You'd think setting up your content in Photoshop would be second nature; but oftentimes, the shortcuts to change the background size or zoom in to your project aren't what you think.
Here are some of the most crucial shortcuts to know:
Selecting | |
Draw Marquee from Center | Alt-Marquee |
Add to a Selection | Shift |
Subtract from a Selection | Alt |
Intersection with a Selection | Shift-Alt |
Make Copy of Selection w/Move tool | Alt-Drag Selection |
Make Copy of Selection when not in Move tool | Ctrl-Alt-Drag Selection |
Move Selection (in 1-pixel Increments) | Arrow Keys |
Move Selection (in 10-pixel Increments) | Shift-Arrow Keys |
Select all Opaque Pixels on Layer | Ctrl-click on Layer Thumbnail (in Layers panel) |
Restore Last Selection | Ctrl-Shift-D |
Feather Selection | Shift-F6 |
Move Marquee while drawing selection | Hold Space while drawing marquee |
Viewing | |
Fit on Screen | Double-click on Hand tool or Ctrl-0 |
100% View Level (Actual Pixels) | Double-Click on Zoom Tool or Ctrl-Alt-0 |
Zoom in | Ctrl-Space-Click or Ctrl-Plus(+) |
Zoom out | Alt-Space-Click or Ctrl-Minus(–) |
Hide all tools and panels | Tab |
Hide all panels except Toolbox and Options bar | Shift-Tab |
Rotate through full screen modes | F |
Scroll image left or right in window | Ctrl-Shift-Page Up/Down |
Jump/Zoom to part of Image | Ctrl-drag in Navigator panel |
Toggles layer mask on/off as rubylith | \ |
Layer Shortcuts | |
Create new layer | Ctrl-Shift-N |
Select non-contiguous layers | Ctrl-Click layers |
Select contiguous layers | Click one layer, then Shift-Click another layer |
Delete Layer | Delete key (while in the Move tool) |
View contents of layer mask | Alt-Click layer mask icon |
Temporarily turn off layer mask | Shift-Click layer mask icon |
Clone layer as you move it | Alt-Drag |
Find/Select layer containing object | Right-Click on the object w/Move tool |
Change layer opacity | Number pad keys (w/Move tool selected) |
Cycle down or up through blend modes | Shift-Plus(+) or Minus(–) |
Change to a specific blend mode | (w/Move tool) Shift-Alt-letter (ie: N=Normal, M=Multiply. etc.) |
Switch to layer below/above current layer | Alt-[ or Alt-] |
Type Shortcuts | |
Select all text on layer | Double-Click on T thumbnail in Layers panel |
Increase/Decrease size of selected text by 2 pts | Ctrl-Shift->/< |
Increase/Decrease size of selected text by 10 pts | Ctrl-Shift-Alt->/< |
Increase/Decrease kerning/tracking | Alt-Right/Left Arrow |
Align text left/center/right | Ctrl-Shift-L/C/R |
Painting | |
Fill selection with background color | Ctrl-Backspace |
Fill selection with foreground color | Alt-Backspace |
Fill selection with foreground color using Lock Transparent Pixels | Shift-Alt-Backspace |
Fill selection with source state in History panel | Ctrl-Alt-Backspace |
Display Fill dialog box | Shift-Backspace |
Sample as background color | Alt-Click w/Eyedropper tool |
To get Move tool | While in any painting/editing tool-hold Ctrl |
To get Eyedropper with Paint tools | Alt |
Change paint opacity (with Airbrush OFF) | Number keys |
Change paint opacity (with Airbrush ON) | Shift-Number keys |
Change Airbrush flow (with Airbrush ON) | Number keys |
Change Airbrush flow (with Airbrush OFF) | Shift-Number keys |
Cross-Hair Cursor | Any painting/editing tool-turn Caps Lock on |
Decrease/Increase Brush Size | [ or ] |
Decrease/Increase Hardness of Brush | Shift-[ or Shift-] |
Switch between preset Brushes | < or > |
Open Brushes pop-up panel | Right-Click in Image window |
Erase to History panel's source state | Alt-Eraser |
Cycle down or up through blend modes | Shift-Plus(+) or Minus(–) |
Change to a specific blend mode | Shift-Alt-letter (ie: N=Normal, M=Multiply, etc.) |
Create fixed color target from within a dialog box | Shift-Click in image window |
Delete fixed color target | Alt-Click on target with Color Sampler tool |
Create new spot-color channel from current selection | Ctrl-Click on New Channel button in Channels panel |
Pen Tool Shortcuts | |
To get Direct Selection tool while using Pen | Ctrl |
Switch between Add-Anchor and Delete-Anchor Point tools | Alt |
Switch from Path Selection tool to Convert Point tool when pointer is over anchor point | Ctrl-Alt |
To Select a whole path w/Direct Selection tool | Alt-click |
Convert path to a selection | Ctrl-click on path name (in Paths panel) |
Panel Shortcuts | |
Show/Hide Brushes panel | F5 |
Show/Hide Color panel | F6 |
Show/Hide Layers panel | F7 |
Show/Hide Info panel | F8 |
Show/Hide Actions panel | Alt-F9 |
Open Adobe Bridge | Ctrl-Alt-O |
Other Shortcuts | |
Switch between open documents | Ctrl-Tab |
Undo or Redo operations beyond last one | Ctrl-Alt-Z/Ctrl-Shift-Z |
Apply Last Filter | Ctrl-F |
Opens Last Filter Dialog Box | Ctrl-Alt-F |
Hand Tool | Spacebar |
Reset Dialog Box | Hold Alt, Cancel turns into Reset Button, Click it |
Increase/Decrease value (in any option field) by 1 unit | Up/Down Arrow |
Increase/Decrease value (in any option field) by 10 units | Shift-Up/Down Arrow |
Replay last Transformation | Ctrl-Shift-T |
Measure Angle between Lines (Protractor Function) | After ruler is drawn, Alt-Drag end of line with Ruler Tool |
Move Crop Marquee while creating | Hold Space while drawing |
Snap Guide to Ruler ticks | Hold Shift while dragging |
Highlight Fields in Options bar (n/a for all tools) | Enter |
Don't Snap object edge while moving | Hold Control while dragging |
Tools | |
V | Move |
M | Marquee tools |
L | Lasso tools |
W | Quick Selection, Magic Wand |
C | Crop and Slice Tools |
I | Eyedropper, Color Sampler, Ruler, Note, Count |
J | Spot Healing Brush, Healing Brush, Patch, Red Eye |
B | Brush, Pencil, Color Replacement, Mixer Brush |
S | Clone Stamp, Pattern Stamp |
Y | History Brush, Art History Brush |
E | Eraser tools |
G | Gradient, Paint Bucket |
O | Dodge, Burn, Sponge |
P | Pen tools |
T | Type tools |
A | Path Selection, Direct Selection |
U | Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Line, Custom Shape |
K | 3D Tools |
N | 3D Camera Tools |
H | Hand |
R | Rotate View |
Z | Zoom |
D | Default colors |
X | Switch Foreground and Background colors |
Q | Quick Mask Mode |
To switch between all tools within groups, add the Shift key to the letters above | |
For example, to switch between rectangular and elliptical marquee hit Shift-M |