Keyboard Shortcuts¶
If you often find yourself using the mouse to change the current tool you are using, you might be able to speed up the process by memorizing a few keyboard shortcuts. If you forget which key goes to which function, take a look at the menus.
Don't like a particular shortcut, or wish a menu item had one? You can change or add shortcuts via the Keyboard System Settings, under the "Application Shortcuts" section which you can read more about from Apple.
Tools
| Move | V | |
| Zoom | Z | |
| Crop | C | |
| Pan | H | |
| Rectangular select | M | |
| Elliptical select | Shift-M | ⇧M |
| Free select | Shift-M | ⇧M |
| Polygonal select | Shift-M | ⇧M |
| Magic wand select | W | |
| Instant alpha | E | |
| Paint | B | |
| Pencil | N | |
| Flood fill/paint bucket | K | |
| Eraser | E | |
| Clone | Shift-O | ⇧O |
| Smudge | Shift-O | ⇧O |
| Dodge | Shift-O | ⇧O |
| Burn | Shift-O | ⇧O |
| Gradient | G | |
| Text | T | |
| Circle text | TT | |
| Path text | TTT | |
| Bézier pen | P | |
| Bézier freehand | ||
| Bézier anchor select | A | |
| Reset bézier control points | Shift-C | ⇧C |
| Line shape | Semi-colon | ; |
| Rectangle shape | R | |
| Oval shape | O | |
| Pick color | Control-C | ^C |
Drawing & Color
| Pick color | Control-C | ^C |
| Reset colors | D | |
| Swap colors | X | |
| Increase brush size | Option-Control-Right drag or Right bracket | ] |
| Decrease brush size | Option-Control-Left drag or Left bracket | [ |
| Paint straight lines | Shift-click | |
| Convert brush to eraser | Option-Command-drag | |
| Toggle fill for a shape | ⇧F | |
| Toggle stroke for a shape | ⇧B | |
| Color profile | ⇧⌘K |
Layers
| New layer | Command-N | ⌘N |
| New layer with selection | Command-J | ⌘J |
| New layer with cut selection | Shift-Command-J | ⇧⌘J |
| New shape layer | Option-Shift-Command-N | ⌥⇧⌘N |
| New group layer | Command-G | ⌘G |
| Ungroup layer | Shift-Command-G | ⇧⌘G |
| Delete layer | Control-Command-Minus | ^⌘- |
| Hide layer | Control-Shift-Command-H | ^⇧⌘H |
| Lock layer | Option-Command-L | ⌥⌘L |
| Duplicate layer | Shift-Command-D | ⇧⌘D |
| Bring to front | Shift-Command-Right Bracket | ⇧⌘] |
| Bring forward | Option-Command-Right Bracket | ⌥⌘] |
| Send backward | Option-Command-Left Bracket | ⌥⌘[ |
| Send to back | Shift-Command-Left Bracket | ⇧⌘[ |
| Merge down | Command-E | ⌘E |
| Merge visible | Shift-Command-E | ⇧⌘E |
| Merge visible to new layer | Option-Shift-Command-E | ⌥⇧⌘E |
| Select next layer | Option-Right Bracket | ⌥] |
| Select previous layer | Option-Left Bracket | ⌥[ |
| Cycle transparency | Single Digit Numbers | 0,1-9 |
| Delete contents of layer | Delete Key | ⌫ |
| Scale and rotate | Command-T | ⌘T |
| Perspective transform | Shift-Command-T | ⇧⌘T |
| Hide other layers | Option-click layer visibility icon |
Magnification/Zoom
| Zoom in | Command-Plus | ⌘+ |
| Zoom out | Command-Minus | ⌘- |
| 100% zoom | Command-1 | ⌘1 |
| 200% zoom | Command-2 | ⌘2 |
| 400% zoom | Command-3 | ⌘3 |
| 800% & 3500% toggle | Command-4 | ⌘4 |
| 50% & 25% toggle | Command-5 | ⌘5 |
| Fit image in window | Command-0 | ⌘0 |
| Full screen toggle | F | F |
| Zoom in/out | Option-Mouse scroll | |
| Zoom window | Command-Forward slash | ⌘/ |
| Zoom all windows | Option-Command-Forward slash | ⌥⌘/ |
Palettes
| Show/hide palettes | Tab | Tab |
| Gather palettes | Control-Command-Backslash | ^⌘\ |
| Colors palette | Shift-Command-C | ⇧⌘C |
| Filters Palette | Shift-Command-F | ⇧⌘F |
General
| Create new file | Command-N | ⌘N |
| New from clipboard | Option-Command-N | ⌥⌘N |
| Open existing file | Command-O | ⌘O |
| Open folder | Shift-Command-O | ⇧⌘O |
| Open Settings | Command-Comma | ⌘, |
| Close image | Command-W | ⌘W |
| Close all images | Option-Command-W | ⌥⌘W |
| Save image | Command-S | ⌘S |
| Save image as | Shift-Command-S | ⇧⌘S |
| Export image | Option-Command-S | ⌥⌘S |
| Web export image | Option-Shift-Command-S | ⌥⇧⌘S |
| File info | Option-Shift-Command-I | ⌥⇧⌘I |
| Minimize window | Command-M | ⌘M |
| Minimize all windows | Option-Command-M | ⌥⌘M |
