Adobe Photoshop keyboard shortcuts

Q: How do I resize my brush in Photoshop with the keyboard?

Use the bracket keys: [ makes the brush smaller and ] makes it larger. Add Shift to the brackets to change brush hardness instead.

Q: What is the shortcut to merge all visible layers onto a new layer in Photoshop?

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E on Windows or Cmd+Option+Shift+E on Mac, often called 'stamp visible'. It keeps your original layers intact.

Q: How do I undo multiple steps in Photoshop?

Since Photoshop CC 2019, Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on Mac) steps backward repeatedly, and Ctrl+Shift+Z steps forward. Older versions used Ctrl+Alt+Z to step backward.

Q: How do I switch between tools that share the same shortcut key?

Hold Shift and press the tool key. For example, Shift+M toggles between the rectangular and elliptical marquee tools.

Q: Can I customize keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop?

Yes. Go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K / Cmd+Option+Shift+K) to remap almost any menu item, tool, or panel command.

Adobe Photoshop is the industry-standard raster image editor for photo retouching, compositing, and digital art. Professionals keep one hand on the keyboard at all times: tools, brush sizing, layer operations, and adjustments all have shortcuts, and mastering them is the single biggest speed upgrade available in the app. This cheat sheet covers 112 default shortcuts for Windows and Mac.

Tools

Move tool	`VV`
Marquee selection tools	`MM`
Lasso tools	`LL`
Quick Selection / Magic Wand	`WW`
Crop tool	`CC`
Eyedropper tool	`II`
Healing Brush tools	`JJ`
Brush tool	`BB`
Clone Stamp tool	`SS`
Eraser tool	`EE`
Gradient / Paint Bucket tool	`GG`
Dodge / Burn tool	`OO`
Pen tool	`PP`
Type tool	`TT`
Path Selection tool	`AA`
Shape tools	`UU`
Hand tool	`HH`
Rotate View tool	`RR`
Zoom tool	`ZZ`
Cycle tools sharing a key	`Shift`+`Tool keyShift`+`Tool key`
Default foreground/background colors	`DD`
Swap foreground/background colors	`XX`
Quick Mask mode	`QQ`
Cycle screen modes	`FF`
Temporary Hand tool	`SpaceSpace`

File

New document	`Ctrl`+`NCmd`+`N`
Open	`Ctrl`+`OCmd`+`O`
Save	`Ctrl`+`SCmd`+`S`
Save As	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`SCmd`+`Shift`+`S`
Save for Web (Legacy)	`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`Shift`+`SCmd`+`Option`+`Shift`+`S`
Export As	`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`Shift`+`WCmd`+`Option`+`Shift`+`W`
Close document	`Ctrl`+`WCmd`+`W`
Print	`Ctrl`+`PCmd`+`P`
Open Preferences	`Ctrl`+`KCmd`+`K`

Edit & Transform

Undo	`Ctrl`+`ZCmd`+`Z`
Redo	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`ZCmd`+`Shift`+`Z`
Cut	`Ctrl`+`XCmd`+`X`
Copy	`Ctrl`+`CCmd`+`C`
Copy merged	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`CCmd`+`Shift`+`C`
Paste	`Ctrl`+`VCmd`+`V`
Paste in place	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`VCmd`+`Shift`+`V`
Free Transform	`Ctrl`+`TCmd`+`T`
Transform again	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`TCmd`+`Shift`+`T`
Fill dialog	`Shift`+`F5Shift`+`F5`
Fill with foreground color	`Alt`+`BackspaceOption`+`Delete`
Fill with background color	`Ctrl`+`BackspaceCmd`+`Delete`

Selections

Select all	`Ctrl`+`ACmd`+`A`
Deselect	`Ctrl`+`DCmd`+`D`
Reselect	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`DCmd`+`Shift`+`D`
Inverse selection	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`ICmd`+`Shift`+`I`
Select all layers	`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`ACmd`+`Option`+`A`
Feather selection	`Shift`+`F6Shift`+`F6`
Add to selection	`Shift`+`DragShift`+`Drag`
Subtract from selection	`Alt`+`DragOption`+`Drag`
Load layer contents as selection	`Ctrl`+`Click layer thumbnailCmd`+`Click layer thumbnail`

Layers

New layer (with dialog)	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`NCmd`+`Shift`+`N`
New layer via copy	`Ctrl`+`JCmd`+`J`
New layer via cut	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`JCmd`+`Shift`+`J`
Group layers	`Ctrl`+`GCmd`+`G`
Ungroup layers	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`GCmd`+`Shift`+`G`
Merge down	`Ctrl`+`ECmd`+`E`
Merge visible	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`ECmd`+`Shift`+`E`
Stamp visible to new layer	`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`Shift`+`ECmd`+`Option`+`Shift`+`E`
Bring layer to front	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`]Cmd`+`Shift`+`]`
Bring layer forward	`Ctrl`+`]Cmd`+`]`
Send layer backward	`Ctrl`+`[Cmd`+`[`
Send layer to back	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`[Cmd`+`Shift`+`[`
Create clipping mask	`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`GCmd`+`Option`+`G`
Set layer opacity (10%-100%)	`1-01-0`
Lock transparent pixels	`//`

