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Mastering Photoshop: Unknown Tricks and Time-Savers
We all have shortcuts that are essential to our daily workflow. A majority of them are staples such as Copy (Command + C) and Paste (Command + V), but occasionally we stumble upon a shortcut we wish we’d learned years ago. Suddenly, this simple shortcut has streamlined our process and shaved quite a bit of time off our day. Collected here are some lesser known but extremely useful shortcuts. Many of these are not documented in the “Keyboard Shortcuts” menu, and some of them don’t even have equivalent menu options.
Please note that all of the shortcuts listed below assume that you are using Photoshop CS4 on OS X. They will work on the Windows platform by converting as follows: Command → Control and Option → Alt.

[Offtopic: By the way, did you know that Smashing Magazine has a mobile version? Try it out if you have an iPhone, Blackberry or another capable device.]
Layers
Selection
Sifting through nests of layer sets to find the layer you need quickly becomes tiresome. Luckily, there are a number of ways to select layers more intuitively. Using the Move tool (V), you can Command + click on the canvas to select the uppermost layer with pixel data located directly below the mouse. If your layers are grouped within layer sets, this action may have selected the entire folder. You can change this behavior to select the actual layer by using the Auto-select drop-down in the Move tool’s property bar.

Changing auto-select behavior.
There will be times when you want to select a layer that is located below a number of other layers. By right-clicking with the Move tool, you’ll bring up a contextual menu containing a list of all layers located below the cursor. If your layers are properly named, you should be able to quickly select the layer you need. By holding Shift while using either of the selection methods above, you can select multiple layers. After selecting multiple layers, you can link the layers together by right-clicking and selecting Link Layers.

Right-clicking to display all layers beneath the cursor.
The keyboard can also be used to select layers. Pressing Option + [ or Option + ] selects the layer below or above the current layer, respectively. Pressing Option + < selects the bottommost layer, and Option + > selects the uppermost. Option + Shift + < selects all layers between the current layer and the bottommost layer, and Option + Shift + > selects all layers between the current and uppermost.

Sorting
Sorting layers with the mouse can be clumsy and slow. A few shortcuts speeds up the organizing. Command + [ and Command + ] moves the selected layer up or down one position in the stack. If multiple layers are selected, they’ll move relative to the uppermost or bottommost layer. Pressing Command + Shift + [ or Command + Shift + ] brings the selected layer to the top or bottom of its current layer group. If the layer is already at the top or bottom of the layer group, it jumps to the top or bottom of the parent layer group.

Viewing
Option + clicking the eye icon of a layer is a commonly known way to hide or show all other layers. There is also a way to expand and collapse layer groups: by Command + clicking the arrow next to the layer group, you can close or expand all other layer groups; this does not work on nested layer groups. Alternatively, right-clicking the arrow gives you a menu to perform the same actions; but this will work on nested layer groups.
Duplicating
There are a number of ways to duplicate data from one layer to another. Duplicating an entire layer is as simple as pressing Command + J. If a selection is active, you can use the same shortcut (Command + J) to create a new layer based on the selected area of the original layer. Pressing Command + Shift + J with a selection creates a new layer while cutting the data from the original layer. Holding Option while pressing one of the arrow keys allows you to duplicate the current layer and nudge it by 1 pixel. Holding Shift and Option nudges the new layer by 10 pixels.

Duplicating data from multiple layers can also be done more quickly using some keyboard commands. Using Command + Shift + C with an active selection copies the data contained within it to the clipboard. You can then paste it to a new layer (Command + Option + Shift + N, Command + V). If you’d like to create a flattened copy of the entire document, use the shortcut Command + Option + Shift + E: a composite of all visible layers will be added as a new layer to the top of your layer stack.

Brushes
Shape and Size
Being able to quickly adjust the brush tool is crucial to getting a swift workflow. Many know about using [ and ] to decrease and increase the brush’s diameter, as well as Shift + [ and Shift + ] to decrease and increase the brush’s hardness. However, CS4 introduced an even more intuitive way to do this. By holding Control + Option and dragging on the canvas, you can change the brush’s diameter with a visual aid. Control + Command + Option and dragging gives you control of the brush’s hardness.

The on-canvas drag makes brush adjustments more intuitive.
If you would like to completely change the brush shape to a different preset, press < or > to cycle through them and Shift + < or Shift + > to select the first or last brush. Right-clicking inside the canvas also displays a condensed menu of brushes.

