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Photoshop vs Illustrator Shortcuts
A side-by-side comparison of keyboard shortcuts between Photoshop (212 shortcuts) and Illustrator (248 shortcuts) on macOS. See how common actions map across both apps.
Shared Categories
These shortcut categories exist in both apps. Compare how the same actions are mapped to different key combinations.
Popular shortcuts
| Photoshop | Action | Illustrator |
|---|---|---|
| { | Decrease Brush Hardness | — |
| } | Increase Brush Hardness | — |
| ⇧ ⌘ J | New layer via cut | — |
| Esc | Cancel any modal dialog window (including the Start Workspace) | — |
| ⌘ (plus) | Zoom in | — |
| ⌘ (hyphen) | Zoom out | — |
Function keys
| Photoshop | Action | Illustrator |
|---|---|---|
| F1 | Undo/Redo | — |
| F2 | Cut | F2 |
| F3 | Copy | F3 |
| F4 | Paste | F4 |
| ⌥ F9 | Show/Hide Actions panel | — |
| F12 | Revert | F12 |
| ⇧ F5 | Fill | — |
| ⇧ ⌘ I | Inverse Selection | — |
Select tools
| Photoshop | Action | Illustrator |
|---|---|---|
| < | First Brush | — |
Layers panel
| Photoshop | Action | Illustrator |
|---|---|---|
| ⇧ ⌘ G | Ungroup layers | — |
| ⌥ ⌘ G | Create/release clipping mask | — |
| ⌥ ⌘ A | Select all layers | — |
| ⌥ . | Select top layer | — |
| ⌥ , | Select bottom layer | — |
| ⌥ ⇧ ⌘ E | Merge a copy of all visible layers into target layer | — |
| ⇧ ⌘ [ | Move layer to bottom or top | — |
Only in Photoshop
Tools (25)
| V | Move tool |
| M | Marquee tools |
| L | Lasso tools |
| W | Quick Selection / Magic Wand |
| C | Crop and Slice tools |
Selecting (7)
| ⇧ Drag | Add to selection |
| ⌥ Drag | Subtract from selection |
| ⌥ ⇧ Drag | Intersect with selection |
| Arrow Keys | Move selection (1 px) |
| ⇧ Arrow Keys | Move selection (10 px) |
Viewing (8)
| ⌘ 0 | Fit on screen |
| ⌥ ⌘ 0 | 100% (Actual Pixels) |
| ⌘ + | Zoom in |
| ⌘ - | Zoom out |
| Tab | Hide all tools and panels |
Layer shortcuts (12)
| ⇧ ⌘ N | New layer |
| ⌘ J | Duplicate layer |
| Delete | Delete layer |
| ⌥ Drag | Clone layer while moving |
| ⇧ ⌘ + | Cycle blend modes up |
Type shortcuts (9)
| ⇧ ⌘ , | Decrease font size by 2pt |
| ⇧ ⌘ . | Increase font size by 2pt |
| ⌥ ⇧ ⌘ , | Decrease font size by 10pt |
| ⌥ ⇧ ⌘ . | Increase font size by 10pt |
| ⌥ → | Increase kerning/tracking |
Painting (4)
| ⌥ ⇧ number | Mixer Brush changes Mix setting |
| 0 | Mixer Brush changes Wet and Mix to zero |
| ⇧ (plus) | Cycle through blending modes |
| ⌥ ⌘ Delete | Fill from history |
Pen tool shortcuts (5)
| ⌘ Drag | Direct Selection while using Pen |
| ⌥ Click | Toggle Add/Delete Anchor Points |
| ⌘ Click | Convert Point tool |
| ⌥ Drag | Select whole path (Direct Selection) |
| ⌘ ↩ | Convert path to selection |
Panel shortcuts (6)
| F5 | Brushes panel |
| F6 | Color panel |
| F7 | Layers panel |
| F8 | Info panel |
| F9 | Actions panel |
Other / General (19)
| ↑ | Increase value by 1 |
| ⌘ N | New document |
| ⌘ O | Open file |
| ⌘ S | Save |
| ⇧ ⌘ S | Save as |
Images (7)
| ⌃ Tab | Cycle through open documents |
| ⇧ ⌘ ` | Switch to previous document |
| ⇧ F | Toggle (backward) between Standard screen mode, Full screen mode with menu bar, and Full screen mode |
| ⌘ Space | Switch to Zoom In tool |
| ⌥ Space | Switch to Zoom Out tool |
Refine Edge (2)
| ⌥ ⌘ R | Open the Refine Edge dialog box |
| ⇧ E | Toggle between Refine Radius and Erase Refinements tools |
Filter Gallery (2)
| ⌃ ⌘ F | Reapply last-used filter |
| ⇧ ⌘ Z | Step forward |
Liquify filter (1)
| ⌥ tool | Reverse direction for Bloat, Pucker, Push Left, and Mirror tools |
Vanishing Point (4)
| ⌘ D | Deselect all |
| ⌘ H | Hide selection and planes |
| ⌘ C | Copy |
| ⌘ V | Paste |
Camera Raw dialog box (21)
| ⌥ ⌘ 1 | Basic panel |
| ⌥ ⌘ 2 | Tone Curve panel |
| ⌥ ⌘ 3 | Detail panel |
| ⌥ ⌘ 4 | HSL/Grayscale panel |
| ⌥ ⌘ 5 | Split Toning panel |
Black-and-White dialog box (3)
| ⌥ ⇧ ⌘ B | Open the Black-and-White dialog box |
| ↑/↓ | Increase/decrease selected value by 1% |
| ⇧ ↑/↓ | Increase/decrease selected value by 10% |
Curves (2)
| ⌘ M | Open the Curves dialog box |
| (plus) | Select next point on the curve |
