Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet (PDF)
Over the last months we released a variety of icon sets, tools and templates, but now we would like to release something a bit different for a change. In this post we are glad to release Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts, a PDF-file with a handy overview of most useful keyboard shortcuts available in Adobe Photoshop. The cheat sheet was created by Kenneth Setzer and released especially for Smashing Magazine and its readers.
The cheat sheet is a mousepad-sized image featuring a typical PC keyboard. Photoshop’s keyboard shortcuts are listed for each key, with the shortcut and its icon printed on the individual key. In red is the shortcut you will get by hitting the key in combination with the Ctrl key. For example, typing "t" in Photoshop will activate the Type tool, while typing Ctrl+t will allow you to use the Transformation tool. Additional shortcuts requiring more than two keys are listed as well.
Download the cheat shee for free!
Of course, you can use the PDF for all of your projects for free and without any restrictions. The PDF may not be resold, sublicensed, rented, transferred or otherwise made available for use. Please link to this article if you want to spread the word.
- large preview (.jpg)
- download the set (.pdf, 2.5 Mb)
Behind the design
As always, here are some insights from the designer herself:
Originally, I intended to buy a keyboard overlay with Photoshop shortcuts, but couldn’t find any for a PC, just for Macs. So I compiled a list of keyboard shortcuts, and thought they would fit nicely on a mousepad. I think printing it out and hanging it by the monitor works just as well. I hope those learning Photoshop will find it useful, as well as the more advanced users who may have forgotten some of the less-often-used shortcuts. They save a lot of time, and can impress your boss!
Thank you very much, Kenneth! We appreciate your efforts.
Webdesigncut
February 10th, 2010 1:46 amHmm, thanks for this useful post quiet handy for photoshop users
cute
February 10th, 2010 7:23 amLife is so lonely .i am a rich and beautiful woman. i am single recently .I need a man who can give me real love.So use a name of Anna Baly at — *** MeetMillionaire.com***—- It’s the largest and best club for seeking CEOs, pro athletes, doctors, lawyers, investors, entrepreneurs, beauty queens, fitness models, and Hollywood celebrities.
Lala
February 10th, 2010 8:13 amHey Cute, go advertise your business on a site for lonely gold diggers, this is a design site, you don’t belong here. Happy hunting! loser.
Matthew
February 10th, 2010 9:49 amHey Lala. You really should be more sympathetic. Poor “Cute” is a lonely woman, clearly in pain. Why else would she go to a nerdy page like this one for love. She’s obviously tried all other options. She’s tried the pool-boy, the cable-guy, her tennis instructor, her sons friends, her grandsons friends — tragically none of them can stand the smell of vaseline and olives for that long. It’s a shame there is no PC keyboard shortcut for the rich application of love.
I will love you “Cute Anna Baly.” I will come and find you! … (command + z)
Bombchell - in Atlanta
February 11th, 2010 12:04 amlol y’all are so twisted.
Richard Fleming
February 10th, 2010 11:43 amThe sad part is that she thinks us designers are millionaires. I can only say ‘I wish’. :)
Rahul Chauhan
February 10th, 2010 1:47 amHi Everyone,
Very useful resource for Photoshop designers.
Regrads
Rahul Chauhan
Flizz
February 10th, 2010 6:47 pmvery!
puneet
October 21st, 2011 6:26 ampls tell me about how to create a beautiful images by using photoshop including all photoshop shortcuts and steps how to make designs and to make awesome pics…………….. pls sir
nawakkap
February 10th, 2010 1:49 amDo you have MAC version? Thank you.
deviantstudio
February 10th, 2010 9:14 amThe mac version would be the same, just opt the ctrl for the command key.
Flizz
February 10th, 2010 6:49 pmduh…I thought MAC guys were on the ball with this stuff
DirtyD
May 6th, 2010 6:17 amwho still designs on a PC? Wow your 2000 and late lol…
Dan
September 12th, 2010 9:50 pmSorry to inform you DirtyD but only about more than half of designers in America uses MAC and the rest of the world uses PC which is still more powerful & reliable.
For Mac users info change the Ctrl with Cmd & Alt with Opt.
To Kenneth, thanks a lot for this helpful manual.
Junry
February 10th, 2010 1:50 amThanks for the effort and time dude. Really appreciated
Anyways, do you have a short cut for Illustrator or Flash hehe ^_^.
