The Ultimate Guide to Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts

Adobe Photoshop is rich in features, and it provides a plethora of keyboard shortcuts to facilitate a smoother and faster workflow for users. Note that some shortcuts might vary between Windows and macOS. Below is a thorough list of general keyboard shortcuts used in Adobe Photoshop. Having a knowledge of these can massively enhance your workflow. Make sure to check the most recent shortcuts from Adobe’s official website or help documentation, as these may have changed or expanded in more recent versions.

Essential Keyboard Shortcuts:

• Ctrl + N (Windows) / Cmd + N (Mac): New Document
• Ctrl + O / Cmd + O: Open Document
• Ctrl + S / Cmd + S: Save
• Ctrl + Shift + S / Cmd + Shift + S: Save As
• Ctrl + W / Cmd + W: Close
• Ctrl + Q / Cmd + Q: Quit
• Ctrl + Z / Cmd + Z: Undo/Redo
• Ctrl + X / Cmd + X: Cut
• Ctrl + C / Cmd + C: Copy
• Ctrl + V / Cmd + V: Paste
• Ctrl + T / Cmd + T: Free Transform

Navigation Shortcuts:

• Spacebar: Temporary Hand Tool
• Ctrl + +/- / Cmd + +/-: Zoom In/Out
• Ctrl + 0 / Cmd + 0: Fit on Screen
• Ctrl + R / Cmd + R: Show/Hide Rulers
• F: Cycle Screen Modes
• Tab: Show/Hide Panels

Layer Shortcuts:

• Ctrl + Shift + N / Cmd + Shift + N: New Layer
• Ctrl + J / Cmd + J: Duplicate Layer
• Ctrl + G / Cmd + G: Group Layers
• Ctrl + Shift + G / Cmd + Shift + G: Ungroup Layers
• Ctrl + E / Cmd + E: Merge Layers
• Ctrl + Shift + E / Cmd + Shift + E: Merge Visible Layers
• Alt + [ or ] / Option + [ or ]: Select Below/above Layer

Selection Shortcuts:

• Ctrl + A / Cmd + A: Select All
• Ctrl + D / Cmd + D: Deselect
• Ctrl + Shift + I / Cmd + Shift + I: Inverse Selection
• Ctrl + Shift + D / Cmd + Shift + D: Reselect
• Shift + Ctrl + J / Shift + Cmd + J: Layer via Cut

Tool Shortcuts:

• V: Move Tool
• M: Marquee Tool
• L: Lasso Tool
• W: Magic Wand Tool
• C: Crop Tool
• I: Eyedropper Tool
• B: Brush Tool
• E: Eraser Tool
• S: Clone Stamp Tool
• T: Type Tool
• P: Pen Tool
• G: Gradient/Paint Bucket Tool
• U: Shape Tool
• O: Dodge/Burn Tool
• A: Path Selection/Direct Selection Tool

Text Shortcuts:

• Ctrl + Shift + T / Cmd + Shift + T: Faux Bold
• Ctrl + Shift + I / Cmd + Shift + I: Faux Italic
• Ctrl + Shift + K / Cmd + Shift + K: All Caps
• Ctrl + Shift + L / Cmd + Shift + L: Small Caps
• Ctrl + B / Cmd + B: Bold (if font allows)
• Ctrl + I / Cmd + I: Italic (if font allows)

Adjustments Shortcuts:

• Ctrl + L / Cmd + L: Levels
• Ctrl + M / Cmd + M: Curves
• Ctrl + B / Cmd + B: Color Balance
• Ctrl + U / Cmd + U: Hue/Saturation
• Ctrl + Shift + U / Cmd + Shift + U: Desaturate

Filter Shortcuts:

• Ctrl + F / Cmd + F: Repeat Last Filter
• Ctrl + Alt + F / Cmd + Option + F: Last Filter Dialog Box
• Shift + Ctrl + X / Shift + Cmd + X: Liquify

Miscellaneous Shortcuts:

• Shift + Ctrl + S / Shift + Cmd + S: Save for Web & Devices
• Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S / Cmd + Option + Shift + S: Save for Web & Devices (Legacy)
• Shift + F5 / Shift + F5: Fill
• Shift + F6 / Shift + F6: Feather
• X: Switch Foreground/Background Colors
• D: Reset Foreground/Background Colors to Default

This list covers a broad range of common Photoshop shortcuts but, importantly, it’s possible for you to create some of your own to further enhance and simplify your daily workflow. Photoshop allows you to customize or explore more shortcuts by visiting “Edit” > “Keyboard Shortcuts” within the application. Enjoy!