Keys For Selecting Tools
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Shift + O | Artboard tool |
| 02 | V | Selection tool |
| 03 | A | Direct Selection tool |
| 04 | Y | Magic Wand tool |
| 05 | Q | Lasso tool |
| 06 | P | Pen tool |
| 07 | Shift + B | Blob Brush tool |
| 08 | + (plus) | Add Anchor Point tool |
| 09 | – (minus) | Delete Anchor Point tool |
| 10 | Shift + C | Convert Anchor Point tool |
| 11 | T | Type tool |
| 12 | \ (backslash) | Line Segment tool |
| 13 | M | Rectangle tool |
| 14 | L | Ellipse tool |
| 15 | B | Paintbrush tool |
| 16 | N | Pencil tool |
| 17 | R | Rotate tool |
| 18 | O | Reflect tool |
| 19 | S | Scale tool |
| 20 | Shift + R | Warp tool |
| 21 | Shift+W | Width Tool |
| 22 | E | Free Transform tool |
| 23 | Shift+M | Shape Builder Tool |
| 24 | Shift+P | Perspective Grid Tool |
| 25 | Shift+V | Perspective Selection Tool |
| 26 | Shift + S | Symbol Sprayer tool |
| 27 | J | Column Graph tool |
| 28 | U | Mesh tool |
| 29 | G | Gradient tool |
| 30 | I | Eyedropper tool |
| 31 | W | Blend tool |
| 32 | K | Live Paint Bucket tool |
| 33 | Shift + L | Live Paint Selection tool |
| 34 | Shift + K | Slice tool |
| 35 | Shift + E | Eraser tool |
| 36 | C | Scissors tool |
| 37 | H | Hand tool |
| 38 | Z | Zoom tool |
| 39 | Press Alt | Switch to Smooth tool while using Blob Brush tool |
Keys For Viewing Artwork
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | F | Toggle between screen modes: Normal Screen Mode, Full Screen Mode with Menu Bar, Full Screen Mode |
| 02 | Double-click Hand tool | Fit imageable area in window |
| 03 | Double-click Zoom tool | Magnify 100% |
| 04 | Spacebar | Switch to Hand tool (when not in text-edit mode) |
| 05 | Ctrl + Spacebar | Switch to Zoom tool in magnify mode |
| 06 | Ctrl + Alt + Spacebar | Switch to Zoom tool in reduce mode |
| 07 | Spacebar | Move Zoom marquee while dragging with the Zoom tool |
| 08 | Control + Alt + Shift + 3 | Hide unselected artwork |
| 09 | Alt-drag guide | Convert between horizontal and vertical guide |
| 10 | Ctrl + Shift-double-click guide | Release guide |
| 11 | Ctrl + Shift + H | Show/Hide artboards |
| 12 | Ctrl + Alt + R | Show/Hide artboard rulers |
| 13 | Ctrl + Alt + 0 (zero) | View all artboards in window |
| 14 | Ctrl+Shift+V | Paste in place on the active artboard |
| 15 | Esc | Exit Artboard tool mode |
| 16 | Shift-drag | Create artboard inside another artboard |
| 17 | Ctrl+click | Select multiple artboards in the Artboards panel |
| 18 | Ctrl + F6 | Navigate to next document |
| 19 | Ctrl + Shift + F6 | Navigate to previous document |
| 20 | Ctrl + Alt + F6 | Navigate to next document group |
| 21 | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F6 | Navigate to previous document group |
| 22 | Esc | Exit Full Screen mode |
| 23 | Alt + v | Save multiple artboards to Illustrator CS3 or earlier format |
Keys For Drawing
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Shift-drag | onstrain a shape’s proportions or orientation |
| 02 | spacebar-drag | Move a shape while drawing it |
| 03 | Alt-drag | Draw from the center of a shape (except for polygons, stars, and flares) |
| 04 | Start dragging, then press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow | Increase or decrease polygon sides, star points, arc angle, spiral winds, or flare rays |
| 05 | Start dragging, then hold down Ctrl | Keep the inner radius of a star constant |
| 06 | Alt-drag | Keep the sides of a star straight |
| 07 | Start dragging, then hold down C | Switch between an open and closed arc |
| 08 | Start dragging, then hold down F | Flip an arc, keeping the reference point constant |
| 09 | Start dragging, then Alt-drag | Add or subtract winds from a spiral while increasing the length of the spiral |
| 10 | Start dragging then Ctrl-drag | Change the decay rate of a spiral |
| 11 | Start dragging, then press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow | Add or remove horizontal lines from a rectangular grid or concentric lines from a polar grid |
| 12 | Start dragging, then press the Right Arrow or Left Arrow | Add or remove vertical lines from a rectangular grid or radial lines from a polar grid |
| 13 | Start dragging, then press F | Decrease the skew value for horizontal dividers in a rectangular grid or radial dividers in a polar grid by 10% |
| 14 | Start dragging, then press V | Increase the skew value for horizontal dividers in a rectangular grid or radial dividers in a polar grid by 10% |
| 15 | Start dragging, then press X | Decrease the skew value for vertical dividers in a rectangular grid or concentric dividers in a polar grid by 10% |
