Adobe Illustrator Keyboard Shortcuts

Plot points and manipulate bezier curves faster by using keyboard shortcuts for common actions while using Illustrator. Learn a few new shortcuts each day and you will greatly improve your efficiency while using PS. The following list is for Windows users, we will be adding Mac shortcuts soon.

Jump to: Tools - Menu Commands - How to Customize

Illustrator Tools Shortcut Keys

Selection	V
Direct Selection	A
Magic Wand	Y
Lasso	Q
Pen	P
Add Anchor Point	=
Delete Anchor Point	-
Convert Anchor Point	Shift+C
Type	T
Line Segment	\
Rectangle	M
Paintbrush	B
Pencil	N
Rotate	R
Reflect	O
Scale	S
Warp	Shift+R
Free Transform	E
Symbol Sprayer	Shift+S
Column Graph	J
Mesh	U
Gradient	G
Eyedropper	I
Paint Bucket	K
Blend	W
Slice	Shift+K
Scissors	C
Hand	H
Zoom	Z
Toggle Fill/Stroke	X
Default	D
Swap Fill/Stroke	Shift+X
Color	,
Gradient	.
None	/
Toggle Screen Mode	F
Show/Hide All Palettes	Tab
Show/Hide All But Toolbox	Shift+Tab
Symbolism Tools - Increase Diameter	]
Symbolism Tools - Decrease Diameter	[
Symbolism Tools - Increase Intensity	Shift+}
Symbolism Tools - Decrease Intensity	Shift+{

Illustrator Menu Commands Shortcut Keys

New	Ctrl+N
New from Template	Shift+Ctrl+N
Open	Ctrl+O
Close	Ctrl+W
Save	Ctrl+S
Save As	Shift+Ctrl+S
Save a Copy	Alt+Ctrl+S
Save for Web	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+S
Revert	F12
Document Setup	Alt+Ctrl+P
Print	Ctrl+P
Exit	Ctrl+Q
Undo	Ctrl+Z
Redo	Shift+Ctrl+Z
Cut	Ctrl+X
Copy	Ctrl+C
Paste	Ctrl+V
Paste in Front	Ctrl+F
Paste in Back	Ctrl+B
Check Spelling	Ctrl+I
Color Settings	Shift+Ctrl+K
Keyboard Shortcuts	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+K
General	Ctrl+K
Transform Again	Ctrl+D
Move	Shift+Ctrl+M
Transform Each	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+D
Bring to Front	Shift+Ctrl+]
Bring Forward	Ctrl+]
Send Backward	Ctrl+[
Send to Back	Shift+Ctrl+[
Group	Ctrl+G
Ungroup	Shift+Ctrl+G
Selection	Ctrl+2
Unlock All	Alt+Ctrl+2
Selection	Ctrl+3
Show All	Alt+Ctrl+3
Join	Ctrl+J
Average	Alt+Ctrl+J
Make	Alt+Ctrl+B
Release	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+B
Make with Warp	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+W
Make with Mesh	Alt+Ctrl+M
Make with Top Object	Alt+Ctrl+C
Edit Contents	Shift+Ctrl+V
Make	Ctrl+7
Release	Alt+Ctrl+7
Make	Ctrl+8
Release	Alt+Ctrl+8
Create Outlines	Shift+Ctrl+O
Show Hidden Characters	Alt+Ctrl+I
All	Ctrl+A
Deselect	Shift+Ctrl+A
Reselect	Ctrl+6
Next Object Above	Alt+Ctrl+]
Next Object Below	Alt+Ctrl+[
Apply Last Filter	Ctrl+E
Last Filter	Alt+Ctrl+E
Apply Last Effect	Shift+Ctrl+E
Last Effect	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+E
Preview	Ctrl+Y
Overprint Preview	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+Y
Pixel Preview	Alt+Ctrl+Y
Zoom In	Ctrl+=
Zoom Out	Ctrl+-
Fit in Window	Ctrl+0
Actual Size	Ctrl+1
Hide Edges	Ctrl+H
Show Template	Shift+Ctrl+W
Show Rulers	Ctrl+R
Show Transparency Grid	Shift+Ctrl+D
Show Text Threads	Shift+Ctrl+Y
Hide Guides	Ctrl+;
Lock Guides	Alt+Ctrl+;
Make Guides	Ctrl+5
Release Guides	Alt+Ctrl+5
Smart Guides	Ctrl+U
Show Grid	Ctrl+'
Snap to Grid	Shift+Ctrl+'
Snap to Point	Alt+Ctrl+'
Align	Shift+F7
Appearance	Shift+F6
Attributes	F11
Brushes	F5
Color	F6
Gradient	F9
Graphic Styles	Shift+F5
Info	F8
Layers	F7
Pathfinder	Shift+F9
Stroke	F10
Symbols	Shift+F11
Transform	Shift+F8
Transparency	Shift+F10
Character	Ctrl+T
OpenType	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+T
Paragraph	Alt+Ctrl+T
Tabs	Shift+Ctrl+T
Illustrator Help	F1
Switch Selection Tools	Ctrl+Tab
Insert Hyphen	Shift+Ctrl+-
Point Size Up	Shift+Ctrl+.
Point Size Down	Shift+Ctrl+,
Font Size Step Up	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+.
Font Size Step Down	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+,
Kern Looser	Shift+Ctrl+]
Kern Tighter	Shift+Ctrl+[
Tracking	Alt+Ctrl+K
Clear Tracking	Alt+Ctrl+Q
Spacing	Alt+Ctrl+O
Uniform Type	Shift+Ctrl+X
Highlight Font	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+F
Highlight Font (Secondary)	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+M
Left Align Text	Shift+Ctrl+L
Center Text	Shift+Ctrl+C
Right Align Text	Shift+Ctrl+R
Justify Text Left	Shift+Ctrl+J
Justify All Lines	Shift+Ctrl+F
Toggle Auto Hyphenation	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+H
Toggle Line Composer	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+C
Lock Others	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+2
Hide Others	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+3
Repeat Pathfinder	Ctrl+4
Average & Join	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+J
Add New Fill	Ctrl+/
Add New Stroke	Alt+Ctrl+/
New Layer	Ctrl+L
Switch Units	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+U
New File (No Dialog)	Alt+Ctrl+N
Close All	Alt+Ctrl+W
Cut (Secondary)	F2
Copy (Secondary)	F3
Paste (Secondary)	F4
Debug Palette	Alt+Shift+Ctrl+F12

How to Customize Illustrator Shortcut Keys

Changing the default or creating new keyboard shortcuts in Illustrator is easy.

Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts

It's all straightforward from here. You can save a new profile that uses your customized shortcut keys and load them at anytime.