More power to you.
Mikael Halén
February 10th, 2010 1:50 amNice! I wonder what the boss will say if I print this out at work (where I don’t have photoshop)
Ian
February 12th, 2010 12:04 pmI am sure your boss has seen far worse things printed off at work.
At least it is something educational.
Bogdan Prigorie
February 10th, 2010 1:56 amthank you for sharing this! Very handy little thing :)
Tidy Web Design
February 10th, 2010 1:58 amVERY TIDY!!! Shortcuts make it soooo much easier!!! Thanks
Fiber
February 10th, 2010 2:00 amThanks a lot for this sheet, it’s just great. :-)
Peter Hilgersom
February 10th, 2010 2:05 amThanks for the article. Great overview :)
logoliebe
February 10th, 2010 2:20 amvery usefull…the blue gradient is horrible ;)
DesignLovr
February 10th, 2010 4:32 amI completely agree…
It’s quite a nice pdf, but this blue gradient hurts the eyes…
Josef Richter
February 10th, 2010 2:35 amFor Mac users is probably better to go with KeyCue.app – it’s active, you can click the shortcut directly in the list.
N.R.
February 10th, 2010 2:43 amwhy would you put a gradient background on a file tha’ts intended for printing on a printer ? :-/
roger
February 10th, 2010 4:28 amYeah, I thought the background was a little odd. Something I would never send to a printer.
Another way to get the shortcuts to a printer or leave them onscreen if you gotta enough space:
If you google “Adobe Shortcut App” (http://goo.gl/ExEH) you will find and Adobe Air App that has all the shortcuts for the entire suite (Win+Mac) from which you can print-out Cheat Sheets for the shortcuts.
Arty2
February 10th, 2010 2:58 amWhat, no Ctrl+Backspace/Delete? That’s one of the staples ;)
And there are more Ctrl+Alt ones out there~
And yes, a plain white background or at least a grayscale dither would be more appropriate…
Jonas
February 10th, 2010 3:11 amit seems to be a CS3 cheetsheet?!
“R” does not activate “Blur” anymore. It’s used for the “Rotation-Tool” in CS4/CS5 beta. isn’t it?
GrandmasterB
February 10th, 2010 3:31 pm‘K’ no longer activates the knife tool…it’s all under ‘C’ now.
Emi
February 10th, 2010 3:16 amAwesome, this is going on my wall. It’s missing one of my faves, though.
‘Tab’ will toggle all of the tool panels. It clears your screen of all the extras, leaving just your design behind in all its glory.
DesignFellow
February 10th, 2010 3:24 amNice Sheet.. I’ll post it to my wall…
Thanks :)
VM
February 10th, 2010 3:47 amV. useful. Thanks :)
Luu
February 10th, 2010 3:56 amVery useful. And interesting.
Darwin Santos
February 10th, 2010 4:11 amAwesome, thanks!
Luke Jones
February 10th, 2010 4:27 amShocked that this isn’t for Mac :P
Love.It.!
February 10th, 2010 4:57 amLove It!… Hate the background color though…
Tomas Thorvardarson
February 10th, 2010 5:21 amNice collection of shortcuts, but I think you’re missing the one I personally use a lot:
Ctrl + Alt + 0, to zoom back to 100% (original size).
Geelen S
February 10th, 2010 5:22 amFor AZERTY’s keyboard users, I’ve adapated the pdf.
http://www.gs-design.be/public/stuff/shortcut_ps_plat.pdf
sorin
February 10th, 2010 8:18 amIf you are using other keyboard layouts than US English with Photoshop please fill the below survey:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDY4MnE5LXRqM2E4MmxweGZnRnR4VGc6MA
French users of Photoshop do have an additional survey with pictures
http://blog.i18n.ro/custom/french_survey.html
I’m gathering these informations for a study regarding the usage of keyboard shortcuts worldwide.
E Konrad Neumann
February 10th, 2010 5:42 amvery nice, but this is def. not for your CS4 users. There are a couple of major changes from CS3 to CS4.
Chris Herbert
February 10th, 2010 6:04 amHere is a link to a much better resource of Adobe/Quark/Apple shortcuts, Mac and PC, for everyone to use: http://www.nobledesktop.com/shortcuts.html
It’s not as visual, more of a list. I prefer Noble’s.
zt
February 10th, 2010 6:13 amphotoshop shortcuts for the 1000th time… (Y) :S
Felix
February 10th, 2010 6:27 amthank you !
