Adobe Illustrator keyboard shortcuts
Illustrator is the vector drawing app designers reach for when making logos, icons, and print artwork that scales to any size. Its shortcuts pick tools, manage artboards and the view, select and arrange objects, and handle color, type, and effects.
Windows, macOS · 122 shortcutsDocuments and editing
Create, open, place, save, export, print, and edit Illustrator documents with the standard desktop commands.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Undo | WindowsCtrl + Z macOSCmd + Z |
| Redo | WindowsShift + Ctrl + Z macOSShift + Cmd + Z |
| Cut | WindowsCtrl + X macOSCmd + X |
| Copy | WindowsCtrl + C macOSCmd + C |
| Paste | WindowsCtrl + V macOSCmd + V |
| Paste in front | WindowsCtrl + F macOSCmd + F |
| Paste at back | WindowsCtrl + B macOSCmd + B |
| Paste in place | WindowsShift + Ctrl + V macOSShift + Cmd + V |
| Paste on all artboards | WindowsAlt + Shift + Ctrl + V macOSOption + Shift + Cmd + V |
| Check spelling | WindowsCtrl + I macOSCmd + I |
| Open Keyboard Shortcuts | WindowsAlt + Shift + Ctrl + K macOSOption + Shift + Cmd + K |
| Open Preferences | WindowsCtrl + K macOSCmd + K |
| Create a document | WindowsCtrl + N macOSCmd + N |
| Create a document from a template | WindowsShift + Ctrl + N macOSShift + Cmd + N |
| Create a document without the New Document dialog | WindowsAlt + Ctrl + N macOSOption + Cmd + N |
| Open a document | WindowsCtrl + O macOSCmd + O |
| Place a file in the document | WindowsShift + Ctrl + P macOSShift + Cmd + P |
| Open File Information | WindowsAlt + Shift + Ctrl + I macOSOption + Shift + Cmd + I |
| Open Document Setup | WindowsAlt + Ctrl + P macOSOption + Cmd + P |
| Browse in Adobe Bridge | WindowsAlt + Ctrl + O macOSOption + Cmd + O |
| Close the document window | WindowsCtrl + W macOSCmd + W |
| Save the document | WindowsCtrl + S macOSCmd + S |
| Open Save As | WindowsShift + Ctrl + S macOSShift + Cmd + S |
| Save a copy | WindowsAlt + Ctrl + S macOSOption + Cmd + S |
| Open Export for Screens | WindowsAlt + Ctrl + E macOSOption + Cmd + E |
| Open Save for Web | WindowsAlt + Shift + Ctrl + S macOSOption + Shift + Cmd + S |
| Package the document | WindowsAlt + Shift + Ctrl + P macOSOption + Shift + Cmd + P |
WindowsCtrl + P macOSCmd + P | |
| Exit Illustrator | WindowsCtrl + Q macOSCmd + Q |
Tools
Select Illustrator's core drawing, selection, transformation, painting, type, navigation, and color tools.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Artboard tool | Windows / macOSShift + O |
| Selection tool | Windows / macOSV |
| Direct Selection tool | Windows / macOSA |
| Magic Wand tool | Windows / macOSY |
| Lasso tool | Windows / macOSQ |
| Pen tool | Windows / macOSP |
| Curvature tool | Windows / macOSShift + ~ |
| Type tool | Windows / macOST |
| Line Segment tool | Windows / macOSBackslash |
| Rectangle tool | Windows / macOSM |
| Ellipse tool | Windows / macOSL |
| Paintbrush tool | Windows / macOSB |
| Pencil tool | Windows / macOSN |
| Shaper tool | Windows / macOSShift + N |
| Rotate tool | Windows / macOSR |
| Reflect tool | Windows / macOSO |
| Scale tool | Windows / macOSS |
| Free Transform tool | Windows / macOSE |
| Shape Builder tool | Windows / macOSShift + M |
| Perspective Grid tool | Windows / macOSShift + P |
| Mesh tool | Windows / macOSU |
| Gradient tool | Windows / macOSG |
| Eyedropper tool | Windows / macOSI |
| Blend tool | Windows / macOSW |
| Live Paint Bucket tool | Windows / macOSK |
| Eraser tool | Windows / macOSShift + E |
| Scissors tool | Windows / macOSC |
| Hand tool | Windows / macOSH |
| Zoom tool | Windows / macOSZ |
View and artboards
Navigate documents and artboards, change preview modes, zoom, and control guides, grids, rulers, and bounding boxes.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Magnify to 100 percent | WindowsCtrl + 1 macOSCmd + 1 |
| Show or hide the bounding box | WindowsShift + Ctrl + B macOSShift + Cmd + B |
| Hide unselected artwork | WindowsCtrl + Alt + Shift + 3 macOSCmd + Option + Shift + 3 |
| Show or hide artboards | WindowsCtrl + Shift + H macOSCmd + Shift + H |
| Show or hide artboard rulers | WindowsCtrl + R macOSCmd + Option + R |
| Show the transparency grid | WindowsShift + Ctrl + D macOSShift + Cmd + D |
| Fit all artboards in the window | WindowsCtrl + Alt + 0 macOSCmd + Option + 0 |
