Illustrator CC Keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet for Windows and mac OS

Illustrator CC Keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet

Popular shortcuts

Shortcuts		Windows	macOS
Undo		Ctrl + Z	Command + Z
Redo		Shift + Ctrl + Z	Shift + Command + Z
Cut		Ctrl + X	Command + X
Copy		Ctrl + C	Command + C
Paste		Ctrl + V	Command + V
Paste in front		Ctrl + F	Command + F
Paste at back		Ctrl + B	Command + B
Paste in place		Shift + Ctrl + B	Shift + Command + B
Paste on all artboards		Alt + Shift + Ctrl + B	Option + Shift + Command + B
Check spelling		Ctrl + I	Command + I
Open the Color Settings dialog box		Shift + Ctrl + K	Shift + Command + K
Open the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box		Alt + Shift + Ctrl + K	Option + Shift + Command + K
Open the Preferences dialog box		Ctrl + K	Command + K

Work with documents

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Create a document	Ctrl + N	Command + N
Create a document from a template	Shift + Ctrl + N	Shift + Command + N
Create a document without opening the New Document dialog box	Alt + Ctrl + N	Option + Command + N
Open a document	Ctrl + O	Command + O
Place a file in the document	Shift + Ctrl + P	Shift + Command + P
Open the File Information dialog box	Alt + Shift + Ctrl + I	Option + Shift + Command + I
Open the Document Setup dialog box	Alt + Ctrl + P	Option + Command + P
Browse in Adobe Bridge	Alt + Ctrl + O	Option + Command + O
Close the document window	Ctrl + W	Command + W
Save changes made to the document	Ctrl + S	Command  + S
Open the Save As dialog box	Shift + Ctrl + S	Shift + Command + S
Save a copy of the document	Alt + Ctrl + S	Option + Command + S
Save the document as script files	Ctrl + F12	Command + F12
Open the Export for screens dialog box	Alt + Ctrl + E	Option + Command + E
Open the Save For Web dialog box	Alt + Shift + Ctrl + S	Option + Shift + Command + S
Package the document	Alt + Shift + Ctrl + P	Option + Shift + Command + P
Print	Ctrl + P	Command + P
Exit the application	Ctrl + Q	Command + Q

Select tools

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Artboard tool	Shift + O	Shift + O
Selection tool	V	V
Direct Selection tool	A	A
Magic Wand tool	Y	Y
Lasso tool	Q	Q
Pen tool	P	P
Curvature tool	Shift + ~	Shift + ~
Blob Brush tool	Shift + B	Shift + B
Add Anchor Point tool	+ (plus)	+ (plus)
Delete Anchor Point tool	- (minus)	- (minus)
Switch to Anchor Point tool	Shift + C	Shift + C
Type tool	T	T
Touch Type tool	Shift + T	Shift + T
Line Segment tool	\ (backslash)	\ (backslash)
Rectangle tool	M	M
Ellipse tool	L	L
Paintbrush tool	B	B
Pencil tool	N	N
Shaper tool	Shift + N	Shift + N
Rotate tool	R	R
Reflect tool	O	O
Scale tool	S	S
Warp tool	Shift + R	Shift + R
Width Tool	Shift+W	Shift+W
Free Transform tool	E	E
Shape Builder Tool	Shift+M	Shift+M
Perspective Grid Tool	Shift+P	Shift+P
Perspective Selection Tool	Shift+V	Shift+V
Symbol Sprayer tool	Shift + S	Shift + S
Column Graph tool	J	J
Mesh tool	U	U
Gradient tool	G	G
Eyedropper tool	I	I
Blend tool	W	W
Live Paint Bucket tool	K	K
Live Paint Selection tool	Shift + L	Shift + L
Slice tool	Shift + K	Shift + K
Eraser tool	Shift + E	Shift + E
Scissors tool	C	C
Hand tool	H	H
Zoom tool	Z	Z
Switch to Smooth tool while using Blob Brush tool	Press Alt	Press Option

