Adobe After Effects CS4 Keyboard Shortcuts

List of shortcut keys

Shortcut	Command	How useful(?)
Shortcuts: general Adobe After Effects CS4
Cmnd+A	Select all	+ –
F2 or Cmnd+Shft+A	Deselect all	+ –
Return	Rename selected layer, composition, folder, effect, group, or mask	+ –
Enter on numeric keypad	Open selected layer, composition, or footage item	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Down Arrow or Cmnd+Optn+Up Arrow	Move selected layers, masks, effects, or render items down (back) or up (forward) in stacking order	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+Down Arrow or Cmnd+Optn+Shft+Up Arrow	Move selected layers, masks, effects, or render items to bottom (back) or top (front) of stacking order	+ –
Shft+Down Arrow	Extend selection to next item in Project panel, Render Queue panel, or Effect Controls panel	+ –
Shft+Up Arrow	Extend selection to previous item in Project panel, Render Queue panel, or Effect Controls panel	+ –
Cmnd+D	Duplicate selected layers, masks, effects, text selectors, animators, puppet meshes, shapes, render items, output modules, or compositions	+ –
Cmnd+Q	Quit	+ –
Cmnd+Z	Undo	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+Z	Redo	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+/ (on numeric keypad)	Purge all	+ –


Shortcuts: projects Adobe After Effects CS4
Cmnd+Optn+N	New project	+ –
Cmnd+O	Open project	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+P	Open most recent project	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+N	New folder in Project panel	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+K	Open Project Settings dialog box	+ –
Cmnd+F	Find in Project panel	+ –

Optn-click bit-depth button at bottom of Project panel	Cycle through color bit depths for project	+ –
Click bit-depth button at bottom of Project panel	Open Project Settings dialog box	+ –


Shortcuts: preferences Adobe After Effects CS4
Mac OS	Result	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+; (semicolon)	Open Preferences dialog box	+ –
Hold down Cmnd+Optn+Shft while starting After Effects	Restore default preferences settings	+ –


Shortcuts: panels, viewers, workspaces, and windows Adobe After Effects CS4
	Note: (Mac OS) Shortcuts involving function keys F9-F12 may conflict with shortcuts used by the operating system. See Mac OS Help for instructions to reassign Dashboard & Expose shortcuts.	+ –
Cmnd+0	Open or close Project panel	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+0	Open or close Render Queue panel	+ –
Cmnd+1	Open or close Tools panel	+ –
Cmnd+2	Open or close Info panel	+ –
Cmnd+3	Open or close Preview panel	+ –
Cmnd+4	Open or close Audio panel	+ –
Cmnd+5	Open or close Effects & Presets panel	+ –
Cmnd+6	Open or close Character panel	+ –
Cmnd+7	Open or close Paragraph panel	+ –
Cmnd+8	Open or close Paint panel	+ –
Cmnd+9	Open or close Brushes panel	+ –
F3 or Cmnd+Shft+T	Open or close Effect Controls panel for selected layer	+ –
Cmnd+F11	Open Flowchart panel for project flowchart	+ –
Shft+F10, Shft+F11, or Shft+F12	Switch to workspace	+ –
Cmnd+W	Close active viewer or panel (closes content first)	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+W	Close active panel or all viewers of type of active viewer (closes content first). For example, if a Timeline panel is active, this command closes all Timeline panels.	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+N	Split the frame containing the active viewer and create a new viewer with opposite locked/unlocked state	+ –
` (accent grave)	Maximize or restore panel under pointer	+ –
Cmnd+\ (backslash)	Resize application window or floating window to fit screen. (Press again to resize window so that contents fill the screen.)	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+\ (backslash)	Move application window or floating window to main monitor; resize window to fit screen. (Press again to resize window so that contents fill the screen.)	+ –
\ (backslash)	Toggle activation between Composition panel and Timeline panel for current composition	+ –
Shft+, (comma) or Shft+. (period)	Cycle to previous or next item in active viewer (for example, cycle through open compositions)	+ –
Optn+Shft+, (comma) or Optn+Shft+. (period)	Cycle to previous or next panel in active frame (for example, cycle through open Timeline panels)	+ –
click with middle mouse button	Activate a view in a multi-view layout in the Composition panel without affecting layer selection	+ –


