Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts (Printable and practical cheat sheet) | Redokun Blog (2024)

FAQs

What are the shortcut keys for Adobe Illustrator? ›

Go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts. Select a set of shortcuts from the Set options in the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog. Select a shortcut type from the menu above the shortcut display. You can customize keyboard shortcuts for items in the menu bar and panel menus.

Ctrl + H. Hide Artboards. ⇧ + ⌘ + H.

If you want the fastest way to undo an action, simply use press Command Z (Mac OS users) or Control Z (Windows users). Use this keyboard shortcut key one time to undo your last action. Use it a second time to undo the one before the last action and so on.

1. The pen tool. The pen tool is a versatile feature in Illustrator and can not only be used to create all sorts of shapes but also to trace hand-drawn sketches and effectively create quick and editable drawings.

Open the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box. Alt + Shift + Ctrl + K. Option + Shift + Command + K. Open the Preferences dialog box. Ctrl + K.

The special keys are a set of keys used to do a specific function in the keyboard, all of them are distributed in the keyboard, these are: Esc, Caps lock, Num lock, backspace, delete, insert, home, end, page up, page down, ctrl, alt, enter, shift, spacebar, tab, windows, and so on.

Command 7 to create a mask from the front shape. Command shift 7 to unmask. Command 2 to lock the selected item (also add shift to unlock all).

Command/Control + D:

This shortcut will repeat the last action you made in Illustrator.

Why Ctrl J is used? ›

Ctrl+J Aligns the selected text or line to justify the screen. Ctrl+K Insert a hyperlink. Ctrl+L Aligns the line or selected text to the left of the screen.

In many code editors and text editing applications, Ctrl+K can be used to duplicate a line of code or text. When you have a line selected or the cursor placed at the beginning of a line, pressing Ctrl+K will duplicate that line, making it easier to reuse or modify similar content.

In Adobe Illustrator, the way you have to exit text mode is to hit ESC. Pressing enter first merely adds another carriage return to the content of your text box. In Autocad, using MTEXT you can hit ESC to exit without needing to press Enter first.

For more complex actions, shortcuts like Ctrl + Alt + 2 for unlocking all objects, and Ctrl + Shift + O for creating outlines from text can be incredibly handy. Remember, mastering these shortcuts takes time and practice, but once you get the hang of it, you'll find your productivity greatly improved.

Usually when shortcuts stop working it is the result of a conflict with another program (usually runnning in the background) that is using the same shortcuts and preventing their use in the program that you want them in. Try restarting your computer and only launching Illustrator.