ILLUSTRATOR SHORTCUTS

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR SHORTCUTS

WINDOWS SHORTCUTS

SELECTING AND MOVING
To access Selection or Direction Selection tool (whichever was used last) at any time	Control
To switch between Selection and Direct Selection tools	Ctrl-Alt-Tab
To cycle through tools behind column tool	Alt-click tool
To make copy while dragging	Alt
To add to a selection	Shift
Move Selection	Any arrow key
Move Selection 10 pts	Shift-any arrow key
Lock selected artwork	Ctrl-2
Lock all deselected artwork	Ctrl-Alt-Shift-2
Unlock all artwork	Ctrl-Alt-2
Hide selected artwork	Ctrl-3
Hide all deselected artwork	Ctrl-Alt-Shift-3
Show all artwork	Ctrl-Alt-3
PATH EDITING
Join and Average at same time	Ctrl-Alt-Shift-J
Convert Anchor Point tool from Pen tool	Alt
Switch between Add Anchor Point and Delete Anchor Point tools	Alt
Add Anchor Point tool from Scissors tool	Alt
Move anchor point while drawing with Pen tool	Spacebar
Create closed path with Pencil or Paintbrush tool	when finished drawing, hold Alt and release mouse
Connect to an open (and selected) path with Pencil	Ctrl-drag
PAINTING AND TRANSFORMING
Eyedropper tool from Live Paint Bucket tool	Alt
Samples intermediate color from gradient, picture, etc. with eyedropper	Shift
Sets center point and shows dialog	Alt-click with Tool
Duplicates and transforms selection	Alt-drag
Transform pattern without transforming object	~(tilde)-drag
Scale proportionally with Selection tool	Shift-drag bounding box
Scale from center with Selection tool	Alt-drag bounding box
Move mesh point along path with Mesh tool	Shift-drag
Add mesh point with Mesh tool without changing color	Shift-click
Remove mesh point with Mesh tool	Alt-click
SHAPES (WHILE DRAWING)
Draw from center	Alt
Draw from center with dialog	Alt-click
Constrain proportion	Shift
Constrain orientation of polygons, stars, spirals	Shift
Move object while drawing	Spacebar
Add/subtract sides, points, spiral segments	Up or Down Arrow
Decrease inner radius	Ctrl
Create continuous duplicates along mouse movement	hold ~ while dragging
VIEWING & GUIDES
Get Hand Tool (while NOT editing Type)	Spacebar

Get Hand tool (while editing Type)

Hold Control, then Space. (This will show the Zoom tool). Let go of Control so you see the Hand tool and immediately start dragging the mouse so you don’t end up typing spaces. Be sure to let go of the Spacebar while dragging so you again don’t type more spaces.

Zoom In Tool	Ctrl-Spacebar
Zoom Out Tool	Ctrl-Alt-Spacebar
Zoom In to exact size	Ctrl-Spacebar-drag
Hide/Show all tools and panels	Tab
Hide/Show all panels except toolbox	Shift-Tab
Switch between horizontal/vertical guide	hold Alt while dragging out a new guide
Release Guide (turns it into a regular path)	Shift-Ctrl-double-click
TYPE
Decrease/Increase type size	Ctrl-Shift-< or >
Decrease/Increase leading	Alt arrow up or down
Decrease/Increase kerning/tracking	Alt arrow left or right
Kerning/tracking x 5	Ctrl-Alt arrow left or right
Decrease/Increase baseline shift	Shift-Alt arrow down or up
Baseline shift x 5	Ctrl-Alt-Shift arrow down or up
Align type left, right, center	Ctrl-Shift-L, R, C
Justify type	Ctrl-Shift-J
Justify last line	Ctrl-Shift-F
Reset horizontal/vertical scale to 100%	Ctrl-Shift-X
Reset kerning or tracking to 0	Ctrl-Alt-Q
PALETTE SHORTCUTS/FUNCTION KEYS
Show/Hide Brushes	F5
Show/Hide Color	F6
Show/Hide Layers	F7
Show/Hide Info	Ctrl-F8
Show/Hide Gradient	Ctrl-F9
Show/Hide Stroke	Ctrl-F10
Show/Hide Attributes	Ctrl-F11
Revert file	F12
Show/Hide Graphic Styles	Shift-F5
Show/Hide Appearance	Shift-F6
Show/Hide Align	Shift-F7
Show/Hide Transform	Shift-F8
Show/Hide Pathfinder	Shift-Ctrl-F9
Show/Hide Transparency	Shift-Ctrl-F10
Show/Hide Symbols	Shift-Ctrl-F11
LAYERS PALETTE SHORTCUTS
Toggle layer between Preview/Outline mode	Ctrl-click on eye
Show layer while turningoff all others	Alt-click on eye
Select all items on layer	Alt-click layer name
Copy selected item to different layer	Alt-drag selection square in Layers panel
To create the new layer at the top of list	Ctrl-click
To create the new layer below selected layer	Ctrl-Alt-click
COLOR PALETTE SHORTCUTS
Saturate/Desaturate current color	Shift-drag color slider
Change Color Mode	Shift-click color bar
Select compliment of current color	Ctrl-click color bar
SWATCHES PALETTE SHORTCUTS
Create a swatch as a global color	Hold Crtl-Shift while creating
Replace a swatch with another	Alt-drag new swatch over old
MISC.
(In any panel) Apply a value, but keep value highlighted in panel	Shift-Return
Create New Symbol	F8