Shortcuts: activating tools Adobe After Effects CS4
	Note: You can activate some tools only under certain circumstances. For example, you can activate a camera tool only when the active composition contains a camera layer. To momentarily activate a tool with a single-letter keyboard shortcut, hold down the key; release the key to return to the previously active tool. To activate a tool and keep it active, press the key and immediately release it.	+ –
Optn-click tool button in Tools panel	Cycle through tools	+ –
V	Activate Selection tool	+ –
H	Activate Hand tool	+ –
Hold down spacebar or the middle mouse button.	Temporarily activate Hand tool	+ –
Z	Activate Zoom In tool	+ –
Optn (when Zoom In tool is active)	Activate Zoom Out tool	+ –
W	Activate Rotation tool	+ –
C	Activate and cycle through Camera tools (Unified Camera, Orbit Camera, Track XY Camera, and Track Z Camera)	+ –
Y	Activate Pan Behind tool	+ –
Q	Activate and cycle through mask and shape tools (Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Star)	+ –
Cmnd+T	Activate and cycle through Type tools (Horizontal and Vertical)	+ –
G	Activate and cycle through pen tools (Pen, Add Vertex, Delete Vertex, and Convert Vertex)	+ –
Cmnd	Temporarily activate Selection tool when a pen tool is selected	+ –
Cmnd+Optn	Temporarily activate pen tool when the Selection tool is selected and pointer is over a path (Add Vertex tool when pointer is over a segment; Convert Vertex tool when pointer is over a vertex)	+ –
Cmnd+B	Activate and cycle through Brush, Clone Stamp, and Eraser tools	+ –
Cmnd+P	Activate and cycle through Puppet tools	+ –
Optn (in shape layer)	Temporarily convert Selection tool to Shape Duplication tool	+ –
Cmnd (in shape layer)	Temporarily convert Selection tool to Direct Selection tool	+ –


Shortcuts: compositions and the work area Adobe After Effects CS4
Cmnd+N	New composition	+ –
Cmnd+K	Open Composition Settings dialog box for selected composition	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+B	Set composition background color	+ –
B or N	Set beginning or end of work area to current time	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+B	Set work area to duration of selected layers or, if no layers are selected, set work area to composition duration	+ –
Tap Shft	Open Composition Mini-Flowchart for active compositionNote: If you tap Shift several times without any intervening keystrokes, you may invoke a feature of your operating system�s StickyKeys or Sticky Keys accessibility software. See your operating system�s documentation for disabling this feature.	+ –
Shft+Esc	Activate the most recently active composition that is in the same composition hierarchy (network of nested compositions) as the currently active composition	+ –


Shortcuts: time navigation Adobe After Effects CS4
Optn+Shft+J	Go to specific time	+ –
Shft+Home or Shft+End	Go to beginning or end of work area	+ –
J or K	Go to previous or next visible item in time ruler (keyframe, marker, work area beginning or end)	+ –
Home or Cmnd+Optn+Left Arrow	Go to beginning of composition, layer, or footage item	+ –
End or Cmnd+Optn+Right Arrow	Go to end of composition, layer, or footage item	+ –
Page Down or Cmnd+Right Arrow	Go forward 1 frame	+ –
Shft+Page Down or Cmnd+Shft+Right Arrow	Go forward 10 frames	+ –
Page Up or Cmnd+Left Arrow	Go backward 1 frame	+ –
Shft+Page Up or Cmnd+Shft+Left Arrow	Go backward 10 frames	+ –
I	Go to layer In point	+ –
O	Go to layer Out point	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+Left Arrow	Go to previous In point or Out point	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+Right Arrow	Go to next In point or Out point	+ –
D	Scroll to current time in Timeline panel	+ –


