Affinity Photo 2 keyboard shortcuts
Affinity Photo 2 is a photo editor for retouching, compositing, and developing RAW files, split into Personas for each job. Its keys cover documents and layers, Photo Persona tools, the Liquify and Develop Personas, brush and color controls, and painting modifiers.
Windows, macOS · 106 shortcutsDocuments, editing, and layers
These common commands use Control on Windows and Command on macOS. Layer operations act on the current Layers-panel selection.
| 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 |
| Merge the current layer down | WindowsCtrl + E macOSCmd + E |
| Duplicate the current selection | WindowsCtrl + J macOSCmd + J |
| Group selected layers | WindowsCtrl + G macOSCmd + G |
| Hide the selection | WindowsCtrl + H macOSCmd + H |
| Repeat the last filter | WindowsCtrl + F macOSCmd + F |
| Open Levels | WindowsCtrl + L macOSCmd + L |
| Open Curves | WindowsCtrl + M macOSCmd + M |
| Open HSL | WindowsCtrl + U macOSCmd + U |
| Invert | WindowsCtrl + I macOSCmd + I |
| Open Settings or Preferences | WindowsCtrl + , macOSCmd + , |
| Convert the selection to curves | WindowsEnter macOSReturn |
Photo Persona tools
Repeated tool letters cycle the tool family shown on Serif's Photo Persona sheet. Hold a tool letter for temporary use.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Activate the View tool | Windows / macOSH |
| Activate the Move tool | Windows / macOSV |
| Activate the Colour Picker tool | Windows / macOSI |
| Activate the Crop tool | Windows / macOSC |
| Cycle Selection tools | Windows / macOSW |
| Cycle Marquee tools | Windows / macOSM |
| Activate the Freehand Selection tool | Windows / macOSL |
| Cycle Flood Fill and Gradient tools | Windows / macOSG |
| Activate the Paint Brush tool | Windows / macOSB |
| Activate the Colour Replacement Brush | Windows / macOSR |
| Activate the Pixel tool | Windows / macOSY |
| Cycle Erase brushes | Windows / macOSE |
| Cycle Dodge, Burn, and Sponge brushes | Windows / macOSO |
| Activate the Clone Brush | Windows / macOSK |
| Activate the Smudge Brush | Windows / macOSS |
| Cycle retouch tools | Windows / macOSJ |
| Cycle Pen and Node tools | Windows / macOSP |
| Activate the Zoom tool | Windows / macOSZ |
| Cycle Shape tools | Windows / macOSU |
| Cycle Text tools | Windows / macOST |
| Toggle Quick Mask | Windows / macOSQ |
Liquify Persona
Liquify Persona assigns single letters to mesh deformation tools. Its A, D, and I commands operate on the liquify mask.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Activate the View tool | Windows / macOSH |
| Activate the Zoom tool | Windows / macOSZ |
| Activate Push Forward | Windows / macOSP |
| Activate Push Left | Windows / macOSL |
| Activate Twirl | Windows / macOST |
| Activate Pinch | Windows / macOSU |
| Activate Punch | Windows / macOSN |
| Activate Turbulence | Windows / macOSB |
| Activate Mesh Clone | Windows / macOSC |
| Activate Reconstruct | Windows / macOSR |
| Activate Freeze | Windows / macOSF |
| Activate Thaw | Windows / macOSW |
| Mask all | Windows / macOSA |
| Clear the mask | Windows / macOSD |
| Invert the mask | Windows / macOSI |
Develop Persona
Develop Persona uses its own tools for RAW adjustments. Number keys set brush hardness here rather than opacity.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Activate the View tool | Windows / macOSH |
| Activate the Zoom tool | Windows / macOSZ |
| Activate the White Balance tool | Windows / macOSW |
| Activate the Red Eye Removal tool | Windows / macOSR |
| Activate the Blemish Removal tool | Windows / macOSL |
| Activate the Overlay Paint tool | Windows / macOSB |
| Activate the Overlay Erase tool | Windows / macOSE |
| Activate the Overlay Gradient tool | Windows / macOSG |
| Activate the Crop tool | Windows / macOSC |
| Cycle the crop overlay | Windows / macOSO |
| Set brush hardness from 10% through 90%, or 0% | Windows / macOS1-9 or 0 |
View, brush, and colour controls
In Photo Persona, bare number keys set opacity. Add Control or Command to the documented number keys for 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 colour selector | Windows / macOSX |
| Set selectors to black and white | Windows / macOSD |
| Set the active selector 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 Photo | WindowsNot documented macOSCmd + H |
| Hide other applications | WindowsNot documented macOSOption + Cmd + H |
Painting and selection modifiers
Hold these modifiers while painting, selecting, transforming, sampling, or zooming. Platform-specific center-scaling and pixel movement remain explicit.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Choose a source for Clone, Healing, or Liquify Mesh Clone | WindowsAlt macOSOption |
| Temporarily switch Dodge, Burn, Blur, or Sharpen to its opposite | 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 layers | Windows / macOSShift |
| Select the layer behind the current selection | WindowsAlt macOSOption |
| Draw a straight line between paint strokes | Windows / macOSShift |
| Temporarily switch a painting tool to Colour Picker | WindowsAlt + Drag macOSOption + Drag |
| Drag to change brush size and hardness | WindowsCtrl + Alt + Drag macOSControl + Option + Drag |
| Add to a pixel selection | WindowsCtrl + Alt + Drag macOSControl |
| Remove from a pixel selection | WindowsAlt macOSOption |
| Zoom out with the Zoom tool | WindowsAlt + Click macOSOption + Click |
| Drag a zoom marquee | WindowsAlt + Drag macOSOption + Drag |
Source
Affinity Photo 2 keyboard shortcuts help · Checked
Affinity Photo 2 desktop defaults from Serif's September 19, 2023 Windows and macOS shortcut sheets, cross-checked against the current Affinity V2 online help on August 31, 2026. The sheets use English UK or British keyboard layouts, so physical key positions can differ. Customized shortcuts are not listed.