F1

Help

F2/F3/F4

Cut / Copy / Paste

F5

Show/hide Brushes panel

F6

Show/hide Color panel

F7

Show/hide Layers panel

F8

Create new symbol

Ctrl+F8

Show/hide Info panel

Ctrl+F9

Show/hide Gradient panel

Ctrl+F10

Show/hide Stroke panel

Ctrl+F11

Show/hide Attributes panel

F12

Revert

Shift+F5

Show/hide Graphic Styles panel

Shift+F6

Show/hide Appearance panel

Shift+F7

Show/hide Align panel

Shift+F8

Show/hide Transform panel

Shift+Ctrl+F9

Show/hide Pathfinder panel

Shift+Ctrl+F10

Show/hide Transparency panel

Shift+Ctrl+F11

Show/hide Symbols panel

Ctrl+Shift+i

Show/hide perspective grid

Shift+o

Artboard tool

v

Selection tool

a

Direct Selection tool

y

Magic Wand tool

q

Lasso tool

p

Pen tool

Shift+b

Blob Brush tool

+

Add Anchor Point tool

=

Delete Anchor Point tool

Shift+c

C onvert Anchor Point tool

t

Type tool

Line Segment tool

m

Rectangle tool

l

Ellipse tool

b

Paintbrush tool

n

Pencil tool

r

Rotate tool

o

Reflect tool

s

Scale tool

Shift+r

Warp tool

Shift+w

Width tool

e

Free Transform tool

Shift+m

Shape Builder tool

Shift+p

Perspective Grid tool

Shift+v

Perspective Selection tool

Shift+s

Symbol Sprayer tool

j

Column Graph tool

u

Mesh tool

g

Gradient tool

i

Eyedropper tool

w

Blend tool

k

Live Paint Bucket tool

Shift+l

Live Paint Selection tool

Shift+k

Slice tool

Shift+e

Eraser tool

c

Scissors tool

h

Hand tool

z

Zoom tool

Alt

Switch to Smooth tool while using Blob Brush tool

f

Toggle between screen modes: Normal Screen Mode, Full Screen Mode with Menu Bar, Full Screen Mode

Double-click Hand tool

Fit imageable area in window

Double-click Zoom tool

Magnify 100%

Space

Switch to Hand tool (when not in text-edit mode)

Ctrl+Space

Switch to Zoom tool in magnify mode

Ctrl+Alt+Space

Switch to Zoom tool in reduce mode

Space

Move Zoom marquee while dragging with the Zoom tool

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+3

Hide unselected artwork

Alt+drag guide

Convert between horizontal and vertical guide

Ctrl+Shift+double-click guide

Release guide

Ctrl+Shift+h

Show/Hide artboards

Ctrl+Alt+r

Show/Hide artboard rulers

Ctrl+Alt+0 (zero)

View all artboards in window

Ctrl+Shift+v

Paste in place on the active artboard

Esc

Exit Artboard tool mode

Shift+drag

Create artboard inside another artboard

Ctrl+click

Select multiple artboards in the Artboards panel

Ctrl+F6

Navigate to next document

Ctrl+Shift+F6

Navigate to previous document

Ctrl+Alt+F6

Navigate to next document group

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F6

Navigate to previous document group

Esc

Exit Full Screen mode

Shift+drag

Constrain a shape’s proportions or orientation to: (1) equal height and width for rectangles, rounded rectangles, ellipses, and grids, (2) Increments of 45° for line and arc segments, or (3) Original orientation for polygons, stars, and flares

Spacebar+drag

Move a shape while drawing it

Alt+drag

Draw from the center of a shape (except for polygons, stars, and flares)

Alt+drag

Keep the sides of a star straight

Start dragging, then Up Arrow/Down Arrow

Increase or decrease polygon sides, star points, arc angle, spiral winds, or flare rays

Start dragging, then Up Arrow/Down Arrow

Keep the inner radius of a star constant

Start dragging, then Right Arrow/LeftArrow

Add or remove vertical lines from a rectangular grid or radial lines from a polar grid