| 16 | Start dragging, then press C | Increase the skew value for vertical dividers in a rectangular grid or concentric dividers in a polar grid by 10% |
| 17 | Alt-click Live Trace in the Control panel | Create and expand a Live Trace object in one step |
| 18 | ] (right square bracket) | Increase size of Blob Brush |
| 19 | [ (left square bracket) | Decrease size of Blob Brush |
| 20 | Shift | Constrain Blob Brush path horizontally or vertically |
| 21 | Shift+D | Switch through drawing modes |
| 22 | Select the paths, then press Ctrl+J | Join two or more paths |
| 23 | Select the paths, then press Shift+Ctrl+Alt+j | Create corner or smooth join |
Keys For Drawing in Perspective
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Shift+P | Perspective Grid Tool |
| 02 | Shift+V | Perspective Selection Tool |
| 03 | Ctrl+Shift+I | Perspective Grid |
| 04 | Press the number 5 key, then click and drag the object | Moving objects perpendicularly |
| 05 | Use the Perspective Selection tool and then press 1 for left grid, 2 for horizontal grid, 3 for right grid, or 4 for no active grid | Switching perspective planes |
| 06 | Ctrl+Alt+drag | Copying objects in perspective |
| 07 | Ctrl+D | Repeat transforming objects in perspective |
| 08 | Shift+D | Switching between drawing modes |
Keys For Selecting
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ctrl | Switch to last-used selection tool (Selection tool, Direct Selection tool, or Group Selection tool) |
| 02 | Alt | Switch between Direct Selection tool and Group Selection tool |
| 03 | Shift-click | Add to a selection with Selection tool, Direct Selection tool, Group Selection tool, Live Paint Selection tool, or Magic Wand tool |
| 04 | Shift-click | Subtract a selection with Selection tool, Direct Selection tool, Group Selection tool, or LIve Paint Selection tool |
| 05 | Alt-click | Subtract from selection with Magic Wand tool |
| 06 | Shift-drag | Add to selection with Lasso tool |
| 07 | Alt-drag | Subtract from selection with Lasso tool |
| 08 | Caps Lock | Change pointer to cross hair for Lasso tool |
| 09 | Ctrl + Alt + A | Select artwork in active artboard |
| 10 | Alt + c + o | Create crop marks around selected objec |
| 11 | Press Ctrl+click twice | Select behind an object |
| 12 | Ctrl+click twice | Select behind in isolation mode |
Keys For Moving Selections
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Right Arrow, Left Arrow, Up Arrow, or Down Arrow | Move selection in user-defined increments |
| 02 | Shift + Right Arrow, Left Arrow, Up Arrow, or Down Arrow | Move selection in 10x user-defined increments |
| 03 | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + 2 | Lock all deselected artwork |
| 04 | Hold down Shift | Constrain movement to 45° angle (except when using Reflect tool) |
Keys For Editing Shapes
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alt | Switch Pen tool to Convert Anchor Point tool |
| 02 | Spacebar-drag | Move current anchor point while drawing with Pen tool |
| 03 | Alt-drag | Cut a straight line with Knife tool |
| 04 | Shift + Alt-drag | Cut at 45° or 90° with Knife tool |
| 05 | Alt + Shape mode | Use shape mode buttons in Pathfinder panel to create compound paths |
| 06 | Alt+click the closed region | Erase unwanted closed regions created using Shape Builder tool |
| 07 | Shift+M | Select the Shape Builder tool |
| 08 | Shift+click+drag | Display rectangular marquee to easily merge multiple paths (when using Shape Builder tool) |
Keys For Painting Objects
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | X | Toggle between fill and stroke |
| 02 | D | Set fill and stroke to default |
| 03 | Shift + X | Swap fill and stroke |
| 04 | > | Select gradient fill mode |
| 05 | < | Select color fill mode |
| 06 | / (forward slash) | Select no stroke/fill mode |
| 07 | Shift + Eyedropper tool | Sample color from an image or intermediate color from gradient |
| 08 | Alt + Shift-click + Eyedropper tool | Sample style and append appearance of currently selected item |
| 09 | Ctrl + / (forward slash) | Add new fill |
| 10 | Ctrl + Alt + / (forward slash) | Add new stroke |
| 11 | Ctrl-click gradient button in Tools panel or Gradient panel | Reset gradient to black and white |
| 12 | Alt + o + j | Open Mosaic options for selected raster object |
| 13 | [ | Decrease Bristle brush size |
| 14 | ] | Increase Bristle brush size |
| 15 | Number keys 1 – 0 | Set Bristle brush paint opacity valu |
Keys for Working With Live Paint Groups
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alt-click + Live Paint Bucket tool | Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample fill and/or stroke |