| Exit Artboard tool mode | Windows / macOSEsc |
| Go to the next document | WindowsCtrl + F6 macOSCmd + F6 |
| Go to the previous document | WindowsCtrl + Shift + F6 macOSCmd + Shift + F6 |
| Toggle Outline and GPU Preview | WindowsCtrl + Y macOSCmd + Y |
| Toggle GPU and CPU Preview | WindowsCtrl + E macOSCmd + E |
| Open Overprint Preview | WindowsAlt + Shift + Ctrl + Y macOSOption + Shift + Cmd + Y |
| Open Pixel Preview | WindowsAlt + Ctrl + Y macOSOption + Cmd + Y |
| Exit Full Screen mode | Windows / macOSEsc |
| Zoom in | WindowsCtrl + = macOSCmd + = |
| Zoom out | WindowsCtrl + - macOSCmd + - |
| Show or hide guides | WindowsCtrl + ; macOSCmd + ; |
| Lock or unlock guides | WindowsAlt + Ctrl + ; macOSOption + Cmd + ; |
| Make guides from the selection | WindowsCtrl + 5 macOSCmd + 5 |
| Show or hide Smart Guides | WindowsCtrl + U macOSCmd + U |
| Show or hide the perspective grid | WindowsCtrl + Shift + I macOSCmd + Shift + I |
| Show or hide the grid | WindowsCtrl + ' macOSCmd + ' |
| Toggle Snap to Grid | WindowsShift + Ctrl + ' macOSShift + Cmd + ' |
Objects and selection
Select, group, lock, hide, reorder, and move artwork without leaving the canvas.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Select artwork on the active artboard | WindowsCtrl + Alt + A macOSCmd + Option + A |
| Select all | WindowsCtrl + A macOSCmd + A |
| Deselect | WindowsShift + Ctrl + A macOSShift + Cmd + A |
| Reselect | WindowsCtrl + 6 macOSCmd + 6 |
| Select the object above | WindowsAlt + Ctrl + ] macOSOption + Cmd + ] |
| Select the object below | WindowsAlt + Ctrl + [ macOSOption + Cmd + [ |
| Group selected artwork | WindowsCtrl + G macOSCmd + G |
| Ungroup selected artwork | WindowsShift + Ctrl + G macOSShift + Cmd + G |
| Lock the selection | WindowsCtrl + 2 macOSCmd + 2 |
| Unlock all selections | WindowsAlt + Ctrl + 2 macOSOption + Cmd + 2 |
| Hide the selection | WindowsCtrl + 3 macOSCmd + 3 |
| Show all selections | WindowsAlt + Ctrl + 3 macOSOption + Cmd + 3 |
| Lock all deselected artwork | WindowsCtrl + Alt + Shift + 2 macOSCmd + Option + Shift + 2 |
| Bring the selection forward | WindowsCtrl + ] macOSCmd + ] |
| Move the selection to the front | WindowsShift + Ctrl + ] macOSShift + Cmd + ] |
| Send the selection backward | WindowsCtrl + [ macOSCmd + [ |
| Move the selection to the back | WindowsShift + Ctrl + [ macOSShift + Cmd + [ |
Color, type, and effects
Control fill and stroke, size brushes, format type, open type panels, and repeat the last effect.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Toggle between fill and stroke | Windows / macOSX |
| Set the default fill and stroke | Windows / macOSD |
| Swap fill and stroke | Windows / macOSShift + X |
| Select gradient fill mode | Windows / macOS> |
| Select color fill mode | Windows / macOS< |
| Select no stroke or fill | Windows / macOSSlash |
| Add a new fill | WindowsCtrl + Slash macOSCmd + Slash |
| Add a new stroke | WindowsCtrl + Alt + Slash macOSCmd + Option + Slash |
| Decrease Bristle brush size | Windows / macOS[ |
| Increase Bristle brush size | Windows / macOS] |
| Create type outlines | WindowsShift + Ctrl + O macOSShift + Cmd + O |
| Open the Character panel | WindowsCtrl + T macOSCmd + T |
| Open the Paragraph panel | WindowsAlt + Ctrl + T macOSOption + Cmd + T |
| Open the Tabs panel | WindowsShift + Ctrl + T macOSShift + Cmd + T |
| Open the OpenType panel | WindowsAlt + Shift + Ctrl + T macOSOption + Shift + Cmd + T |
| Apply superscript | WindowsShift + Ctrl + = macOSShift + Cmd + = |
| Apply subscript | WindowsAlt + Shift + Ctrl + = macOSOption + Shift + Cmd + = |
| Toggle auto-hyphenation | WindowsAlt + Shift + Ctrl + H macOSOption + Shift + Cmd + H |
| Insert an em space | WindowsShift + Ctrl + M macOSShift + Cmd + M |
| Insert an en space | WindowsShift + Ctrl + N macOSShift + Cmd + N |
| Apply the last effect | WindowsShift + Ctrl + E macOSShift + Cmd + E |
| Apply the last effect with its dialog | WindowsAlt + Shift + Ctrl + E macOSOption + Shift + Cmd + E |
| Open Illustrator Help | Windows / macOSF1 |
Source
Adobe Illustrator default keyboard shortcuts · Checked
Current Adobe Illustrator desktop defaults from Adobe's English reference updated February 17, 2026. Custom shortcut sets and pointer-only gestures are not listed.