Start dragging, then Up Arrow/Down Arrow

Add or remove horizontal lines from a rectangular grid or concentric lines from a polar grid

Start dragging, then c

Switch between an open and closed arc

Start dragging, then f

Flip an arc, keeping the reference point constant

Start dragging, then Alt+drag

Add or subtract winds from a spiral while increasing the length of the spiral

Start dragging then Ctrl+drag

Change the decay rate of a spiral

Start dragging, then f

Decrease the skew value for horizontal dividers in a rectangular grid or radial dividers in a polar grid by 10%

Start dragging, then v

Increase the skew value for horizontal dividers in a rectangular grid or radial dividers in a polar grid by 10%

Start dragging, then x

Decrease the skew value for vertical dividers in a rectangular grid or concentric dividers in a polar grid by 10%

Start dragging, then c

Increase the skew value for vertical dividers in a rectangular grid or concentric dividers in a polar grid by 10%

Alt+click Live Trace in the Control panel, or hold down Alt and select a tracing preset.

Create and expand a Live Trace object in one step

]/[

Increase size / decrease size of Blob Brush

Shift

Constrain Blob Brush path horizontally or vertically

Shift+d

Switch through drawing modes

Select the paths, then press Ctrl+j

Join two or more paths

Select the paths, then press Shift+Ctrl+Alt+j

Create corner or smooth join

Shift+p

Perspective Grid Tool

Shift+v

Perspective Selection Tool

Ctrl+Shift+i

Perspective Grid

Press 5 key, then click and drag the object

Moving objects perpendicularly

Use the Perspective Selection tool and then press 1 ... 4

Switching perspective planes 1 for left grid, 2 for horizontal grid, 3 for right grid, or 4 for no active grid

Ctrl+Alt+drag

Copying objects in perspective

Ctrl+d

Repeat transforming objects in perspective

Shift+d

Switching between drawing modes

Ctrl

Switch to last-used selection tool (Selection tool, Direct Selection tool, or Group Selection tool)

Alt

Switch between Direct Selection tool and Group Selection tool

Shift+click

Add to a selection (or substract a selection) with Selection tool, Direct Selection tool, Group Selection tool, Live Paint Selection tool, or Magic Wand tool

Alt+click

Subtract from selection with Magic Wand tool

Shift+drag

Add to selection with Lasso tool

Alt+drag

Subtract from selection with Lasso tool

Caps Lock

Change pointer to cross hair for Lasso tool

Ctrl+Alt+a

Select artwork in active artboard

Alt+c+o

Create crop marks around selected object

Ctrl+click twice

Select behind an object or select behind in isolation mode

Arrow Keys

Move selection in user-defined increments

Shift+Arrow Keys

Move selection in 10x user-defined increments

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+2

Lock all deselected artwork

Hold down Shift

Constrain movement to 45° angle (except when using Reflect tool)

Alt

- Switch Pen tool to Convert Anchor Point tool
- Switch between Add Anchor Point tool and Delete Anchor Point tool
- Switch Scissors tool to Add Anchor Point tool
- Switch Pencil tool to Smooth tool

Spacebar+drag

Move current anchor point while drawing with Pen tool

Alt+drag

Cut a straight line with Knife tool

Shift+Alt-drag

Cut at 45° or 90° with Knife tool

Alt+Shape mode

Use shape mode buttons in Pathfinder panel to create compound paths

Alt+click the closed region

Erase unwanted closed regions created using Shape Builder tool

Shift+m

Select the Shape Builder tool

Shift+click+drag

Display rectangular marquee to easily merge multiple paths (when using Shape Builder tool)

x

Toggle between fill and stroke

d

Set fill and stroke to default

Shift+x

Swap fill and stroke

>

Select gradient fill mode

<

Select color fill mode

/

Select no stroke/fill mode

Shift Eyedropper tool

Sample color from an image or intermediate color from gradient

Alt+Shif+click + Eyedropper tool

Sample style and append appearance of currently selected item

Ctrl+/

Add new fill

Ctrl+Alt+/

Add new stroke

Ctrl+click gradient button in Tools or Gradient panel

Reset gradient to black and white

Alt+o+j

Open Mosaic options for selected raster object

[/]

