28 More Exceptionally Useful Photoshop Shortcuts
This guest post was submitted by Brian Auer from Epic Edits Weblog.
The last article I wrote for dPS titled “18 Exceptionally Useful Photoshop Shortcuts” was taken in very well by all the wonderful photographers here. Darren had the idea of creating a follow-up article that outlined additional shortcuts and keyboard commands in Photoshop, and naturally I was more than happy to whip something up.
There were so many comments that brought up additional shortcuts on the last post, that 80% of the following tips came from all of you. It was great to see that level of contribution from the readers, and I learned a few very useful Photoshop tricks along the way. The other 20% of the following tips are some that weren’t mentioned at all in the last post, and I’ve even included a few side notes and mouse-related shortcuts. Also, be sure to read all the way to the bottom — I have a question for you.
Again, I’m using the commands for Photoshop CS3 running on Windows, but most of these should also work with Photoshop CS2 and some versions lower. So to start things off, I’m admitting defeat. In the last post, apparently I left out THE most useful shortcut in Photoshop.
SPACEBAR (Temporary Hand Tool) — Hold down the spacebar to temporarily bring up the hand tool so you can move around while doing those zoomed-in edits. Also, use the Ctrl modifier to zoom in, and the Alt modifier to zoom out.
Essential Photoshop Shortcut Commands
- F (Cycle Screen Modes) — Switch between normal screen, full screen with task bar without title bar, and full screen with black background. Works great when used in conjunction with Tab to hide toolbars — maximum working space, no distractions.
- X (Switch Colors) — Swap your foreground and background colors. Very handy when working with masks.
- D (Default Colors) — Reset your foreground and background colors to black and white, respectively.
- Ctrl + ‘+’/'-’ (Zoom In/Out) — Quickly zoom in or out without changing your current tool.
- Alt + Mouse Scroll (Zoom In/Out) — Fastest way to zoom — scroll up to zoom in, and scroll down to zoom out.
- Ctrl + Alt + Z (Step Back) — Ctrl + Z is OK if you catch a mistake immediately after it happens, but this command will continue to march its way up the history tree.
- Ctrl + S (Save) — You should get in the habit of just hitting this combo on impulse about every 5 to 10 minutes. Also use Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S to bring up the save for web dialog.
- Ctrl + Alt + Shift + N (New Layer No Dialog) — Quickly insert a new empty layer on top of the active layer. Get rid of the Alt key to bring up the new layer dialog for more options.
Useful Photoshop Shortcut Commands
- Shift + Click Mask (Enable/Disable Layer Mask) — When working with masks it’s typically done in small increments. Disabling the mask allows you to check the results of your masking against the original.
- Alt + Click Mask (Toggle Mask Visibility) — Doing this will bring up the mask as a grayscale image so you can see what you’re working with. Useful if you have areas that need to be filled in or smoothed out.
- Ctrl + Click Mask (Load Mask As Selection) — Selects the white part of the mask (grays are partially selected). Useful if you want to duplicate a mask or it’s inverse. Using Ctrl + Click on a layer without a mask will select the non-transparent pixels in that layer.
- Ctrl + J (New Layer Via Copy) — Can be used to duplicate the active layer into a new layer. If a selection is made, this command will only copy the selected area into the new layer.
- Caps Lock (Toggle Cross Hairs) — Switch between the standard tool icon and a set of precision cross hairs. Useful for spot-on selections.
- Shift + Backspace (Fill Dialog) — Good time saver when working with masks. Also, use the Ctrl + Backspace to fill with background color and Alt + Backspace to fill with foreground color.
- Ctrl + H (Hide Selection Lines) — When working with selections, use this command to hide the “marching ants” while keeping the selection.
- Ctrl + I (Invert Selection) — Select the opposite of what is already selected. Also a good tool when working with mask creation.
- Ctrl + D (Deselect) — After working with your selection, use this combo to discard it.
- Side Note: When working with selections, they can be applied to a layer as a mask simply by adding a new layer mask using the little box-with-a-circle-inside icon at the bottom of the layer palette. This also works with adjustment layers by automatically applying the selection to the mask.
Handy Photoshop Shortcut Commands
- Ctrl + G (Group Layers) — This command groups selected layers in the layer tree. Adding Shift to this combo will ungroup layers when the grouped layer is selected.
- Ctrl + A (Select All) — Creates a selection around the entire canvas.
- Ctrl + T (Free Transform) — Brings up the free transform tool for resizing, rotating, and skewing the image using a dragable outline.
- Ctrl + E (Merge Layers) — Merges selected layer with the layer directly below it. If multiple layers are selected, only those will be merged.
- Crtl + Shift + E (Merge Visible) — Merges all visible layers into one. Not recommended practice in typical photo editing because you’ll lose layer information.
