In this Photoshop Lesson, we’ll learn about ‘Keyboard Shortcuts in Photoshop‘ and default keyboard shortcuts in photoshop. Keyboard Shortcuts command is found under Edit menu in Photoshop.
My name is Lalit Adhikari and we are at LTY. Let’s begin!
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Keyboard Shortcuts
By using Keyboard Shortcuts command under Edit menu in Photoshop, we can view, edit or create shortcuts in Photoshop. The Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box is shown below.
Keyboard Shortcuts and Menus dialog box serves as a shortcut editor in Photoshop. It includes all the commands that support shortcuts. Some of these shortcut supporting commands are not addressed in the default shortcut set.
In addition to keyboard shortcuts, we have access to various commands using context-sensitive menus which are relevant to the active tool, selection or panel. To access context-sensitive menu, right-click in the document window or panel.
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How to define new keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop
To define a new keyboard shortcut in Photoshop, follow the steps below:
Step 1
Open Keyboard Shortcuts & Menus dialog box. It can be done by anyone of the following:
- Go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts…
- Go to Window > Workspace > Keyboard Shortcuts & Menus
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Step 2
In the Keyboard Shortcuts & Menus dialog box, choose a set of shortcuts from the Set menu.
Step 3
We can choose a shortcut type from the Shortcut For menu. It has four options, namely, Application Menus, Panel Menus, Tools, Taskspaces.
- Application Menus: Lets you customize keyboard shortcuts for items in the menu bar of Photoshop.
- Panel Menus: Lets you customize keyboard shortcuts for items in panel menus of Photoshop.
- Tools: Lets you customize keyboard shortcuts for tools in the toolbox of Photoshop.
- Taskspaces: Lets you customize keyboard shortcuts for the ‘Content-Aware Fill‘ and Select and Mask workspaces.
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Step 4
Now, in the Shortcut column, select the shortcut you want to modify.
Step 5
Type in a new shortcut. If the newly assigned shortcut is already associated to another command or tool in the shortcut set, an alert appears.
Click Accept to assign the new shortcut to the command or tool and remove the previously assigned shortcut.
After we reassign a shortcut, we can either Undo changes or Accept changes and go to conflict to assign new shortcut to the command or tool in conflict.
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Step 6
After we’ve changed the shortcut, we can save the changed shortcut either on the same selected Shortcut Set or as a new Shortcut Set.
- To save all the changes to the current set of keyboard shortcuts, click on the ‘Save all changes to the current set of shortcuts’ button.
- To create a new Shortcut Set based on current set of shortcuts, click on the ‘Create a new set based on the current set of shortcuts’ button.
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Clear shortcuts from a command or tool
In the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box, select the command or tool name whose shortcut you need to delete. Then click on the Delete Shortcut.
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Delete a set of shortcuts
To delete a Set of Shortcut, first select the shortcut set you want to delete.
Then click on ‘Delete the current set of shortcuts’.
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View a list of current shortcuts
To view a list of current shortcuts, we can export them as an HTML file which can be displayed or printed with a web browser. For this we have to open Keyboard Shortcuts and Menus dialog box. Choose the shortcut type and then click Summarize.
It’ll open a Save As dialog box, choose the appropriate location and name for the file. Then click Save.
File will be saved as an HTML file at the location chosen.
The HTML file will open in a web browser.
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Photoshop Shortcuts
Here are lists of few shortcuts as per popularity, function, selection tools etc.
