Adobe Illustrator CS4 Keyboard Shortcuts

SHORTCUT	ACTION
Keys for selecting tools
Shft + O	Artboard tool
V	Selection tool
A	Direct Selection tool
Y	Magic Wand tool
Q	Lasso tool
P	Pen tool
Shft + B	Blob Brush tool
+ (plus)	Add Anchor Point tool
- (minus)	Delete Anchor Point tool
Shft + C	Convert Anchor Point tool
T	Type tool
\ (backslash)	Line Segment tool
M	Rectangle tool
L	Ellipse tool
B	Paintbrush tool
N	Pencil tool
R	Rotate tool
O	Reflect tool
S	Scale tool
Shft + R	Warp tool
E	Free Transform tool
Shft + S	Symbol Sprayer tool
J	Column Graph tool
U	Mesh tool
G	Gradient tool
I	Eyedropper tool
W	Blend tool
K	Live Paint Bucket tool
Shft + L	Live Paint Selection tool
Shft + O	Crop Area tool
Shft + K	Slice tool
Shft + E	Eraser tool
C	Scissors tool
H	Hand tool
Z	Zoom tool
Press Alt	Switch to Smooth tool while using Blob Brush tool
Keys for viewing artwork
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
F	Toggle between screen modes: Normal Screen Mode, Full Screen Mode with Menu Bar, Full Screen Mode
Double-click Hand tool	Fit imageable area in window
Double-click Zoom tool	Magnify 100%
Spacebar	Switch to Hand tool (when not in text-edit mode)
Ctrl + Spacebar	Switch to Zoom tool in magnify mode
Ctrl + Alt + Spacebar	Switch to Zoom tool in reduce mode
Spacebar	Move Zoom marquee while dragging with the Zoom tool
Ctrl + Alt + Shft + 3	Hide unselected artwork
Alt-drag guide	Convert between horizontal and vertical guide
Ctrl + Shft-double-click guide	Release guide
Ctrl + Shft + H	Show/Hide artboards
Ctrl + Alt + R	Show/Hide artboard rulers
Ctrl + Alt + 0 (zero)	View all artboards in window
Esc	Exit Artboard tool mode
Shft-drag	Create artboard inside another artboard in Adobe Illustrator
Ctrl + F6	Navigate to next document
Ctrl + Shft + F6	Navigate to previous document
Ctrl + Alt + F6	Navigate to next document group
Ctrl + Alt + Shft + F6	Navigate to previous document group
Esc	Exit Full Screen mode
Alt + v	Save multiple artboards to Illustrator CS3 or earlier format
Keys for drawing
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Shft-drag	Constrain a shape's proportions or orientation to: equal height and width for rectangles, rounded rectangles, ellipses, and grids Increments of 45º for line and arc segments Original orientation for polygons, stars, and flares
spacebar-drag	Move a shape while drawing it
Alt-drag	Draw from the center of a shape (except for polygons, stars, and flares)
Start dragging, then press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Increase or decrease polygon sides, star points, arc angle, spiral winds, or flare rays
Start dragging, then hold down Ctrl	Keep the inner radius of a star constant
Alt-drag	Keep the sides of a star straight
Start dragging, then hold down C	Switch between an open and closed arc
Start dragging, then hold down F	Flip an arc, keeping the reference point constant
Alt-drag	Add or subtract winds from a spiral while increasing the length of the spiral
Ctrl-drag	Change the decay rate of a spiral in Adobe Illustrator
Start dragging, then press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Add or remove horizontal lines from a rectangular grid or concentric lines from a polar grid
Start dragging, then press the Right Arrow or Left Arrow	Add or remove vertical lines from a rectangular grid or radial lines from a polar grid
Start dragging, then press F	Decrease the skew value for horizontal dividers in a rectangular grid or radial dividers in a polar grid by 10%
Start dragging, then press V	Increase the skew value for horizontal dividers in a rectangular grid or radial dividers in a polar grid by 10%
Start dragging, then press X	Decrease the skew value for vertical dividers in a rectangular grid or concentric dividers in a polar grid by 10%
Start dragging, then press C	Increase the skew value for vertical dividers in a rectangular grid or concentric dividers in a polar grid by 10%
Alt-click Live Trace in the Ctrl panel, or hold down Alt and select a tracing preset.	Create and expand a Live Trace object in one step
] (right square bracket)	Increase size of Blob Brush in Adobe Illustrator
[ (left square bracket)	Decrease size of Blob Brush
Shft	Constrain Blob Brush path horizontally or vertically
Keys for selecting
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Ctrl	Switch to last-used selection tool (Selection tool, Direct Selection tool, or Group Selection tool)
Alt	Switch between Direct Selection tool and Group Selection tool
Shft-click	Add to a selection with Selection tool, Direct Selection tool, Group Selection tool, Live Paint Selection tool, or Magic Wand tool
Shft-click	Subtract a selection with Selection tool, Direct Selection tool, Group Selection tool, or LIve Paint Selection tool
Alt-click	Subtract from selection with Magic Wand tool
Shft-drag	Add to selection with Lasso tool
Alt-drag	Subtract from selection with Lasso tool
Caps Lock	Change pointer to cross hair for Lasso tool
Ctrl + Alt + A	Select artwork in active artboard
Alt + c + o	Create crop marks around selected object
Keys for moving selections
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Right Arrow, Left Arrow, Up Arrow, or Down Arrow	Move selection in user-defined increments