View artwork

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Toggle between screen modes: Normal Screen Mode, Full Screen Mode with Menu Bar, Full Screen Mode	F	F
Fit imageable area in window	Double-click Hand tool	Double-click Hand tool
Magnify 100%	Double-click Zoom tool or press Ctrl + 1	Double-click Zoom tool or press Command + 1
Switch to Hand tool (when not in text-edit mode)	Spacebar	Spacebar
Switch to Zoom tool in magnify mode	Ctrl + Spacebar	Spacebar + Command
Switch to Zoom tool in reduce mode	Ctrl + Alt + Spacebar	Spacebar + Command + Option
Move Zoom marquee while dragging with the Zoom tool	Spacebar	Spacebar
Hide bounding box	Shift + Ctrl + B	Shift + Control + B
Hide unselected artwork	Control + Alt + Shift + 3	Command + Option + Shift + 3
Convert between horizontal and vertical guide	Alt-drag guide	Option-drag guide
Release guide	Ctrl + Shift-double-click guide	Command + Shift-double-click guide
Show document template	Ctrl + H	Command + H
Show/Hide artboards	Ctrl + Shift + H	Command + Shift + H
Show/Hide artboard rulers	Ctrl + R	Command + Option + R
Show transparency grid	Shift + Ctrl + D	Shift + Command + D
View all artboards in window	Ctrl + Alt + 0 (zero)	Command + Option + 0 (zero)
Paste in place on the active artboard	Ctrl + Shift+V	Command + Shift + V
Exit Artboard tool mode	Esc	Esc
Create artboard inside another artboard	Shift-drag	Shift-drag
Select multiple artboards in the Artboards panel	Ctrl + click	Command + click
Navigate to next document	Ctrl + F6	Command + F6
Navigate to previous document	Ctrl + Shift + F6	Command + Shift + F6
Navigate to next document group	Ctrl + Alt + F6	Command + Option + F6
Navigate to previous document group	Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F6	Command + Option + Shift + F6
Toggle between Outline and GPU Preview of the document	Ctrl + Y	Command + Y
Toggle between GPU and CPU Preview of the document	Ctrl + E	Command + E
View the document in Overprint Preview mode	Alt + Shift + Ctrl + Y	Option + Shift + Command + Y
View the document in Pixel Preview mode	Alt + Ctrl + Y	Option + Command + Y
Exit Full Screen mode	Esc	Esc
Zoom in	Ctrl + =	Command + =
Zoom out	Ctrl + -	Command + -
Hide guides	Ctrl + ;	Command + ;
Lock guides	Alt + Ctrl + ;	Option + Command + ;
Make guides	Ctrl + 5	Command + 5
Release guides	Alt + Ctrl + 5	Option + Ctrl + 5
Show/ hide smart guides	Ctrl + U	Command + U
Show/ hide perspective grid	Ctrl + Shift + I	Command + Shift + I
Show grid	Ctrl + '	Command + '
Snap to grid	Shift + Ctrl + '	Shift + Command + '
Snap to point	Alt + Ctrl + '	Option + Command + '

Work with selections

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Switch to last-used selection tool (Selection tool, Direct Selection tool, or Group Selection tool)	Ctrl + `	Command + `
Switch between Direct Selection tool and Group Selection tool	Alt	Option
Add to a selection with Selection tool, Direct Selection tool, Group Selection tool, Live Paint Selection tool, or Magic Wand tool	Shift-click	Shift-click
Subtract a selection with Selection tool, Direct Selection tool, Group Selection tool, or LIve Paint Selection tool	Shift-click	Shift-click
Subtract from selection with Magic Wand tool	Alt-click	Option-click
Add to selection with Lasso tool	Shift-drag	Shift-drag
Subtract from selection with Lasso tool	Alt-drag	Option-drag
Change pointer to cross hair for Lasso tool	Caps Lock	Caps Lock
Select artwork in active artboard	Ctrl + Alt + A	Command + Option + A
Create crop marks around selected object	Alt + C + O
Select all	Ctrl + A	Command + A
Deselect	Shift + Ctrl + A	Shift + Command + A
Reselect	Ctrl + 6	Command + 6
Select the object above the current selection	Alt + Ctrl + ]	Option + Command + ]
Select the object below the current selection	Alt + Ctrl + [	Option + Command +
Select behind an object	Press Ctrl+click twice	Press Command+click twice
Select behind in isolation mode	Ctrl+click twice	Command+click twice
Group the selected artwork	Ctrl + G	Command + G
Ungroup the selected artwork	Shift + Ctrl + G	Shift + Command + G
Lock a selection	Ctrl + 2	Command + 2
Unlock a selection	Alt + Ctrl + 2	Option + Command + 2
Hide a selection	Ctrl + 3	Command + 3
Show all selections	Alt + Ctrl + 3	Option + Command + 3
Move selection in user-defined increments	Right Arrow, Left Arrow, Up Arrow, or Down Arrow	Right Arrow, Left Arrow, Up Arrow, or Down Arrow
Move selection in 10x user-defined increments	Shift + Right Arrow, Left Arrow, Up Arrow, or Down Arrow	Shift + Right Arrow, Left Arrow, Up Arrow, or Down Arrow
Lock all deselected artwork	Ctrl + Alt + Shift + 2	Command + Option + Shift + 2
Constrain movement to 45° angle (except when using Reflect tool)	Hold down Shift	Hold down Shift
Bring a selection forward	Ctrl + ]	Command + ]
Move a selection to the front	Shift + Ctrl + ]	Shift + Command + ]
Send a selection backward	Ctrl + [	Command + [
Move a selection to the back	Shift + Ctrl + [	Shift + Command + [

