Adobe InDesign keyboard shortcuts
InDesign's default shortcuts cover layout tools, frames, transformations, typography, tables, document navigation, panels, styles, and production previews. The same key can change meaning when a text insertion point is active, so context stays in each action.
Windows, macOS · 117 shortcutsDrawing and layout tools
Draw paths, text, frames, shapes, gradients, and transformed objects with InDesign's single-key tool bindings.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Pen tool | P | P |
| Add Anchor Point tool | = | = |
| Delete Anchor Point tool | - | - |
| Convert Direction Point tool | ShiftC | ShiftC |
| Type tool | T | T |
| Type on a Path tool | ShiftT | ShiftT |
| Pencil tool | N | N |
| Line tool | Backslash | Backslash |
| Rectangle Frame tool | F | F |
| Rectangle tool | M | M |
| Ellipse tool | L | L |
| Horizontal Frame Grid tool | Y | Y |
| Vertical Frame Grid tool | Q | Q |
| Rotate tool | R | R |
| Scale tool | S | S |
| Shear tool | O | O |
| Free Transform tool | E | E |
| Eyedropper tool | I | I |
| Measure tool | K | K |
| Gradient Swatch tool | G | G |
| Gradient Feather tool | ShiftG | ShiftG |
| Scissors tool | C | C |
| Toggle fill and stroke | X | X |
| Swap fill and stroke | ShiftX | ShiftX |
| Toggle formatting between container and text | J | J |
| Apply color | Comma | Comma |
| Apply gradient | Period | Period |
| Apply no color | Slash | Slash |
| Switch between Normal and Preview modes | W | W |
Objects and transformations
Select frame content or containers, duplicate and move selections, resize frames, and change display quality.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Select the container of selected content | Esc | Esc |
| Select the content of the selected container | ShiftEsc | ShiftEsc |
| Duplicate and offset the selection upward | AltUp | OptionUp |
| Duplicate and offset the selection downward | AltDown | OptionDown |
| Duplicate and offset the selection left | AltLeft | OptionLeft |
| Duplicate and offset the selection right | AltRight | OptionRight |
| Move the selection upward | Up | Up |
| Move the selection downward | Down | Down |
| Move the selection left | Left | Left |
| Move the selection right | Right | Right |
| Move the selection up by ten increments | ShiftUp | ShiftUp |
| Move the selection down by ten increments | ShiftDown | ShiftDown |
| Select all guides | AltCtrlG | OptionCmdG |
| Switch between High Quality and Fast Display | CtrlAltShiftZ | CmdOptionShiftZ |
Type formatting and movement
Apply character styles, adjust size and leading, align paragraphs, and move or extend the text selection.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Apply the font's bold face | ShiftCtrlB | ShiftCmdB |
| Apply the font's italic face | ShiftCtrlI | ShiftCmdI |
| Apply the font's normal face | ShiftCtrlY | ShiftCmdY |
| Toggle underline | ShiftCtrlU | ShiftCmdU |
| Toggle strikethrough | ShiftCtrlSlash | ControlShiftCmdSlash |
| Toggle all caps | ShiftCtrlK | ShiftCmdK |
| Toggle small caps | ShiftCtrlH | ShiftCmdH |
| Toggle superscript | ShiftCtrl= | ShiftCmd= |
| Toggle subscript | ShiftAltCtrl= | ShiftOptionCmd= |
| Apply auto leading | ShiftAltCtrlA | ShiftOptionCmdA |
| Clear manual kerning and reset tracking | AltCtrlQ | OptionCmdQ |
| Align the paragraph left | ShiftCtrlL | ShiftCmdL |
| Align the paragraph right | ShiftCtrlR | ShiftCmdR |
| Center the paragraph | ShiftCtrlC | ShiftCmdC |
| Justify all lines | ShiftCtrlF | ShiftCmdF |
| Toggle auto-hyphenation | ShiftAltCtrlH | ShiftOptionCmdH |
| Move right one word | CtrlRight | CmdRight |
| Move left one word | CtrlLeft | CmdLeft |
| Move to the previous paragraph | CtrlUp | CmdUp |
| Move to the next paragraph | CtrlDown | CmdDown |
| Move to the start of the story | CtrlHome | CmdHome |
| Move to the end of the story | CtrlEnd | CmdEnd |
| Select the current line | ShiftCtrlBackslash | ShiftCmdBackslash |
| Select all text in the story | CtrlA | CmdA |
Tables and document view
Move through table cells, navigate pages and document windows, fit selections, and switch measurement units.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Move to the next table cell | Tab | Tab |
| Move to the previous table cell | ShiftTab | ShiftTab |
| Move to the first cell in the column | AltPage Up | OptionPage Up |
| Move to the last cell in the column | AltPage Down | OptionPage Down |
| Move to the first cell in the row | AltHome | OptionHome |
| Move to the last cell in the row | AltEnd | OptionEnd |
| Open a new default document | CtrlAltN | CmdOptionN |
| Go to the next document window | Ctrl~ | CmdF6 |
| Scroll up one screen | Page Up | Page Up |
| Scroll down one screen | Page Down | Page Down |
| Go back to the last viewed page | CtrlPage Up | CmdPage Up |
| Go forward to the last viewed page | CtrlPage Down | CmdPage Down |
| Go to the previous spread | AltPage Up | OptionPage Up |
| Go to the next spread | AltPage Down | OptionPage Down |
| Open the Go To command | CtrlJ | CmdJ |
| Fit the selection in the window | CtrlAlt= | CmdOption= |
| Cycle measurement units | ShiftAltCtrlU | ShiftOptionCmdU |
Panels and production
Show panels for typography, pages, layers, color, and stroke, then inspect separations in Overprint Preview.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Show or hide all panels | Tab | Tab |
| Show or hide panels except Tools and Control | ShiftTab | ShiftTab |
| Activate the Control panel | Ctrl6 | Cmd6 |
| Toggle Character and Paragraph modes in Control | CtrlAlt7 | CmdOption7 |
| Open the Character panel | CtrlT | CmdT |
| Open the Paragraph panel | CtrlAltT | CmdOptionT |
| Open Paragraph Styles | F11 | CmdF11 |
| Open Character Styles | ShiftF11 | CmdShiftF11 |
| Open the Tabs panel | ShiftCtrlT | ShiftCmdT |
| Open the Layers panel | F7 | F7 |
| Open the Pages panel | F12 | CmdF12 |
| Open the Color panel | F6 | F6 |
| Open the Swatches panel | F5 | F5 |
| Open the Stroke panel | F10 | CmdF10 |
| Open the Drop Shadow panel | AltCtrlM | CmdOptionM |
| Turn on Overprint Preview | CtrlAltShiftY | CmdOptionShiftY |
| Show all separation plates | CtrlAltShift~ | CmdOptionShift~ |
| Open Preferences | Not documented | CmdK |
| Minimize the active application window | Not documented | CmdM |
| Hide InDesign | Not documented | CmdH |