Opacity, Flow and Mode
The opacity of the brush tool can be quickly tweaked using the number keys: 3 = 30%; 3 + 5 = 35%; 0 + 3 = 3%; 0 = 100%. Holding Shift when inputting the numbers sets the flow of the tool. Note that if Airbrush mode is on, these two shortcuts swap (i.e. holding Shift controls opacity instead of flow). You can toggle Airbrush mode on and off using Option + Shift + P. The same numeric input method can be used to determine the opacity of a layer when the Move tool (V) is active; pressing Shift allows you to alter the Fill of the layer.

Quick Fill
Instead of selecting the Fill tool (G), you can quickly bring up the Fill menu using Shift + F5. Even better, bypass the menu entirely using Option + Backspace to fill with the foreground color or Command + Backspace to fill with the background color. These keyboard commands can also be used to quickly set the color of a type or shape layer. To preserve transparency when filling, you could first lock the transparency of the layer by pressing / and then fill, but there’s an easier way. Pressing Option + Shift + Backspace or Command + Shift + Backspace fills with the foreground or background color while preserving transparency.


Pressing Command + Shift + Backspace to preserve transparency while filling.
Blending Modes
You can cycle through blending modes or jump to a specific one by using just the keyboard. By pressing Option + Shift + (+) or Option + Shift + (-), you can cycle forward or backward through available modes. Alternatively, you can set a specific mode using the shortcuts below.

Typesetting
Setting type is a delicate and time-consuming process, but shortcuts speed it up. First off, hiding the inversed block that is created by selecting text is extremely beneficial. Command + H allows you to toggle the visibility of both the highlight and baseline stroke, making it easier to see the final result. When finished editing your text, you can commit changes by pressing Enter on the numeric keypad or Command + Return. Pressing Esc discards changes.

Variants
There are six shortcuts for changing the font variant, but they should be used with caution. If the appropriate variant or character does not exist within the currently selected font family, Photoshop creates a faux variant. These fake variants are frowned upon within the typosphere and are extremely easy to spot. So, if you use these shortcuts, make sure that Photoshop has selected an actual variant and not faked it. Now, onto the shortcuts:

Justification
To set the justification, use one of the commands below. Note that a selection must be made within the target paragraph for these to work.

Spacing and Sizing
Properly sizing and spacing type is a tedious task, but Photoshop does provide some handy—albeit broad—shortcuts. Unfortunately, there is no way to fine-tune the increments by which they adjust. Note that these shortcuts will work only if a text selection is made; selecting a type layer is not enough. To change the type size by increments of 2, press either Command + Shift + < or >. To bump the increment up to 10 points, use Command + Option + Shift + < or >. Leading can also be modified by 2 or 10 point increments using Option + Up or Down arrow or by Command + Option + Up or Down arrow.

The arrow keys can also be used to adjust kerning and tracking. Pressing Option + Left or Right either kerns or tracks 20 units depending on whether or not a type selection is active (i.e. if the cursor is between two characters, kerning is applied; if multiple characters are selected, then tracking is adjusted). The increment can also be changed to 100 units using Command + Option + Left or Right arrow. Finally, the baseline can be shifted by 2 or 10 points using Option + Shift + Up or Down arrow or Command + Option + Shift + Up or Down arrow, respectively.

Resets
Sometimes, we have to return to the defaults. Below are some shortcuts to get you back on track.

Menus
Hidden within many of Photoshop’s menus are a number of shortcuts that make adjustments faster and easier. Just about every menu—whether for Adjustment, Filter or anything else—allows you to revert to the original settings; by simply holding Option, the Cancel button will turn into a Reset button. Depending on the menu, holding Option might even change some of the other buttons (e.g. the Done button in the “Save for Web and Devices” menu will change to Remember). Certain menus, such as the Filter Gallery, also allow you to hold Command to turn the Cancel button into a Default button.

Using modifier keys to uncover in-menu options.
Spring-loaded Commands
By default, most menus transform the cursor into the Hand tool or Move tool. These tools can be used on the canvas while the menu is open to pan the document or to adjust settings, such as the Angle and Distance settings for a Drop Shadow. More tools, however, are available via spring-loaded shortcuts. The zoom tools can be accessed using either Command (to zoom in) and Option (to zoom out) or Command + Space (to zoom in) and Command + Option + Space (to zoom out). The hand tool can also be accessed by holding the space bar.

Holding Command + Spacebar to access the zoom tool within the Blending options.
Adjustment Menus and Layers
The Curves adjustment, like most other adjustments, contains some handy shortcuts. Similar to how you can cycle through the Channels in a document, you can cycle through the adjustment’s channels using Option + 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. You can also cycle through the points on the actual curves using - and =. With a point selected, you can nudge the points in increments of 2 in any direction using the arrow keys. Holding Shift in conjunction with the arrow keys moves the point by 16 units. When working with an adjustment menu, you can toggle the Preview option on and off by pressing P. Adjustment layers don’t have a Preview option, but you can temporarily disable it by pressing and holding \.

