Photoshop Shortcut Keys

Photoshop supports several shortcut keys almost for all functions and tasks. Using the shortcut keys is a smart way to work and saves lots of time and effort. A professional Photoshop user prefers shortcut keys more than the navigation menu. If you find a tool in the menu, it will take much time to activate, but if you stroke a key, it will instantly activate it; thus, using the shortcut keys will save time and effort and maintain workflow in Photoshop.

These Photoshop Shortcut keys are quite easy, so that you can use them according to your work. Sometimes, it is complicated to work with Photoshop because you could not find a proper tool, but when you know the shortcut of that tool, it becomes easy to activate that tool.

There are several shortcut keys available almost for every task and features such as Layers, editing, document, colors, effects, operations, and many more. Photoshop shortcut keys make the work user-friendly, fast and effective.

Each shortcut key has assigned a specific command; when we stroke a key, it will be activated and can be used for the assigned command. For example, if you want to open a document in your workspace, instead of navigating to the File-> Open menu, you can just stroke the Ctrl+O keys. It has the same functionality as the open option of the File menu.

In this section, we will discuss all the Shortcut keys for Windows and Mac OS. All the shortcut keys will work the same as the Windows; there are only a few stroke differences between Windows and Mac OS keys.

Photoshop Shortcut Keys for Mac OS

We will discuss the shortcut keys for Windows, but they will work in Mac OS as well. We just have to make the following substitution to use them in Mac:

Mac OS	Windows
Command	Ctrl
Option	Alt
Delete	Backspace
Control	Right-Click

Let’s explore Photoshop shortcut keys. We have included the following shortcut keys:

Most Frequently used Shortcut Keys
Search key
Function Keys
Selection Tools
View Images Keys
Selection and Mask
Filter Gallery Keys
Liquify Filter keys
Vanishing Point Keys
Camera Raw Dialog Box keys
Curves Keys
Select and Move Objects Keys
Transform, Selection, and Selection Borders Keys
Editing Path Keys
Painting Shortcut Keys
Blending Modes Keys
Text manipulation keys
Format Type Keys
Panels Keys

Most Frequently Used Photoshop Shortcut Keys

The following are some most frequently used shortcut keys in Photoshop:

Shortcut Key	Task
Ctrl + T	To perform free transform
Hold down ` (grave accent)	To toggle between painting and erasing with the same brush.
[	To decrease the brush size.
]	To increase the brush size.
{	To decrease the brush hardness.
}	To increase the brush hardness.
Left Arrow (anti-clockwise), Right Arrow (clockwise)	To rotate the brush tip by 1 degree
Shift + Left Arrow	(anti-clockwise),
Shift + Right Arrow (clockwise)	To rotate the brush tip by 15 degrees
D	To activate the default foreground/background colors.
X	To switch the Foreground/Background colors.
Alt-click layer	To fit layer(s) to screen
Ctrl + J	To create a new layer via copy
Shift + Ctrl + J	To create a new layer via cut
Any selection tool + Shift-drag	Add to a selection
Alt-click brush or swatch	To delete brush or swatch
Control-click	To toggle auto-select with the move tool
Ctrl + Alt + P	To close all open documents (other than the current document)
Esc	To cancel any modal dialog window.
Enter	To select the first edit field of the toolbar
Tab	To navigate between fields
Tab + Shift	To navigate between fields in the opposite direction
Alt	To change the cancel to reset option

Search Key

Ctrl+F: This key combination is used to search across a Photoshop document. Further, it is also used to search help and learn content and adobe stock assets.