Decrease Bristle brush size / Increase Bristle brush size

1,2,...0

Set Bristle brush paint opacity value to 10%, 20% etc. 0 increases to 100%

Alt+click + Live Paint Bucket tool

Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample fill and/or stroke

Alt+Shift+click + Live Paint Bucket tool

Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample color from an image

Shift + Live Paint Bucket tool

Select opposite Live Paint Bucket tool options

Double-click + Live Paint Bucket tool

Fill across unstroked edges into adjacent faces

Triple-click + Live Paint Bucket tool

Fill all faces that have same fill and stroke all edges that have same stroke

Alt+click + Live Paint Selection tool

Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample fill and/or stroke

Alt+Shift+click + Live Paint Selection tool

Switch to Eyedropper tool and sample color from an image or intermediate color from a gradient

Shift+click + Live Paint Selection tool

Add to/subtract from a selection

Double-click + Live Paint Selection tool

Select all connected faces /edges with same fill/stroke

Triple-click + Live Paint Selection tool

Select all faces/edges with same fill/stroke

Alt+click

Set origin point and open dialog box when using Rotate tool, Scale tool, Reflect tool, or Shear tool

Alt+drag

Duplicate and transform selection when using Selection tool, Scale tool, Reflect tool, or Shear tool

~+drag

Transform pattern (independent of object) when using Selection tool, Scale tool, Reflect tool, or Shear tool

Shift+click

Select multiple width points

Alt+drag

Create non-uniform widths

Alt+drag the width point

Create a copy of the width point

Shift+drag

Change the position of multiple width points

Delete

Delete selected width point

Esc

Deselect a width point

Right Arrow/Left Arrow

Move one character right or left

Up Arrow/Down Arrow

Move up or down one line

Ctrl+Right Arrow/Left Arrow

Move one word right or left

Ctrl+Up Arrow/Down Arrow

Move up or down one paragraph

Shift+Ctrl+Right Arrow/Left Arrow

Select one word right or left

Shift+Ctrl+Right Arrow/Left Arrow

Select one paragraph before or after

Shift+click

Extend existing selection

Ctrl+Shift+l, r, c

Align paragraph left, right, or center

Ctrl+Shift+j

Justify paragraph

Shift+Enter

Insert soft return

Ctrl+Alt+k

Highlight kerning

Ctrl+Shift+x

Reset horizontal scale to 100%

Ctrl+Shift+>/Ctrl+Shift+<

Increase type size / decrease type size

Alt+Up Arrow/Down Arrow

Increase or decrease leading (for horizontal text, vor vertical text use Alt+Right Arrow/Left Arrow)

Double-click leading icon in the Character panel

Set leading to the type size

Ctrl+Alt+q

Reset tracking/kerning to 0

Alt+Right Arrow/Left Arrow

Increase or decrease kerning and tracking (for horizontal text, vor vertical text use Alt+Up Arrow/Down Arrow)

Ctrl+Alt+Right Arrow/Left Arrow

Increase or decrease kerning and tracking by five times(for horizontal text, vor vertical text use Ctrl+Alt+Up Arrow/Down Arrow)

Alt+Shift+Up Arrow/Down Arrow

Increase or decrease baseline shift (for horizontal text, vor vertical text use Alt+Shift+Right Arrow/Left Arrow)

Shift

Switch between Type and Vertical Type, Area Type and Vertical Area Type, and Path Type and Vertical Path Type tools

Alt

Switch between Area Type and Path Type, Vertical Area Type and Vertical Path Type tools