Summary
Hopefully, reading this has taught you a few new tricks and uncovered for you some of the more obscure options within Photoshop. While memorizing shortcuts can be a chore, integrating them into your daily workflow saves you an incredible amount of time. Do you have other obscure time-savers? Share your favorites in the comments!
Related Articles
- Photoshop Secret Shortcuts
- John Nack on Adobe: Shortcut Changes in PS CS4
- Adobe Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts
- Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts
- Adobe Photoshop CS3 Keyboard Shortcuts
(al)
Tom Giannattasio resides in Bethesda, Maryland, where he works as a Web designer and Flash developer. His personal website, attasi, showcases his most recent work.
- 165 Comments
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January 21st, 2010 3:05 amThere is a “Delete invisible layers” command in the layers palette menu.
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January 21st, 2010 11:32 amSK, what versions have the “Delete invisible layer” command? Is that for Empty Layers?
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January 20th, 2010 7:19 amWhat a fantastic post, wow.
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January 20th, 2010 7:22 amVery nice…,
thanks.. - 6
January 20th, 2010 7:27 amboring
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January 20th, 2010 8:56 amA brilliant assessment, FreakSoap. Your one-word critique calls to mind the first word ever uttered by our knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing troglodyte ancestors and echoed by vacuous eighth-graders everywhere.
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January 20th, 2010 10:02 amboring
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January 20th, 2010 10:41 pmIt might not be the most exciting post ever, but it is an important one. Some of these tricks will save us a lot of time, while you keep looking at pwetty pictuwsz.
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January 22nd, 2010 4:52 amIf it was so important than why not post the Win. equivalant?
Thank you Immelmann
January 20th, 2010 8:20 am
Control = Ctrl, Option = Alt, for all you windows fans- 11
February 19th, 2010 2:23 pmIf you’re work is so important, design on a Mac.
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January 20th, 2010 7:34 amNice post, these will help make things faster for me. Thanks.
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January 20th, 2010 7:38 amVery helpful article, especially the shortcut infos! Another interesting feature which helps you to save time and energy are Photoshop-Actions! If you tried them once, you don’t wanna miss them anymore.
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January 20th, 2010 7:52 amUsing shortcuts in Photoshop are a major time saver… anyone would do well to learn them if they are serious about working in the program.
I knew many of these but one that’s always alluded me was the shortcut to duplicate a layer. That’ll come in handy.
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January 20th, 2010 8:45 amYou can create your own shortcut for duplicating layers. I use cmd + J which I got using the CS3 cheat sheet at the link below. He’s created cheat sheets for many versions of Photoshop.
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January 20th, 2010 7:56 amNice. I know 90% of these, but there are few gems that I didn’t know that will make my life easier!
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January 20th, 2010 7:56 amHm… most were mentioned at: http://www.webdesignerwall.com/tutorials/photoshop-secret-shortcuts/
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January 20th, 2010 7:57 amanyone knows how to use these shortcuts in a spanish keyboard?
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January 20th, 2010 8:03 amThanks a lot for your post! :)
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January 20th, 2010 8:08 amlove this post! i’m a keyboard command addict, it’s nice to see a good photoshop list!
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January 20th, 2010 8:09 amSCHWEET! Extremely useful info, I saved time while reading this article!
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January 20th, 2010 8:18 amGreat List. I use most of these often.
Here are a couple others that i use a lot that were not mentioned:
- Tab Key (to hide toolbars)
- F Key (to change the view to only show the document. If you hit the F key a couple times it will focus on the document only with a black background). This is great for viewing mockups without anything distracting the eye.
- Command + R to hide the rulers
- Command + – Key or Command + + for quick zooming of the document
- Command + 0 to fit to the open area of the screen- 23
January 21st, 2010 3:07 amAnd of course Command 1 for actual pixel size.
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January 20th, 2010 8:18 amvery nice indeed… thank you!
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January 20th, 2010 8:20 amControl = Ctrl, Option = Alt, for all you windows fans. I know I couldn’t remember right away.
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January 20th, 2010 8:21 amCtrl + click on tool bar items to quickly get the flyout of alternate items -or- option + click to scroll to the next tool underneath.
Also ⌘ + E to merge selected layers.
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January 20th, 2010 2:35 pmAnd my new fave, Command + Option + E to merge only the selected layers into a new layer.
Also: Option + Shift click a layer mask thumnail in the layers panel to show the “rubylith” red overlay so you can see you mask superimposed on your actual layer contents. Priceless!