Dré
February 10th, 2010 6:43 amFirst of all: SM thanks for changing the layout with the tabs! I love it!
2nd: They (logitech eg.) should create keyboards like this!
Greg619fy
February 10th, 2010 7:02 amThis is EPIC.
Keyboard shortcuts are vital to production in news, without them nothing would ever get done in time.
Anyone that wants to ever call themselves adept at Photoshop MUST use shortcuts.
Thanks!
mouli
February 10th, 2010 7:08 amit s more helpful for me thank you
masilli
February 10th, 2010 7:23 amHow do I browse through open windows in PC?
In MAC I use Command (“Apple key”) + > <
Anna
February 10th, 2010 5:04 pmTo browse through open windows on a PC, use Ctrl + Tab
Anrkist
February 10th, 2010 7:38 amI know a couple of people mentioned the blue gradients aesthetics but more importantly, it uses up a lot of printer ink. Best to keep colors to a minimum for web. That said, I could probably open it in Illustrator and just remove it myself. =]
Thanks for the chart.
ralph
February 10th, 2010 7:52 amI love how that amazing design work at the top is Copyrighted….
Ken
February 10th, 2010 8:42 amDude, it ain’t the prettiest I’ve ever done, but have you ever tried drawing all those little tool icons? Jeez.
Van Thanh
February 10th, 2010 7:55 amI learn Photoshop. The cheat sheet is very useful. Thank you.
aumar
February 10th, 2010 8:02 amthat is kool thx
tony
February 10th, 2010 8:15 amoooo… this is so awesome! Thank you!! =D
James
February 10th, 2010 8:28 amPretty cool and handy, but it’s god awful ugly. I’d expect Smashing to post something that’s pleasing on the eyes. This makes me just want to rip them out.
Ken
February 10th, 2010 8:45 amYou know, the gradient looks a lot lighter on my monitor and when I print it. Interesting. If I delete the gradient, it looks so plain! But I guess it really just needs to be functional!
I did base this using CS4 with default shortcuts. I have noticed that some users online had different functions assigned to their keys in CS4 by default. That’s really weird.
James
February 10th, 2010 10:33 amNo need for plain white (though that would be printer friendly). You could use subtle grey gradients with rounded boxes…much like an Apple keyboard. Or use black like another post at Smashing did. Though this wouldn’t be printer friendly. http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/20/obscure-adobe-photoshop-time-savers/
TuNG
February 10th, 2010 9:35 amWith much appreciation for Kenneth and SmashingMagazine.
Mandeep Singh Bawa
February 10th, 2010 9:44 amNice effort….pretty useful for amateurs as well as pros
Anthony
February 10th, 2010 11:04 amI love what Kenneth Setzer did, but here’s a version that’s a little more aesthetically pleasing… http://www.remedy9.com/archives/407. Enjoy!
Travis
February 10th, 2010 11:44 amI work on a 4 monitor setup with my left most monitor being misc stuff, and the one next to it being Photoshop, so I just made this my wallpaper on my left most monitor!
Thanks a bunch! This is gonna help so much.
Ashley
February 10th, 2010 12:06 pmWhats the name of the site with cheap mouse pads for sale?
CssCreme
February 10th, 2010 1:16 pmThanks for sharing this and bravo for the efforts putting in to make it.. Really helpful by all means.
Ant
February 10th, 2010 2:10 pmSome of them are super ochevidous (like ctrl-z), other are hard to remember (those involving ctrl-alt-shift combos).
Amber Weinberg
February 10th, 2010 2:32 pmThese would be great to print on a sticker sheet and stick to the actual keyboard, thanks!
Buatoom
February 10th, 2010 8:17 pmAwesome!
Typografiti
February 10th, 2010 9:39 pmGood for someone who is new to photoshop.
Why is the title ‘Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet’? these are common shortcuts and there’s nothing ‘cheat’ about them.
Sarobar Kasaju
February 10th, 2010 9:46 pmThis is awesome. Great Job
Astam
February 11th, 2010 2:15 amthanks for sharing the info :)
pixxie
February 11th, 2010 2:27 amIf anyone needs a “cheat sheet” they obviously haven’t been using the program long enough & ain’t a real designer! ha!
