Photoshop shortcut keys that will help you edit projects like a pro

Adobe Photoshop is an enormously popular raster graphics editor that is used by millions around the around. And while you may think you are familiar with the tool, you might be surprised by the wealth of keyboard shortcuts that you can use to speed up your work while being productive at the same time.

With the press of a few keys on your keyboard, you can carry out a number of tasks which include selecting tools, image and layer manipulation, and even adjustments to your project's canvas. However, if you are new to the tool, there might be far too many Photoshop shortcuts for you to memorise. So, we have compiled a list of some of the most essential Photoshop shortcut keys you can bookmark and use.

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Also note that these Photoshop keyboard shortcuts will work for macOS as well; however, you simply need to make these substitutions:

1. Windows – macOS
2. Ctrl – Command
3. Alt – Option
4. Backspace – Delete
5. Right-Click – Control

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Basic Photoshop shortcut keys

These are some of the most fundamental Photoshop shortcuts which will help you with things like changing the background-size, zooming in and out of the projects, etc. Take a look here:

• Control + Alt + I – Change the image size.
• Control + Alt + C – Change canvas size.
• Control + + (plus) – Zoom in the document.
• Control + - (hyphen) – Zoom out the document.
• Control + ' – Show or hide the grid, the automatically-generated horizontal and vertical lines that help align objects to the canvas.

Photoshop shortcut keys to activate different tools

These Photoshop keyboard shortcuts will help you enable the various groups of tools, such as a Move tool, Lasso, Brush, or a Spot Healing Brush.

• V – Move Tool
• W – Magic Wand
• L – Lasso
• I – Eyedropper
• C – Crop
• E – Eraser
• U – Rectangle
• T – Horizontal Type
• B – Brush
• Y – History Brush
• J – Spot Healing Brush
• G – Gradient
• A – Path Selection
• H – Hand
• R – Rotate View
• P – Pen
• S – Clone Stamp
• O – Dodge
• Z – Zoom Tool
• D – Set the foreground and background colours to default
• X – Switch between foreground and background colours
• Q – Toggle Standard / Quick Mask modes
• X – Change the Screen Mode

Photoshop shortcuts when using the Brush Tool

Using Photoshop keyboard shortcuts when using the brush tool helps change the size, shape, and transparency of the brush strokes to help you achieve the kind of visual effects that you're looking for. To use these keys, you first need to select the Brush tool by pressing the 'B' key on the keyboard.

• Alt + right-click + drag left or right– Change the brush size
• Alt + right-click + drag up or down – Decrease or Increase the brush softness and hardness
• , (comma) or . (period) – Switch between the previous and next brush style
• Shift + , (comma) – Select the first or last brush style used
• Caps Lock – Open precise crosshair for the brushes
• Shift + Alt + P – Toggle the airbrush option

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Photoshop shortcuts when using the Marquee Tool

The marquee tool is another helpful tool in Photoshop that helps you select individual elements, entire graphics, and determine what is copied, cut, and pasted into your designs. Before you start using these keys, make sure that you have selected the Marquee tool using the 'M' key on the keyboard.

• Control – Switch between the Slice tool and Slice Selection tool
• Shift + drag – Draw a square slice
• Alt + drag – Draw from the center outward
• Shift + Alt + drag – Draw square slice from the center outward
• Spacebar + drag – Reposition the slice while creating the slice

Photoshop keyboard shortcuts when using Blending Options

Blending is one of the most useful features in Photoshop which allows you to enhance the overall look of your design or graphic. The feature can be accessed by simply double-clicking on any layer to bring up the options for that particular layer.

After opening the blending options, you can use these Photoshop shortcuts keys to select them without even moving the cursor. However, before you start using these shortcuts, make sure you have selected the Move tool (V). Then, you should select the layer you'd like to use the blending options with.

• Shift + + (plus) – Cycle through the blending modes
• Shift + Alt + N – Normal mode
• Shift + Alt + I – Dissolve
• Shift + Alt + K – Darken
• Shift + Alt + G – Lighten
• Shift + Alt + M – Multiply
• Shift + Alt + O – Overlay
• Shift + Alt + U – Hue
• Shift + Alt + T – Saturation
• Shift + Alt + Y – Luminosity

Photoshop keyboard shortcuts to manipulate Layers & Objects

These are some of the Photoshop keyboard shortcuts you can use when you want to modify an object or get complex with multiple layers.

• Control + A – Select all the objects
• Control + D – Deselect all the objects
• Shift + Control + I – Select the inverse of the selected objects
• Control + Alt + A – Select all the layers
• Control + Shift + E – Merge all the layers
• Alt + . (period) – Select the top layer
• Alt + , (comma) – Select the bottom layer
• Shift + Control + N – Create a new layer
• Control + G – Group the selected layers
• Control + Shift + G – Ungroup the selected layers
• Control + E – Merge and flatten the selected layers
• Control + Shift + Alt + E – Combine all layers into a new layer on top of the other layers
• Control + T – Transform the object

Photoshop shortcuts to save your project

Finally, when you're done working on a project, you can easily save it using these shortcut keys.

• Control + Shift + S – Save your work as (choose from the available options)
• Control + Shift + Alt + S – Save for web and devices

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Image credits: Adobe Blog