Here we can see, “Affinity Designer Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet for Windows and Mac”
In a handy printable cheat sheet, you’ll find all the keyboard keys you’ll need to handle Affinity Designer like an expert.
While Adobe Illustrator is still the industry standard for vector-based design, Affinity Designer has proven to be a suitable substitute. It’s a comprehensive package made by British developer Serif. It doesn’t have the depth of capability of Illustrator, but it’s still a comprehensive tool. And, of course, it’s much less expensive—a lifetime license is less expensive than certain Adobe monthly subscriptions.
If you decide to switch to Affinity Designer, you’ll see that at least some of the keyboard shortcuts are the same or comparable to those in Illustrator. However, there are certain distinctions, such as some Illustrator capabilities that Designer does not have a counterpart for.
With this quick reference guide to Affinity Designer’s keyboard shortcuts, you’ll be up and running in no time.
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 | |
| 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 isn’t just known for its vector design program. Affinity Photo, a decent and reasonably priced alternative to Adobe Photoshop, is also available. Meanwhile, Affinity Publisher is the company’s answer to Adobe InDesign. This is one of the most cost-effective methods to get a full suite of design software.
You should be able to do pretty much anything with Designer, Photo, and Publisher together. It shouldn’t be too tough, too, if you use the shortcuts in our cheat sheet.
Conclusion
I hope you found this information helpful. Please fill out the form below if you have any queries or comments.
User Questions:
- Does Affinity Designer operate on Windows computers?
Affinity Designer is the new industry standard in design, optimized for the latest technology on Mac, Windows, and iPad.
- Affinity Designer is used by professionals.
Affinity Designer and Adobe Illustrator both have a large user base. They produce amazing final designs and are simple to use. Both amateurs and pros make use of these programs.
- How does Affinity Designer compare to Photoshop?
Affinity Photo is a photo editing program with all of the necessary features and functions. Overall, Photoshop is the better of the two programs. Because of its one-time payment option, Affinity Photo is the less expensive choice, but Adobe Photoshop is the better powerful graphics editor overall.
- Public Beta of Affinity Designer
- Affinity Photo & Affinity Designer Profiles
Affinity Photo & Affinity Designer Profiles from streamdeckprofiles