Image Adjustments

Levels	`Ctrl`+`LCmd`+`L`
Curves	`Ctrl`+`MCmd`+`M`
Hue/Saturation	`Ctrl`+`UCmd`+`U`
Color Balance	`Ctrl`+`BCmd`+`B`
Invert	`Ctrl`+`ICmd`+`I`
Desaturate	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`UCmd`+`Shift`+`U`
Auto Tone	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`LCmd`+`Shift`+`L`
Image Size	`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`ICmd`+`Option`+`I`
Canvas Size	`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`CCmd`+`Option`+`C`
Reapply last filter	`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`FCmd`+`Option`+`F`
Camera Raw Filter	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`ACmd`+`Shift`+`A`

Brushes & Painting

Decrease brush size	`[[`
Increase brush size	`]]`
Decrease brush hardness	`Shift`+`[Shift`+`[`
Increase brush hardness	`Shift`+`]Shift`+`]`
Set tool opacity (10%-100%)	`1-01-0`
Set tool flow (10%-100%)	`Shift`+`1-0Shift`+`1-0`
Sample color while painting	`Alt`+`ClickOption`+`Click`
Paint a straight line	`Shift`+`ClickShift`+`Click`
Cycle blend modes forward	`Shift`+`+Shift`+`+`
Cycle blend modes backward	`Shift`+`-Shift`+`-`
Normal blend mode	`Alt`+`Shift`+`NOption`+`Shift`+`N`
Multiply blend mode	`Alt`+`Shift`+`MOption`+`Shift`+`M`
Screen blend mode	`Alt`+`Shift`+`SOption`+`Shift`+`S`
Overlay blend mode	`Alt`+`Shift`+`OOption`+`Shift`+`O`

View & Navigation

Zoom in	`Ctrl`+`+Cmd`+`+`
Zoom out	`Ctrl`+`-Cmd`+`-`
Fit image on screen	`Ctrl`+`0Cmd`+`0`
View at 100%	`Ctrl`+`1Cmd`+`1`
Toggle rulers	`Ctrl`+`RCmd`+`R`
Toggle guides	`Ctrl`+`;Cmd`+`;`
Toggle snap	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`;Cmd`+`Shift`+`;`
Toggle grid	`Ctrl`+`'Cmd`+`'`
Toggle extras (guides, edges)	`Ctrl`+`HCmd`+`H`
Hide/show all panels	`TabTab`
Hide/show panels except Tools	`Shift`+`TabShift`+`Tab`

Type

Commit text editing	`Ctrl`+`EnterCmd`+`Enter`
Increase font size	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`>Cmd`+`Shift`+`>`
Decrease font size	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`<Cmd`+`Shift`+`<`
Align text left	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`LCmd`+`Shift`+`L`
Align text center	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`CCmd`+`Shift`+`C`
Align text right	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`RCmd`+`Shift`+`R`

Put your top Adobe Photoshop shortcuts on real keys

The five Adobe Photoshop actions most worth binding to a physical macropad key:

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+ECmd+Option+Shift+E Stamp visible to new layer Four-key claw used constantly in retouching; perfect single-button candidate.

Ctrl+TCmd+T Free Transform Compositors invoke transform dozens of times per hour.

Ctrl+JCmd+J New layer via copy The standard non-destructive first step before any edit.

Ctrl+DCmd+D Deselect Every selection workflow ends with it; hundreds of presses a day.

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+WCmd+Option+Shift+W Export As Awkward chord that ends nearly every web/UI asset session.

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Adobe Photoshop shortcut FAQs

How do I resize my brush in Photoshop with the keyboard?

Use the bracket keys: [ makes the brush smaller and ] makes it larger. Add Shift to the brackets to change brush hardness instead.

What is the shortcut to merge all visible layers onto a new layer in Photoshop?

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E on Windows or Cmd+Option+Shift+E on Mac, often called 'stamp visible'. It keeps your original layers intact.

How do I undo multiple steps in Photoshop?

Since Photoshop CC 2019, Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on Mac) steps backward repeatedly, and Ctrl+Shift+Z steps forward. Older versions used Ctrl+Alt+Z to step backward.

How do I switch between tools that share the same shortcut key?

Hold Shift and press the tool key. For example, Shift+M toggles between the rectangular and elliptical marquee tools.

Can I customize keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop?

Yes. Go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K / Cmd+Option+Shift+K) to remap almost any menu item, tool, or panel command.