Note:
Set keyboard increments in General Preferences (Ctrl/ Cmd + K).

Draw

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Constrain a shape’s proportions or orientation to: equal height and width for rectangles, rounded rectangles, ellipses, and grids Increments of 45° for line and arc segments Original orientation for polygons, stars, and flares	Shift-drag	Shift-drag
Move a shape while drawing it	spacebar-drag	spacebar-drag
Draw from the center of a shape (except for polygons, stars, and flares)	Alt-drag	Option-drag
Increase or decrease polygon sides, star points, arc angle, spiral winds, or flare rays	Start dragging, then press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Start dragging, then press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow
Keep the inner radius of a star constant	Start dragging, then hold down Ctrl	Start dragging, then hold down Command
Keep the sides of a star straight	Alt-drag	Option-drag
Switch between an open and closed arc	Start dragging, then hold down C	Start dragging, then hold down C
Flip an arc, keeping the reference point constant	Start dragging, then hold down F	Start dragging, then hold down SF
Add or subtract winds from a spiral while increasing the length of the spiral	Start dragging, then Alt-drag	Start dragging then Option-drag
Change the decay rate of a spiral	Start dragging then Ctrl-drag	Start dragging then Command-drag
Add or remove horizontal lines from a rectangular grid or concentric lines from a polar grid	Start dragging, then press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Start dragging, then press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow
Add or remove vertical lines from a rectangular grid or radial lines from a polar grid	Start dragging, then press the Right Arrow or Left Arrow	Start dragging, then press the Right Arrow or Left Arrow
Decrease the skew value for horizontal dividers in a rectangular grid or radial dividers in a polar grid by 10%	Start dragging, then press F	Start dragging, then press F
Increase the skew value for horizontal dividers in a rectangular grid or radial dividers in a polar grid by 10%	Start dragging, then press V	Start dragging, then press V
Decrease the skew value for vertical dividers in a rectangular grid or concentric dividers in a polar grid by 10%	Start dragging, then press X	Start dragging, then press X
Increase the skew value for vertical dividers in a rectangular grid or concentric dividers in a polar grid by 10%	Start dragging, then press C	Start dragging, then press C
Increase size of Blob Brush	] (right square bracket)	] (right square bracket)
Decrease size of Blob Brush	[ (left square bracket)	[ (left square bracket)
Constrain Blob Brush path horizontally or vertically	Shift	Shift
Switch through drawing modes	Shift + D	Shift + D
Join two or more paths	Select the paths, then press Ctrl + J	Select the paths, then press Command + J
Average two or more paths	Select the paths, then press Alt + Ctrl + J	Select the paths, then press Option + Command + J
Create corner or smooth join	Select the paths, then press Shift + Ctrl + Alt + J	Select the anchor point, then press Shift + Command + Option + J
Create a compound path	Ctrl + 8	Command + 8
Release a compound path	Alt + Shift + Ctrl + 8	Option + Shift + Command + 8
Edit a pattern	Shift + Ctrl + F8	Shift + Command +F8
Perspective Grid Tool	Shift + P	Shift + P
Perspective Selection Tool	Shift + V	Shift + V
Perspective Grid	Ctrl + Shift + I	Command + Shift + I
Moving objects perpendicularly	Press the number 5 key, then click and drag the object	Press the number 5 key, then click and drag the object
Switching perspective planes	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	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
Copying objects in perspective	Ctrl + Alt + drag	Command + Alt + drag
Repeat transforming objects in perspective	Ctrl + D	Command + D
Switching between drawing modes	Shift + D	Shift + D

