Adobe Photoshop Quick Reference Guide

CMD vs. CTRL

On Macs, use CMD in place of CTRL for commands (e.g., CMD + N to create a new document).

Shift for Alternate Tool Options

For many tools, pressing Shift + [Shortcut Key] cycles through related tool options. For example, pressing Shift + M toggles between the Rectangular and Elliptical Marquee tools.

Option/Alt Key for Enhanced Selection and Precision

Many selection tools and painting tools use ALT (Windows) or Option (Mac) to modify selections or sample areas. For instance, ALT + Click with the Lasso tool removes from the selection.

Right-Click for Context Menus

Right-clicking on tools or selections often brings up context-specific menus, such as blending options for layers or quick adjustments for text.

Using Modifier Keys for Quick Adjustments

When using a tool, hold down Shift for precision movements, ALT to duplicate items, or Space to temporarily activate the Hand tool for panning.

Tool Hints in the Status Bar

When a tool is selected, the status bar at the bottom of the window provides hints and tips specific to that tool, offering shortcuts and options.

Customizing Shortcuts

Photoshop allows users to customize shortcuts under Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts. This is useful if you have specific workflows or frequently used tools.

V - Move Tool

Moves selected objects, layers, or groups

A - Path Selection Tool

Selects and manipulates paths and shapes

Q - Quick Mask Tool

Creates temporary masks for refining selections

M - Marquee Tool

Creates rectangular, elliptical, and single-row / column selections

L - Lasso Tool

Freehand selection tool for irregular shapes

W - Magic Wand Tool + Quick Selection Tool

Automatically selects areas of similar color (Magic Wand) or clicks and drags to select areas (Quick Selection)

CTRL + A - Select All

Selects the entire canvas or active layer

CTRL + D - Deselect

Deselects any active selection area

Shift + CTRL + I - Invert Selection

Inverts the current selection, selecting unselected areas and deselecting selected ones

CTRL + Shift + M - Select and Mask

Opens the Select and Mask workspace for refining edges and selections

CTRL + R  - Ruler Tool

Shows rulers to measure and align objects

CTRL + ; - Show / Hide Guides

Shows or hides the guides on the canvas

B - Paintbrush Tool

Paints freehand strokes on layers

[ / ] - Brush Size
Decreases ([) or increases (]) the brush size.

Shift + [ / ] - Brush Hardness
Decreases ([) or increases (]) brush hardness.

0-9 (while Brush is selected) - Brush Opacity
Sets brush opacity; 0 = 100%, 1 = 10%, and so on.

P - Pen Tool

 Creates precise paths, shapes, and vector masks

Y - History Brush Tool

 Paints from a previous state or snapshot of the image

E - Eraser Tool

Erases pixels from the layer

G - Gradient Tool + Paint Bucket Tool

Creates gradients (Gradient Tool) or fills areas with solid color (Paint Bucket)

I - Eyedropper Tool

Samples colors from an image to use in painting or editing

CTRL + T - Free Transform

Opens the free transform bounding box to resize, rotate, or skew

Shift + ALT + Drag Corner - Scale Proportionally

Scales layer proportionally from the center while resizing

CTRL + ALT + T - Duplicate and Transform

Duplicates the layer and applies a transform on the copy

T - Type Tool 

Adds text layers to an image

CTRL + Enter - Confirm Text

Confirms text entry when using the Type Tool

U - Shapes Tool

Draws shapes like rectangles, ellipses, lines, and custom shapes

S - Clone Stamp Tool

Duplicates a part of an image for retouching

J - Healing Brush Tool + Red Eye Tool

Corrects blemishes (Healing Brush) and removes red-eye (Red Eye Tool)

R - Rotate Tool

Rotates the canvas or an image

O - Dodge Tool + Burn Tool

Lightens (Dodge) or darkens (Burn) areas of an image

C - Crop Tool + Slice Tool 

Crops the image (Crop Tool) or divides it into slices for web design (Slice Tool)

H - Hand Tool

Moves the canvas for better viewing without affecting the layers

Z - Zoom Tool

Zooms in or out on the image

CTRL + + / - - Zoom In / Zoom Out

Zooms in (+) or out (-) on the canvas

CTRL + 0 - Fit on Screen

Zooms to fit the image to the workspace

CTRL + L - Levels
Adjusts brightness and contrast by editing shadows, midtones, and highlights

CTRL + M - Curves
Adjusts brightness and contrast through a curve interface for more control

CTRL + U - Hue / Saturation
Changes the hue, saturation, and lightness of colors in the image

CTRL + B - Color Balance
Adjusts the balance of colors within highlights, midtones, and shadows

CTRL + Shift + B - Auto Color

Automatically corrects color balance in the image

CTRL + N - New

Creates a new document

CTRL + O - Open

Opens an existing file

CTRL + S - Save

Saves the current document

Shift + CTRL + S - Save As

Saves the current document under a new name or location

CTRL + ALT + I - Image Size

Adjusts the overall dimensions of the image

CTRL + ALT + C - Canvas Size

Changes the canvas size without affecting image content

CTRL + W - Close Document

Closes the currently open document

CTRL + E - Merge Down

Merges a layer with the one directly below it

Shift + CTRL + E - Merge Visible Layers

Combines all visible layers into one

CTRL + J - Duplicate Layer
Creates a duplicate of the selected layer

CTRL + G - Group Layers
Groups selected layers into a folder

CTRL + Shift + G - Ungroup Layers
Removes selected layers from their group

ALT + [ / ] - Move Layers
Moves between layers, up ([) or down (]).

CTRL + ALT + Z - Step Backward
Steps back in history to undo multiple actions

CTRL + Shift + Z - Step Forward
Steps forward in history to redo multiple actions

F12 - Revert

Reverts the document to its last saved state

F1 - Adobe Help

Opens Adobe’s online help documentation and resources for Photoshop

F5 - Brush Toolbar

Opens the Brush panel, where you can modify brush shape, size, hardness, and other settings

F6 - Color Toolbar

Opens the Color panel, where you can choose and adjust colors for painting and editing

F7 - Layers Toolbar

Opens the Layers panel, showing layer structure, blending options, and controls for managing layers

F8 - Info + Properties Toolbar

Opens the Info panel (displays color values, coordinates) and Properties panel (shows editable settings for selected layers or tools)

F9 - Actions Toolbar

Opens the Actions panel, where you can create, edit, and run automated sequences of commands