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January 20th, 2010 8:21 amSoulayman – If you are looking to delete all hidden layers there is a command under
layers / delete/ delete all hidden layers.I use that often.
Another awesome trick is when you are using a brush for anything, erasing/painting/sharpening/etc. if the cursor magically disappears and you are only left with a “target” tip, your caps lock is on. Took me forever to figure this out.
Cheers!
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January 21st, 2010 1:49 amWow. I would’ve never found this out. I thought it was just a random thing. Thanks for posting this on the comments! =D
edit: I meant, I never would’ve found out why my cursor changes randomly.
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January 20th, 2010 8:25 amAwesome article. I glanced over it. Will definitely bookmark for future reading and studying. Thanks again.
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January 20th, 2010 8:26 amThis post is God. Thanks, God.
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January 20th, 2010 8:31 amAs a developer I’m happy with just knowing CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + S to save for web :)
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February 20th, 2010 3:12 amYeah one of my fav’s… saves me loads of time! My left hand can form the required shape as easily as a Vulcan greeting now… ah geeky!
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January 20th, 2010 8:31 amPerfect! Thanks a lot!
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January 20th, 2010 8:32 amThis is excellent piece of information, we are certainly going to use these tips for design :)
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January 20th, 2010 8:32 amAm I missing something? The baseline shift and increase/decrease leading shortcuts are the same.
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January 20th, 2010 8:36 amThanks for posting these! I have a feeling they’ll be coming in handy in the near future.
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January 20th, 2010 8:38 amI LOVE this post! I just twittered it. These are great shortcuts that will surely speed up my production time. Thanks guys and ROCK ON!
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January 20th, 2010 8:52 amDoes anyone know how to select the layers within a selection? I found a tutorial on “Rubber band selections” that does this… but it doesn’t appear to work in cs3? Thanks.
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January 20th, 2010 8:59 amNice job, Thomas. Good information, well presented.
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January 20th, 2010 9:01 amI knew most of these already, but there were a few that I had no idea about! These tips are great fo people just learning Photoshop. Thanks!
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January 20th, 2010 9:03 amExtremely useful article. More so because it documents them together nicely. Well done! Bookmarked.
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January 20th, 2010 9:15 amMost of the shortcuts are only available on a Mac…
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January 20th, 2010 9:35 amGood one! I use most of these but didn’t know about alot of them. Great post!
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January 20th, 2010 9:54 amDidn’t knew about ctrl + shift + del, cool thing.
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January 20th, 2010 9:56 amIs this written for mac users only ?
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January 20th, 2010 10:05 amgood job writing it only for Mac users…. :(
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January 21st, 2010 12:56 amJust substitute Command → Control and Option → Alt, it says so on the very top of the article :|
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January 20th, 2010 10:11 amNice collection Thomas, good work.As @Jan mentioned there is a good collection at webdesignerwall, but this looks more organized and you have documented only frequently used shortcuts, thats good.
I also back @EMS’s suggestion of including shortcuts to hide Tool-bars (TAB) and similar ones under ‘changing views’ ….hide/show grids, guides,rulers,all,smart guides etc can be included.
My personal favorite among photoshop shortcuts is double clicking on ‘zoom tool’ to get to actual pixels. :)
Thomas, keep updating this list as you get more useful shortcuts. - 51
January 20th, 2010 10:12 amGreat Post!! Very helpfull!
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January 20th, 2010 10:16 amGreat post Thomas, there are many here that I didn’t know! One trick that always saves me time in web design is duplicating multiple layers at once.
1. Select layers
2. Hold “Alt” (both PC and Mac) and drag the layers.You can hold “Shift” as well to drag them on a straight line.
This really comes in handy when creating navigation buttons or ad spaces.
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January 20th, 2010 10:41 amBeen using Photoshop for about ten years now, yet every time one of these comes out, I learn a few new keyboard shortcuts that I wind up using. Thanks! Love the key graphics, by the way—though I’m somewhat biased, as my weapon of choice is an MBP.
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January 20th, 2010 10:43 amAwesome!!
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January 20th, 2010 10:46 amThank you!
Very useful article. - 56
January 20th, 2010 10:49 amNice job!
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January 20th, 2010 10:50 amWhat a great tips!
Really excellent, thanks for sharing :) - 58
January 20th, 2010 10:54 amExcellent. A few in there to keep my busy for a while longer.
