Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts (Printable and practical cheat sheet)

Contents

A few weeks ago I compiled a list of InDesign shortcuts that I use daily and made a A4 printable cheat sheet (You can find it here). Lots of people downloaded it, and asked me if I could make the same thing for Illustrator.

So, here it is: a single A4 printable cheat sheet that you can always have on your desk, ready to be checked. I hope this will help you memorize a few more shortcuts and be even more productive.

Even more, make sure you read this InDesign vs. Illustrator content to find the correct answer to when and why choose one software over the other.

Here are the ready-to-be-printed PDFs with the most important and used shortcuts:

Download PDF "Illustrator shortcuts Mac OS"
Download PDF "Illustrator shortcuts Windows"

In case you wonder, I made also a Desktop Background with these shortcuts. Here they are:

Download Desktop Background "Illustrator shortcuts Mac OS"
Download Desktop Background "Illustrator shortcuts Windows"

A full list of Illustrator keyboard shortcuts

Illustrators has so many shortcuts that they didn’t fit into a single A4, so the printable cheat sheet above includes only the ones that I use the most and that I believe are the most important for day to day work.

However, here is also a more exhaustive list, in case I missed your favorites.

Shortcuts: Application
Shortcuts: Files
Shortcuts: Basic Operations
Shortcuts: Tools
Shortcuts: Object Editing
Shortcuts: View and Navigation
Shortcuts: Menu Commands
Shortcuts: Text
Shortcuts: Others

Application

Command	macOS	Windows
Help	F1	F1
General	⌘ + K	Ctrl + K
Units	⌘ + ,	Ctrl + ,
Hide Others	⌥ + ⌘ + H	Alt + Ctrl + H
Quit Illustrator	⌘ + Q	Ctrl + Q
Revert	⌥ + ⌘ + Z	Alt + Ctrl + Z
Place	⇧ + ⌘ + P	⇧ + Ctrl + P
Package	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + P	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + P
Other Script	⌘ + F12	Ctrl + F12
Document Setup	⌥ + ⌘ + P	Alt + Ctrl + P
File Info	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + I	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + I
Print	⌘ + P	Ctrl + P
Keyboard Shortcuts	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + K	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + K
Navigate to Next Document	⌘ + `	Ctrl + `
Navigate to Previous Document	⇧ + ⌘ + `	⇧ + Ctrl + `

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Files

Command	macOS	Windows
New	⌘ + N	Ctrl + N
New from Template	⇧ + ⌘ + N	⇧ + Ctrl + N
Open	⌘ + O	Ctrl + O
Browse in Bridge	⌥ + ⌘ + O	Alt + Ctrl + O
Close	⌘ + W	Ctrl + W
Save	⌘ + S	Ctrl + S
Save As	⇧ + ⌘ + S	⇧ + Ctrl + S
Save a Copy	⌥ + ⌘ + S	Alt + Ctrl + S
Save for Web	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + S	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + S

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Basic Operations

Command	macOS	Windows
Artboard	⇧ + O	⇧ + O
Undo	⌘ + Z	Ctrl + Z
Redo	⇧ + ⌘ + Z	⇧ + Ctrl + Z
Cut	⌘ + X	Ctrl + X
Copy	⌘ + C	Ctrl + C
Paste	⌘ + V	Ctrl + V
Paste in Front	⌘ + F	Ctrl + F
Paste in Back	⌘ + B	Ctrl + B
Paste in Place	⇧ + ⌘ + V	⇧ + Ctrl + V
Paste on All Artboards	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + V	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + V
Check Spelling	⌘ + I	Ctrl + I
Color Settings	⇧ + ⌘ + K	⇧ + Ctrl + K
Select All	⌘ + A	Ctrl + A
Select All on Active Artboard	⌥ + ⌘ + A	Alt + Ctrl + A
Deselect	⇧ + ⌘ + A	⇧ + Ctrl + A
Reselect	⌘ + 6	Ctrl + 6
Next Object Above	⌥ + ⌘ + ]	Alt + Ctrl + ]
Next Object Below	⌥ + ⌘ + [	Alt + Ctrl + [