Alt+click expansion triangle

Expand/Collapse entire hierarchy for action set

Double-click folder icon

Set options for action set

Ctrl+click Play Current Selection button

Play a single command

Alt+click New Action button

Begin recording actions without confirmation

Double-click brush

Open Brush Options dialog box

Drag brush to New Brush button

Duplicate brush

Up Arrow/Down Arrow

Increase/decrease the selected value by a small increment

Shift+Up Arrow/Down Arrow

Increase/decreases the selected value by a large increment

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+f

Highlight the font name field in the Character panel

Ctrl+click color bar

Select the complement for the current color fill/stroke

Alt+click color bar

Change the nonactive fill/stroke

Ctrl+Alt+click color bar

Select the complement for the nonactive fill/stroke

Ctrl+Shift+click color bar

Select the inverse for the current fill/stroke

Ctrl+Shift+Alt+click color bar

Select the inverse for the nonactive fill/stroke

Shift+click color bar

Change the color mode

Shift+drag color slider

Move color sliders in tandem

Double-click to right of a numerical field

Switch between percentage and 0-255 values for RGB

Alt-click layer name

Select all objects on the layer

Alt-click eye icon

Show/hide all layers but the selected one

Ctrl-click eye icon

Select Outline/Preview view for the selected layer

Ctrl+ Alt-click eye icon

Selects Outline/Preview view for all other layers

Alt+click lock icon

Lock/unlock all other layers

Alt+click expansion triangle

Expand all sublayers to display entire hierarchy

Alt+click New Layer button

Set options as you create new layer

Alt+click New Sublayer button

Set options as you create new sublayer

Ctrl+Alt+click New Sublayer button

Place new sublayer at bottom of layer list

Ctrl+click New Layer button

Place layer at top of layer list

Ctrl+Alt+click New Layer button

Place layer below selected layer

Alt+drag selection

Copy the selection to a layer, sublayer, or group

Alt+click layer name

Select all objects on the layer

Alt+click eye icon

Show/hide all layers but the selected one

Ctrl+click eye icon

Select Outline/Preview view for the selected layer

Ctrl+Alt+click eye icon

Selects Outline/Preview view for all other layers

Alt+click lock icon

Lock/unlock all other layers

Alt+click expansion triangle

Expand all sublayers to display entire hierarchy

Alt+click New Layer button

Set options as you create new layer

Alt+click New Sublayer button

Set options as you create new sublayer

Ctrl+Alt+click New Sublayer button

Place new sublayer at bottom of layer list

Ctrl+click New Layer button

Place layer at top of layer list

Ctrl+Alt+click New Layer button

Place layer below selected layer

Alt+drag selection

Copy the selection to a layer, sublayer, or group

Ctrl+click New Swatch button

Create new spot color

Ctrl+Shift+click New Swatch button

Create new global process color

Alt+drag a swatch over another

Replace swatch with another

Shift+Enter

Apply a value and keep focus in edit field

Alt+Enter

Apply a value and copy object

Ctrl+Enter

Apply a value and scale option proportionately for width or height

Alt+click on mask thumbnail

Change mask to grayscale image for editing

Shift+click on mask thumbnail

Disable opacity mask

Shift+click on disabled mask thumbnail

Re-enable opacity mask

Click opacity field + Up Arrow/Down Arrow

Increase/decrease opacity in 1% increments

Shift+click opacity field + Up Arrow/Down Arrow

Increase/decrease opacity in 10% increments

Ctrl

To access Selection or Direction Selection tool (whichever was used last) at any time

Ctrl+Alt+Tab

To switch between Selection and Direct Selection tools

Alt+click tool

To cycle through tools behind column tool

Alt

To make copy while dragging

Shift

To add to a selection

Arrow Keys

Move Selection

Shift+Arrow Keys

Move Selection 10 pts

Ctrl+2

Lock selected artwork

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+2

Lock all deselected artwork

Ctrl+Alt+2

Unlock all artwork

Ctrl+3

Hide selected artwork

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+3

Hide all deselected artwork

Ctrl+Alt+3

Show all artwork

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+j

Join and Average at same time

Alt

Convert Anchor Point tool from Pen tool

Alt

Switch between Add Anchor Point and Delete Anchor Point tools

Alt

Add Anchor Point tool from Scissors tool

Space

Move anchor point while drawing with Pen tool

When finished drawing, hold Alt and release mouse

Create closed path with Pencil or Paintbrush tool

Ctrl+drag

Connect to an open (& selected) path with Pencil