Illustrator Keyboard Shortcuts
The Adobe Illustrator shortcuts pros use every day — Mac and Windows keys side by side, ready to copy.
| Action | Mac | Windows | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selection tool | V | V | |
| Direct Selection tool | A | A | |
| Pen tool | P | P | |
| Type tool | T | T | |
| Rectangle tool | M | M | |
| Ellipse tool | L | L | |
| Paintbrush tool | B | B | |
| Pencil tool | N | N | |
| Eyedropper tool | I | I | |
| Gradient tool | G | G | |
| Rotate tool | R | R | |
| Scale tool | S | S | |
| Reflect tool | O | O | |
| Zoom tool | Z | Z | |
| Hand tool | H or Space | H or Space | |
| Default fill & stroke | D | D | |
| Swap fill & stroke | ⇧X | Shift+X | |
| Toggle fill/stroke focus | X | X | |
| Group | ⌘G | Ctrl+G | |
| Ungroup | ⌘⇧G | Ctrl+Shift+G | |
| Bring to front | ⌘⇧] | Ctrl+Shift+] | |
| Send to back | ⌘⇧[ | Ctrl+Shift+[ | |
| Bring forward | ⌘] | Ctrl+] | |
| Send backward | ⌘[ | Ctrl+[ | |
| Lock selection | ⌘2 | Ctrl+2 | |
| Unlock all | ⌘⌥2 | Ctrl+Alt+2 | |
| Hide selection | ⌘3 | Ctrl+3 | |
| Show all | ⌘⌥3 | Ctrl+Alt+3 | |
| Transform again | ⌘D | Ctrl+D | |
| Paste in front | ⌘F | Ctrl+F | |
| Paste in back | ⌘B | Ctrl+B | |
| Make clipping mask | ⌘7 | Ctrl+7 | |
| Join paths | ⌘J | Ctrl+J | |
| Outline/Preview view | ⌘Y | Ctrl+Y | |
| Fit artboard in window | ⌘0 | Ctrl+0 | |
| Actual size (100%) | ⌘1 | Ctrl+1 | |
| Show/hide rulers | ⌘R | Ctrl+R | |
| Show/hide guides | ⌘; | Ctrl+; | |
| Undo | ⌘Z | Ctrl+Z | |
| Redo | ⌘⇧Z | Ctrl+Shift+Z | |
| Save | ⌘S | Ctrl+S | |
| Increase font size | ⌘⇧> | Ctrl+Shift+> | |
| Decrease font size | ⌘⇧< | Ctrl+Shift+< |
Illustrator's single-key tool shortcuts are identical on Mac and Windows — press V for the Selection tool, P for the Pen, T for Type. The differences appear in the command shortcuts, where Mac uses ⌘ (Command) and Windows uses Ctrl, and where Mac's ⌥ (Option) maps to Windows' Alt.
The two most underused shortcuts are Transform Again (⌘D / Ctrl+D), which repeats your last move/rotate/scale to build patterns fast, and Paste in Front / Back (⌘F / ⌘B), which pastes at the exact original position on a specific stack level. Learn the arrange stack (bring to front / send to back) and you'll stop fighting overlapping objects.
FAQ
Are Illustrator shortcuts the same on Mac and Windows?
Tool shortcuts (single keys like V, P, T) are identical. Command shortcuts differ only in the modifier: Mac uses ⌘ (Command) and ⌥ (Option), Windows uses Ctrl and Alt.
How do I repeat the last transformation in Illustrator?
Press ⌘D (Mac) or Ctrl+D (Windows) for Transform Again — it repeats your last move, rotate, scale or reflect, which is the fastest way to build evenly spaced patterns.
What is the shortcut to make a clipping mask?
Select the object and the shape on top, then press ⌘7 (Mac) or Ctrl+7 (Windows).