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.
Note
We also have a separate list of canvas keyboard shortcuts which you may find helpful as well.
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 |