Paint.NET keyboard shortcuts
Paint.NET is a free image editor for Windows, simpler than Photoshop but with layers and effects. These keys pan and zoom the image, show or hide its tool windows, and handle selections, copy, paste, and undo.
Windows · 26 shortcutsCanvas and zoom
Pan, scroll, zoom, and center the image while working on the canvas. Some commands use a mouse gesture as part of the documented action.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Pan the image | Space then Left Mouse Button |
| Scroll up or down | Page Up then Page DownorMouse Wheel |
| Scroll left | Shift + Page UporHome |
| Scroll right | Shift + Page DownorEnd |
| Scroll the image to the top left | Shift + HomeorHome then Home |
| Scroll the image to the bottom right | Shift + EndorEnd then End |
| Center the image in the windowPress Ctrl+B twice to zoom to the window and then restore the previous zoom level. | Ctrl + B |
| Zoom in or out | Ctrl + Mouse WheelorCtrl + +orCtrl + - |
| Set the image to actual size | Ctrl + 0 |
View and tool windows
Show or hide Paint.NET panels, access menu hotkeys, and move the active tool by one or ten pixels.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Show or hide the Tools window | F5 |
| Show or hide the History window | F6 |
| Show or hide the Layers window | F7 |
| Show or hide the Colors window | F8 |
| Show menu hotkeys | Alt |
| Use an underlined menu letter | Alt + Underlined letter |
| Move the active tool one pixel | Arrow keys |
| Move the active tool ten pixels | Ctrl + Arrow keys |
Selection and editing
Clear selections and return to the common selection, undo, and redo operations used by Paint.NET tools.
| Action | Shortcuts |
|---|---|
| Deselect the active selection | Ctrl + DorEnter |
| Undo | Ctrl + Z |
| Redo | Ctrl + Y |
| Copy the selection | Ctrl + C |
| Cut the selection | Ctrl + X |
| Paste | Ctrl + V |
| Save the current image | Ctrl + S |
| Open an image | Ctrl + O |
| Create a new image | Ctrl + N |
Source
official Paint.NET keyboard and mouse commands · Checked
Paint.NET keyboard and mouse commands from the official documentation, checked September 1, 2026. This reference is for the Windows desktop application and keeps mouse gestures only where the official command is a keyboard-plus-mouse action.