PhotoShop Shortcuts At A Glance

PhotoShop Shortcuts -- the Ultimate Guide

Using PhotoShop? Skip the click, and speed up your work with these shortcuts. The list contains the shortcuts most commonly used by our Community members, but if you'd like to add to this resource, email us.

Yes! There is a quicker way to:

• Access menus when in full screen mode
• Apply Last Used Filter
• Change Blending Modes without using the Layers palette
• Change brushes without using the Brush palette
• Change the background outside an image
• Change the opacity of a brush or layer
• Close the working window
• Copy a layer
• Copy Layer as new image
• Create a clipping path without knowing how to use paths
• Create new Layers without using the Layers palette
• Fill layers or selections without the Paint Bucket
• Free up space on the scratch disk
• Hide palettes and rulers
• Hide the effects of a Mask layer
• Hide the marching ants
• Interact with Layers without using the Layers palette
• Invert a selection
• Invert an image's colours
• Load channels without using the Channels palette
• Make 2 images the same size
• Make Free Transform appear
• Make layers appear and disappear
• Make selections without using the Magic Wand
• Open an image file
• Paste images into a Layer Mask
• Preserve Transparency
• Quit
• Sharpen with Blur Tool
• Select All Text
• Turn off Palettes -- except Tools
• Use one-keystroke actions
• View image and canvas size
• Working with Images
• Zoom

Access menus when in full screen mode

Press SHIFT + F and the file menu will appear at the top of the screen.

Additionally, notice that in full screen mode, the Tools palette has a tiny addition to it: in the top right corner of the palette is a small arrow. Click this arrow and you can also gain access to the File menu.

Apply Last Used Filter

To apply the last-used filter:
Press CTRL + F

Apply the last-used filter with new settings:
CTRL + ALT + F

Change Blending Modes without using the Layers palette

Select the marquee tool, and you can use these commands:

• Move to the next Blending Mode: ALT + SHIFT + "+"
• Move to the previous Blending Mode: ALT + SHIFT + "-"
• Jump to Dissolve: ALT + SHIFT + I
• Jump to Multiply: ALT + SHIFT + M
• Jump to Screen: ALT + SHIFT + S
• Jump to Overlay: ALT + SHIFT + O
• Jump to Soft Light: ALT + SHIFT + F
• Jump to Hard Light: ALT + SHIFT + H
• Jump to Colour Dodge: ALT + SHIFT + D
• Jump to Colour Burn: ALT + SHIFT + B
• Jump to Darken: ALT + SHIFT + R
• Jump to Lighten: ALT + SHIFT + G
• Jump to Difference: ALT + SHIFT + E
• Jump to Exclusion: ALT + SHIFT + X
• Jump to Hue: ALT + SHIFT + U
• Jump to Saturation: ALT + SHIFT + T
• Jump to Colour: ALT + SHIFT + C
• Jump to Luminosity: ALT + SHIFT + Y
• And of course the most important one...
• Jump to Normal: ALT + SHIFT + N

Note: This works on any tool that offers Blending Modes. Those tools are Airbrush, Paintbrush, Pencil, Clone Stamp, Pattern Stamp, History Brush, Gradient, Blur, Sharpen, Smudge, Dodge, Burn, Sponge and the Vector Objects tool.

Also, Adobe has a nasty tendency to change these various shortcuts with each new release. Don't be surprised if these are slightly different in newer versions of PhotoShop.