords , staffs , bows and arrows . Apparel includes shields , armor and clothes . Food and ingredients include items harvested around Skyrim . Suggested upgrades . A hollow white triangle is displayed to the right of any weapons ( excluding staves ) or apparel ( excluding jewelry ) that is considered to be the best item " of its type " in the player ' s inventory . Weapon types are classified as one - handed ( includes daggers ) , two - handed , bows , and arrows . Apparel types are classified as head , body , hands , feet , and shield . Of special note , head armor is additionally classified into light and heavy when being considered as a suggested upgrade . Magic . The Magic tab includes the available Spells to the player . There is a category for each school , over the submenus " all " and " favorites . " This section also shows all learned Dragon Shouts . The magic tab also is where the player unlocks shouts and keeps track of dragon souls taken . Lastly , this tab is where can find their active effects , including any diseases they might have . Favorites . Favorited items or spells will be marked with an asterisk and Equipped items will be marked with an arrow . After an item or spell is Favorited , it can be quickly accessed from a list of all the Favorites using the " Q " button on PC or holding up or down on the Xbox and the PS3 D - pad . Favorited items can also be bound to the number keys . This can be done by opening the Favorites menu and pressing a number key . The selected favorite can then be quickly equipped by pressing the number key that the item / spell was bound to . For PS3 and Xbox ' s users , holding left or right on the D - pad in Favorite list will at " 1 " and " 2 " ( respectively ) next to the items ' names . Pressing left or right will make the Dragonborn use the marked items in real - time . Spells and weapons also can be marked this way , but it may take times to fully understand which spells / equipment will go to which hands . For example : 1 . Fast Healing and 2 . Firebolt . Pressing left D - pad once will add Fast Healing to the left hand . Pressing it once more will add another Fast Healing to the right hand . Same with Firebolt but with the right D - pad . To add both spells to each hand ( left Fast Healing and right Firebolt ) . Press right , right , left . One - handed weapons will always be equipped to the right hand unless the Dragonborn has more than one of the same weapons for dual - wielding . This also true for default left hand items such as shields and torch . Marking a combination of Health , Magicka , or Stamina Potions will make it easier to use them whenever needed without going into the Favorite list . Skills . In the Skills menu , the player " looks to the stars . " The player then scrolls across and can choose between all the skills ( magic colleges , classes e . t . c ) . When the player gains skill points , they may choose one of the many Perks if they have level or more points than the required skill points . As the player chooses perks , a Constellation appears . Map . The Map in " Skyrim " zooms out from your current position and is used to access the journal . The triggers zoom in and out when the map is accessed and the " A " ( Xbox 360 ) or " X " ( The old model ) or " O " ( The slim model ) buttons are used to place waypoints . The start button accesses the journal and " X " ( Xbox 360 ) or " square " ( PS3 ) enters the local map . While on PC , the " M " key pulls up the map , with " W , " " S , " " D , " and " A , " allowing the player to move around . The mouse - wheel zooms in and out of the map .