| Hide Acorn | Command-H | ⌘H |
| Hide others | Option-Command-H | ⌥⌘H |
| Quit Acorn | Command-Q | ⌘Q |
| Command-P | ⌘P | |
| Page setup | Shift-Command-P | ⇧⌘P |
| Cycle through windows | Command-Grave Accent | ⌘` |
| Cycle through tabs | Control-TAB | ^⇥ |
| Make new image from screenshot | Shift-Command-6 | ⇧⌘6 |
Selections
| Rectangular | M | |
| Elliptical | Shift-M | ⌘M, S |
| Free select | Shift-M | ⌘M, S, L |
| Polygonal | Shift-M | ⌘M, S, L |
| Magic wand | W | |
| Select all | Command-A | ⌘A |
| Clear selection | Command-D | ⌘D |
| Hide selection | Control-Command-H | ^⌘H |
| Quick mask mode | Q | Q |
| Inverse selection | Shift-Command-I | ⇧⌘I |
| View selection as marching.. | Command-Backslash | ⌘\ |
| Select next shape | Control-Command-Right bracket | ^⌘] |
| Select previous shape | Control-Command-Left bracket | ^⌘[ |
| Copy | Command-C | ⌘C |
| Cut | Command-X | ⌘X |
| Paste | Command-V | ⌘V |
| Add to selection | Hold Shift key as you drag | |
| Subtract from selection | Hold Option-Shift keys as you drag | |
| Constrain to circle/square | Shift-drag after starting selection | ⇧ Drag |
| Reposition origin while drawing | Spacebar-drag | |
| Grow selection from middle | Option-drag after starting selection | |
| Selection from layer | Double-click layer thumbnail image | |
| Trim out selection | Control-Option-Command-T | ^⌥⌘T |
| Grow selection by 1 pixel | Option-Arrow key | |
| Grow selection by 10 pixels | Option-Shift-Arrow key | |
| Move selection | Move tool or Arrow keys | |
| Copy and move selection | Option-Command drag | |
| Paste into | Shift-Command-V | ⇧⌘V |
| Quick mask mode | Q |
Marque / Selection / Lasso (M/S/L) M selects the rectangular selection tool. Pressing shift-m or s multiple times will cycle through the rect, oval, free select, polygonal, and magic wand selection tools. Pressing L will toggle the free select and polygonal selection tools.
Editing
| Undo last action | Command-Z | ⌘Z |
| Redo last action | Shift-Command-Z | ⇧⌘Z |
| Cancel operation | Escape key | ESC |
| Fill with front color well | Option-Delete | ⌥ ⌫ |
| Fill with back color well | Option-Shift-Delete | ⌥⇧⌫ |
| Fill panel | Shift-Delete | ⇧⌫ |
| Delete layer contents | Delete | ⌫ |
| Resize image | Option-Command-I | ⌥⌘I |
| Resize canvas | Option-Command-C | ⌥⌘C |
| Rotate canvas 90 clockwise | Command-Right Bracket | ⌘] |
| Rotate " " counterclockwise | Command-Left Bracket | ⌘[ |
| Crop | Option-Command-K | ⌥⌘K |
| Trim to Edges | Control-Command-T | ^⌘T |
| Last filter | Command-F | ⌘F |
| Levels | Command-L | ⌘L |
| Auto-levels | Shift-Command-L | ⇧⌘L |
| Curves | Shift-Command-M | ⇧⌘M |
Rulers, Guides, & Grids
| Show ruler | Command-R | ⌘R |
| Toggle guides | Option-Command-Semicolon | ⌥⌘; |
| Toggle grid | Command-Apostrophe | ⌘’ |
Shapes
| Draw shape vectors/view shape outlines | Command-Y | ⌘Y |
| New shape layer | Option-Shift-Command-N | ⌥⇧⌘N |
| Bring to front | Shift-Command-Up Arrow | ⇧⌘ ↑ |
| Bring forward | Command-Up Arrow | ⌘ ↑ |
| Send backward | Command-Down Arrow | ⌘↓ |
| Send to back | Shift-Command-Down Arrow | ⇧⌘ ↓ |
| Select next shape | Control-Command-Right Bracket | ^⌘] |
| Select previous shape | Control-Command-Left Bracket | ^⌘[ |
| Toggle fill for selected shape | Shift-F | ⇧F |
| Toggle stroke for selected shape | Shift-B | ⇧B |
Text
| Text tool | T | |
| Move tool | V | |
| Bold | Command-B | ⌘B |
| Italic | Command-I | ⌘I |
| Underline | Command-U | ⌘U |
| Bigger | Command-Greater Than | ⌘> |
| Smaller | Command-Lesser Than | ⌘< |
| Tighten kerning | Option-Command-Left Arrow | ⌥⌘← |
| Tigthen kerning 10x | Option-Shift-Command-Left Arrow | ⌥⇧⌘← |
| Loosen kerning | Option-Command-Right Arrow | ⌥⌘→ |
| Loosen kerning 10x | Option-Shift-Command-Right Arrow | ⌥⇧⌘→ |
| Center text | Command-Bar | ⌘| |
| Spelling | Command-Colon | ⌘: |
| Check spelling | Command-Semicolon | ⌘; |
| Emoji & symboles | Control-Command-Spacebar | ^⌘ Spacebar |
Legend:
| ⌘ | Command Key |
| ^ | Control Key |
| ⌥ | Option Key |
| ⇧ | Shift Key |