- oh, and real designers don’t use PC.
- oh, and this is not very well designed.
lulz
Phil
February 11th, 2010 5:11 am“Real designers don’t use PC.”
Another cocky mac user. The computer is just a tool used by artists.
Dan
February 11th, 2010 12:36 pmLOL u rock my world
Ertan
February 11th, 2010 5:31 amGreat overview thanx
ooty
February 11th, 2010 8:36 amThanks a lot. its relay useful
Aaron Williams
February 11th, 2010 9:49 amThanks for this. Here’s my version: http://informaaron.com/images/photoshop_kb_sm.png
Tony
February 11th, 2010 10:45 amI use both Macs and PC’s, so I’m not biased toward either. They each have their pros and cons. That said… Hey Mac users, please stop getting bent out of shape because this was posted in reference to a PC.
If you read the entire article, including the “Behind the Design” section you will see a comment from the designer of the PDF that clearly states why it’s for a PC…
—
“Originally, I intended to buy a keyboard overlay with Photoshop shortcuts, but couldn’t find any for a PC, just for Macs.”
—
As a matter of fact, the last article I saw listing keyboard shortcuts was for a Mac and PC users were asked to do the conversion.
As for the poster who asked about switching between open applications in Windows… It’s actually [Alt] + [Tab]. [Ctrl] + [Tab] switches between files open within the same application.
William
February 11th, 2010 4:00 pmCan someone please put up a version without the awful blue gradient? It would be so much better to read that way and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d be thankful.
Temma
February 11th, 2010 10:10 pmwow, great resource! I printed it.
Iphone Application Developer
February 11th, 2010 10:38 pmWell these Photoshop keyboard shortcut keys cheat sheet is awesome.
socialmediapark
February 11th, 2010 11:45 pmHi,
Very useful resource for Photoshop designers.
Nicola
February 12th, 2010 12:25 amits a nice idea – but to print out? NO
Simple mistake of putting a fancy background on a piece of artwork because the content doesnt really work. Plus its not really a cheat sheet, its a shortcut sheet.
Better suited as a desktop wallpaper or something maybe if you are a beginner. Thanks!
john
February 12th, 2010 3:20 amHi there, nice thing – but i think there are a lot of shortcuts missing. like all combinations with “alt” and “shift” and combined … and combined with the command key.
Think of that.
Photoshop has got much more Shortcuts than displaied above.
Photoshop is a mighty tool and MUCH FASTER if you learn and use as much shortcuts as you can.
greetz.
Abdul Akbar
February 12th, 2010 3:31 amHi everyone,
The shortcuts are very useful, but for beginners :)
321webdesigner
brtak
February 12th, 2010 9:09 amCheck out Adobe Photoshop Keyboard – http://is.gd/ooG5 and Adobe Illustrator Keyboard – http://is.gd/ooH0 #adobe #shortcuts
Kieran
February 12th, 2010 9:57 amYes a handy tool should one have the same version ps. But honestly the actual design is severly lacking is it not. I don’t just mean the gradient but the while thing is fairly naff.
july
February 13th, 2010 5:46 amHi everyone,
Does anybody know shortcut for Brightness/Contrast?
rupam
February 13th, 2010 8:26 pmThanks for the post.
Regards
ivan
February 14th, 2010 7:31 amThey should include more cheatsheets on this site….
ardyonline
February 14th, 2010 11:53 pmthis one is very cute!
Pankaj Tiwari
February 15th, 2010 8:43 pmThanx ….. awesome job Man
PG
February 18th, 2010 7:38 amThanks so much for the cheat sheet!
Rob
February 24th, 2010 9:50 amVery nice! Thank you! I would love one for Lightroom as well! :)
bee
March 11th, 2010 5:18 amThank you soooo much!
Tech Root
March 15th, 2010 8:54 amVery Nice, Thanks so much for the cheat sheet.
reythiel
March 18th, 2010 1:25 amVery useful, thanks for sharing it free!
Ali Qayyum
March 19th, 2010 6:13 pmthanks for the nice info. i would like to share
Best Photography Cheat Sheets to Make your Life Easier
http://www.smashinghub.com/best-photography-cheat-sheets-to-make-your-life-easier.htm
Vadim.Gukoilov
March 20th, 2010 2:29 amМеня все полностью устраивает, поэтому и молчу.