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Tools

Command	macOS	Windows
Selection	V	V
Direct Selection	A	A
Magic Wand	Y	Y
Lasso	Q	Q
Pen	P	P
Add Anchor Point	=	=
Delete Anchor Point	-	-
Anchor Point	⇧ + C	⇧ + C
Curvature Tool	⇧ + `	⇧ + `
Type	T	T
Touch Type	⇧ + T	⇧ + T
Line Segment	\	\
Rectangle	M	M
Ellipse	L	L
Paintbrush	B	B
Blob Brush	⇧ + B	⇧ + B
Pencil	N	N
Eraser	⇧ + E	⇧ + E
Scissors	C	C
Rotate	R	R
Reflect	O	O
Scale	S	S
Width	⇧ + W	⇧ + W
Warp	⇧ + R	⇧ + R
Free Transform	E	E
Shape Builder	⇧ + M	⇧ + M
Live Paint Bucket	K	K
Live Paint Selection	⇧ + L	⇧ + L
Perspective Grid	⇧ + P	⇧ + P
Perspective Selection	⇧ + V	⇧ + V
Mesh	U	U
Gradient	G	G
Eyedropper	I	I
Blend	W	W
Symbol Sprayer	⇧ + S	⇧ + S
CC Charts Tool	J	J
Slice	⇧ + K	⇧ + K
Hand	H	H
Zoom	Z	Z
Toggle Fill/Stroke	X	X
Default	D	D
Swap Fill/Stroke	⇧ + X	⇧ + X
Color	,	,
Gradient	.	.
None	/	/
Toggle Screen Mode	F	F
Show/Hide All Palettes	Tab	Tab
Show/Hide All But Toolbox	⇧ + Tab	⇧ + Tab
Increase Diameter	]	]
Decrease Diameter	[	[
Symbolism Tools - Increase Intensity	⇧ + }	⇧ + }
Symbolism Tools - Decrease Intensity	⇧ + {	⇧ + {
Toggle Drawing Mode	⇧ + D	⇧ + D

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Object Editing

Command	macOS	Windows
Transform Again	⌘ + D	Ctrl + D
Move	⇧ + ⌘ + M	⇧ + Ctrl + M
Bring to Front	⇧ + ⌘ + ]	⇧ + Ctrl + ]
Bring Forward	⌘ + ]	Ctrl + ]
Send Backward	⌘ + [	Ctrl + [
Send to Back	⇧ + ⌘ + [	⇧ + Ctrl + [
Group	⌘ + G	Ctrl + G
Ungroup	⇧ + ⌘ + G	⇧ + Ctrl + G
Selection	⌘ + 2	Ctrl + 2
Unlock All	⌥ + ⌘ + 2	Alt + Ctrl + 2
Selection	⌘ + 3	Ctrl + 3
Show All	⌥ + ⌘ + 3	Alt + Ctrl + 3
Join	⌘ + J	Ctrl + J
Average	⌥ + ⌘ + J	Alt + Ctrl + J
Edit Pattern	⇧ + ⌘ + F8	⇧ + Ctrl + F8
Make	⌥ + ⌘ + B	Alt + Ctrl + B
Release	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + B	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + B
Make with Warp	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + W	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + W
Make with Mesh	⌥ + ⌘ + M	Alt + Ctrl + M
Make with Top Object	⌥ + ⌘ + C	Alt + Ctrl + C
Make	⌥ + ⌘ + X	Alt + Ctrl + X
Make	⌘ + 7	Ctrl + 7
Release	⌥ + ⌘ + 7	Alt + Ctrl + 7
Make	⌘ + 8	Ctrl + 8
Release	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + 8	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + 8
Create Outlines	⇧ + ⌘ + O	⇧ + Ctrl + O
Show Hidden Characters	⌥ + ⌘ + I	Alt + Ctrl + I
Apply Last Effect	⇧ + ⌘ + E	⇧ + Ctrl + E
Last Effect	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + E	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + E

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View and Navigation

Command	macOS	Windows
Preview	⌘ + Y	Ctrl + Y
GPU Preview	⌘ + E	Ctrl + E
Overprint Preview	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + Y	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + Y
Pixel Preview	⌥ + ⌘ + Y	Alt + Ctrl + Y
Zoom In	⌘ + =	Ctrl + =
Zoom Out	⌘ + -	Ctrl + -
Fit Artboard in Window	⌘ + 0	Ctrl + 0
Fit All in Window	⌥ + ⌘ + 0	Alt + Ctrl + 0
Actual Size	⌘ + 1	Ctrl + 1

