Key Shortcut Keys for Adobe Illustrator

WHY USE SHORTCUTS?

There are several time-saving benefits of using shortcuts:

1. Knowing shortcuts will help to speed up your production  by saving you time and frustration. Once you learn them, they will become natural for you to use without thinking about them.

2. Using shortcuts will also help you by not having to use the Layers panel to perform certain tasks (e.g., lock/unlock layers, arrange layers, show/hide layers, etc.)

3. Most of these shortcuts will prevent you from having to go all the way to the top of window to access and navigate to an command. For example:
   
   • Instead of moving your mouse up to the main menu and selecting Object > Clipping Mask > Make, it is easier to press CMD/CTRL + 7 or right-click or control-click on the selected artwork and choose Make Clipping Mask.
   • Instead of moving your mouse up to the main menu and selecting Object > Compound Path  > Make, it is easier to press CMD/CTRL + 8 right-click or control-click on the selected artwork and choose Make Compound Path.

Depending on how you work and how verse you are with Adobe Illustrator will depend on which of these shortcuts you will wish to remember and use. For example, you may never use the Perspective Grid Tool; however, you may alway have to create Clipping Masks and Compound Paths, so it would be best to remember the above shortcuts for them.

It is important to note that many of these shortcuts are the same as other Adobe applications like Photoshop, After Effect, and Animate as well as other applications. Having prior knowledge of these shortcuts is referred to as transferable skills—once you LEARN them in one application, you don't have to RELEARN them again. After all is said and done, there is about:

• a third of the shortcuts are COMMON to most applications
• a third of the shortcuts are COMMON to most Adobe applications
• a third of the shortcuts are UNIQUE to Adobe Illustrator

IMPORTANT NOTE: There are only a few differences between Mac and PC keys. The major ones include the following:

1. Mac uses the CMD key, PC uses the CTRL key
2. Mac uses the OPTION key, PC uses the ALT key
3. Mac uses the BACKSPACE key PC uses the DELETE key
4. Mac uses the RETURN key, PC uses the ENTER key
5. Mac uses CMD+click, PC uses right-click

CMD/CTRL | ALT/OPTION | SHIFT KEYS

The CMD/CTRL | ALT/OPTION and SHIFT key are modifier keys that are used in many of the shortcuts. Knowing their functions will help you remember which ones to use.

1. The ALT (or OPTION) key is typically used to ALTERNATE the functionality of a task when ADDED with other shortcut keys. Below are a few examples:
   • CMD/CTRL + 7 is used to MAKE a Clipping Mask. If you ADD the ALT/OPTION key to the same shortcut keys, you will RELEASE the Clipping Mask.
   • CMD/CTRL + 8 is used to MAKE a Compound Path. If you ADD the ALT/OPTION key to the same shortcut keys, you will RELEASE the Compound Path.
2. The CMD (or CTRL) key is typically used to give a COMMAND OR CONTROL as the names implies, for most shortcuts.
3. The SHIFT key is typically used to SHIFT, as the name implies, the functionality of a shortcut similar to the ALT key.
   
   So, if the ALT/OPTION does not work for you when you want to perform and alternate functionality, try the SHIFT key since it is used for the same reason as the ALT/OPTION key.

You can use a COMBINATION of shortcuts in your work flow to speed up the process. For example, one of the most popular technique that is used by many designers is to duplicate an artwork by holding down the ALT/OPTION key and drag out a copy of the artwork and then press the CMD/CTRL + D key to do a step-and-repeat process.

IMPORTANT NOTE

 Most SHORTCUT COMMAND OR CONTROL that use TWO KEYS usually start with the CMD/CTRL key with a few EXCEPTIONS highlighted in red and in bold. So, just remember these few exceptions and you know everything else will start with CMD/CTRL.

• Few Tools: SHIFT + O - Resize or Create New Artboard or SHIFT + C - Anchor Point Tool)
• Few Text Controls: ALT/OPTION + UP/DOWN - Decrease/Increase leading of selected text or ALT/OPTION + LEFT/RIGHT ARROW - Decrease/Increase kerning or tracking of selected text.
• Few Functions: SHIFT + arrow keys - move selected artwork 10 pixels or SHIFT + click - select multiple objects

WHAT'S FASTER THEN USING SHORTCUTS

While shortcuts are major timesavers, there is something that is FASTER to use than shortcuts — the right-click or control-click to select a command or control from a menu.  For example, instead of using CMD/CTRL + 7 for creating a Clipping Mask or CMD/CTRL + 8 for creating a Compound Path, it's best to right-click or control-click and select Make Clipping Mask or Compound Path from the menu without every having to hold down multiple keys.

The bottom line is that you should FIRST right-click or control-click to learn what commands or controls are available to you and use them and if they are not available then use shortcuts and if shortcuts are not available use the main menu as a last resort.

These are common shortcuts used by ALL applications. So if you know them, you can skip this section.

These tools are used a lot in Adobe Illustrator. Notice that most tools use:

• A SINGLE keyboard key with a few ADVANCED TOOLS using the SHIFT key.
• About a third of them use the FIRST LETTER of the tool's name (highlighted in bold below).

Tools that are similar or used together are grouped together (e.g., Direct Selection/Selection Tool).

TIP: If you double-click on most of the tools, you will open its settings dialog box, panel, or

The A-Z Tool Shortcuts Quiz

Now that we have reviewed most of the tools, without looking back at the training, see if you can quote all of the tools by going from A - Z in your mind and naming each one (eg., A for Selection Tool, B for PaintBrush, etc.).n

Click here for results

These tasks will save you time by not having to access them from a menu.

These tasks will save you time by not having to access them from a menu.

If you do typography a lot in Adobe Illustrator, these shortcuts will help you be more productive.

If you use multiple artboards, these shortcut will come in handy.

These are other useful shortcuts/tasks that are performed in Adobe Illustrator

YouTube Videos:

Do You Know These Advanced Keyboard Shortcuts? | Illustrator Shortcuts

A to Z of Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts

Adobe Illustrator 2020 Shortcut Keys - Complete Shortcuts 'CTRL+A' to 'CTRL+Z'

Keyboard shortcut keys in illustrator cc`| How to use keyboard shortcut in Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator Cheat Sheet and Shortcuts