TOOLS
V	Selection
A	Direct Selection
Y	Magic Wand
Q	Lasso
P	Pen
+	Add Anchor point
-	Delete Anchor point
Shift-C	Convert Anchor point
T	Type
\	Line Segment
M	Rectangle
L	Ellipse
B	Paintbrush
N	Pencil
Shift-B	Blob Brush
Shift-E	Eraser
C	Scissors
R	Rotate
O	Reflect
S	Scale
Shift-R	Warp
E	Free Transform
Shift-S	Symbol Sprayer
J	Column Graph
U	Mesh
G	Gradient
I	Eyedropper
W	Blend
K	Live Paint Bucket
Shift-L	Live Paint Selection
Shift-O	Artboard Tool
Shift-K	Slice
H	Hand
Z	Zoom
X	Toggle between Fill & Stroke
Shift-X	Swap Fill & Stroke
D	Default Fill & Stroke (white fill/black stroke)
<	Fill or Stroke w/Color
>	Fill or Stroke w/Gradient
/	Fill or Stroke w/None
F	Cycle through Screen Modes
Double-click tools to bring up options.
Press CAPS LOCK to change tool pointer to cross hair.
Hold down Shift to constrain movement to 45°, 90°, 135°, or 180°.

MAC            SHORTCUTS SELECTING AND MOVING To access Selection or Direction Selection tool (whichever was used last) at any time Cmd (Command) To switch between Selection and Direct Selection tools Cmd-Option-Tab To cycle through tools behind column tool Option-click tool To make copy while dragging Option To add to a selection Shift Move Selection Any arrow key Move Selection 10 pts Shift-any arrow key Lock selected artwork Cmd-2 Lock all deselected artwork Cmd-Option-Shift-2 Unlock all artwork Cmd-Option-2 Hide selected artwork Cmd-3 Hide all deselected artwork Cmd-Option-Shift-3 Show all artwork Cmd-Option-3 PATH EDITING Join and Average at same time Cmd-Option-Shift-J Convert Anchor Point tool from Pen tool Option Switch between Add Anchor Point and Delete Anchor Point tools Option Add Anchor Point tool from Scissors tool Option Move anchor point while drawing with Pen tool Spacebar Create closed path with Pencil or Paintbrush tool when finished drawing, hold Option and release mouse Connect to an open (& selected) path with Pencil Cmd-drag PAINTING AND TRANSFORMING Eyedropper tool from Live Paint Bucket tool Option Samples intermediate color from gradient, picture, etc. with eyedropper Shift Sets center point and shows dialog Option-click with Tool Duplicates and transforms selection Option-drag Transform pattern without transforming object ~(tilde)-drag Scale proportionally with Selection tool Shift-drag bounding box Scale from center with Selection tool Option-drag bounding box Move mesh point along path with Mesh tool Shift-drag Add mesh point with Mesh tool without changing color Shift-click Remove mesh point with Mesh tool Option-click SHAPES (WHILE DRAWING) Draw from center Option Draw from center with dialog Option-click Constrain proportion Shift Constrain orientation of polygons, stars, spirals Shift Move object while drawing Spacebar Add/subtract sides, points, spiral segments Up or Down Arrow Decrease inner radius Cmd Create Continuous duplicates along mouse movement hold ~ while Dragging VIEWING & GUIDES Get Hand Tool (while NOT editing Type) Spacebar Get Hand tool (while editing Type) Hold Cmd, then Space. Then continue holding Space but let go of Cmd Zoom In Tool Cmd-Spacebar Zoom Out Tool Cmd-Option-Spacebar Zoom In to exact size Cmd-Spacebar-drag Hide/Show all tools and panels Tab Hide/Show all panels except toolbox Shift-Tab Switch between horizontal/vertical guide hold Option while dragging out a new guide Release Guide (turns it into a regular path) Cmd-Shift-double-click TYPE Decrease/Increase type size Cmd-Shift-< or > Decrease/Increase leading Option arrow up or down Decrease/Increase kerning/tracking Option arrow left or right Kerning/tracking x 5 Cmd-Option arrow left or right Decrease/Increase baseline shift Shift-Option arrow down or up Baseline shift x 5 Cmd-Option-Shift arrow down or up Align type left, right, center Cmd-Shift-L, R, C Justify with last line left aligned Cmd-Shift-J Justify all line Cmd-Shift-F Reset horizontal/vertical scale to 100% Cmd-Shift-X Reset kerning or tracking to 0 Cmd-Option-Q PALETTE SHORTCUTS/FUNCTION KEYS Show/Hide Brushes F5 Show/Hide Color F6 Show/Hide Layers F7 Show/Hide Info Cmd-F8 Show/Hide Gradient Cmd-F9 Show/Hide Stroke Cmd-F10 Show/Hide Attributes Cmd-F11 Revert file F12 Show/Hide Graphic Styles Shift-F5 Show/Hide Appearance Shift-F6 Show/Hide Align Shift-F7 Show/Hide Transform Shift-F8 Show/Hide Pathfinder Shift-Cmd-F9 Show/Hide Transparency Shift-Cmd-F10 Show/Hide Symbols Shift-Cmd-F11 LAYERS PALETTE SHORTCUTS Toggle layer between Preview/Outline mode Cmd-click on eye Show layer while turning off all others Option-click on eye Select all items on layer Option-click layer name Copy selected item to different layer Option-drag selection square in Layers panel To create the new layer at the top of list Cmd-click To create the new layer below selected layer Cmd-Option-click COLOR PALETTE SHORTCUTS Saturate/Desaturate current color Shift-drag color slider Change Color Mode Shift-click color bar Select compliment of current color Cmd-click color bar SWATCHES PALETTE SHORTCUTS Create a swatch as a global color Hold Cmd-Shift while creating Replace a swatch with another Option-drag new swatch over old MISC. (In any panel) Apply a value, but keep value highlighted in panel Shift-Return Create New Symbol F8 TOOLS V Selection A Direct Selection Y Magic Wand Q Lasso P Pen + Add Anchor point - Delete Anchor point Shift-C Convert Anchor point T Type \ Line Segment M Rectangle L Ellipse B Paintbrush N Pencil Shift-B Blob Brush Shift-E Eraser C Scissors R Rotate O Reflect S Scale Shift-R Warp E Free Transform Shift-S Symbol Sprayer J Column Graph U Mesh G Gradient I Eyedropper W Blend K Live Paint Bucket Shift-L Live Paint Selection Shift-O Artboard Tool Shift-K Slice H Hand Z Zoom X Toggle between Fill & Stroke Shift-X Swap Fill & Stroke D Default Fill & Stroke (white fill/black stroke) <  Fill or Stroke w/Color >  Fill or Stroke w/Gradient / Fill or Stroke w/None F Cycle through Screen Modes Double-click tools to bring up options. Press CAPS LOCK to change tool pointer to cross hair. Hold down Shift to constrain movement to 45°, 90°, 135°, or 180°.