Adobe Illustrator has a keyboard shortcut for a lot of what you click every day. Here are 56 that work on Windows, grouped by what you’re trying to do.
We checked every one against Adobe Help: Default keyboard shortcuts for Illustrator on October 21, 2026.
Files
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + N | Create a new document |
| Ctrl + O | Open a document |
| Ctrl + S | Save the document |
| Shift + Ctrl + S | Save As |
| Ctrl + W | Close the document window |
| Ctrl + P | |
| Alt + Ctrl + E | Open Export for Screens |
| Ctrl + K | Open Preferences |
Editing
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Z | Undo |
| Shift + Ctrl + Z | Redo |
| Ctrl + F | Paste in front |
| Shift + Ctrl + V | Paste in place |
| Ctrl + D | Repeat the last transformation |
| Ctrl + J | Join two or more selected paths |
| Ctrl + 7 | Make a clipping mask |
| Shift + Ctrl + O | Create outlines from type |
Selecting and Arranging
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + A | Select all |
| Shift + Ctrl + A | Deselect |
| Ctrl + G | Group the selected artwork |
| Shift + Ctrl + G | Ungroup the selected artwork |
| Ctrl + 2 | Lock the selection |
| Ctrl + 3 | Hide the selection |
| Alt + Ctrl + 3 | Show all hidden objects |
| Shift + Ctrl + ] | Bring the selection to the front |
| Shift + Ctrl + [ | Send the selection to the back |
Tools
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| V | Selection tool |
| A | Direct Selection tool |
| P | Pen tool |
| T | Type tool |
| M | Rectangle tool |
| L | Ellipse tool |
| \ | Line Segment tool |
| B | Paintbrush tool |
| I | Eyedropper tool |
| Shift + M | Shape Builder tool |
| D | Set fill and stroke to the defaults |
| X | Toggle between fill and stroke |
| Shift + X | Swap fill and stroke colors |
View
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + = | Zoom in |
| Ctrl + – | Zoom out |
| Hold Space | Switch to the Hand tool to pan |
| Ctrl + Y | Toggle Outline view |
| Ctrl + R | Show or hide rulers |
| Ctrl + ; | Hide or show guides |
| Ctrl + U | Show or hide Smart Guides |
| Ctrl + ‘ | Show the grid |
| Tab | Show or hide all panels |
| F5 | Show or hide the Brushes panel |
Type
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Shift + Ctrl + B | Bold |
| Shift + Ctrl + I | Italic |
| Shift + Ctrl + U | Underline |
| Ctrl + Shift + . | Increase font size |
| Ctrl + Shift + , | Decrease font size |
| Ctrl + Shift + L | Align paragraph left |
| Ctrl + Shift + C | Center paragraph |
| Ctrl + Shift + R | Align paragraph right |
Good to know: Mac uses Cmd instead of Ctrl and Option instead of Alt.
Get the Excel and PDF Version
Everything above is free. Bookmark this page and use it anytime.
If you’d rather have it on your desk, the download below is a sortable Excel file plus a printable one-page PDF of all 56 shortcuts, for $0.99.
Want One Key to Do More?
Built-in shortcuts only work while Adobe Illustrator is the active window, and you can’t add new ones. These tools let you pick your own hotkeys:
- Prompt Assistant: paste your brand color codes, tagline, or standard legal line into a text box with a hotkey you pick
- Second Keyboard Manager: turn a spare number keypad into one-key buttons for the Illustrator tools you use most
- Image Converter: drag and drop exported PNG files to turn them into WEBP, ICO, AVIF and more, offline
