Working with Illustrator becomes more comfortable when you learn Adobe Illustrator shortcuts. Because of its easy interface, you can understand it quickly. And learning Adobe Illustrator shortcuts will be just like a cherry on top.
Using keyboard shortcuts for repetitive actions can save you time and effort. Below are the Illustrator shortcuts for Windows users that you can practically carry out to work 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 |
Ctrl + Alt + Tab |
Command + Option + Tab |
To make a copy while dragging |
Alt |
Option |
To add to a selection |
Shift |
Shift |
Lock selected artwork |
Ctrl + 2 |
Command + 2 |
Lock all deselected artwork |
Ctrl + Shift + Alt + 2 |
Command + Shift + Option + 2 |
Unlock all artwork |
Ctrl + Alt + 2 |
Command + Option + 2 |
Hide selected artwork |
Ctrl + 3 |
Command + 3 |
Hide all deselected artwork |
Ctrl + Shift + Alt + 3 |
Command + Shift + Option + 3 |
Show all artwork |
Ctrl + Alt + 3 |
Command + Option + 3 |
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.
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