| 02 | Alt + Shift-click + Live Paint Bucket tool | Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample color from an image or intermediate color from a gradient |
| 03 | Shift + Live Paint Bucket tool | Select opposite Live Paint Bucket tool options (if Paint Fills and Paint Strokes are currently selected, switch to Paint Fills only) |
| 04 | Double-click + Live Paint Bucket tool | Fill across unstroked edges into adjacent faces |
| 05 | Triple-click + Live Paint Bucket tool | Fill all faces that have same fill and stroke all edges that have same stroke |
| 06 | Alt-click + Live Paint Selection tool | Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample fill and/or stroke |
| 07 | Alt + Shift-click + Live Paint Selection tool | Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample color from an image or intermediate color from a gradient |
| 08 | Shift-click + Live Paint Selection tool | Add to/subtract from a selection |
| 09 | Double-click + Live Paint Selection tool | Select all connected faces /edges with same fill/stroke |
| 10 | Triple-click + Live Paint Selection tool | Select all faces/edges with same fill/stroke |
Keys for Transforming Objects
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alt-click | Set origin point and open dialog box when using Rotate tool, Scale tool, Reflect tool, or Shear tool |
| 02 | Alt-drag | Duplicate and transform selection when using Selection tool, Scale tool, Reflect tool, or Shear tool |
| 03 | Tilde (~)-drag | Transform pattern (independent of object) when using Selection tool, Scale tool, Reflect tool, or Shear tool |
Keys for Creating Variable Width Points
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Shift+click | Select multiple width points |
| 02 | Alt+drag | Create non-uniform widths |
| 03 | Alt+drag the width point | Create a copy of the width point |
| 04 | Shift+drag | Change the position of multiple width points |
| 05 | Delete | Delete selected width point |
| 06 | Esc | Deselect a width point |
Keys For Working With Type
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Right Arrow or Left Arrow | Move one character right or left |
| 02 | Up Arrow or Down Arrow | Move up or down one line |
| 03 | Ctrl + Right Arrow or Left Arrow | Move one word right or left |
| 04 | Ctrl + Up Arrow or Down Arrow | Move up or down one paragraph |
| 05 | Shift + Ctrl + Right Arrow or Left Arrow | Select one word right or left |
| 06 | Shift + Ctrl + Up Arrow or Down Arrow | Select one paragraph before or after |
| 07 | Shift-click | Extend existing selection |
| 08 | Ctrl + Shift + L, R, or C | Align paragraph left, right, or center |
| 09 | Ctrl + Shift + J | Justify paragraph |
| 10 | Shift + Enter | Insert soft return |
| 11 | Ctrl + Alt + K | Highlight kerning |
| 12 | Ctrl + Shift + X | Reset horizontal scale to 100% |
| 13 | Ctrl + Shift + > or < | Increase or decrease type size |
| 14 | Alt + Up or Down Arrow (horizontal text) or Right or Left Arrow (vertical text) | Increase or decrease leading |
| 15 | Ctrl + Alt + Q | Reset tracking/kerning to 0 |
| 16 | Alt + Right or Left Arrow (horizontal text) or Up or Down Arrow (vertical text) | Increase or decrease kerning and tracking |
| 17 | Ctrl + Alt + Right or Left Arrow (horizontal text) or Up or Down Arrow (vertical text) | Increase or decrease kerning and tracking by five times |
| 18 | Alt + Shift + Up or Down Arrow (horizontal text) or Right or Left Arrow (vertical text) | Increase or decrease baseline shift |
| 19 | Shift | Switch between Type and Vertical Type, Area Type and Vertical Area Type, and Path Type and Vertical Path Type tools |
| 20 | Alt | Switch between Area Type and Path Type, Vertical Area Type and Vertical Path Type tools |
Keys For Using Panels
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alt-click New button | Set options (except for Actions, Brushes, Swatches, and Symbols panels) |
| 02 | Alt-click Delete button | Delete without confirmation (except for Layers panel) |
| 03 | Shift + Enter | Apply value and keep text box active |
| 04 | Shift-click | Select range of actions, brushes, layers, links, styles, or swatches |
| 05 | Ctrl-click | Select noncontiguous actions, brushes, layers (same level only), links, styles, or swatches |
| 06 | Tab | Show/Hide all panels |
| 07 | Shift + Tab | Show/Hide all panels except the Tools panel and Control panel |
Keys For the Actions Panel
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alt-click expansion triangle | Expand/Collapse entire hierarchy for action set |
| 02 | Double-click folder icon | Set options for action set |
| 03 | Ctrl-click Play Current Selection button | Play a single command |
| 04 | Alt-click New Action button | Begin recording actions without confirmation |
Keys for The Brushes Panel