Shft + Right Arrow, Left Arrow, Up Arrow, or Down Arrow	Move selection in 10x user-defined increments
Ctrl + Alt + Shft + 2	Lock all deselected artwork in Adobe Illustrator CS4
Hold down Shft	Constrain movement to 45º angle (except when using Reflect tool)
	Set keyboard increments in General Preferences
Keys for editing shapes
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Alt	Switch Pen tool to Convert Anchor Point tool
Alt	Switch between Add Anchor Point tool and Delete Anchor Point tool
Alt	Switch Scissors tool to Add Anchor Point tool
Alt	Switch Pencil tool to Smooth tool
Spacebar-drag	Move current anchor point while drawing with Pen tool
Alt-drag	Cut a straight line with Knife tool
Shft + Alt-drag	Cut at 45º or 90º with Knife tool
Alt + Shape mode	Turn shape mode buttons in Pathfinder panel into Pathfinder commands
Keys for painting objects
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
X	Toggle between fill and stroke
D	Set fill and stroke to default
Shft + X	Swap fill and stroke
>	Select gradient fill mode
<	Select color fill mode
/ (forward slash)	Select no stroke/fill mode
Alt + Eyedropper tool	Sample color from an image or intermediate color from gradient
Alt + Shft-click + Eyedropper tool	Sample style and append appearance of currently selected item
Ctrl + / (forward slash)	Add new fill
Ctrl + Alt + / (forward slash)	Add new stroke
Ctrl-click gradient button in Tools panel or Gradient panel	Reset gradient to black and white
Alt + o + j	Open Mosiac options for selected raster object
Keys for working with Live Paint groups
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Alt-click + Live Paint Bucket tool	Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample fill and/or stroke
Alt + Shft-click + Live Paint Bucket tool	Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample color from an image or intermediate color from a gradient
Shft + Live Paint Bucket tool	Select opposite Live Paint Bucket tool options (if Paint Fills and Paint Strokes are currently selected, switch to Paint Fills only)
Double-click + Live Paint Bucket tool	Fill across unstroked edges into adjacent faces
Triple-click + Live Paint Bucket tool	Fill all faces that have same fill and stroke all edges that have same stroke
Alt-click + Live Paint Selection tool	Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample fill and/or stroke
Alt + Shft-click + Live Paint Selection tool	Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample color from an image or intermediate color from a gradient
Shft-click + Live Paint Selection tool	Add to/subtract from a selection in Adobe Illustrator CS4
Double-click + Live Paint Selection tool	Select all connected faces /edges with same fill/stroke
Triple-click + Live Paint Selection tool	Select all faces/edges with same fill/stroke
Keys for transforming objects
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Alt-click	Set origin point and open dialog box when using Rotate tool, Scale tool, Reflect tool, or Shear tool
Alt-drag	Duplicate and transform selection when using Selection tool, Scale tool, Reflect tool, or Shear tool
Tilde (~)-drag	Transform pattern (independent of object) when using Selection tool, Scale tool, Reflect tool, or Shear tool
Keys for working with type
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Right Arrow or Left Arrow	Move one character right or left
Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Move up or down one line
Ctrl + Right Arrow or Left Arrow	Move one word right or left
Ctrl + Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Move up or down one paragraph
Shft + Ctrl + Right Arrow or Left Arrow	Select one word right or left
Shft + Ctrl + Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Select one paragraph before or after
Shft-click	Extend existing selection
Ctrl + Shft + L, R, or C	Align paragraph left, right, or center
Ctrl + Shft + J	Justify paragraph
Shft + Enter	Insert soft return
Ctrl + Alt + K	Highlight kerning
Ctrl + Shft + X	Reset horizontal scale to 100%
Ctrl + Shft + > or <	Increase or decrease type size
Alt + Up or Down Arrow (horizontal text) or Right or Left Arrow (vertical text)	Increase or decrease leading
Double-click leading icon in the Character panel	Set leading to the type size
Ctrl + Alt + Q	Reset tracking/kerning to 0
Alt + Right or Left Arrow (horizontal text) or Up or Down Arrow (vertical text)	Increase or decrease kerning and tracking
Ctrl + Alt + Right or Left Arrow (horizontal text) or Up or Down Arrow (vertical text)	Increase or decrease kerning and tracking by five times
Alt + Shft + Up or Down Arrow (horizontal text) or Right or Left Arrow (vertical text)	Increase or decrease baseline shift in Adobe Illustrator CS4
Shft	Switch between Type and Vertical Type, Area Type and Vertical Area Type, and Path Type and Vertical Path Type tools
Alt-click Type tool	Switch between Area Type and Type, Path Type and Area Type, and Vertical Path Type and Vertical Area Type tools
	To change the increment value for type shortcuts, choose Edit > Preferences >Type (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences >Type (Mac OS). Enter the values you want in the Size/Leading, Baseline Shift, and Tracking text boxes, and click OK.