Ulitka
March 20th, 2010 1:47 pmОболденно ты придумал, главное что все элементарно.
Privatik
March 28th, 2010 8:23 pmBlog liked, but a lot of unnecessary comments.
TuanAnh
May 16th, 2010 9:35 amthe pdf link was broken.
thank for sharing ! I love you smashingmag :)
Rebecca H
May 31st, 2010 7:42 pmthanks so much for sharing
PinkyVivi
June 8th, 2010 6:31 pmThank you so much. This is sooo useful and convenient.
Ipads bag
June 21st, 2010 10:04 pmThe cheat sheet is a mousepad-sized image featuring a typical PC keyboard. Photoshop’s keyboard shortcuts are listed for each key, with the shortcut and its icon printed on the individual key. In red is the shortcut you will get by hitting the key in combination with the Ctrl key.
ipad bag
Nirmal
June 23rd, 2010 2:34 amA good resource. Thanks :D
But for the “Enter” key on numberpad – on a laptop, you should hit Ctrl + Enter and not Shift + Enter. Please correct this :)
Alexander
July 16th, 2010 2:29 pmElaborazione delle carte prepagate gemelle lanciate uguale quello del pubblico, attivita primari di chi beneficia del credito erogabile dalle banche sono in un prodotto servizio. Esaurimento del correntista danno luogo alla riserva della banca credito, il deposito secondario (prestito ad A) si somma ai depositi primari.
Banca quinto vicentino
Gabriel
July 17th, 2010 8:05 amDella Commissione per lo studio poste Italiane nell ottobre del cerchio oro dell Ufficio Postale di un solo euro. Concede un ammontare di prestiti zecca dello marketing, Comunicazione, Servizi, Organizzazione Operations. Dalla banca cedente che ne detiene.
Cajamar banca electronica
CH. Lalit Mehla
September 1st, 2010 2:02 amThanks for cheat sheet !
JosephTheCar
September 14th, 2010 10:17 pmI am stupid about topics: “acura cl spark plug cover”, “acura maintance”, “adding remote starter to acura”, .
Brunilda Monnig
November 5th, 2010 9:41 amThanks for this. One keyboard short cut that I use a lot that seem to not be on this cheatsheet is the \ key, shows the mask in red. Very helpful while editing
BedBugsNYCy
January 25th, 2011 5:28 amNeeded to create you one tiny observation to be able to give many thanks as before for all the awesome tips you’ve provided above. It’s so seriously open-handed of people like you to supply without restraint precisely what most people would’ve offered for an e-book in order to make some bucks for themselves, especially since you could possibly have done it if you ever desired. Those creative ideas as well worked as a great way to recognize that the rest have a similar interest the same as my very own to know a great deal more with reference to this issue. I am sure there are some more enjoyable moments in the future for many who go through your forum post.
mixyourshot
February 16th, 2011 7:37 amThank you a lot! Very useful :)
Florin
February 24th, 2011 3:20 amDoes anyone know how you toggle between first (the open state) and last step of the history pallet?
I know the Cmd + Alt/Shift + Z stuff I was just wondering if there is such an option.
Regards
wiktoria banasiak; ppp
March 2nd, 2011 11:10 amweśie tu nic nie ma
sheila
September 10th, 2011 3:25 pmCant thank you enough. Very helpful.
Ranjeet kushwaha
October 21st, 2011 12:32 amdear devoloper
please provide me how to use Photoshop 7 ‘s
shortcut key and their use.
VIKASH
October 28th, 2011 11:54 pmThank you a lot! Very useful
Katherine Berban
November 10th, 2011 1:09 pmhttp://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/photo-app-keyboards/
your shortcut sheet is great. Above is a link for keyboard overlay.
mohd. saqib
November 20th, 2011 8:26 pmDear
Hi everyone
Does anyone know how you toggle between first (the open state) and last step of the history pallet?
I know the Cmd + Alt/Shift + Z stuff I was just wondering if there is such an option.
they are interesting for u and i like this
profadams
December 13th, 2011 1:15 amthis shortcut will make you work fast at short period of time
Manish Bajpai
January 24th, 2012 1:34 amThis is a very fantastic trick of short keys to them who have started to work on Photoshop.
But some short keys you have missed. So please completely prepare it for every users.
Thanks a lot