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January 20th, 2010 10:55 amIt’s nice to have these all listed out. While there are certainly many others, there’s one shortcut I can’t live without—actions. I’ve found it incredibly useful to apply actions to my most common commands. For example:
Shift F1 = flattening image
Shift F2 = layer properties
etc …The best part is that using actions can be customized to your own workflow, and doesn’t require you to be on a Mac, or PC.
Question:
Does anyone know how to duplicate a layer “without” the new layer attaching the word “copy” to the end of it? This is extremely frustrating as I spend most of my time renaming or deleting the word copy after all my duplicate layers. Very annoying. - 60
January 20th, 2010 11:03 amCmd T : Thanks a lot , Cmd S : So good !
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January 20th, 2010 11:07 amok that works on MAC, what about us the PC users?
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January 20th, 2010 11:37 amexcellent, its makes you work faster and eficient.
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January 20th, 2010 11:38 amAwesome article Thomas! Thanks for the shortcuts!
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January 20th, 2010 11:49 amYou are a GOD.
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January 20th, 2010 12:05 pmCTRL + ‘
Shows grid.
CTRL+H removes and reapplies all helpers liek rulers and such..
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January 20th, 2010 12:39 pmHoly crap! That’s an awesome list of shortcuts.
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January 20th, 2010 12:41 pmWhat’s the Windows equivalent of the Command key? I tried using the Windows key to no avail.
Any ideas?
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January 20th, 2010 12:52 pmIt’s sickening how many of these I know. Outside of a computer, my brain is filled with so much useless knowledge.
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January 20th, 2010 12:58 pmIt is so much about practicing for me than just reading an article, but this has a few great tools I will have to try. Thanks.
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January 20th, 2010 1:54 pmNot bad at all, Thomas! Like some, I knew many of these, but there are some real winners in there I had no knowledge of that will speed up my work for certain. Thanks much!
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January 20th, 2010 1:58 pmNICE.. thanks, this will save time like hell for me!
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January 20th, 2010 2:01 pmUfff, my head hurts! :)
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January 20th, 2010 2:22 pmProbably the most useful one and another that people often seem not to know is to press the Spacebar after you’ve started a selection with a marquee tool to freely reposition the start point. Saved hours over the years.
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January 20th, 2010 2:45 pmDidn’t know about the hidden Reset and Default buttons in the dialogs. Thanks!
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January 20th, 2010 2:48 pmTHANK UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU :):):):)
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January 20th, 2010 3:21 pmI’m pretty sure most designers use a PC, so using control instead of ctrl and option instead of alt is pretty “hey I’m a mac” behaviour. Not cool.
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January 20th, 2010 4:15 pmWhere’d you pull that statistic from, Piry? This isn’t “hey I’m a mac” behaviour, it’s just less confusing to write an article favouring one keyboard layout over another. Expand your mind, man.
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January 20th, 2010 4:25 pmErm… how difficult is it to mentally swap Command/Option with Ctrl/Alt, seriously.
P.S. the vast majority of Macs exist in the design/creative industries – it’s not “hey, I’m using a Mac behaviour” at all. They just made the mistake of believing PC users were smart enough to transpose two keys. An unfortunate over-estimation in your instance.
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January 20th, 2010 4:07 pmBig fan of this post. Thanks!
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January 20th, 2010 5:54 pmShift + Option + Cmd + Ctrl + M = Downloads all keyboard shortcuts into my brain, directly, without having to learn them one by one. I wish.
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January 20th, 2010 7:01 pmDoes anyone know of a key shortcut to scroll through your font menu when type is selected? I would love to know that even for Illustrator or InDesign. (Mac OS)
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January 21st, 2010 2:10 amIf you select your type, click on your font list pulldown so the current font name is highlighted, you can then use the up and down arrows to move through the list one at a time. It only shows the default weight but it’s better than nothing and much quicker than selecting one at a time.
Works the same in Flash, Illustrator etc. That’s PC btw, but presume it’s the same on a mac.
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January 28th, 2010 9:17 pmYeah, its not :( I use both, that is one advantage of a PC, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why mac users haven’t flipped out about it yet to Adobe. Perhaps ignorance really is bliss.
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January 20th, 2010 8:18 pmGood post except creating a new layer without dialog is Shift, Option, Command+N, not C
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January 20th, 2010 9:01 pmExcellet post wow…….. amazing…
I like It…