Transform selections, selection borders, and paths (2)
| ⌘ . | Cancel |
| ⌥ ⌘ T | Free transform with duplicate data |
Blending modes (25)
| ⌥ ⇧ N | Normal |
| ⌥ ⇧ I | Dissolve |
| ⌥ ⇧ Q | Behind (Brush tool only) |
| ⌥ ⇧ R | Clear (Brush tool only) |
| ⌥ ⇧ K | Darken |
Select and edit text (1)
| ⇧ ←/→ | Select 1 character left/right or 1 line down/up, or 1 word left/right |
Format type (8)
| ⇧ ⌘ X | Choose 100% horizontal scale |
| ⌥ ⇧ ⌘ X | Choose 100% vertical scale |
| ⌥ ⇧ ⌘ A | Choose Auto leading |
| ⌃ ⇧ ⌘ Q | Choose 0 for tracking |
| ⇧ ⌘ F | Justify paragraph, justifies all |
Panels (1)
| ⇧ ↩ | Apply value and keep text box active |
Adjustment layers (1)
| ⌥ 2 | Choose composite channel for adjustment |
Brush panel (2)
| ⇧ , | Select first/last brush |
| ⌥ ⇧ P | Toggle airbrush option |
Clone Source panel (1)
| ⌥ ⇧ [ | Scale (increase or reduce size) Clone Source |
Only in Illustrator
File Operations (5)
| ⌘ N | New Document |
| ⌘ O | Open File |
| ⌘ S | Save |
| ⇧ ⌘ S | Save As |
| ⇧ ⌘ E | Export As |
Tools (single-key) (14)
| V | Selection Tool |
| A | Direct Selection |
| P | Pen Tool |
| T | Type Tool |
| L | Ellipse Tool |
Edit & Selection (5)
| ⌘ A | Select All |
| ⇧ ⌘ A | Deselect All |
| ⌘ G | Group |
| ⇧ ⌘ G | Ungroup |
| ⌘ J | Join Paths |
Arrange (9)
| ⌘ ] | Bring Forward |
| ⌘ [ | Send Backward |
| ⇧ ⌘ ] | Bring To Front |
| ⇧ ⌘ [ | Send To Back |
| ⌘ 2 | Lock Selection |
View (7)
| ⌘ + | Zoom In |
| ⌘ - | Zoom Out |
| ⌘ 0 | Fit Artboard In Window |
| ⌘ 1 | Actual Size |
| ⌘ Y | Toggle Outline Preview |
Type (3)
| ⇧ ⌘ > | Increase Font Size |
| ⇧ ⌘ < | Decrease Font Size |
| ⇧ ⌘ O | Create Outlines |
Work with documents (14)
| ⇧ ⌘ N | New from template |
| ⌥ ⌘ N | New document (no dialog) |
| ⇧ ⌘ P | Place file |
| ⌥ ⇧ ⌘ I | File Information |
| ⌥ ⌘ P | Document Setup |
View artwork (26)
| F | Toggle screen modes |
| Space | Switch to Hand tool |
| ⌃ ⇧ B | Hide bounding box |
| ⌥ ⇧ ⌘ 3 | Hide unselected artwork |
| ⌘ H | Show document template |
Work with selections (7)
| ⌘ ` | Last-used selection tool |
| Caps Lock | Cross hair pointer for Lasso |
| ⌥ ⌘ A | Select artwork in active artboard |
| ⌘ 6 | Reselect |
| ⌥ ⌘ ] | Select object above |
Draw (10)
| ] | Increase Blob Brush size |
| [ | Decrease Blob Brush size |
| ⇧ D | Switch drawing modes |
| ⌘ J | Join Paths |
| ⌥ ⌘ J | Average paths |
Edit shapes (7)
| ⇧ } | Increase symbol intensity |
| ⇧ { | Decrease symbol intensity |
| ⌥ ⌘ B | Blend objects |
| ⌥ ⇧ ⌘ B | Finish adding to blend |
| ⌥ ⇧ ⌘ W | Warp envelope distort |
Work with objects (14)
| ⌘ 4 | Apply last Pathfinder effect |
| ⇧ ⌘ M | Move object |
| ⌥ ⇧ ⌘ D | Transform Each |
| ⌥ ⌘ 7 | Release clipping mask |
| X | Toggle fill and stroke |
Create variable width points (1)
| Delete | Delete width point |
Work with type (53)
| → | Move character right/left |
| ↑ | Move up/down one line |
| ⌘ → | Move word right/left |
| ⌘ ↑ | Move up/down one paragraph |
| ⇧ ⌘ → | Select word right/left |
Use panels (5)
| ⌥ ⇧ ⌘ U | Switch units of measurement |
| Tab | Show/hide all panels |
| ⇧ Tab | Show/hide all panels except Tools |
| ⌘ Up | Increase value by fraction |
| ⇧ Up | Increase value by 10x |
Character and Paragraph panels (2)
| ⇧ ↑ | Increase value by large increment |
| ⌥ ⇧ ⌘ F | Highlight font name field |
Color panel (1)
| ⇧ F3 | Open Color Guide |
Transform panel (2)
| ⌥ ↩ | Apply value and copy object |
| ⌘ ↩ | Apply value and scale proportionally |
Transparency panel (1)
| ⌥ ⇧ ⌘ E | Apply last effect with dialog |
Switching Between Photoshop and Illustrator
Both Photoshop and Illustrator are popular tools in the Design category. When switching between them, the biggest challenge is re-learning keyboard shortcuts — actions you perform automatically in one app require conscious effort in the other.
The comparison above highlights where shortcuts overlap (making the transition easier) and where they differ (requiring new muscle memory). Focus on learning the differences first, since the shared shortcuts will transfer naturally.
For a complete shortcut reference, visit the full shortcut pages: