Working with Adobe Illustrator becomes much easier when you learn its shortcuts. Thanks to its user-friendly interface, you can quickly get the hang of it, and mastering these shortcuts will be the cherry on top.
Using keyboard shortcuts for repetitive tasks can save you both time and effort. Below is a list of Illustrator shortcuts for Windows users that you can use to work more effectively and efficiently.
Function keys Shortcuts
Action
Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts
Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts
Help
F1
F1
Copy
F3
F3
Paste
F4
F4
Cut
F2
F2
Show or hide Brushes panel
F5
F5
Show or hide the Color panel
F6
F6
Show or hide Layers of panel
F7
F7
Create a new symbol
F8
F8
Show or hide the Info panel
Ctrl + F8
Command + F8
Show or hide the Gradient panel
Ctrl + F9
Command + F9
Show or hide the Stroke panel
Ctrl + F10
Command + F10
Show or hide the Attributes panel
Ctrl + F11
Command + F11
Revert
F12
F12
Show or hide the Graphic Styles panel
Shift + F5
Shift + F5
Show or hide the Appearance panel
Shift + F6
Shift + F6
Show or hide the Align panel
Shift + F7
Shift + F7
Show or hide the Transform panel
Shift + F8
Shift + F8
Show or hide the Pathfinder panel
Shift + Ctrl + F9
Shift + Command + F9
Show or hide the Transparency panel
Shift + Ctrl + F10
Shift + Command + F10
Show or hide the Symbols panel
Shift + Ctrl + F11
Shift + Command + F11
Show or hide the perspective grid
Ctrl + Shift + I
Command + Shift + I
Selecting Tools Shortcuts
Action
Illustrator Shortcuts Windows
Illustrator Shortcuts Mac
Artboard Tool
Shift + O
Shift + O
Selection tool
V
V
Direct selection tool
A
A
Magic Wand tool
Y
Y
Lasso tool
Q
Q
Pen tool
P
P
Blob brush tool
Shift + B
Shift + B
Add Anchor Point tool
+
+
Convert Anchor Point tool
Shift + C
Shift + C
Type tool
T
T
Line segment tool
\
\
Rectangle tool
M
M
Ellipse tool
I
I
Paintbrush tool
B
B
Pencil tool
N
N
Rotate tool
R
R
Scale tool
S
S
Wrap tool
Shift + R
Shift + R
Width tool
Shift + W
Shift + W
Free transform tool
E
E
Shape builder tool
Shift + M
Shift + M
Perspective grid tool
Shift + P
Shift + P
Perspective selection tool
Shift + V
Shift + V
Symbol sprayer tool
Shift + S
Shift + S
Column graph tool
J
J
Mesh tool
U
U
Gradient tool
G
G
Eyedropper tool
I
I
Blend tool
W
W
Slice tool
Shift + K
Shift + K
Eraser tool
Shift + E
Shift + E
Scissors tool
C
C
Hand tool
H
H
Zoom tool
Z
Z
Viewing Artwork Shortcuts
Action
Illustrator Shortcuts windows
Illustrator Shortcuts Mac
Switch to the Hand tool
Spacebar
Spacebar
Switch to the Zoom tool in Magnify mode
Ctrl + Spacebar
Command + Spacebar
Switch to the Zoom tool to reduce the mode
Ctrl + Alt + Spacebar
Command + Option + Spacebar
Hide unselected artwork
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + 3
Command + Option + Shift + 3
Exit Artboard tool mode
Esc
Esc
Navigate to the next document
Ctrl + F6
Command + F6
Navigate to the previous document
Ctrl + Shift + F6
Command + Shift + F6
Navigate to the next document group
Ctrl + Alt + F6
Command + Option + F6
Navigate to the previous document group
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F6
Command + Option + Shift + F6
Exit Full-Screen mode
Esc
Esc
Painting Objects Shortcuts
Action
Illustrator Shortcuts Windows
Illustrator Shortcuts Mac
Swap fill and stroke
Shift + X
Shift + X
Select gradient fill mode
>
>
Select color fill mode
<
<
Select no stroke/fill mode
/
/
Working with Type
Action
Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts
Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts
Move one character right
Right Arrow key
Right Arrow key
Move one character left
Left Arrow key
Left Arrow key
Move up one line
Up Arrow key
Up Arrow key
Move down one line
Down Arrow key
Down Arrow key
Move one word right
Ctrl + Right Arrow key
Command + Right Arrow key
Move one word left
Ctrl + Left Arrow key
Command + Left Arrow key
Move up one paragraph
Ctrl + Up Arrow key
Command + Up Arrow key
Move down one paragraph
Ctrl + Down Arrow key
Command + Down Arrow key
Select one word right
Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow key
Command + Shift + Right Arrow key
Select one word left
Ctrl + Shift + Left Arrow key
Command + Shift + Left Arrow key
Select one paragraph before
Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow key
Command + Shift + Right Arrow key
Select one paragraph after
Ctrl + Shift + Left Arrow key
Command + Shift + Left Arrow key
Align paragraph left
Ctrl + Shift + L
Command + Shift + L
Align paragraph right
Ctrl + Shift + R
Command + Shift + R
Align paragraph center
Ctrl + Shift + C
Command + Shift + C
Justify paragraph
Ctrl + Shift + J
Command + Shift + J
Insert soft return
Shift + Enter
Shift + Return
Highlight kerning
Ctrl + Alt + K
Command + Option + K
Reset the horizontal scale to 100%
Ctrl + Shift + X
Command + Shift + X
Increase type size
Ctrl + Shift + >
Command + Shift + >
Decrease type size
Ctrl + Shift + <
Command + Shift + <
Reset tracking or kerning to 0
Ctrl + Alt + Q
Command + Option + Q
Others Shortcuts
Action
Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts
Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts
To switch between Selection and Direct Selection tools
With the above list of Adobe Illustrator shortcuts for Windows users, you can control things like creating a document, making quick selections, changing the text size, selecting tools, etc. All these countless shortcuts will help you to create amazing and professional artwork. An alternative to Illustrator will be CorelDraw. Looking out for CorelDraw Shortcut Keys.