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January 20th, 2010 9:08 pmNice trick! very useful and save my time.
Thanks - 89
January 20th, 2010 9:41 pmWonderful post … Thnx alot
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January 20th, 2010 10:25 pmNice tutorial ….
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January 20th, 2010 11:02 pmVery useful, I know some of these keyboard shortcuts, and learn new ones, thanks!!!!
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January 20th, 2010 11:55 pmGreat list of shortcuts… I have a comment specifically for the very fist shortcut listed here about selecting layers. I feel it is necessary and beneficial to add another tip to what was already said here.
I like to use this method to select my layers, groups of layers, and individual layers within groups; however, I don’t want to have to change my Auto-select option each time I want to use this feature; that in itself is a waste of time. So here is a simple tip I have found most people don’t even know about that will allow you to keep your setting to group but still be able to select an individual layer within a group.
From this article you were told to hold down Command(mac)/Control(pc) + click on the canvas to select the layer or group of layers with that specific art. If you want to get to the exact layer within that group, instead of changing your auto-select option just hold down Option(mac)/Alt(pc) + right click on the canvas and it will select the exact layer within the group.
Hope this helps some of you.
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January 21st, 2010 12:04 amAnd now a list for azerty keyboards :-D
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January 21st, 2010 12:42 amWow, a post about shortcuts! Maybe next time you could tell me what’s inside the illustrator manual, or explain the word menu! And the presentation you came up with is just so smart, you know, the way reuse this because it’s all in just one page so I only have to scroll up and down to see them all!
Please try harder next time…
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January 21st, 2010 7:48 pmMenu: >n. 1. a list of dishes to be served or available for a meal. 2. a list or display of options, esp. as displayed on a computer screen.
I hope this helps to explain the word menu for you; as for what’s inside the illustrator manual you can find everything you need at Knock-that-chip-off-your-shoulder.com.
Instead of wasting everyone’s time here maybe you should look up the difference between constructive criticism and rude behavior. Good day to you.
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January 21st, 2010 12:44 amThese are important and useful…..Thanks
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January 21st, 2010 1:24 amBest post in a while! There even are a few that I don’t know, so thanks Smashing!
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January 21st, 2010 1:30 amIf you don’t know by now that command on a Mac equals Control on a PC, just give up on life as a designer. You are retarded.
No really, you are f’ing retarded. Go seek medical help.
The stupidity of some people just baffles me.
Especially when THEY EXPLAINED THIS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE ARTICLE.
Heaven forbid we read those things called “words” to figure out what’s going on instead of just looking at the pretty pictures….
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January 21st, 2010 1:43 amReally useful, just shows you there’s always something to learn when it comes to workflow.
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January 21st, 2010 2:11 amThis is the best list I’ve yet seen. Thanks, as most posters have noted, your effort is greatly appreciated!
Photoshop also allows you to define your own custom shortcuts. Bring up the dialog box with:
Option + Shift + Cmd + K
or this ’shortcut’
⌥⇧⌘K - 101
January 21st, 2010 2:25 am[quote]…Command + Space (to zoom in) and Command + Option + Space (to zoom out)[/quote]
Actually for zoom out, Option + Space is enough.
Very useful article, I knew some of the shortcuts but I was totally unaware of others. Thanks Smashmag!
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January 21st, 2010 3:09 amRedundant post if you ask me. There are hunderds of Photoshop cheat sheets on the web already. Making a big list of sometimes impossible (cmon who uses all those command+option+shift) shortcuts and calling it ‘TimeSavers’ is a bit silly.
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January 21st, 2010 3:22 amThis article is written halfway. Is it so hard to explore shortcuts for PC?
@Alex
Sorry Alex, but you are not right, there is alot differences between Mac and PC keyboard layout for Photoshop.
Much more than just Command → Control and Option → Alt…- 104
January 21st, 2010 5:13 amThanks… i was wondering what the hell was “command” and “option”… xD. PC should be the default system in tutorials, because you know… Mac… bleh!
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January 21st, 2010 3:39 amThanks for the post. It’s not always about the information itself, but about the time the information is released. I looked through several Ps Shortcut lists already but you won’t learn them all at once. So you just keep on using the 5 new you learnt and forget about the rest. Now this article actually tought me some new shortcuts I wasn’t aware of and I will use definitely. Especially the simple autoselect “layers” instead of “group” is a timesaver for me. Also the direct shortcuts to change the layer modes are great.
I really think its good to release a post like this every 2 months to update your own workflow with hotkeys and ofcourse introduce new designers to timesaving hotkeys. Thanks for sharing!
