Affinity Designer Pen Tool Smart

Affinity Designer Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet for Windows and Mac

All the keyboard shortcuts you need to control Affinity Designer like a pro, available in a handy downloadable cheat sheet.

Although Adobe Illustrator remains the industry favorite for vector-based design, Affinity Designer has proven itself to be a capable alternative. Made by British developer Serif, it doesn't have the depth or the power of Illustrator, but it's a comprehensive package all the same. And, of course, it costs a fraction of the price—a lifetime license costs less than some of Adobe's monthly subscriptions.

If you do decide to make the leap to Affinity Designer, you'll find at least some keyboard shortcuts are the same or similar to those in Illustrator. But there are differences too, including some Illustrator features that Designer doesn't have an equivalent for.

With this handy guide to Affinity Designer's keyboard shortcuts, you can find your way around your new design software in no time.

FREE DOWNLOAD: This cheat sheet is available as a downloadable PDF from our distribution partner, TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access it for the first time only. Download the Affinity Designer Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet.

Affinity Designer Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows and Mac

SHORTCUT (WINDOWS)	SHORTCUT (MAC)	ACTION
FILE
Ctrl + N	Cmd + N	New
Alt + Shift + Ctrl + N	Opt + Shift + Cmd + N	New from clipboard
Ctrl + O	Cmd + O	Open
Ctrl + W	Cmd + W	Close
Ctrl + S	Cmd + S	Save
Shift + Ctrl + S	Shift + Cmd + S	Save as
Alt + Shift + Ctrl + S	Opt + Shift + Cmd + S	Export
Shift + Ctrl + P	Shift + Cmd + P	Document setup
Ctrl + P	Cmd + P	Print
EDIT
Ctrl + Z	Cmd + Z	Undo
Shift + Ctrl + Z	Shift + Cmd + Z	Redo
Ctrl + X	Cmd + X	Cut
Ctrl + C	Cmd + C	Copy
Ctrl + V	Cmd + V	Paste
Shift + Ctrl + V	Shift + Cmd + V	Paste style
Alt + Shift + V	Ctrl + Cmd + V	Paste FX
Alt + Ctrl + V	Opt + Cmd + V	Paste inside
Alt + Shift + Ctrl + V	Opt + Shift + Cmd + V	Paste without format
Ctrl + J	Cmd + J	Duplicate
N/A	Ctrl Ctrl	Start dictation
N/A	Ctrl + Cmd + Space	Emoji and symbols
TEXT
Ctrl + T	Cmd + T	Show character
Shift + Ctrl + T	Shift + Cmd + T	Show typography
Ctrl + B	Cmd + B	Bold
Ctrl + U	Cmd + U	Underline
Ctrl + I	Cmd + I	Italic
Ctrl + >	Cmd + >	Bigger text size
Ctrl + <	Cmd + <	Smaller text size
Alt + Ctrl + >	Opt + Cmd + >	Precise bigger text size
Alt + Ctrl + <	Opt + Cmd + <	Precise smaller text size
Alt + Left	Opt + Left	Tighten spacing
Alt + Right	Opt + Right	Loosen spacing
Alt + Shift + Left	Opt + Cmd + Left	Tight more
Alt + Shift + Right	Opt + Cmd + Right	Loosen more
Ctrl + Shift + =	Ctrl + Cmd + +	Superscript
Ctrl + Alt + –	Ctrl + Cmd + –	Subscript
Alt + Shift + Up	Opt + Shift + Up	Raise baseline
Alt + Shift + Down	Alt + Shift + Down	Lower baseline
Alt + Shift + Ctrl + Up	Opt + Shift + Cmd + Up	Precise raise baseline
Alt + Shift + Ctrl + Down	Opt + Shift + Cmd + Down	Precise lower baseline
Alt + Ctrl + L	Opt + Cmd + L	Align left
Alt + Ctrl + C	Opt + Cmd + C	Align center
Alt + Ctrl + R	Opt + Cmd + R	Align right
Alt + Ctrl + I	Opt + Cmd + I	Justify left
Alt + Down	Opt + Down	Increase paragraph leading
Alt + Up	Opt + Up	Decrease paragraph leading
Alt + Ctrl + Down	Opt + Cmd + Down	Precise increase paragraph leading
Alt + Ctrl + Up	Opt + Cmd + Up	Precise decrease paragraph leading