Edit shapes

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Switch Pen tool to Convert Anchor Point tool	Alt	Option
Switch between Add Anchor Point tool and Delete Anchor Point tool	Alt	Option
Switch Scissors tool to Add Anchor Point tool	Alt	Option
Switch Pencil tool to Smooth tool	Alt	Option
Move current anchor point while drawing with Pen tool	Spacebar-drag	Spacebar-drag
Cut a straight line with Knife tool	Alt-drag	Option-drag
Cut at 45° or 90° with Knife tool	Shift + Alt-drag	Shift + Option-drag
Use shape mode buttons in Pathfinder panel to create compound paths	Alt + Shape mode	Option + Shape mode
Erase unwanted closed regions created using Shape Builder tool	Alt + click the closed region	Option + click the closed region
Select the Shape Builder tool	Shift + M	Shift + M
Display rectangular marquee to easily merge multiple paths (when using Shape Builder tool)	Shift + click + drag	Shift + click + drag
Increase the intensity of symbols (when using Symbolism tool)	Shift + }	Shift + }
Decrease the intensity of symbols (when using Symbolism tool)	Shift + {	Shift + {
Blend objects	Alt + Ctrl + B	Option + Command + B
Finish adding objects to the blend	Alt + Shift + Ctrl + B	Option + Shift + Command + B
Distort objects using a warp-shaped envelope	Alt + Ctrl + Shift + W	Option + Command + Shift + W
Distort objects using a mesh as the shape of the envelope	Alt + Ctrl + M	Option + Command + M
Distort objects using another object as the shape of the envelope	Alt + Ctrl + C	Option + Command + C

Work with Live Paint groups

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample fill and/or stroke	Alt-click + Live Paint Bucket tool	Option-click + Live Paint Bucket tool
Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample color from an image or intermediate color from a gradient	Alt + Shift-click + Live Paint Bucket tool	Option + Shift-click + 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)	Shift + Live Paint Bucket tool	Shift + Live Paint Bucket tool
Fill across unstroked edges into adjacent faces	Double-click + Live Paint Bucket tool	Double-click + Live Paint Bucket tool
Fill all faces that have same fill and stroke all edges that have same stroke	Triple-click + Live Paint Bucket tool	Triple-click + Live Paint Bucket tool
Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample fill and/or stroke	Alt-click + Live Paint Selection tool	Option-click + Live Paint Selection tool
Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample color from an image or intermediate color from a gradient	Alt + Shift-click + Live Paint Selection tool	Option + Shift-click + Live Paint Selection tool
Add to/subtract from a selection	Shift-click + Live Paint Selection tool	Shift-click + Live Paint Selection tool
Select all connected faces /edges with same fill/stroke	Double-click + Live Paint Selection tool	Double-click + Live Paint Selection tool
Select all faces/edges with same fill/stroke	Triple-click + Live Paint Selection tool	Triple-click + Live Paint Selection tool

Work with objects

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Set origin point and open dialog box when using Rotate tool, Scale tool, Reflect tool, or Shear tool	Alt-click	Option-click
Duplicate and transform selection when using Selection tool, Scale tool, Reflect tool, or Shear tool	Alt-drag	Option-drag
Transform pattern (independent of object) when using Selection tool, Scale tool, Reflect tool, or Shear tool	Tilde (~)-drag	Tilde (~)-drag
Reapply a transformation to an object	Ctrl + D	Command + D
Apply last pathfinder effect to the selected object	Ctrl + 4	Command + 4
Move an object	Shift + Ctrl + M	Shift + Command + M
Open the Transform Each dialog box	Alt + Shift + Ctrl + D	Option + Shift + Command + D
Make a clipping mask	Ctrl + 7	Command + 7
Release a clipping mask	Alt + Ctrl + 7	Option + Command + 7
Toggle between fill and stroke	X	X
Set fill and stroke to default	D	D
Swap fill and stroke	Shift + X	Shift + X
Select gradient fill mode	>	>
Hide gradient annotator (when using the Gradient tool)	Alt + Ctrl + G	Option + Command + G
Select color fill mode	<	<
Select no stroke/fill mode	/ (forward slash)	/ (forward slash)
Sample color from an image or intermediate color from gradient	Shift + Eyedropper tool	Shift + Eyedropper tool
Sample style and append appearance of currently selected item	Alt + Shift-click + Eyedropper tool	Option + Shift-click + Eyedropper tool
Add new fill	Ctrl + / (forward slash)	Command + / (forward slash)
Add new stroke	Ctrl + Alt + / (forward slash)	Command + Option + / (forward slash)
Reset gradient to black and white	Ctrl-click gradient button in Tools panel or Gradient panel	Command-click gradient button in Tools panel or Gradient panel
Make Live Paint (when using the Paint Bucket tool)	Alt + Ctrl + X	Option + Command + X
Decrease Bristle brush size	[	[
Increase Bristle brush size	]	]