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January 21st, 2010 3:46 amThanx it is really helpful
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January 21st, 2010 4:11 amBeing a shortcut addict I loved this post. Got some new ones to add to my arsenal – reckon the text formatting ones will be the most useful. Thanks.
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January 21st, 2010 6:40 amI implore everyone to stop using Photoshop to set type. Unless you want to design everything in 1,000,000 dpi. Thanks.
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January 21st, 2010 6:54 amGreat article! I use shortcuts religiously, and there are some here that will help even more. Thanks!!!
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January 21st, 2010 7:10 amWow! Great article, one of the most useful and comprehensive Photoshop shortcut roundups I’ve ever read :) Thanks!
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January 21st, 2010 7:21 amVery instructive ! thank you
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January 21st, 2010 8:56 amGreat tips! Are these shortcut for certain version of Photoshop only? I cannot seem to get the change brush setting with visual aide shortcut to work.
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January 22nd, 2010 5:12 amThe “adjust brush size with visual aid” doesn’t work like that for Windows users. Still, I figured out how it does:
Alt + rmb drag = Brush Size
Alt + Shift + rmb drag = Brush HardnessThanks anyway for many useful Tips :)
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January 21st, 2010 9:38 amGreat post! Thanks!
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January 21st, 2010 10:45 amI thought I was a power user, always have LOVED quick keys, but I just got owned.
- 117
January 21st, 2010 11:37 amWow those adjust brush size with visuals is great!!!
Thanks a lot Smashing!
- 118
January 21st, 2010 12:30 pmI think every designer should have their own set of shortcuts for each program aside from the original shortcuts and have them saved somewhere so you can use it for both home and work.
I do that and it does save quite a bit of time. And for people who don’t use shortcuts and use the mouse instead to navigate through all the menus, you REALLY NEED TO start using shortcuts. Thanks me later.
This is a useful post for me because sometimes I forget what shortcut I need for changing transfer modes and a few others. Thanks! - 119
January 21st, 2010 2:19 pmWow! I’ve been using Photoshop since version 2 (ahem showing my age) and this article is tremendous. Great work + more superlatives.
- 120
January 21st, 2010 3:19 pmFantastic post great start to the new year so far.
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January 21st, 2010 7:01 pmGreat shortcuts! A few good ones that are new to me.
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January 21st, 2010 7:41 pmGood presentation
- 123
January 21st, 2010 9:01 pmMost of the shortcut keys i am using from last 3 years
but over all nice post… - 124
January 21st, 2010 10:07 pmEEEEEEEEEWWWWW… mac
- 125
January 22nd, 2010 12:53 amWow. I’m not bragging but I know a ton of shortcuts in photoshop. So I went into this article thinking “bring it”. Well by the end of the article I learned a some new ones. Really cool ones indeed. Thanks Thomas. Your the man!
- 126
January 22nd, 2010 6:07 amVery Great Presentation.
- 127
January 22nd, 2010 6:24 amThanks for the obvious list of shortcuts that if you have a little brain will find in google in 10 secs. Also no everyone use Mac some of us use real computers.
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January 22nd, 2010 8:03 amlove the quick fill and brush size shortcuts!
does anyone know a shortcut to select/highlight an entire layer? ) ie – when you double click the ‘T’ thumbnail in your layer panel, it highlights that text in your workspace). when i worked on a pc years ago i used to use this a ton, and since enlightenment [converting to a mac], i haven’t been able to discover it again/it’s not the same command. :(
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January 22nd, 2010 8:24 amGreat Post!!
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January 22nd, 2010 8:40 amuseful shortcut keys
I know half of them already. But, almost 50% are new to me.
Nice post. Luv it. - 132
January 22nd, 2010 9:57 amReally good roundup, I learned a new thing or two myself :)
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January 22nd, 2010 10:15 amawesome shortcuts but i’m a windows user :( option = alt ? command = shift? or viceversa, thanks for this tips :)
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January 22nd, 2010 11:16 amTo select a layer inside a group without changing the auto-select behavior, just ctrl+alt+RMB. :-)
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January 22nd, 2010 10:46 pmGreat post! It’s a whole lot of shortcuts!
but you should have considered windows user also. Still 85% of the computers are Windows! - 136
January 23rd, 2010 4:12 amwow! and i thought i know a lot about photoshop shortcuts. thanks for this most awesome post!
- 137
January 23rd, 2010 6:20 amThat’s Very Great Idea,Its Like you are angel giving good ideas
- 138
January 24th, 2010 12:23 amMAN, I GET SO ANGRY THAT I DIDN’T KNOW ALL THAT STUFF!!!!
- 139
January 24th, 2010 1:16 amCtrl + Mac = Sux
- 140
January 24th, 2010 2:34 amthank you so much….
- 141
January 24th, 2010 3:35 amThanks so much! Very usefull article.
- 142
January 24th, 2010 10:42 amNice, but as others have mentioned. Not everyone uses a Mac. A designer would use cross browser code, a Graphic Designer would convert for different print versions, so an author should cater for more than one operating system.
Bad practise really.