Function Keys

Shortcut Key	Task
F1	To start help
F2	To cut a selection
F3	To copy a selection
F4	To paste a cut/copied content
F5	To show/hide brush panel
F6	To show/hide the color panel
F7	To show/hide layers panel
F8	To show/hide Info panel
F9	To show/hide actions panel
F12	To apply Revert operation
Shift + F5	Fill
Shift + F6	To activate feather selection
Shift + F7	To activate an inverse selection

Selection Tools

Shortcut Key	Task
V	To activate the Move tool
M	To activate the Marquee tool
L	To activate the Lasso tool
W	To activate the Magic Wand tool
C	To activate the Crop tool /Slice tool
I	To activate the Eyedropper tool
J	To activate Healing Brush tool/ Patch tool/ Red Eye tool.
B	To activate the Brush tool
S	To activate the Clone Stamp tool
Y	To activate the History Brush tool
E	To activate the Eraser tool
G	To activate the Gradient tool
O	To activate Dodge tool/Burn tool
P	To activate the Pen tool
T	To activate the Type tool
A	To activate the Path Selection tool
U	To activate Rectangle tools
H	To activate the Hand tool
R	To activate Rotate View tool
Z	To activate the Zoom tool
D	To apply default Foreground/Background colors
X	To switch Foreground/Background colors
Q	To toggle between Standard/Quick Mask modes
J	To activate the content-aware Move tool
C	To activate the Perspective Crop tool
V	To activate the Artboard tool
R	To activate Rotate View tool
/	To Toggle Preserve Transparency
{	To decrease the hardness of the brush.
}	To increase the hardness of the brush.
,	To select the previous brush.
.	To select the next brush.
<	To select the first brush.
>	To select the last brush.

View Images Keys

In this list, we are discussing the shortcuts that do not appear in menu commands:

Shortcut Key	Task
Shift + Ctrl + Tab	Switch to the previous document
Q	To Toggle between Standard and Quick Mask mode
Spacebar + F	To Toggle forward (canvas color)
Spacebar + Shift + F	To Toggle backward (canvas color)
Double-click Hand tool	To fit an image into the window
Ctrl + 1 or double-click zoom tool	To magnify 100%
Control + spacebar	Switch to zoom in tool.
Alt + spacebar	Switch to zoom out tool
Spacebar-drag	To scroll Image Canvas while dragging
Esc	To cancel completely
Ctrl + Z	To undo the last adjustment
Ctrl + A	To Select All
Ctrl + D	To Deselect All
Shift-Click	To Select Multiple
Shift-drag	To Move Multiples
H	To Temporary Hide

Selection and Mask

Ctrl+Alt+R: This key combination is used to open the select and mask workspace.

X: It is used to toggle between the original image and selection preview.

P: It is used to toggle between original selection and refined version.

Filter Gallery Keys

These keys will be very helpful while working with Photoshop:

Shortcut Key	Task
Alt-click ( a filter)	To apply a filter
Ctrl + Alt + F	To reapply previously used filter
Ctrl + Z	To undo/redo (single step)
Ctrl + Shift + Z	To step forward (redo multiple steps)
Ctrl + Alt + Z	To step backward (undo multiple steps)

Liquify Filter Keys

Shortcut Key	Task
W	To forward Warp tool
C	To twirl Clockwise tool
S	To activate the Pucker tool
R	Reconstruct tool
B	Bloat Tool
M	Mirror Tool
Alt	To change the cancel to reset

Vanishing Point Keys

Shortcut Key	Task
Ctrl + ‘+’	To zoom in
Ctrl + ‘-‘	To zoom out
Ctrl + 0	To fit in the window
Ctrl + D	To deselect all
Arrow keys	To move a selection 1 px ( accordingly)
Shift + Arrow	To move a selection 10 px
Ctrl + Drag	To fill a selection

Camera Raw Dialog Box Keys

Shortcut Key	Task
Z	To activate the Zoom tool
H	To activate the Hand tool
I	To activate the White Balance tool
S	To activate the color sampler tool
C	To activate crop tool
A	To activate the straighten tool
B	To activate spot removal tool
E	To activate the red-eye removal tool
Ctrl + Alt + 1	To open basic panel
Ctrl + Alt + 2	To open tone curve panel
Ctrl + Alt + 3	To open the detail panel
Ctrl + Alt + 4	To open the Greyscale panel
Ctrl + Alt + 5	To open split toning panel
Ctrl + Alt + 6	To open lens correction panel
Ctrl + Alt + 7	To open the camera calibration panel
Ctrl + Alt + 9	To open Presets Panel
P	For toggle preview
F	For full-screen mode
O	To highlight clipping warning