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Menu Commands

Command	macOS	Windows
Hide Edges	⌘ + H	Ctrl + H
Hide Artboards	⇧ + ⌘ + H	⇧ + Ctrl + H
Show Template	⇧ + ⌘ + W	⇧ + Ctrl + W
Show Rulers	⌘ + R	Ctrl + R
Change to Artboard Rulers	⌥ + ⌘ + R	Alt + Ctrl + R
Hide Bounding Box	⇧ + ⌘ + B	⇧ + Ctrl + B
Show Transparency Grid	⇧ + ⌘ + D	⇧ + Ctrl + D
Show Text Threads	⇧ + ⌘ + Y	⇧ + Ctrl + Y
Hide Gradient Annotator	⌥ + ⌘ + G	Alt + Ctrl + G
Hide Guides	⌘ + ;	Ctrl + ;
Lock Guides	⌥ + ⌘ + ;	Alt + Ctrl + ;
Make Guides	⌘ + 5	Ctrl + 5
Release Guides	⌥ + ⌘ + 5	Alt + Ctrl + 5
Smart Guides	⌘ + U	Ctrl + U
Show Grid	⇧ + ⌘ + I	⇧ + Ctrl + I
Show Grid	⌘ + '	Ctrl + '
Snap to Grid	⇧ + ⌘ + '	⇧ + Ctrl + '
Snap to Point	⌥ + ⌘ + '	Alt + Ctrl + '
Minimize Window	⌘ + M	Ctrl + M
Align	⇧ + F7	⇧ + F7
Appearance	⇧ + F6	⇧ + F6
Attributes	⌘ + F11	Ctrl + F11
Brushes	F5	F5
Color	F6	F6
Color Guide	⇧ + F3	⇧ + F3
Gradient	⌘ + F9	Ctrl + F9
Graphic Styles	⇧ + F5	⇧ + F5
Info	⌘ + F8	Ctrl + F8
Layers	F7	F7
Pathfinder	⇧ + ⌘ + F9	⇧ + Ctrl + F9
Stroke	⌘ + F10	Ctrl + F10
Symbols	⇧ + ⌘ + F11	⇧ + Ctrl + F11
Transform	⇧ + F8	⇧ + F8
Transparency	⇧ + ⌘ + F10	⇧ + Ctrl + F10

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Text

Command	macOS	Windows
Character	⌘ + T	Ctrl + T
OpenType	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + T	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + T
Paragraph	⌥ + ⌘ + T	Alt + Ctrl + T
Tabs	⇧ + ⌘ + T	⇧ + Ctrl + T
Insert Hyphen	⇧ + ⌘ + -	⇧ + Ctrl + -
Point Size Up	⇧ + ⌘ + .	⇧ + Ctrl + .
Point Size Down	⇧ + ⌘ + ,	⇧ + Ctrl + ,
Font Size Step Up	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + .	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + .
Font Size Step Down	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + ,	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + ,
Kern Looser	⇧ + ⌘ + ]	⇧ + Ctrl + ]
Kern Tighter	⇧ + ⌘ + [	⇧ + Ctrl + [
Tracking	⌥ + ⌘ + K	Alt + Ctrl + K
Clear Tracking	⌥ + ⌘ + Q	Alt + Ctrl + Q
Spacing	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + O	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + O
Uniform Type	⇧ + ⌘ + X	⇧ + Ctrl + X
Highlight Font	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + F	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + F
Highlight Font (Secondary)	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + M	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + M
Left Align Text	⇧ + ⌘ + L	⇧ + Ctrl + L
Center Text	⇧ + ⌘ + C	⇧ + Ctrl + C
Right Align Text	⇧ + ⌘ + R	⇧ + Ctrl + R
Justify Text Left	⇧ + ⌘ + J	⇧ + Ctrl + J
Justify All Lines	⇧ + ⌘ + F	⇧ + Ctrl + F
Toggle Auto Hyphenation	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + H	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + H
Toggle Line Composer	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + C	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + C

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Others

Command	macOS	Windows
Switch Selection Tools	⌥ + ⌘ + Tab	Alt + Ctrl + Tab
Lock Others	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + 2	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + 2
Hide Others	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + 3	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + 3
Repeat Pathfinder	⌘ + 4	Ctrl + 4
Average & Join	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + J	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + J
New Symbol	F8	F8
Add New Fill	⌘ + /	Ctrl + /
Add New Stroke	⌥ + ⌘ + /	Alt + Ctrl + /
New Layer	⌘ + L	Ctrl + L
New Layer with Dialog	⌥ + ⌘ + L	Alt + Ctrl + L
Switch Units	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + U	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + U
New File (No Dialog)	⌥ + ⌘ + N	Alt + Ctrl + N
Close All	⌥ + ⌘ + W	Alt + Ctrl + W
Cut (Secondary)	F2	F2
Copy (Secondary)	F3	F3
Paste (Secondary)	F4	F4
Zoom In (Secondary)	⌘ + +	Ctrl + +
Navigate to Next Document Group	⌥ + ⌘ + `	Alt + Ctrl + `
Navigate to Previous Document Group	⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + `	Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + `

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Article by

Stefano Bernardi

Stefano Bernardi is the Co-founder of Redokun. For the past 11 years, Stefano has been an active contributor to the InDesign community and the translation management industry.

His work focuses on assisting marketing managers in simplifying complex translation processes, enabling them to speed up the translation of marketing materials up to three times faster.