Photoshop keyboard shortcuts
Photoshop splits its shortcuts in two: single letters pick tools (V, B, E) and modifier combos run commands (Ctrl+J, Ctrl+T). Pressing Shift with a tool letter cycles through the tools that share that slot, such as Spot Healing and Healing Brush on J.
Practise Photoshop shortcuts
40 Photoshop shortcuts for Windows. You get 10 prompts: press the real keys on your keyboard (or pick from four answers on a phone). Anything you miss comes back sooner in your daily review.
Photoshop shortcut cheat sheet
Tools
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Move tool | V | V |
| Marquee tool | M | M |
| Lasso tool | L | L |
| Quick Selection / Object Selection | W | W |
| Crop tool | C | C |
| Brush tool | B | B |
| Clone Stamp tool | S | S |
| Eraser tool | E | E |
| Spot Healing / Healing Brush | J | J |
| Type tool | T | T |
| Eyedropper tool | I | I |
| Hand tool (temporary)Hold while dragging | Space | Space |
| Swap foreground/background colour | X | X |
| Default black and white colours | D | D |
| Smaller / larger brush[ makes the brush smaller | ] | ] |
Layers
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| New layer | CtrlShiftN | ⌘cmd⇧shiftN |
| Duplicate layer or selection to new layer | CtrlJ | ⌘cmdJ |
| Group layers | CtrlG | ⌘cmdG |
| Merge layer down | CtrlE | ⌘cmdE |
| Stamp visible to new layer | CtrlShiftAltE | ⌘cmd⇧shift⌥optionE |
| Create clipping mask | CtrlAltG | ⌘cmd⌥optionG |
| Free Transform | CtrlT | ⌘cmdT |
Selections
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Deselect | CtrlD | ⌘cmdD |
| Invert selection | CtrlShiftI | ⌘cmd⇧shiftI |
| Select all | CtrlA | ⌘cmdA |
| Fill with foreground colour | AltBackspace | ⌥option⌫delete |
| Content-Aware Fill dialogOpens Fill; choose Content-Aware | ShiftBackspace | ⇧shift⌫delete |
Adjust
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Levels | CtrlL | ⌘cmdL |
| Curves | CtrlM | ⌘cmdM |
| Hue/Saturation | CtrlU | ⌘cmdU |
| Desaturate | CtrlShiftU | ⌘cmd⇧shiftU |
View & file
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Zoom in | Ctrl= | ⌘cmd= |
| Zoom out | Ctrl- | ⌘cmd- |
| Fit on screen | Ctrl0 | ⌘cmd0 |
| Actual pixels (100%) | Ctrl1 | ⌘cmd1 |
| Show or hide rulers | CtrlR | ⌘cmdR |
| Step backward (multi-undo) | CtrlZ | ⌘cmdZ |
| Export As | CtrlAltShiftW | ⌘cmd⌥option⇧shiftW |
| Save As | CtrlShiftS | ⌘cmd⇧shiftS |
| Image Size dialog | CtrlAltI | ⌘cmd⌥optionI |
Source: Adobe Help: Default keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop. Defaults for the current version as documented by Adobe; custom keymaps and non-US keyboard layouts can differ.
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Type a task in plain words and get the shortcut for Windows, with a note if the app lacks one.
Quick answers
Photoshop shortcut questions
How do I zoom in Photoshop with the keyboard?
Ctrl+= and Ctrl+- (Cmd on a Mac) zoom in and out, Ctrl+0 fits the image on screen and Ctrl+1 shows actual pixels.
Why does Ctrl+Z only undo once?
Since Photoshop CC 2019, Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z) steps back through multiple undos. Older versions toggled a single undo and used Ctrl+Alt+Z for more.
Also practise: Windows · Mac · Illustrator · Premiere Pro