Having started my computer experience in the world of DOS and continuing on to compilers for various code I learned early on, I never fully got away from the keyboard when the mouse became the main means of navigating my way around a computer. Somehow I seem to get more production using shortcuts or what are known as ‘hotkeys’.
While I don’t profess to use all these; or even the majority for that matter, I decided to pass on a list of shortcuts for Photoshop. Even incorporating a few of these into your regimen can be a time saver as they let you get both hands in on the action.
As there is quite an extensive list, I’ll break these down into three separate articles. And here is the first set.
*Note: These are for Photoshop 6 and may or may not all work on newer versions of Photoshop. Hey, I use version 6 which suits me well.
Palette Shortcuts
Enter/Return: Show Options Bar
Shift>Tab: Show/Hide Palettes/Tool Bar
Tab: Show/Hide Palettes (All)
F5: Show/Hide Brushes Palette
F6: Show/Hide Color Palette
F7: Show/Hide Layers Palette
F8: Show/Hide Info Palette
F9: Show/Hide Actions Palette
Toolbar Shortcuts
A: Path Component Selection Tool
B: Paintbrush Tool
C: Crop
D: Default Colors (Black foreground, White Background)
E: Eraser
F: Cycle Screen Modes
G: Gradient Tool
H: Hand Tool
I: Eyedropper
J: Airbrush Tool
K: Slice Tool
L: Lasso
M: Marquee Tool
N: Notes
O: Dodge/Burn/Sponge Tool
P: Pen Tool
Q: Quick Mask
R: Blur/Sharpen/Smudge Tool
S: Clone Stamp
T: Type Tool
U: Shape Tool
V: Move Tool
W: Magic Wand
X: Swap Colors
Y: History Brush
Z: Zoom Tool
More Toolbar Shortcuts
Shift+[: Decrease Brush Softness 25%
Shift+]: Increase Brush Hardness 25%
Shift+A: Cycle Path/Direct Selection
Shift+B: Toggle Paintbrush/Pens
Shift+E: Cycle Eraser Tools
Shift+G: Toggle Paint Bucket/Gradient Tools
Shift+I: Cycle Eyedropper/Sampler/Measure
Shift+K: Toggle Slice Tools
Shift+L: Cycle Lasso Tools
Shift+M: Toggle Rectangle/Elliptical Marquee
Shift+N: Toggle Notes/Audio Annotation
Shift+O: Cycle Dodge/Burn/Sponge
Shift+P: Toggle Pen/Freeform Pen
Shift+R: Cycle Blur/Sharpen/Smudge
Shift+S: Toggle Clone/Pattern Stamp
Shift+U: Toggle Shape/Line Tools
Shift+Y: Toggle History/Art History Brush
File Shortcuts
Open: Control+O
Open As: Control+Alt+O
Close: Control+W/F4
Close All Images: Control+Shift+W
Quit: Control+Q
Color Settings: Control+Shift+K
New Image/Document: Control+N
New Image, Previous Settings: Control+Alt+N
Next Image: Control+Shift+Tab
Page Set Up: Control+Shift+P
Preferences: Control+K
Last Used Preferences: Control+Alt+K
Previous Image: Control+Tab
Print: Control+P
Print Options: Control+Alt+P
Revert: F12
Save: Control+S
Save As: Control+Shift+S
Save For Web: Control+Alt+Shift+S
Misc. Tools
Help: F1
Help for Tools: Shift+F1
Accept: Enter/Return
Cancel: Esc. Or Control+(.)
That’s it for now. I’ll have more in future articles.