Create variable width points

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Select multiple width points	Shift+click	Shift+click
Create non-uniform widths	Alt+drag	Option+drag
Create a copy of the width point	Alt+drag the width point	Options+drag the width point
Change the position of multiple width points	Shift+drag	Shift+drag
Delete selected width point	Delete	Delete
Deselect a width point	Esc	Esc

Work with type

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Move one character right or left	Right Arrow or Left Arrow	Right Arrow or Left Arrow
Move up or down one line	Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Up Arrow or Down Arrow
Move one word right or left	Ctrl + Right Arrow or Left Arrow	Command + Right Arrow or Left Arrow
Move up or down one paragraph	Ctrl + Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Command + Up Arrow or Down Arrow
Select one word right or left	Shift + Ctrl + Right Arrow or Left Arrow	Shift + Command + Right Arrow or Left Arrow
Select one paragraph before or after	Shift + Ctrl + Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Shift + Command + Up Arrow or Down Arrow
Extend existing selection	Shift-click	Shift-click
Align paragraph left, right, or center	Ctrl + Shift + L, R, or C	Command + Shift + L, R, or C
Justify text left	Ctrl + Shift + J	Command + Shift + J
Justify all lines	Shift + Ctrl + F	Shift + Command + F
Toggle line composer	Alt + Shift + Ctrl + C	Option + Shift + Command +
Insert soft return	Shift + Enter	Shift + Return
Highlight kerning	Ctrl + Alt + K	Command + Option + K
Reset horizontal scale to 100%	Ctrl + Shift + X	Command + Shift + X
Increase or decrease font size	Ctrl + Shift + . or ,	Command + Shift + . or ,
Increase or decrease font size by steps	Alt + Ctrl + Shift + . or ,	Option + Command +Shift + . or ,
Increase or decrease leading	Alt + Up or Down Arrow (horizontal text) or Right or Left Arrow (vertical text)	Option + Up or Down Arrow (horizontal text) or Right or Left Arrow (vertical text)
Select tracking value	Alt + Ctrl + K	Option + Command + K
Reset tracking/kerning to 0	Ctrl + Alt + Q	Command + Option + Q
Increase or decrease kerning and tracking	Alt + Right or Left Arrow (horizontal text) or Up or Down Arrow (vertical text)	Option + Right or Left Arrow (horizontal text) or Up or Down Arrow (vertical text)
Increase or decrease kerning and tracking by five times	Ctrl + Alt + Right or Left Arrow (horizontal text) or Up or Down Arrow (vertical text)	Command + Option + Right or Left Arrow (horizontal text) or Up or Down Arrow (vertical text)
Increase or decrease baseline shift	Alt + Shift + Up or Down Arrow (horizontal text) or Right or Left Arrow (vertical text)	Option + Shift + Up or Down Arrow (horizontal text) or Right or Left Arrow (vertical text)
Switch between Type and Vertical Type, Area Type and Vertical Area Type, and Path Type and Vertical Path Type tools	Shift	Shift
Switch between Area Type and Path Type, Vertical Area Type and Vertical Path Type tools	Alt	Option
Create outlines	Shift + Ctrl + O	Shift + Command + O
Open the Character panel	Ctrl + T	Command + T
Open the Paragraph panel	Alt + Ctrl + T	Option + Command + T
Open the Tabs panel	Shift + Ctrl + T	Shift + Command + T
Open the OpenType panel	Alt + Shift + Ctrl + T	Option + Shift + Command + T
Insert bullets	Alt + 8	Option + 8
Insert copyright symbol	Alt + G	Option + G
Insert ellipsis	Alt + ;	Option + ;
Insert paragraph symbol	Alt + 7	Option + 7
Insert section symbol	Alt + 6	Option + 6
Insert trademark symbol	Alt + 2	Option + 2
Insert registered trademark symbol	Alt + R	Option + R
Superscript	Shift + Ctrl + =	Shift + Command + =
Subscript	Alt + Shift + Ctrl + =	Alt + Shift + Ctrl + =
Insert em dash	Alt + Shift + -	Option + Shift + -
Insert en dash	Alt + -	Option + -
Insert discretionary hyphen	Shift + Ctrl + -	Shift + Command + -
Toggle auto-hyphenation	Alt + Shift + Ctrl + H	Option + Shift + Command + H
Insert double left quotation marks	Alt + [	Option + [
Insert double right quotation marks	Alt + Shift + [	Option + Shift + [
Insert single left quotation marks	Alt + ]	Option + ]
Insert single right quotation marks	Alt + Shift + ]	Option + Shift + ]
Insert em space	Shift + Ctrl + M	Shift + Command + M
Insert en space	Shift + Ctrl + N	Shift + Command + N
Insert thin space	Alt + Shift + Ctrl + M	Option + Shift + Command + M
Show hidden characters	Alt + Ctrl + I	Option + Command + I