Popular Shortcuts
| Result | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Free Transform | Ctrl + T | Command + T |
| Toggle between painting and erasing with the same brush | Hold down ~ | Hold down ~ |
| Deselect selections | Ctrl + D | Command + D |
| Undo last command | Ctrl + Z | Command + Z |
| Decrease Brush Size | [ | [ |
| Increase Brush Size | ] | ] |
| Decrease Brush Hardness | { | { |
| Increase Brush Hardness | } | } |
| Rotate the brush tip by 1 degree | Left Arrow (anti-clockwise), Right Arrow (clockwise) | Left Arrow (anti-clockwise), Right Arrow (clockwise) |
| Rotate the brush tip by 15 degrees | Shift + Left Arrow (anti-clockwise), Shift + Right Arrow (clockwise) | Shift + Left Arrow (anti-clockwise), Shift + Right Arrow (clockwise) |
| Default Foreground/ Background colors | D | D |
| Switch Foreground/ Background colors | X | X |
| Fit layer(s) to screen | Alt + click layer | Option + click layer |
| New layer via copy | Ctrl + J | Command + J |
| New layer via cut | Shift + Ctrl + J | Shift + Command + J |
| Add to a selection | Hold Shift + drag with any selection tool | Hold Shift + drag with any selection tool |
| Delete brush or swatch | Alt + click on brush or swatch | Option + click on brush or swatch |
| Toggle auto-select checkbox in the option bar with Move Tool selected | Hold Ctrl + click | Hold Command + click |
| Close all open documents other than the current document | Ctrl + Alt + P | Command + Option + P |
| Cancel any modal dialog window (including the Start Workspace) | Esc | Escape |
| Selects the first edit field of the toolbar | Enter | Return |
| Navigate between fields | Tab | Tab |
| Navigate between fields in the opposite direction | Shift + Tab | Shift + Tab |
| Change Cancel to Reset | Hold Alt | Hold Option |
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Uses of Function Keys in Photoshop
| Result | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Start Help | F1 | Help key |
| Undo/Redo | F1 | |
| Cut | F2 | F2 |
| Copy | F3 | F3 |
| Paste | F4 | F4 |
| Show/ Hide Brush Panel | F5 | F5 |
| Show/ Hide Color Panel | F6 | F6 |
| Show/ Hide Layers Panel | F7 | F7 |
| Show/ Hide Info Panel | F8 | F8 |
| Show/ Hide Actions Panel | F9 | Option + F9 |
| Revert | F12 | F12 |
| Fill | Shift + F5 | Shift + F5 |
| Feather Selection | Shift + F6 | Shift + F6 |
| Inverse Selection | Shift + F7 | Shift + F7 |
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Selection Tools
| Result | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Cycle through tools with the same shortcut key | Hold Shift + press shortcut key (if Use Shift Key for Tool Switch preference is selected) | Hold Shift + press shortcut key (if Use Shift Key for Tool Switch preference is selected) |
| Cycle through hidden tools | Hold Alt + click on tool (except Add Anchor Point, Delete Anchor Point and Convert Point Tools) | Hold Option + press shortcut key (if Use Shift Key for Tool Switch preference is selected) |
| Move Tool, Artboard Tool | V | V |
| Rectangular Marquee Tool, Elliptical Marquee Tool | M | M |
| Lasso Tool, Polygonal Lasso Tool, Magnetic Lasso Tool | L | L |
| Object Selection Tool, Quick Selection Tool, Magic Wand Tool | W | W |
| Crop Tool, Perspective Crop Tool, Slice Tool, Slice Select Tool | C | C |
| Eyedropper Tool, 3D Material Eyedropper Tool (ADD), Color Sampler Tool, Ruler Tool, Note Tool, Count Tool | I | I |
| Frame Tool | K | K |
| Spot Healing Brush Tool, Healing Brush Tool, Patch Tool, Red Eye Tool, Content-Aware Move Tool | J | J |
| Brush Tool, Pencil Tool, Color Replacement tool, Mixer Brush Tool | B | B |
| Clone Stamp Tool, Pattern Stamp Tool | S | S |
| History Brush Tool, Art History Brush Tool | Y | Y |
| Eraser Tool, Background Eraser Tool, Magic Eraser Tool | E | E |
| Gradient Tool, Paint Bucket Tool, 3D Material Drop Tool | G | G |
| Dodge Tool, Burn Tool, Sponge Tool | O | O |
| Pen Tool, Freeform Pen Tool, Curvature Pen Tool | P | P |
| Horizontal Type Tool, Vertical Type Tool, Horizontal Type Mask Tool, Vertical Type Mask Tool | T | T |
| Path Selection Tool, Direct Selection Tool | A | A |
| Rectangle Tool, Ellipse Tool, Polygon Tool, Line Tool, Custom Shape Tool | U | U |
| Hand Tool | H | H |
| Rotate View Tool | R | R |
| Zoom Tool | Z | Z |
| Toggle Standard/ Quick Mask modes | Q | Q |
| Artboard Tool | V | V |
| Toggle Preserve Transparency | / (forward slash) | / (forward slash) |
| Previous Brush | , | , |
| Next Brush | . | . |
| First Brush | < | < |
| Last Brush | > | > |
Holding down a key temporarily activates a tool. Letting go of the key returns to the previous tool. In a row with multiple tools, repeatedly press the same shortcut to toggle through the group.
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View images
These are the shortcuts used while viewing an image.