- Ctrl + Alt + E (Stamp Down) — Merges all selected layers into one new layer. Add the Shift modifier to this combo and you’ll get a new layer containing a merged representation of all visible layers (handy for sharpening adjustments)
- Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R (Rotate Arbitrary Dialog) — bring up the rotate dialog to straighten out your horizon… but it’s not typically used since we all take perfect photos, right?
- Side Note: Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) has the ability to straighten photos before they ever make it into Photoshop. When straightening, you draw a line you’d like as your horizontal and ACR will take care of the rotation and crop for you.
- CTRL + ALT + DEL (Kill Photoshop) — Quite useful when Photoshop takes your computer hostage. Must have used the Ctrl + S command prior to the hostile takeover in order to prevent mental breakdown.
What are your Top Photoshop Shortcuts?
So I think we’ve gathered a fairly comprehensive list of Photoshop shortcuts that are useful for us photographers.
Now I’d like to take it a step further — let’s make a top 10 list.
How can you help? Just leave a comment and include the top 3 shortcuts that are most useful to you, taking your selections from this list and the previous list.
After the comments die down, Darren or I will gather up all the votes and make a top 10 list based on your input. I look forward to it, and thanks for reading.
Get More Great Photoshop and Photography Tips like this by Subscribing to Digital Photography School
Read more posts like '28 More Exceptionally Useful Photoshop Shortcuts'
Digital Photography School is Digg proof thanks to caching by WP Super Cache!
Not really a shoortcut, but if you want to straighten your horizon in PS rather than ACR, use the measure tool (I) to measure the angle of the horizon in the photo, and then bring up the Rotate Arbitrary Dialogue (Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R) and it’ll pre-fill it with the correct angle…
Thanks for the tips. As you mentioned there are close to a trillion different shortcuts in Photoshop. For a user like me that only uses it occasionally it’s hard to remember all the cool shurtcuts from time to time. Guess it’s all about practice. Thanks again for pointing out the ones I shouldn’t be without :-)
Remembering shortcuts is a part of working with any application. I mean, who just tries to memorize them by heart? :)
It’s not crucial, but I like using ALT + BACKSPACE and CTRL + BACKSPACE for “fill with foreground color” and “fill with background color”, respectively.
I use it most when I wanna quickly make a transparent layer opaque. But it can probably help with masks and other things, too.
1) Ctrl-Alt-Del ha-ha-ha.
This was great info. Thanks for compiling it all.
One thing to add: you mention that you can Alt/Option scroll wheel to Zoom, whereas, regularly, the scroll wheel just navigates up and down in an image. It might be useful to note that in the Preferences>General tab, this can be reversed using “Zoom with Scroll Wheel”. This will cause the regular scroll wheel to zoom, and the Alt/Option scroll wheel to navigate up and down.
Also, in the Mask Visibility area, Shift+Alt/Option will allow you to view your mask as an overlay on your layer. That way, you can see the Quickmask style overlay feature to refine your mask, while actually working on the Layer Mask. This is especially useful on intricate selections.
As for my 3 most used (hard to cut it to just 3), I’d say X, D, and Ctrl/Cmd D. Of course, if I could add 2, I’d add Alt/Opt Backspace/Delete, and Ctrl/Cmd Backspace/Delete…. sheesh, I see why you chose to use just Windows commands! =D
This is great! Handy when you’re in a hurry or you just wanna show off! =)
If you create a new empty layer and press Cmd+alt+Shift+E, the visible layers will be merged into the new one, leaving them intact for further editing.
Pressing Alt will turn the Cancel button into a very useful “Reset”. This works in several adjustments.
Cmd+Alt+L(/M/U/etc.) will open the adjustment window with the last used values preloaded.
You can use the spacebar to drag a marquee selection while making it; once you release the key, the marquee tool will continue its job.
Thank you for the list.
a nice selection of shortcuts!! but its so hard to cut down to 3!!
the ones I would pick are…
Ctrl+D & Ctrl+T (from 18 tips page) & D
I’m tempted to include the save/history, but since other applications use similar shortcuts i decided to choose the more ‘unique’ shortcuts to photoshop.
there is one ’shortcut’ that is missing…and that is when you are selecting with your mouse hold down ’space’ so move the selection (rather than resizing it).
ps. i’ve also written a post for photoshop shortcuts, feel free to have a look: http://psychopyko.com/nifty-tips/photoshop-shortcuts/ :)
Ctrl-Z .
Thanks for those - especially the mask shortcuts. I am an Elements user and don’t have masks built in but use Grant’s Tools to give me this function. I just tested the shortcuts and they work with my set up. Another shortcut that I use a bit (being a scrapbooker) is Ctrl-Shift-J when you are clicked into a text box to fully justify the text(not sure if it works the same way for Photoshop proper).
My main shortcuts:
Ctrl-J to duplicate a layer
Ctrl-Shift-N to creat a new layer (thanks for letting me know how to avoid the dialogue box)
Ctrl-[ / ] (and Ctrl-Shift-[ / ] )to promote/demote layers
I use the Spacebar (temporary hand tool) a lot now too, since reading about it in your article.
