Illustrator CS4 Shortcuts: Mac

Here are many of Illustrator CS4’s keyboard shortcuts. Some of them are the little known, hidden keystrokes! Download them as a PDF (nicely formatted single page that’s easily printed), or scroll down to the shortcut you need. Feel free to link to this page to share it with others! Enjoy…

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Selecting and Moving
To access Selection or Direction Selection tool (whichever was used last) at any time	Cmd (Command)
To switch between Selection and Direct Selection tools	Cmd-Option-Tab
To cycle through tools behind column tool	Option-click tool
To make copy while dragging	Option
To add to a selection	Shift
Move Selection	Any arrow key
Move Selection 10 pts	Shift-any arrow key
Lock selected artwork	Cmd-2
Lock all deselected artwork	Cmd-Option-Shift-2
Unlock all artwork	Cmd-Option-2
Hide selected artwork	Cmd-3
Hide all deselected artwork	Cmd-Option-Shift-3
Show all artwork	Cmd-Option-3
Path Editing
Join and Average at same time	Cmd-Option-Shift-J
Convert Anchor Point tool from Pen tool	Option
Switch between Add Anchor Point and Delete Anchor Point tools	Option
Add Anchor Point tool from Scissors tool	Option
Move anchor point while drawing with Pen tool	Spacebar
Create closed path with Pencil or Paintbrush tool	When finished drawing, hold Option and release mouse
Connect to an open (& selected) path with Pencil	Cmd-drag
Painting and Transforming
Eyedropper tool from Live Paint Bucket tool	Option
Samples intermediate color from gradient, picture, etc. with eyedropper	Shift
Sets center point and shows dialog	Option-click with Tool
Duplicates and transforms selection	Option-drag
Transform pattern without transforming object	Tilde(~)-drag
Scale proportionally with Selection tool	Shift-drag bounding box
Scale from center with Selection tool	Option-drag bounding box
Move mesh point along path with Mesh tool	Shift-drag
Add mesh point with Mesh tool without changing color	Shift-click
Remove mesh point with Mesh tool	Option-click
Shapes (While Drawing)
Draw from center	Option
Draw from center with dialog	Option-click
Constrain proportion	Shift
Constrain orientation of polygons, stars, spirals	Shift
Move object while drawing	Spacebar
Add/subtract sides, points, spiral segments	Up or Down Arrow
Decrease inner radius	Cmd
Create Continuous duplicates along mouse movement	Hold tilde(~) while Dragging
Viewing & Guides
Get Hand Tool (while NOT editing Type)	Spacebar
Get Hand Tool (while editing Type)	Hold Cmd, then Space. Then continue holding Space but let go of Cmd
Zoom In Tool	Cmd-Spacebar
Zoom Out Tool	Cmd-Option-Spacebar
Zoom In to exact size	Cmd-Spacebar-drag
Hide/Show all tools and panels	Tab
Hide/Show all panels except toolbox	Shift-Tab
Switch between horizontal/vertical guide	Hold Option while dragging out a new guide
Release Guide (turns it into a regular path)	Cmd-Shift-double-click
Type
Decrease/Increase type size	Cmd-Shift-< or >
Decrease/Increase leading	Option arrow up or down
Decrease/Increase kerning/tracking	Option arrow left or right
Kerning/tracking x 5	Cmd-Option arrow left or right
Decrease/Increase baseline shift	Shift-Option arrow down or up
Baseline shift x 5	Cmd-Option-Shift arrow down or up
Align type left, right, center	Cmd-Shift-L, R, C
Justify with last line left aligned	Cmd-Shift-J
Justify all line	Cmd-Shift-F
Reset horizontal/vertical scale to 100%	Cmd-Shift-X
Reset kerning or tracking to 0	Cmd-Option-Q
Palette Shortcuts / Function Keys
Show/Hide Brushes	F5
Show/Hide Color	F6
Show/Hide Layers	F7
Show/Hide Info	Cmd-F8
Show/Hide Gradient	Cmd-F9
Show/Hide Stroke	Cmd-F10
Show/Hide Attributes	Cmd-F11
Revert file	F12
Show/Hide Graphic Styles	Shift-F5
Show/Hide Appearance	Shift-F6
Show/Hide Align	Shift-F7
Show/Hide Transform	Shift-F8
Show/Hide Pathfinder	Shift-Cmd-F9
Show/Hide Transparency	Shift-Cmd-F10
Show/Hide Symbols	Shift-Cmd-F11
Layers Palette Shortcuts
Toggle layer between Preview/Outline mode	Cmd-click on eye
Show layer while turning off all others	Option-click on eye
Select all items on layer	Option-click layer name
Copy selected item to different layer	Option-drag selection square in Layers panel
To create the new layer at the top of list	Cmd-click
To create the new layer below selected layer	Cmd-Option-click
Color Palette Shortcuts
Saturate/Desaturate current color	Shift-drag color slider
Change Color Mode	Shift-click color bar
Select compliment of current color	Cmd-click color bar
Swatches Palette Shortcuts
Create a swatch as a global color	Hold Cmd-Shift while creating
Replace a swatch with another	Option-drag new swatch over old
Misc.
(In any panel) Apply a value, but keep value highlighted in panel	Shift-Return
Create New Symbol	F8

Tools
V	Selection
A	Direct Selection
Y	Magic Wand
Q	Lasso
P	Pen
+	Add Anchor point
-	Delete Anchor point
Shift-C	Convert Anchor point
T	Type
\	Line Segment
M	Rectangle
L	Ellipse
B	Paintbrush
N	Pencil
Shift-B	Blob Brush
Shift-E	Eraser
C	Scissors
R	Rotate
O	Reflect
S	Scale
Shift-R	Warp
E	Free Transform
Shift-S	Symbol Sprayer
J	Column Graph
U	Mesh
G	Gradient
I	Eyedropper
W	Blend
K	Live Paint Bucket
Shift-L	Live Paint Selection
Shift-O	Artboard Tool
Shift-K	Slice
H	Hand
Z	Zoom
X	Toggle between Fill & Stroke
Shift-X	Swap Fill & Stroke
D	Default Fill & Stroke (white fill/black stroke)
<	Fill or Stroke w/Color
>	Fill or Stroke w/Gradient
/	Fill or Stroke w/None
F	Cycle through Screen Modes
Double-click tools to bring up options.
Press CAPS LOCK to change tool pointer to cross hair.
Hold down Shift to constrain movement to 45°, 90°, 135°, or 180°.