Note:
To change the increment value for type shortcuts, choose Edit > Preferences >Type (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences >Type (macOS). Enter the values you want in the Size/Leading, Baseline Shift, and Tracking text boxes, and click OK.

Use panels

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Set options (except for Actions, Brushes, Swatches, and Symbols panels)	Alt-click New button	Option-click New button
Switch units of measurement	Alt + Shift + Ctrl + U	Option + Shift + Command + U
Delete without confirmation (except for Layers panel)	Alt-click Delete button	Option-click Delete button
Apply value and keep text box active	Shift + Enter	Shift + Return
Select range of actions, brushes, layers, links, styles, or swatches	Shift-click	Shift-click
Select noncontiguous actions, brushes, layers (same level only), links, styles, or swatches	Ctrl-click	Command-click
Show/Hide all panels	Tab	Tab
Show/Hide all panels except the Tools panel and Control panel	Shift + Tab	Shift + Tab
Increase/ decrease values in logical fractions of the measurement unit	Ctrl + Up or Down Arrow	Command + Up or Down Arrow
Increase/ decrease measurement unit by 10x	Shift + Up or Down Arrow	Shift + Up or Down Arrow

Actions panel

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Expand/Collapse entire hierarchy for action set	Alt-click expansion triangle	Option-click expansion triangle
Set options for action set	Double-click folder icon	Double-click folder icon
Play a single command	Ctrl-click Play Current Selection button	Command-click Play Current Selection button
Begin recording actions without confirmation	Alt-click New Action button	Option-click New Action button

Brushes panel

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Open Brush Options dialog box	Double-click brush	Double-click brush
Duplicate brush	Drag brush to New Brush button	Drag brush to New Brush button

Character and Paragraph panels

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Open the Character panel	Ctrl + T	Command + T
Open the Paragraph panel	Alt + Ctrl + T	Option + Command + T
Increase/decrease the selected value by a small increment	Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Up Arrow or Down Arrow
Increase/decreases the selected value by a large increment	Shift + Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Shift + Up Arrow or Down Arrow
Increase/decrease the selected value by a fraction	Ctrl + Up or Down Arrow	Command + Up or Down Arrow
Highlight the font name field in the Character panel	Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F	Command + Option + Shift + F

Color panel

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Select the complement for the current color fill/stroke	Ctrl-click color bar	Command-click color bar
Change the nonactive fill/stroke	Alt-click color bar	Option-click color bar
Select the complement for the nonactive fill/stroke	Ctrl + Alt-click color bar	Command + Option-click color bar
Select the inverse for the current fill/stroke	Ctrl + Shift-click color bar	Command + Shift-click color bar
Select the inverse for the nonactive fill/stroke	Ctrl + Shift + Alt-click color bar	Command + Shift + Option-click color bar
Open Color Guide	Shift + F3	Shift + F3
Change the color mode	Shift-click color bar	Shift-click color bar
Move color sliders in tandem	Shift-drag color slider	Shift-drag color slider
Switch between percentage and 0-255 values for RGB	Double-click to right of a numerical field	Double-click to right of a numerical field

Gradient panel

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Duplicate color stops	Alt-drag	Option-drag
Swap color stops	Alt-drag color stop onto another stop	Option-drag color stop onto another color stop
Apply swatch color to active (or selected) color stop	Alt-click swatch in the Swatches panel	Option-click swatch in the Swatches panel
Reset the gradient fill to default black and white linear gradient	Ctrl-click Gradient Fill box in the Gradient panel	Command-click Gradient Fill box in the Gradient panel
Show/Hide gradient arrow	Ctrl + Alt + G	Command + Option + G
Modify angle and end-point together	Alt-drag end point of gradient annotator	Option-drag end point of gradient annotator
Constrain Gradient tool or Gradient annotator while dragging	Shift-drag	Shift-drag
View Gradient annotator in selected gradient filled object	G	G