Shift + Enter	Shift + Enter	Line break
Alt + Shift + –	Opt + Shift + –	Em dash
Alt + –	Opt + –	En dash
Alt + Space	Opt + Space	Non-breaking space
Shift + Ctrl + –	Shift + Cmd + –	Soft hyphen
Alt + Ctrl + –	Opt + Cmd + –	Non-breaking hyphen
Shift + Ctrl + ;	Shift + Cmd + ;	Spelling options
LAYER
Ctrl + G	Cmd + G	Group
Shift + Ctrl + G	Shift + Cmd + G	Ungroup
Shift + Ctrl + ]	Shift + Cmd + ]	Move layer to front
Shift + Ctrl + [	Shift + Cmd + [	Move layer to back
Ctrl + ]	Cmd + ]	Move layer forward one
Ctrl + [	Cmd + [	Move layer back one
Alt + Ctrl + G	Opt + Cmd + G	Move inside
Alt + Shift + Ctrl + G	Opt + Shift + Cmd + G	Move outside
Alt + Ctrl + N	Opt + Cmd + N	New layer
Shift + Ctrl + N	Shift + Cmd + N	New pixel layer
Ctrl + M	Cmd + M	Curves
Alt + Shift + Ctrl + B	Opt + Shift + Cmd + B	Black and white
Ctrl + L	Cmd + L	Lock layer
Shift + Ctrl + L	Shift + Cmd + L	Unlock layer
Alt + Shift + Ctrl + L	Ctrl + Cmd + L	Unlock all
Alt + Shift + Ctrl + H	Ctrl + Cmd + H	Show all
Ctrl + Enter	Cmd + Enter	Convert to curves
SELECT
Ctrl + A	Cmd + A	Select all
Ctrl + D	Cmd + D	Deselect
Shift + Ctrl + I	Shift + Cmd + I	Invert pixel selection
Alt + Ctrl + ]	Opt + Cmd + ]	Select next
Alt + Ctrl + [	Opt + Cmd + [	Select previous
VIEW
Ctrl + =	Cmd + +	Zoom in
Ctrl + –	Cmd + –	Zoom out
Ctrl + 0	Cmd + 0	Zoom to fit
Alt + Shift + 0	0pt + Cmd + 0	Zoom to width
Alt + Ctrl + 0	Shift + Cmd + 0	Zoom to selection
Ctrl + 1	Cmd + 1	100% zoom
Ctrl + 2	Cmd + 2	200% zoom
Ctrl + 3	Cmd + 3	400% zoom
Ctrl + 4	Cmd + 4	800% zoom
Ctrl + 8	Cmd + 8	Actual size
Ctrl + 9	Cmd + 9	Pixel size
Alt + Shift + Ctrl + R	Ctrl + Shift + Cmd + R	Reset rotation
Alt + Ctrl + Y	Opt + Cmd + Y	Pixels view mode
Alt + Shift + Ctrl + Y	Opt + Shift + Cmd + Y	Pixels (Retina) view mode
N/A	Cmd + Y	Outline view mode
,	,	Split view
\	\	Clip to canvas
Ctrl + ;	Cmd + ;	Show guides
Ctrl + '	Cmd + '	Show grid
Ctrl + R	Cmd + R	Show rulers
Shift + Ctrl + H	Shift + Cmd + H	Hide studio
Alt + Ctrl + T	Opt + Cmd + T	Show toolbar
Tab	Tab	Toggle UI
N/A	Ctrl + Cmd + F	Toggle full screen
TOOLS
V	V	Move tool
A	A	Node tool
O	O	Contour tool
C	C	Corner tool
P	P	Pen tool
N	N	Pencil tool
B	B	Vector brush tool
G	G	Fill tool
Y	Y	Transparency tool
M	M	Toggle between rectangle, ellipse, and rounded rectangle tools
T	T	Artistic text tool
H	H	View tool
Z	Z	Zoom tool
MISC
Shift + drag	Shift + drag	Constrain movement of object along an axis
Shift + click	Shift + click	Select multiple objects
Alt + drag	Opt + drag	Make copy of object
Alt + click	Opt + click	Select overlapped object
.	.	Cycle selection box
Numeric keys	Numeric keys	Change opacity
X	X	Switch between color one and color two
D	D	Set stroke and fill to black and white
[	[	Decrease brush size
]	]	Increase brush size

Using the Affinity Software Suite

Serif doesn't only make vector design software. It also offers Affinity Photo, a decent and keenly priced alternative to Adobe Photoshop. And its Affinity Publisher product, meanwhile, is its answer to Adobe InDesign. If you want a full suite of design apps, this is probably one of the most affordable ways to get it.

Combining Designer, Photo, and Publisher, you should be able to do pretty much anything you want. And using the shortcuts in our cheat sheet, it shouldn't be too difficult either.

Affinity Photo vs. Photoshop: Which Should You Choose?

Photoshop has long been considered the go-to image editing software. But how does Affinity Photo stack up?