| Result | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Cycle through open documents | Ctrl + Tab | Command + Tab |
| Switch to previous document | Shift + Ctrl + Tab | Shift + Command + Tab |
| Close a file in Photoshop and open Bridge | Shift + Ctrl + W | Shift + Command + W |
| Toggle between Standard mode and Quick Mask mode | Q | Q |
| Toggle (forward) between Standard Screen mode, Full screen mode with menu bar and Full screen mode | F | F |
| Toggle (backward) between Standard Screen mode, Full screen mode with menu bar and Full screen mode | Shift + F | Shift + F |
| Toggle (forward) canvas color | Spacebar + F (or right-click canvas background and select color) | Spacebar + F (or right-click canvas background and select color) |
| Toggle (backward) canvas color | Spacebar + Shift + F | Spacebar + Shift + F |
| Fit image in window | Ctrl + 0 (zero) or Double-click hand tool | Command + 0 (zero) or Double-click hand tool |
| Magnify 100% | Ctrl + 1 or Double-click Zoom tool | Command + 1 or Double-click Zoom tool |
| Switch to Hand tool (when not in text-edit mode) | Hold Spacebar | Hold Spacebar |
| Simultaneously pan multiple documents with Hand tool | Hold Shift and drag | Hold Shift and drag |
| Switch to Zoom In tool | Ctrl + Spacebar | Command + Spacebar |
| Switch to Zoom Out tool | Alt + Spacebar | Option + Spacebar |
| Move Zoom marquee while dragging with the Zoom tool | Spacebar and drag | Spacebar and drag |
| Apply zoom percentage and keep zoom percentage box active | Shift + Enter in Navigation Panel zoom percentage box | Shift + Return in Navigation Panel zoom percentage box |
| Zoom in on specified area of an image | Ctrl and drag over preview in Navigation Panel | Command and drag over preview in Navigation Panel |
| Temporarily zoom into an image | Hold down H and then click in the image and hold down the mouse button | Hold down H and then click in the image and hold down the mouse button |
| Scroll image with Hand tool | Spacebar and drag or drag view area box in Navigation panel | Spacebar and drag or drag view area box in Navigation panel |
| Scroll up or down 1 screen | Page Up or Page Down | Page Up or Page Down |
| Scroll up or down 10 units | Shift + Page Up or Shift + Page Down | Shift + Page Up or Shift + Page Down |
| Move view to upper-left corner or lower-right corner | Home or End | Home or End |
| Toggle layer mask on/ off (layer mask must be selected) | \ (backslash) | \ (backslash) |
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Shortcuts with Puppet Warp
This is the list of shortcuts that don’t appear in menu commands or tool tips.
| Result | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Use the black-and-white adjustment | Shift + Ctrl + Alt + B | Shift + Command + Option + B |
| Select all pins | Ctrl + A | Command + A |
| Deselect all pins | Ctrl + D | Command + D |
| Select multiple pins | Hold Shift then click on any pin | Hold Shift then click on any pin |
| Hide pins | Hold down the H key to hide the pins and release to bring back the pins | Hold down the H key to hide the pins and release to bring back the pins |
| Delete pins | Hold Alt and click on pin | Hold Option and click on pin |
| Reveal a circle that allows you to rotate the pin | Hold Alt then go near the pin but not over the pin | Hold Option then go near the pin but not over the pin |
| Cancel distortions | Esc | Esc |
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Shortcuts with Select and Mask
This is the list of shortcuts that don’t appear in menu commands or tool tips.
| Result | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Select and Mask | Ctrl + Alt + R | Command + Option + R |
| Target the layer | Ctrl + 2 | Command + 2 |
| Target the mask | Ctrl + \ | \ |
| Disable the mask temporarily | Hold Shift and click on mask | Hold Shift and click on mask |
| Add a layer mask icon to automatically hide the content of the layer (or active selection) | Hold Alt and click on mask icon | Hold Option and click on mask icon |
| Invert a layer mask | Ctrl + I | Command + I |
Related Topics:
- Blur, Sharpen & Smudge Tool in Photoshop
- Burn, Dodge & Sponge Tool in Photoshop
- How to use Gradient Tool in Photoshop
Shortcuts with Filter Gallery
This is the list of shortcuts that don’t appear in menu commands or tool tips.
| Results | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Apply new filter on top of selected filter | Hold Alt and click on filter | Hold Option and click on filter |
| Change Cancel button to default | Hold Ctrl + click | Hold Command + click |
| Step Forward | Ctrl + Shift + Z | Command + Shift + Z |
| Step Backward | Ctrl + Alt + Z | Command + Option + Z |
| Clear brushed areas | C | |
| Invert the brush mask | I | |
| Toggle between OK/ Cancel buttons to Revert/ Apply | Alt | Option |
| Toggle the blur view visibility | P | |
| Take a snapshot, saving a copy of blurred image in the layers panel, layer stack | ` | |
| Toggle from Add or Subtract blur brushes | “`” Grave key | |
| Invert the selection or command to hide the selection | Shift + Command + I | |
| Toggle the quick mask rubylith overlay display if there is a selection | Shift + Q | |
| OK – Applies the current effect and dismisses the dialog box | Enter | Return |
| Close dialog box without saving | Esc | Esc |
| Shortcut for panning | Hold Spacebar | Hold Spacebar |
| Toggle view mode | Tab | |
| Zooming in/ out | Ctrl + + and Ctrl + – | Command + + and Command + – |
| Zoom in and out without changing current tool | Hold Ctrl + Spacebar together and drag | Hold Command + Spacebar together and drag |
| Crosshair brush | Caps lock | Caps lock |
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