Layers panel

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Add a layer	Ctrl + L	Command + L
Add a layer while opening the New Layer dialog box	Alt + Ctrl + L	Option + Command + L
Select all objects on the layer	Alt-click layer name	Option-click layer name
Show/hide all layers but the selected one	Alt-click eye icon	Option-click eye icon
Select Outline/Preview view for the selected layer	Ctrl-click eye icon	Command-click eye icon
Selects Outline/Preview view for all other layers	Ctrl + Alt-click eye icon	Command + Option-click eye icon
Lock/unlock all other layers	Alt-click lock icon	Option-click lock icon
Expand all sublayers to display entire hierarchy	Alt-click expansion triangle	Option-click expansion triangle
Set options as you create new layer	Alt-click New Layer button	Option-click New Layer button
Set options as you create new sublayer	Alt-click New Sublayer button	Option-click New Sublayer button
Place new sublayer at bottom of layer list	Ctrl + Alt-click New Sublayer button	Command + Option-click New Sublayer button
Place layer at top of layer list	Ctrl-click New Layer button	Command-click New Layer button
Place layer below selected layer	Ctrl + Alt-click New Layer button	Command + Option-click New Layer button
Copy the selection to a layer, sublayer, or group	Alt-drag selection	Option-drag selection

Swatches panel

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Create new spot color	Ctrl-click New Swatch button	Command-click New Swatch button
Create new global process color	Ctrl + Shift-click New Swatch button	Command + Shift-click New Swatch button
Replace swatch with another	Alt-drag a swatch over another	Option-drag a swatch over another

Transform panel

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Apply a value and keep focus in edit field	Shift + Enter	Shift + Return
Apply a value and copy object	Alt + Enter	Option + Return
Apply a value and scale option proportionately for width or height	Ctrl + Enter	Command + Return

Transparency panel

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Apply last effect to the selected object	Shift + Ctrl + E	Shift + Command + E
Apply last effect to the selected object by adjusting the values in the effects dialog box	Alt + Shift + Ctrl +E	Option + Shift + Command + E
Change mask to grayscale image for editing	Alt-click on mask thumbnail	Option-click on mask thumbnail
Disable opacity mask	Shift-click on mask thumbnail	Shift-click on mask thumbnail
Re-enable opacity mask	Shift-click on disabled mask thumbnail	Shift-click on disabled mask thumbnail
Increase/decrease opacity in 1% increments	Click opacity field + Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Click opacity field + Up Arrow or Down Arrow
Increase/decrease opacity in 10% increments	Shift-click opacity field + Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Shift-click opacity field + Up Arrow or Down Arrow

Function keys

Shortcuts	Windows	macOS
Invoke Help	F1	F1
Cut	F2	F2
Copy	F3	F3
Paste	F4	F4
Show/hide Brushes panel	F5	F5
Show/hide Color panel	F6	F6
Show/hide Layers panel	F7	F7
Create new symbol	F8	F8
Show/hide Info panel	Ctrl + F8	Command + F8
Show/hide Gradient panel	Ctrl + F9	Command + F9
Show/hide Stroke panel	Ctrl + F10	Command + F10
Show/hide Attributes panel	Ctrl + F11	Command + F11
Revert	F12	F12
Show/hide Graphic Styles panel	Shift + F5	Shift + F5
Show/hide Appearance panel	Shift + F6	Shift + F6
Show/hide Align panel	Shift + F7	Shift + F7
Show/hide Transform panel	Shift + F8	Shift + F8
Show/hide Pathfinder panel	Shift + Ctrl + F9	Shift + Command + F9
Show/hide Transparency panel	Shift + Ctrl + F10	Shift + Command + F10
Show/hide Symbols panel	Shift + Ctrl + F11	Shift + Command + F11

Export keyboard shortcut list as a text document

You can export the list of default and custom keyboard shortcuts for tools and menu commands in Illustrator as a text document by following the steps given below:

Choose Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.


Click Export Text on the lower-left corner of the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box.


Navigate to the desired location to save the text file.


Click Save.