100 Essential Photoshop Shortcuts for Mac Users

Basic Shortcuts

1. New Document: Command+N

2. Open Document: Command+O

3. Save: Command+S

4. Save As: Command+Shift+S

5. Print: Command+P

6. Close: Command+W

7. Undo/Redo: Command+Z

8. Step Forward: Command+Shift+Z

9. Step Backward: Command+Option+Z

10. Deselect: Command+D

11. Cut: Command+X

12. Copy: Command+C

13. Paste: Command+V

14. Select All: Command+A

15. Free Transform: Command+T

16. Duplicate Layer/Object: Command+J

17. Hide Photoshop: Command+H

18. Quit Photoshop: Command+Q

View and Navigation

1. Zoom In: Command++

2. Zoom Out: Command+-

3. Fit on Screen: Command+0

4. Actual Pixels: Command+Option+0

5. Hide Guides: Command+;

6. Hide Grid: Command+’ (Apostrophe)

7. Hide Rulers: Command+R

8. Toggle Full Screen: Control+Command+F

9. Scroll Image: Spacebar (hold and drag)

10. Rotate View: R

Tool Shortcuts

1. Move Tool: V

2. Brush Tool: B

3. Clone Stamp Tool: S

4. History Brush Tool: Y

5. Eraser Tool: E

6. Gradient Tool: G

7. Dodge/Burn/Sponge Tool: O

8. Pen Tool: P

9. Type Tool: T

10. Path Selection Tool: A

11. Rectangle/Marquee Tool: M

12. Lasso Tool: L

13. Magic Wand/Quick Selection Tool: W

14. Crop Tool: C

15. Eyedropper Tool: I

16. Hand Tool: H

17. Zoom Tool: Z

18. Default Foreground/Background Colors: D

19. Switch Foreground/Background Colors: X

Layer Management

1. New Layer: Command+Shift+N

2. Group Layers: Command+G

3. Ungroup Layers: Command+Shift+G

4. Merge Layers: Command+E

5. Merge Visible: Command+Shift+E

6. Flatten Image: Command+Shift+F

7. Bring Layer to Front: Command+Shift+]

8. Send Layer to Back: Command+Shift+[

9. Lock/Unlock Layer: Command+/

10. Layer Opacity: Number Keys (10% increments)

11. Fill Layer: Command+Delete (Backspace)

12. New Adjustment Layer: Command+Option+L/M/U/E/G/B etc.

Text Editing

1. Bold: Command+Shift+B

2. Italic: Command+Shift+I

3. Underline: Command+Shift+U

4. Increase Font Size: Command+Shift+>

5. Decrease Font Size: Command+Shift+<

6. Align Left: Command+Shift+L

7. Align Center: Command+Shift+C

8. Align Right: Command+Shift+R

9. Vertical Type Tool: Command+Shift+T

Image Adjustments

1. Levels: Command+L

2. Curves: Command+M

3. Brightness/Contrast: Command+Shift+B

4. Hue/Saturation: Command+U

5. Color Balance: Command+B

6. Black & White: Command+Shift+Alt+B

7. Invert Colors: Command+I

8. Desaturate: Command+Shift+U

9. Image Size: Command+Option+I

10. Canvas Size: Command+Option+C

Selections and Masking

1. Feather Selection: Command+Option+D

2. Inverse Selection: Command+Shift+I

3. Refine Edge: Command+Option+R

4. Select and Mask: Command+Option+M

Filter and Effects

1. Last Filter: Command+F

2. Gaussian Blur: Command+Option+F

3. Liquify: Command+Shift+X

4. Vanishing Point: Command+Option+V

5. Lens Correction: Command+Shift+R

Window and Panel Shortcuts

1. Show/Hide Layers Panel: F7

2. Show/Hide Brush Panel: F5

3. Show/Hide Color Panel: F6

4. Show/Hide Channels Panel: Command+6

5. Show/Hide Paths Panel: Command+7

6. Show/Hide Actions Panel: Option+F9

7. Show/Hide History Panel: Command+Option+Y

8. Cycle Through Panels: Command+Tab

9. Arrange Documents: Command+Option+~

Miscellaneous

1. Switch Between Open Documents: Command+` (Grave Accent)

2. Create Clipping Mask: Command+Option+G

3. Toggle Layer Mask: Shift+Click on Layer Mask

4. Toggle Brush Preview: Caps Lock

For PC users

Key Differences:

1. Command (⌘) on Mac is usually equivalent to Ctrl on Windows.

2. Option (⌥) on Mac generally corresponds to Alt on Windows.

3. The Control (⌃) key on Mac does not have a direct equivalent in Windows but is used less frequently as a modifier key in Photoshop shortcuts. In some cases, it translates to the Right-click functionality in Windows.

4. Function Keys (F1, F2, etc.) and other keys like Spacebar, Enter, and Arrow keys are typically the same on both platforms.

Examples:

• Mac: Command+N (⌘N) to create a new document.

  • PC: Ctrl+N

• Mac: Command+Option+Z (⌘⌥Z) to step backward.

  • PC: Ctrl+Alt+Z

• Mac: Command+Shift+ (⌘⇧) to increase brush size.

  • PC: Ctrl+Shift+

• Mac: Option+Click (⌥Click) to define a source point for the Clone Stamp Tool.

  • PC: Alt+Click