Affinity Photo 2 keyboard shortcuts
Affinity Photo 2 changes tool letters with the active Persona while keeping common document, view, brush, and layer commands available throughout the desktop app. This reference labels each Persona so overlapping keys remain understandable.
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 | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Create a new document | CtrlN | CmdN |
| Open a document | CtrlO | CmdO |
| Close the document | CtrlW | CmdW |
| Save | CtrlS | CmdS |
| CtrlP | CmdP | |
| Undo | CtrlZ | CmdZ |
| Redo | CtrlY | CmdY |
| Cut | CtrlX | CmdX |
| Copy | CtrlC | CmdC |
| Paste | CtrlV | CmdV |
| Select all | CtrlA | CmdA |
| Deselect | CtrlD | CmdD |
| Merge the current layer down | CtrlE | CmdE |
| Duplicate the current selection | CtrlJ | CmdJ |
| Group selected layers | CtrlG | CmdG |
| Hide the selection | CtrlH | CmdH |
| Repeat the last filter | CtrlF | CmdF |
| Open Levels | CtrlL | CmdL |
| Open Curves | CtrlM | CmdM |
| Open HSL | CtrlU | CmdU |
| Invert | CtrlI | CmdI |
| Open Settings or Preferences | Ctrl, | Cmd, |
| Convert the selection to curves | Enter | Return |
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 | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Activate the View tool | H | H |
| Activate the Move tool | V | V |
| Activate the Colour Picker tool | I | I |
| Activate the Crop tool | C | C |
| Cycle Selection tools | W | W |
| Cycle Marquee tools | M | M |
| Activate the Freehand Selection tool | L | L |
| Cycle Flood Fill and Gradient tools | G | G |
| Activate the Paint Brush tool | B | B |
| Activate the Colour Replacement Brush | R | R |
| Activate the Pixel tool | Y | Y |
| Cycle Erase brushes | E | E |
| Cycle Dodge, Burn, and Sponge brushes | O | O |
| Activate the Clone Brush | K | K |
| Activate the Smudge Brush | S | S |
| Cycle retouch tools | J | J |
| Cycle Pen and Node tools | P | P |
| Activate the Zoom tool | Z | Z |
| Cycle Shape tools | U | U |
| Cycle Text tools | T | T |
| Toggle Quick Mask | Q | Q |
Liquify Persona
Liquify Persona assigns single letters to mesh deformation tools. Its A, D, and I commands operate on the liquify mask.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Activate the View tool | H | H |
| Activate the Zoom tool | Z | Z |
| Activate Push Forward | P | P |
| Activate Push Left | L | L |
| Activate Twirl | T | T |
| Activate Pinch | U | U |
| Activate Punch | N | N |
| Activate Turbulence | B | B |
| Activate Mesh Clone | C | C |
| Activate Reconstruct | R | R |
| Activate Freeze | F | F |
| Activate Thaw | W | W |
| Mask all | A | A |
| Clear the mask | D | D |
| Invert the mask | I | I |
Develop Persona
Develop Persona uses its own tools for RAW adjustments. Number keys set brush hardness here rather than opacity.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Activate the View tool | H | H |
| Activate the Zoom tool | Z | Z |
| Activate the White Balance tool | W | W |
| Activate the Red Eye Removal tool | R | R |
| Activate the Blemish Removal tool | L | L |
| Activate the Overlay Paint tool | B | B |
| Activate the Overlay Erase tool | E | E |
| Activate the Overlay Gradient tool | G | G |
| Activate the Crop tool | C | C |
| Cycle the crop overlay | O | O |
| Set brush hardness from 10% through 90%, or 0% | 1-9or0 | 1-9or0 |
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 | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Show or hide the interface | Tab | Tab |
| Zoom in | Ctrl+ | Cmd+ |
| Zoom out | Ctrl- | Cmd- |
| Zoom to fit | Ctrl0 | Cmd0 |
| Zoom to 100% | Ctrl1 | Cmd1 |
| Zoom to 200% | Ctrl2 | Cmd2 |
| Zoom to 400% | Ctrl3 | Cmd3 |
| Zoom to 800% | Ctrl4 | Cmd4 |
| Set opacity from 10% through 100% | 1-9or0 | 1-9or0 |
| Decrease brush size | [ | [ |
| Increase brush size | ] | ] |
| Switch the active colour selector | X | X |
| Set selectors to black and white | D | D |
| Set the active selector to none | / | / |
| Toggle snapping | ; | ; |
| Show or hide rulers | CtrlR | CmdR |
| Show or hide guides | Ctrl; | Cmd; |
| Show or hide the grid | Ctrl' | Cmd' |
| Temporarily use the View tool | Space | Space |
| Toggle full-screen mode | Not documented | ControlCmdF |
| Hide Affinity Photo | Not documented | CmdH |
| Hide other applications | Not documented | OptionCmdH |
Painting and selection modifiers
Hold these modifiers while painting, selecting, transforming, sampling, or zooming. Platform-specific center-scaling and pixel movement remain explicit.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Choose a source for Clone, Healing, or Liquify Mesh Clone | Alt | Option |
| Temporarily switch Dodge, Burn, Blur, or Sharpen to its opposite | Alt | Option |
| Reverse the aspect-ratio constraint while scaling | Shift | Shift |
| Scale from the center of the selection | Ctrl | Cmd |
| Ignore snapping during an operation | Alt | Option |
| Select multiple layers | Shift | Shift |
| Select the layer behind the current selection | Alt | Option |
| Draw a straight line between paint strokes | Shift | Shift |
| Temporarily switch a painting tool to Colour Picker | AltDrag | OptionDrag |
| Drag to change brush size and hardness | CtrlAltDrag | ControlOptionDrag |
| Add to a pixel selection | CtrlAltDrag | Control |
| Remove from a pixel selection | Alt | Option |
| Zoom out with the Zoom tool | AltClick | OptionClick |
| Drag a zoom marquee | AltDrag | OptionDrag |