Keys for using panels
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Alt-click New button	Set options (except for Actions, Brushes, Swatches, and Symbols panels)
Alt-click Delete button	Delete without confirmation (except for Layers panel)
Shft + Enter	Apply value and keep text box active
Shft-click	Select range of actions, brushes, layers, links, styles, or swatches
Ctrl-click	Select noncontiguous actions, brushes, layers (same level only), links, styles, or swatches
Tab	Show/Hide all panels
Shft + Tab	Show/Hide all panels except the Tools panel and Control panel
Keys for the Actions panel
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Alt-click expansion triangle	Expand/Collapse entire hierarchy for action set
Double-click folder icon	Set options for action set
Alt-click Play button	Play a single command
Alt-click New Action button	Begin recording actions without confirmation
Keys for the Brushes panel
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Double-click brush	Open Brush Options dialog box
Drag brush to New Brush button	Duplicate brush
Keys for the Character and Paragraph panels
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Increase/decrease the selected value by a small increment in Adobe Illustrator CS4
Shft + Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Increase/decreases the selected value by a large increment
Ctrl + Alt + Shft + F	Highlight the font name field in the Character panel
Keys for the Color panel
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Ctrl-click color bar	Select the complement for the current color fill/stroke
Alt-click color bar	Change the nonactive fill/stroke
Ctrl + Alt-click color bar	Select the complement for the nonactive fill/stroke
Ctrl + Shft-click color bar	Select the inverse for the current fill/stroke
Ctrl + Shft + Alt-click color bar	Select the inverse for the nonactive fill/stroke
Shft-click color bar	Change the color mode
Shft-drag color slider	Move color sliders in tandem
Double-click to right of a numerical field	Switch between percentage and 0-255 values for RGB
Keys for the Gradient panel
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Alt-drag	Duplicate color stops
Alt-drag color stop onto another stop	Swap color stops
Alt-click swatch in the Swatches panel	Apply swatch color to active (or selected) color stop
Ctrl-click Gradient Fill box in the Gradient panel	Reset the gradient fill to default black and white linear gradient
Ctrl + Alt + G	Show/Hide gradient arrow in Adobe Illustrator CS4
Alt-drag end point of gradient arrow	Modify angle and end-point together
Shft-drag	Constrain Gradient tool or Gradient arrow while dragging
G	View Gradient arrow in selected gradient filled object
Keys for the Layers panel
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Alt-click layer name	Select all objects on the layer
Alt-click eye icon	Show/hide all layers but the selected one
Ctrl-click eye icon	Select Outline/Preview view for the selected layer
Ctrl + Alt-click eye icon	Selects Outline/Preview view for all other layers
Alt-click lock icon	Lock/unlock all other layers
Alt-click expansion triangle	Expand all sublayers to display entire hierarchy
Alt-click New Layer button	Set options as you create new layer
Alt-click New Sublayer button	Set options as you create new sublayer
Ctrl + Alt-click New Sublayer button	Place new sublayer at bottom of layer list
Ctrl-click New Layer button	Place layer at top of layer list in Adobe Illustrator CS4
Ctrl + Alt-click New Layer button	Place layer below selected layer
Alt-drag selection	Copy the selection to a new layer, sublayer, or group
Keys for the Swatches panel
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Ctrl-click New Swatch button	Create new spot color
Ctrl + Shft-click New Swatch button	Create new global process color
Alt-drag a swatch over another	Replace swatch with another
Ctrl + Alt-click in the swatch color list	Select swatch by name (using keyboard)
Keys for the Transform panel
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Shft + Enter	Apply a value and keep focus in edit field
Alt + Enter	Apply a value and copy object
Ctrl + Enter	Apply a value and scale option proportionately for width or height
Keys for the Transparency panel
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
Alt-click on mask thumbnail	Change mask to grayscale image for editing
Shft-click on mask thumbnail	Disable opacity mask
Shft-click on disabled mask thumbnail	Re-enable opacity mask
Click opacity field + Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Increase/decrease opacity in 1% increments
Shft-click opacity field + Up Arrow or Down Arrow	Increase/decrease opacity in 10% increments
Function keys
	This is not a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This table lists only those shortcuts that are not displayed in menu commands or tool tips.
F1	Invoke Help
F2	Cut
F3	Copy
F4	Paste
F5	Show/hide Brushes panel
F6	Show/hide Color panel
F7	Show/hide Layers panel
F8	Create new symbol
Ctrl + F8	Show/hide Info panel
Ctrl + F9	Show/hide Gradient panel
Ctrl + F10	Show/hide Stroke panel
Ctrl + F11	Show/hide Attributes panel
F12	Revert
Shft + F5	Show/hide Graphic Styles panel
Shft + F6	Show/hide Appearance panel
Shft + F7	Show/hide Align panel
Shft + F8	Show/hide Transform panel
Shft + Ctrl + F9	Show/hide Pathfinder panel
Shft + Ctrl + F10	Show/hide Transparency panel
Shft + Ctrl + F11	Show/hide Symbols panel