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Double-click brush | Open Brush Options dialog box |
| 02 | Drag brush to New Brush button | Duplicate brush |
Keys for the Character and Paragraph Panels
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Up Arrow or Down Arrow | Increase/decrease the selected value by a small increment |
| 02 | Shift + Up Arrow or Down Arrow | Increase/decreases the selected value by a large increment |
| 03 | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F | Highlight the font name field in the Character panel |
Keys for The Color Panel
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ctrl-click color bar | Select the complement for the current color fill/stroke |
| 02 | Alt-click color bar | Change the nonactive fill/stroke |
| 03 | Ctrl + Alt-click color bar | Select the complement for the nonactive fill/stroke |
| 04 | Ctrl + Shift-click color bar | Select the inverse for the current fill/stroke |
| 05 | Ctrl + Shift + Alt-click color bar | Select the inverse for the nonactive fill/stroke |
| 06 | Shift-click color bar | Change the color mode |
| 07 | Shift-drag color slider | Move color sliders in tandem |
| 08 | Double-click to right of a numerical field | Switch between percentage and 0-255 values for RGB |
Keys For The Gradient Panel
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alt-drag | Duplicate color stops |
| 02 | Alt-drag color stop onto another stop | Swap color stops |
| 03 | Alt-click swatch in the Swatches panel | Apply swatch color to active (or selected) color stop |
| 04 | Ctrl-click Gradient Fill box in the Gradient panel | Reset the gradient fill to default black and white linear gradient |
| 05 | Ctrl + Alt + G | Show/Hide gradient arrow |
| 06 | Alt-drag end point of gradient annotator | Modify angle and end-point together |
| 07 | Shift-drag | Constrain Gradient tool or Gradient annotator while dragging |
| 08 | G | View Gradient annotator in selected gradient filled object |
Keys For the Layers Panel
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alt-click layer name | Select all objects on the layer |
| 02 | Alt-click eye icon | Show/hide all layers but the selected one |
| 03 | Ctrl-click eye icon | Select Outline/Preview view for the selected layer |
| 04 | Ctrl + Alt-click eye icon | Selects Outline/Preview view for all other layers |
| 05 | Alt-click lock icon | Lock/unlock all other layers |
| 06 | Alt-click expansion triangle | Expand all sublayers to display entire hierarchy |
| 07 | Alt-click New Layer button | Set options as you create new layer |
| 08 | Alt-click New Sublayer button | Set options as you create new sublayer |
| 09 | Ctrl + Alt-click New Sublayer button | Place new sublayer at bottom of layer list |
| 10 | Ctrl-click New Layer button | Place layer at top of layer list |
| 11 | Ctrl + Alt-click New Layer button | Place layer below selected layer |
| 12 | Alt-drag selection | Copy the selection to a layer, sublayer, or group |
Keys for The Swatches Panel
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ctrl-click New Swatch button | Create new spot color |
| 02 | Ctrl + Shift-click New Swatch button | Create new global process color |
| 03 | Alt-drag a swatch over another | Replace swatch with another |
Keys for The Transform Panel
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Shift + Enter | Apply a value and keep focus in edit field |
| 02 | Alt + Enter | Apply a value and copy object |
| 03 | Ctrl + Enter | Apply a value and scale option proportionately for width or height |
Keys for The Transparency Panel
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alt-click on mask thumbnail | Change mask to grayscale image for editing |
| 02 | Shift-click on mask thumbnail | Disable opacity mask |
| 03 | Shift-click on disabled mask thumbnail | Re-enable opacity mask |
| 04 | Click opacity field + Up Arrow or Down Arrow | Increase/decrease opacity in 1% increments |
| 05 | Shift-click opacity field + Up Arrow or Down Arrow | Increase/decrease opacity in 10% increments |
Function Keys
| Sr.No | Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | F1 | Invoke Help |
| 02 | F2 | Cut |
| 03 | F3 | Copy |
| 04 | F4 | Paste |
| 05 | F5 | Show/hide Brushes panel |
| 06 | F6 | Show/hide Color pane |
| 07 | F7 | Show/hide Layers panel |
| 08 | F8 | Create new symbol |
| 09 | Ctrl + F8 | Show/hide Info panel |
| 10 | Ctrl + F9 | Show/hide Gradient panel |
| 11 | Ctrl + F10 | Show/hide Stroke panel |
| 12 | Ctrl + F11 | Show/hide Attributes panel |
| 13 | F12 | Revert |
| 14 | Shift + F5 | Show/hide Graphic Styles panel |
| 15 | Shift + F6 | Show/hide Appearance panel |
| 16 | Shift + F7 | Show/hide Align panel |