100+ Adobe Illustrator CC Shortcut Keys List Download in PDF & Excel File
Updated on: • Published on:
Adobe Illustrator is a vector-based design and drawing program for professionals. Illustrator may be used to create everything from single design components to whole compositions when used as part of a wider design workflow.
Illustrator is used to produce logos, icons, charts, infographics, posters, ads, books, magazines, and brochures by artists and graphic designers. It’s even used by comic book illustrators. It’s the industry-standard software tool for anyone working with vector graphics from anywhere on the planet.
Illustrator CC Useful Keyboard Shortcuts: Windows
TOOLS
V
Selection
A
Direct Selection
Y
Magic Wand
Q
Lasso
P
Pen
+
Add Anchor point
minus(-)
Delete Anchor point
Shift-C
Convert Anchor point
T
Type
\
Line Segment
M
Rectangle
L
Ellipse
B
Paintbrush
N
Pencil
Shift-B
Blob Brush
Shift-E
Eraser
C
Scissors
R
Rotate
O
Reflect
S
Scale
Shift-R
Warp
E
Free Transform
Shift-S
Symbol Sprayer
J
Column Graph
U
Mesh
G
Gradient
I
Eyedropper
W
Blend
K
Live Paint Bucket
Shift-L
Live Paint Selection
Shift-O
Art board
Shift-K
Slice
H
Hand
Z
Zoom
X
Toggle between Fill & Stroke
Shift-X
Swap Fill & Stroke
D
Default Fill & Stroke
White fill/black stroke)
<
Fill or Stroke w/Color
>
Fill or Stroke w/Gradient
/
Fill or Stroke w/None
F
Cycle through Screen Modes
SELECTING AND MOVING
At any time control to switch between selection and direct selection tools
Ctrl-Alt-Tab
To cycle through tools behind column tool
Alt-click tool
To make copy while dragging
Alt
To add to a selection
Shift
Move Selection
Any arrow key
Move Selection 10 pts.
Shift-any arrow key
Lock selected artwork
Ctrl-2
Lock all deselected artwork
Ctrl-Alt-Shift-2
Unlock all artwork
 Ctrl-Alt-2
Hide selected artwork
Ctrl-3
Hide all deselected artwork
 Ctrl-Alt-Shift-3
Show all artwork
Ctrl-Alt-3
PAINTING AND TRANSFORMING
Eyedropper tool from Live Paint Bucket tool
Alt
Samples intermediate color from gradient, picture, etc. with eyedropper
Shift Sets center point and shows dialog Alt-click with Tool
Duplicates and transforms selection
Alt-drag
Transform pattern without transforming object
~ (tilde)-drag
Scale proportionally with Selection tool
 Shift-drag bounding box
Scale from center with Selection tool
Alt-drag bounding box
Move mesh point along path with Mesh tool
Shift-drag
Add mesh point with Mesh tool without changing color
Shift-click
Remove mesh point with Mesh tool
Alt-click
SHAPES (WHILE DRAWING)
Draw from center
Alt
Draw from center with dialog
Alt-click Constrain proportion Shift
Constrain orientation of polygons, stars, spirals
Shift
Move object while drawing
 Spacebar Add/subtract sides, points, spiral segments Up or Down Arrow
Decrease inner radius
CTRL
Create continuous duplicates along mouse movement
hold ~ while dragging
VIEWING & GUIDES
Get Hand Tool (while NOT editing Type).
Spacebar
Get Hand tool (while editing Type)
Hold Control, then Space. (This will show the Zoom tool). Let go of Control so you see the Hand tool and IMMEDIATELY start dragging the mouse so you don’t end up typing spaces. Be sure to let go of the Spacebar while dragging so you again don’t type more spaces
Zoom In Tool
Ctrl-Spacebar
Zoom Out Tool
Ctrl-Alt-Spacebar
Zoom In to exact size
Ctrl-Spacebar-drag
Hide/Show all tools and panels
Tab
Hide/Show all panels except toolbox
Shift-Tab
Switch between horizontal/vertical guides
hold Alt while dragging out a new guide
Release Guide (turns it into a regular path)
Shift-Ctrl-double-click
TYPE
Decrease/Increase type size
Ctrl-Shift-< or >
Decrease/Increase leading
Alt arrow up or down
Decrease/Increase kerning/tracking
Alt arrow left or right Kerning/tracking
Decrease/Increase baseline shift
Shift-Alt arrow down or up
Baseline shift x 5
Ctrl-Alt-Shift arrow down or up
Align type left, right, center
Ctrl-Shift-L, R, and C
Justify last line
 Ctrl-Shift-F
Reset horizontal/vertical scale to 100%
Ctrl-Shift-X
Reset kerning or tracking to 0
Ctrl-Alt-Q
PANEL SHORTCUTS/FUNCTION KEYS
Show/Hide Brushes
F5
Show/Hide Color
F6
Show/Hide Layers
F7
Show/Hide Info
Ctrl-F8
Show/Hide Gradient
Ctrl-F9
Show/Hide Stroke
Ctrl-F10
Show/Hide Attributes
Ctrl-F11
Revert file
F12
Show/Hide Graphic Styles
Shift-F5
Show/Hide Appearance
Shift-F6
Show/Hide Align
Shift-F7
Show/Hide Transform
Shift-F8
Show/Hide Transparency
Shift-Ctrl-F10
Show/Hide Pathfinder
Shift-Ctrl-F9
Show/Hide Symbols
Shift-Ctrl-F11
LAYERS PANEL SHORTCUTS
Toggle layer between Preview/Outline modes
Ctrl-click on eye
Show layer while turning-off all others
Alt-click on eye
Select all items on layer
Alt-click layer name Copy
selected item to different layer
Alt-drag selection square in Layers panel to
create the new layer at the top of list
Ctrl-click
To create the new layer below selected layer
Ctrl-Alt-click
COLOR PANEL SHORTCUTS
Saturate/DE saturate current color
Shift-drag color slider
Change Color Mode
Shift-click color bar
Select compliment of current color
Ctrl-click color bar
SWATCHES PANEL SHORTCUTS
Create a swatch as a global color
Hold Curtly–Shift while creating
Replace a swatch with another
Alt-drag new swatch over old
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Nazim Khan — Founder & Editor, TechGuruPlus.com
[MBA in Finance]
Nazim Khan has spent over ten years working with Excel, Tally and office documentation in accounts, finance and MIS roles. He has been running TechGuruPlus.com since 2016, where he publishes free editable templates for office work, and the YouTube channel Business Excel. He has trained more than 50,000 people online. Every template on this site is built and checked by him before it is published.
This is a great list of shortcuts! I’m a big fan of Adobe Illustrator and this will definitely help me speed up my work.
Thanks for sharing, Niranjan