Affinity Designer 2 keyboard shortcuts
Affinity Designer 2 lets you draw vector shapes and paint pixels in the same document by switching Personas. Tool keys change between the Designer and Pixel Personas, while other keys handle documents, the view, color and brushes, and drawing modifiers.
Windows, macOS · 80 shortcutsDocuments and editing
These commands use Control on Windows and Command on macOS. Return converts the current object to curves without a modifier.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Create a new document | WindowsCtrl + N macOSCmd + N |
| Open a document | WindowsCtrl + O macOSCmd + O |
| Close the document | WindowsCtrl + W macOSCmd + W |
| Save | WindowsCtrl + S macOSCmd + S |
WindowsCtrl + P macOSCmd + P | |
| Undo | WindowsCtrl + Z macOSCmd + Z |
| Redo | WindowsCtrl + Y macOSCmd + Y |
| Cut | WindowsCtrl + X macOSCmd + X |
| Copy | WindowsCtrl + C macOSCmd + C |
| Paste | WindowsCtrl + V macOSCmd + V |
| Select all | WindowsCtrl + A macOSCmd + A |
| Deselect | WindowsCtrl + D macOSCmd + D |
| Duplicate | WindowsCtrl + J macOSCmd + J |
| Group selected objects | WindowsCtrl + G macOSCmd + G |
| Lock the selection | WindowsCtrl + L macOSCmd + L |
| Open Settings or Preferences | WindowsCtrl + , macOSCmd + , |
| Convert the selection to curves | WindowsEnter macOSReturn |
Designer Persona tools
These single-letter defaults select vector tools in the Designer Persona. Repeated letters cycle tools where the sheet names a family.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Activate the Move tool | Windows / macOSV |
| Activate the Node tool | Windows / macOSA |
| Activate the Point Transform tool | Windows / macOSF |
| Activate the Contour tool | Windows / macOSO |
| Activate the Corner tool | Windows / macOSC |
| Activate the Pen tool | Windows / macOSP |
| Activate the Pencil tool | Windows / macOSN |
| Activate the Stroke Width tool | Windows / macOSW |
| Activate the Knife tool | Windows / macOSK |
| Activate the Vector Brush tool | Windows / macOSB |
| Activate the Gradient tool | Windows / macOSG |
| Activate the Transparency tool | Windows / macOSY |
| Activate the Vector Flood Fill tool | Windows / macOSR |
| Cycle Shape tools | Windows / macOSM |
| Activate the Shape Builder tool | Windows / macOSS |
| Cycle Text tools | Windows / macOST |
| Activate the Colour Picker tool | Windows / macOSI |
| Activate the View tool | Windows / macOSH |
| Activate the Zoom tool | Windows / macOSZ |
Pixel Persona tools
Pixel Persona reuses several vector keys but assigns its own selection, paint, erase, fill, and retouch tools.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Activate the Move tool | Windows / macOSV |
| Cycle Marquee tools | Windows / macOSM |
| Activate the Freehand Selection tool | Windows / macOSL |
| Cycle Selection Brush and Flood Select | Windows / macOSW |
| Activate the Pixel tool | Windows / macOSY |
| Activate the Paint Brush tool | Windows / macOSB |
| Activate the Erase Brush tool | Windows / macOSE |
| Activate the Flood Fill tool | Windows / macOSG |
| Cycle Dodge and Burn brushes | Windows / macOSO |
| Activate the Colour Picker tool | Windows / macOSI |
| Activate the View tool | Windows / macOSH |
| Activate the Zoom tool | Windows / macOSZ |
View, colour, and brush controls
Number keys set opacity when no Control or Command modifier is held. Modified number keys select fixed zoom levels.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Show or hide the interface | Windows / macOSTab |
| Zoom in | WindowsCtrl + + macOSCmd + + |
| Zoom out | WindowsCtrl + - macOSCmd + - |
| Zoom to fit | WindowsCtrl + 0 macOSCmd + 0 |
| Zoom to 100% | WindowsCtrl + 1 macOSCmd + 1 |
| Zoom to 200% | WindowsCtrl + 2 macOSCmd + 2 |
| Zoom to 400% | WindowsCtrl + 3 macOSCmd + 3 |
| Zoom to 800% | WindowsCtrl + 4 macOSCmd + 4 |
| Set opacity from 10% through 100% | Windows / macOS1-9 or 0 |
| Decrease brush size | Windows / macOS[ |
| Increase brush size | Windows / macOS] |
| Switch the active fill or stroke selector | Windows / macOSX |
| Set selectors to black and white | Windows / macOSD |
| Set fill or stroke to none | Windows / macOS/ |
| Toggle snapping | Windows / macOS; |
| Show or hide rulers | WindowsCtrl + R macOSCmd + R |
| Show or hide guides | WindowsCtrl + ; macOSCmd + ; |
| Show or hide the grid | WindowsCtrl + ' macOSCmd + ' |
| Temporarily use the View tool | Windows / macOSSpace |
| Toggle full-screen mode | WindowsNot documented macOSControl + Cmd + F |
| Hide Affinity Designer | WindowsNot documented macOSCmd + H |
| Hide other applications | WindowsNot documented macOSOption + Cmd + H |
Drawing and selection modifiers
Hold these modifiers while drawing, transforming, selecting, painting, or zooming. The Windows and macOS sheets use different center-scaling and overlap-selection keys.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Temporarily switch a drawing or painting tool to Colour Picker | WindowsAlt macOSOption |
| Reverse the aspect-ratio constraint while scaling | Windows / macOSShift |
| Scale from the center of the selection | WindowsCtrl macOSCmd |
| Ignore snapping during an operation | WindowsAlt macOSOption |
| Select multiple objects or layers | Windows / macOSShift |
| Select an object or layer behind the current selection | WindowsAlt macOSOption |
| Draw a straight line between pixel-brush strokes | Windows / macOSShift |
| Drag to change pixel-brush size and hardness | WindowsCtrl + Alt + Drag macOSControl + Option + Drag |
| Zoom out with the Zoom tool | WindowsAlt + Click macOSOption + Click |
| Drag a zoom marquee | WindowsAlt + Drag macOSOption + Drag |
Source
Affinity Designer 2 keyboard shortcuts help · Checked
Affinity Designer 2 desktop defaults from Serif's May 23, 2024 Windows and macOS shortcut sheets, cross-checked against the current Affinity V2 online help on August 31, 2026. The sheets use English UK keyboard layouts, so physical key positions can differ. Customized shortcuts are not listed.