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January 24th, 2010 8:02 pmI don’t get what the big deal is, it’s clearly explained at the beginning of the article: “They will work on the Windows platform by converting as follows: Command → Control and Option → Alt.”
I think it’s a great post!
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January 25th, 2010 3:33 amThe point I was making is that the author stated ‘Please note that all of the shortcuts listed below assume that you are using Photoshop CS4 on OS X.’ But they work on Windows!!!
Not all of them do, and the author also never took into account foreign keyboard layouts or languages.
Slightly narrow minded. Though I do agree, its a great post. I’m not knocking that!
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January 25th, 2010 1:06 amwat abou windows users??????
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January 25th, 2010 1:12 amI was looking for layer management shortcuts for ages!! thx so much!
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January 25th, 2010 2:31 amIs a lot of shortcuts to remind, besides i have a Spanish keyboard and many of them don’t work for me.
But i’m just amazed about the mode to select the layer instead the group. That has been a headache for me since the version cs1. I just can’t select the stupid layer and instead i got the whole group. LOL, what a noob, i didnt know that i could change it, thank u so much.
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January 25th, 2010 9:22 amSo many tricks, thanks a lot.
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January 25th, 2010 10:37 pmIts super tips..thanks
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January 26th, 2010 12:50 amHow do you do commands like command + control + option + x on windows? And before you write that I shouls juat read the beginning of the post, please actually read WHAT exactl I wrote. Thanks a lot in advance
(if command = ctrl and option = alt, then what does the mac control equate to?)
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January 26th, 2010 12:48 pmNils,
Holding control is what toggles the right mouse button functionality for Mac users. Therefore, the PC equivalent of Control + Option + Drag would be Alt + Drag with the right mouse button. I apologize for this exclusion. Hopefully this clears it up.
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February 1st, 2010 3:50 pmIt would be helpful to include the PC shortcuts as well in the article. I see you included a refresher at the top on which keys translate to the PC, thank you, it just would be awesome to see them side by side in the article. This is a fantastic article, thank you for all the tips! Always looking to make my work flow more efficient! I would love to see similar articles in Illustrator and Indesign!!
- 153
February 2nd, 2010 6:31 pmIn the interest of clarity; Cmd(Ctl) + F5 brings up the fill dialog, but so does Shift+Delete. Which is much easier to remember with Cmd+Delete for background color fill, and Opt+Delete for foreground color fill. I don’t remember whether this works with Windows using the Backspace key (where the Delete key is on a Mac).
A couple of others I stress to my students for efficiency: Cmd+; to toggle guides, and Cmd+’ to toggle the grid.
The others I use a lot are Cmd+Opt+2 (3,4,or 5) to select the brightness mask of the full color, red, green, or blue channels.
Cheers. - 154
February 3rd, 2010 7:45 pmGreat collection and fantastic legends. I’m a die hard keyboard shortcut guy but I really need to remember some of these. Thanks for taking the time to put this together – I’m sure it took a while.
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February 7th, 2010 8:37 pmi was pretty impressed in this post. awesome!!!!!!!!!!
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February 9th, 2010 8:41 amDoes anyone know of a really good program (better than “Gimp”) that gives high resolution (over 3500pix) for producing great graphics and art. Art is becoming a whole new ball game and I believe it will be the future. ( can u buy this program for under $100.00 ?)
I sure would like to know the very best program –
thanks,
bari - 157
February 10th, 2010 5:34 amVery Useful article, thanks for sharing to us.
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February 10th, 2010 9:33 amCool shortcuts! One I love (not sure if this counts) but if you press ctrl+a (select all), click the appropriate layer, then use the align tool, it’ll align that layer to the canvas area.
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February 16th, 2010 4:12 amI don’t have an “option” key…”command” too
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February 19th, 2010 12:37 pmGreat article! Straight to the point and full of useful tips.
This will save me loads of time ;) - 161
February 19th, 2010 3:18 pmmy life is forever changed with the discover of the command click layers feature. thank you so much
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February 22nd, 2010 6:04 amDont know if it’s already mentioned but this is a shortcuts that I use a lot in cs4.
command+~=to scroll through your photo’s. saves you some clicking. And great one in combination with F.
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March 4th, 2010 3:28 amThanks for this useful tricks, but i have win7 :’(
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March 5th, 2010 3:30 amThe Shortcut that saves my life:
cmd + alt + z for undo more then once.
<3
Bruno
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March 8th, 2010 9:42 pmgood stuff!
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(48 votes, average: 4.60 out of 5)
Very useful article.
Does anyone have a trick to select all INVISIBLE layers ?
Thanks.