Curves Keys

Shortcut Key	Task
Ctrl + M	To open the curves dialog box
+	To select the next point on the curve.
–	To select the previous point on the curve
Ctrl + D	To deselect a point
Shift + click a point	To select multiple points on the curve
Select a point + del	To delete a point on the curve
Arrow keys	To move a curve by 1 unit
Shift + Arrow	To move a curve by 10 unit
Ctrl + click on the image	To set a point to composite a curve
Alt + click a field	To toggle grid

Select and Move Objects Keys

Shortcut Key	Task
Marquee Tool + spacebar-drag (Except single column and single row)	To reposition the marquee tool while selecting
Selection Tool + Shift-drag	For adding to a selection
Selection Tool + Alt-drag	For subtracting from a selection
Selection Tool + Shift-Alt-drag (Except quick selection tool)	For intersecting a selection
Alt-Drag	To switch from magnetic lasso to lasso tool
Alt-click	To switch from magnetic lasso to polygon lasso tool
Move tool + Alt-drag a selection	To move and copy a selection
Selection Tool + Arrow	To move selected area by 1 pixel
Crop Tool + Enter	To accept a selection to crop
Crop Tool + Esc	To cancel a selection to crop
Alt + Drag Guide	To convert b/w guides (horizontal and vertical)

Transform, Selection, and Selection Borders Keys

Shortcut Key	Task
Alt	To transform from the center and rotate the object
Shift	Force Constrain
Ctrl	Distort
Enter	To apply an action
Ctrl + .(Dot) or Esc	To cancel
Ctrl + Alt + T	To free transform with duplicate data
Ctrl + Shift + Alt + T	To retransform with duplicate data

Editing Path Keys

Shortcut Key	Task
Direct Selection Tool + Shift-click	To select multiple anchor points from a path
Direct Selection Tool + Alt-click	To select the entire path
Pen or Path or Direct Selection Tool + Ctrl + Alt-drag	To duplicate a path
Ctrl	For switching from a selection tool (pen, path, add anchor or delete anchor) to a Direct selection
Magnetic pen tool- double click	To close a path
Magnetic pen tool + Alt-double click	To close a path with a straight line segment.

Painting Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Task
Painting tool + Shift + Alt + Right-Click & drag	To select a foreground color from the color picker
Eyedropper tool + Alt-click	To select a background color
Painting tool + Alt	Select a foreground color from an image using the eyedropper tool.
Eyedropper + Shift	For the color sampler tool
Color sampler + Alt-click	To deactivate the color sampler tool
Alt + Shift + Number	To change mix setting in mixer brush
Number keys	To change the wet setting in the mixer brush
Shift + + or –	To cycle through blending modes
Ctrl + Alt + Backspace	To fill from history

Blending Modes Keys

Shortcut Key	Task
Shift + + or –	To cycle through blending modes
Shift + Alt + N	To activate normal mode
Shift + Alt + I	To activate dissolve
Shift + Alt + K	To darken an image
Shift + Alt + M	To multiply an image
Shift + Alt + B	To apply color burn
Shift + Alt + A	To apply linear burn
Shift + Alt + G	To lighten an image
Shift + Alt + D	To activate color dodge
Shift + Alt + W	To activate linear dodge
Shift + Alt + O	To display overlay
Shift + Alt + F	To apply soft light
Shift + Alt + H	To apply hard light
Shift + Alt + L	To hard mix
Shift + Alt + U	To activate Hue

Text Manipulation Keys

This list contains the shortcuts that are not available in menu options or tooltip:

Shortcut Key	Task
Ctrl + Drag ( When a type layer is selected)	To move type in the layer
Shift + Arrow	To select one character in the specific direction
Shift + Click	To select from an insertion point to mouse click point
Shift + Click	To select a new text layer when text tool is selected
Ctrl + H	To hide a selection on selected type
Space-drag	To move a text box while creating a text box

Format Type Keys