Adobe Photoshop Shortcuts
A quick reference guide to commonly used Adobe Photoshop shortcuts for the Composition Techniques, projects, and other course exercises.
These are the default Adobe Photoshop shortcuts. Shortcuts may differ if you have customized your keyboard settings.
Basic Tools
| Action | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Move Tool | V | V |
| Rectangular / Elliptical Marquee Tool | M | M |
| Lasso Tool | L | L |
| Object / Quick Selection / Magic Wand Tools | W | W |
| Crop Tool | C | C |
| Eyedropper Tool | I | I |
| Brush Tool | B | B |
| Eraser Tool | E | E |
| Gradient / Paint Bucket Tools | G | G |
| Pen Tool | P | P |
| Type Tool | T | T |
| Path / Direct Selection Tools | A | A |
| Shape Tools | U | U |
| Hand Tool | H | H |
| Rotate View Tool | R | R |
| Zoom Tool | Z | Z |
Some Photoshop tools share the same shortcut. Use Shift + shortcut key to cycle through tools within the same group when that option is enabled in your preferences.
File and Document
| Action | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| New Document | Command + N | Ctrl + N |
| Open | Command + O | Ctrl + O |
| Save | Command + S | Ctrl + S |
| Save As | Shift + Command + S | Shift + Ctrl + S |
| Save a Copy | Option + Command + S | Alt + Ctrl + S |
| Close Document | Command + W | Ctrl + W |
| Close All | Option + Command + W | Alt + Ctrl + W |
| Preferences | Command + K | Ctrl + K |
Basic Editing & Transformations
| Action | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Undo | Command + Z | Ctrl + Z |
| Redo | Shift + Command + Z | Shift + Ctrl + Z |
| Cut | Command + X | Ctrl + X |
| Copy | Command + C | Ctrl + C |
| Paste | Command + V | Ctrl + V |
| Paste in Place | Shift + Command + V | Shift + Ctrl + V |
| Free Transform | Command + T | Ctrl + T |
| Confirm Transformation | Return | Enter |
| Cancel Transformation | Esc | Esc |
| Constrain / control transformation proportions | Shift while transforming | Shift while transforming |
| Transform from reference point / centre | Option while transforming | Alt while transforming |
| Duplicate while moving | Option + Drag | Alt + Drag |
Photoshop’s transform behaviour can depend on the selected tool and current preferences. Always check the Options bar while transforming.
Selection
| Action | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Select All | Command + A | Ctrl + A |
| Deselect | Command + D | Ctrl + D |
| Reselect | Shift + Command + D | Shift + Ctrl + D |
| Inverse Selection | Shift + Command + I | Shift + Ctrl + I |
| Feather Selection | Shift + F6 | Shift + F6 |
Layers
| Action | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| New Layer | Shift + Command + N | Shift + Ctrl + N |
| New Layer via Copy | Command + J | Ctrl + J |
| New Layer via Cut | Shift + Command + J | Shift + Ctrl + J |
| Group Layers | Command + G | Ctrl + G |
| Ungroup Layers | Shift + Command + G | Shift + Ctrl + G |
| Create / Release Clipping Mask | Option + Command + G | Alt + Ctrl + G |
| Merge Selected Layers | Command + E | Ctrl + E |
| Merge Visible | Shift + Command + E | Shift + Ctrl + E |
| Stamp Visible to New Layer | Shift + Option + Command + E | Shift + Alt + Ctrl + E |
| Show / Hide Layers Panel | F7 | F7 |
For course submissions, maintain clearly organized and editable layers. Do not flatten your working TIFF files unless specifically instructed.
Image Adjustments
| Action | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Levels | Command + L | Ctrl + L |
| Curves | Command + M | Ctrl + M |
| Hue / Saturation | Command + U | Ctrl + U |
| Colour Balance | Command + B | Ctrl + B |
| Black & White | Option + Shift + Command + B | Alt + Shift + Ctrl + B |
| Desaturate | Shift + Command + U | Shift + Ctrl + U |
| Invert | Command + I | Ctrl + I |
When possible, use Adjustment Layers rather than permanently applying adjustments directly to image pixels. This keeps your editing workflow non-destructive and easier to revise.
Image and Canvas Size
| Action | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Image Size | Option + Command + I | Alt + Ctrl + I |
| Canvas Size | Option + Command + C | Alt + Ctrl + C |
| Free Transform | Command + T | Ctrl + T |
For MEDIAART 2DF3, always confirm image dimensions, resolution, colour mode, and bit depth before beginning a composition.
Navigation and View
| Action | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Temporarily activate Hand Tool | Spacebar (hold) | Spacebar (hold) |
| Hand Tool | H | H |
| Zoom Tool | Z | Z |
| Zoom In | Command + + | Ctrl + + |
| Zoom Out | Command + – | Ctrl + – |
| Fit on Screen | Command + 0 | Ctrl + 0 |
| View at 100% | Command + 1 | Ctrl + 1 |
| Show / Hide Rulers | Command + R | Ctrl + R |
| Show / Hide Extras | Command + H | Ctrl + H |
| Show / Hide Guides | Command + ; | Ctrl + ; |
| Show / Hide Grid | Command + ‘ | Ctrl + ‘ |
Use guides and rulers to maintain intentional margins, alignment, spacing, and composition structure.
Cropping and Framing
| Action | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Crop Tool | C | C |
| Confirm Crop | Return | Enter |
| Cancel Crop | Esc | Esc |
| Reposition while creating a crop | Spacebar + Drag | Spacebar + Drag |
When resizing or cropping photography, do not stretch or distort the image. Maintain the original proportions unless the assignment specifically requires distortion.