My fav. presses are:-
ALT + Click - to move from layer to layer at the click (kinda fails a bit when things are grouped but still v handy)
I also think the best thing to do is to customise your version of photoshop as opposed to learning someone else’s keys.
Everyone seems to be learning the defaults - and that’s great, but hosting your config file online or on your usb pen and then simply using those key presses can be far easier and faster.
Everyone has their own way of doing things of course!
My most used shortcuts:
Ctrl+t - Free transform
x - switch fore-/background-colors (really useful in masking)
Spacebar - Panning
(If I could go for a fourth, it would propably be CTRL-j (duplicate layer/selected pixels)
my top shortcuts are:
ctrl + S (save)
ctrl + Z (step back)
ctrl + D (deselect)
ctrl + 0 (fit in page)
ctrl + C (copy)
ctrl + V (paste)
ctrl + A (select all)
ctrl + I (invert selection)
ctrl + [+]/[-] (zoom in / out)
sometimes:
ctrl + T (free transform)
ctrl + G (group layers)
I notice a mistake in your shortcuts. Ctrl + I is inverse (turns the colors of the selected area to negative) but Shift + Ctrl + I does the trick (Select -> Inverse) that you mentioned.
Hi guys,…
for COMPLETE photoshop shortcuts,…you can download the pdf from :
http://denmuel.blogspot.com/2007/08/photoshop-keyboard-shortcuts.html
thx
Can I just say….I WANT that keyboard!! Hehe! I’ve only been using photoshop on and off for a year or so, I’d like to think I’m ok at some aspects of it, but I could be better! These are some pretty useful tools, so thanks! :D
Sad… so many windows users… Photoshop is so MAC :) heheh.
For those of you on mac.. you can exchange anything that says CTRL and use the CMD (apple) key instead.. it’ll do the same thing :)
cntrl + alt + z
alt + scroll
ctrl + j
Frequently I like to use Photoshop to alter my screen shots.
ctr+ Prnt Screen
alt + tab to Photoshop
ctrl+ N for new screen
enter
ctrl+v
ctrl+s
But from there I need to use the tool bar to crop the desired section, I usually crop out the browsers and bottom tool bars of my screen shots.
The shortcut that I use a lot and don’t remember seeing (although, I may have over looked it) is
ctrl+alt+P which gives a print preview before actually printing.
I also use ctrl-T (transform), & ctrl-D to deselect
I find I also use ctrl-S (save) quite often during a project.
I can’t stop at 3 because I am finding more & more shortcuts that make the work easier.
Of the ones already listed, I use ctrl+T, Tab, Ctrl+0 and spacebar. The ones I *most often* use are:
Ctrl+L, brings up the levels dialogue box.
Q, toggles quick mask.
I also use ctrl+spacebar+left mouse click (increase magnifcation) and ctrl+alt+spacebar+left mouse click (decrease magnifcation). Used these ones before I had a scroll button on the mouse.
Hold down the ctrl key to move selection.
hold down ctrl+alt keys to move and copy selection.
NB. I work with a very old version of photoshop (v6-shocking I know!) but I’m sure these shortcuts will still be there in later versions.
i switch between tools using the single letter shortcuts. (but it doesn’t work when you are typing. don’t know if this works the same on a pc as it does on a mac.)
B for brush
V for move
M is for marquee (rectangular selection)
J is for the healing brush
S is for clone stamp
G is for fill
etc, hover on the tool in the pallette and PS will tell you what the shortcut is.
oh, and of course Command+M for the curves and Commend+L for the Levels. And you can edit the shortcuts too, which I do a bit of.
Hi. I understand that Ctrl-Click-in-the-canvas to select a layer is no longer (to my dislike). Is there a way I can alter this shortcut in PS so that it does select the layer, not the group? (Other than not using groups, which is necessary when using large files with numerous layers)?
Thanks!
memorizing all of these might get a little more difficult for ware
Adobe Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts
Hey friends.,,,
I got something for u
Adobe Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts . Enjoy the following link
http://www.civilguru.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=303
If u like my search share something u have,
See ya.
If you need the upper menu (file, edit,…) in full screen with black background and without toolbar (TAB), you can use SHIFT + F to return to the previous screen mode.
Shift + TAB, hide all panels (Layers, Channels,…) except the toolbar.
Ctrl + Shift + F, Fade command.
Ctrl + Alt + I, Image Size dialogue.
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + I, Metadata dialogue.
Shift + mouse scroll, zoom in/out on intervals.
Ctrl + W, close image.
Ctrl + Q, close Photoshop.
Hmm! Ctrl I is Invert not Inverse, or at least that is the way it is on a Mac. As the Invert converts colour information to its spectral opposite, perhaps you could clarify this.
more shortcut commands are @
http://www.greenbdinfo.blogspot.com
————-