Shortcuts: previews Adobe After Effects CS4
spacebar	Start or stop standard preview	+ –
0 on numeric keypad*	RAM preview	+ –
Shft+0 on numeric keypad*	RAM preview with alternate settings	+ –
Cmnd-click RAM Preview button or press Cmnd+0 on numeric keypad*	Save RAM preview	+ –
Cmnd+Shft-click RAM Preview button or press Cmnd+Shft+0 on numeric keypad*	Save RAM preview with alternate settings	+ –
. (decimal point) on numeric keypad*	Preview only audio, from current time	+ –
Optn+. (decimal point) on numeric keypad*	Preview only audio, in work area	+ –
Drag or Optn-drag current-time indicator, depending on Live Update setting	Manually preview (scrub) video	+ –
Cmnd-drag current-time indicator	Manually preview (scrub) audio	+ –
Optn+0 on numeric keypad*	Wireframe preview	+ –
Optn+Shft+0 on numeric keypad*	Wireframe preview, leaving panel contents	+ –
/ (on numeric keypad)	Show current frame on video preview device	+ –
Cmnd+/ (on numeric keypad)	Toggle Output Device preference between Desktop Only and video preview device	+ –
Shft+F5, Shft+F6, Shft+F7, or Shft+F8	Take snapshot	+ –
F5, F6, F7, or F8	Display snapshot in active viewer	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+F5, Cmnd+Shft+F6, Cmnd+Shft+F7, or Cmnd+Shft+F8	Purge snapshot	+ –
	Note: Some shortcuts are marked with an asterisk (*) to remind you to make sure that Num Lock is on when you use the numeric keypad.	+ –


Shortcuts: views Adobe After Effects CS4
Shft+/ (on numeric keypad)	Turn display color management on or off for active view	+ –
Optn+1, Optn+2, Optn+3, Optn+4	Show red, green, blue, or alpha channel as grayscale	+ –
Optn+Shft+1, Optn+Shft+2, Optn+Shft+3	Show colorized red, green, or blue channel	+ –
Optn+Shft+4	Toggle showing straight RGB color	+ –
Double-click Hand tool	Reset view in the Composition panel to 100% and center composition in the panel	+ –
. (period) on main keyboard	Zoom in in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel	+ –
, (comma)	Zoom out in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel	+ –
/ (on main keyboard)	Zoom to 100% in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel	+ –
Shft+/ (on main keyboard)	Zoom to fit in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel	+ –
Optn+/ (on main keyboard)	Zoom up to 100% to fit in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel	+ –
Cmnd+J, Cmnd+Shft+J, Cmnd+Optn+J	Set resolution to Full, Half, or Custom in Composition panel	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+U	Open View Options dialog box for active Composition panel	+ –
; (semicolon)	Zoom in Timeline panel to single-frame units or zoom out to show entire composition duration	+ –
- (hyphen) on main keyboard	Zoom out time	+ –
Caps Lock	Suspend image updates	+ –
(apostrophe)	Show or hide safe zones	+ –
Cmnd+' (apostrophe)	Show or hide grid	+ –
Optn+' (apostrophe)	Show or hide proportional grid	+ –
Cmnd+R	Show or hide rulers	+ –
Cmnd+; (semicolon)	Show or hide guides	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+' (apostrophe)	Turn snapping to grid on or off	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+; (semicolon)	Turn snapping to guides on or off	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+; (semicolon)	Lock or unlock guides	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+H	Show or hide layer controls	+ –


Shortcuts: footage Adobe After Effects CS4
Mac OS	Result	+ –
Cmnd+I	Import one file or image sequence	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+I	Import multiple files or image sequences	+ –
Optn-double-click	Open movie in an After Effects Footage panel	+ –
Cmnd+/ (on main keyboard)	Add selected items to most recently activated composition	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+/ (on main keyboard)	Replace selected source footage for selected layers with footage item selected in Project panel	+ –
Optn-drag footage item from Project panel onto selected layer	Replace source for a selected layer	+ –
Cmnd+Delete	Delete a footage item without a warning	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+G	Open Interpret Footage dialog box for selected footage item	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+C	Remember footage interpretation	+ –
Cmnd+E	Edit selected footage item in application with which it*�s associated (Edit Original)	+ –
Cmnd+H	Replace selected footage item	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+L	Reload selected footage items	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+P	Set proxy for selected footage item	+ –


Shortcuts: effects and animation presets Adobe After Effects CS4
Mac OS	Result	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+E	Delete all effects from selected layers	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+E	Apply most recently applied effect to selected layers	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+F	Apply most recently applied animation preset to selected layers	+ –


Shortcuts: layers Adobe After Effects CS4
	Note: Some operations do not affect shy layers.	+ –
Cmnd+Y	New solid layer	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+Y	New null layer	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Y	New adjustment layer	+ –
0-9 on numeric keypad*	Select layer (1-999) by its number (enter digits rapidly for two-digit and three-digit numbers)	+ –
Shft+0-9 on numeric keypad*	Toggle selection of layer (1-999) by its number (enter digits rapidly for two-digit and three-digit numbers)	+ –
Cmnd+Down Arrow	Select next layer in stacking order	+ –
Cmnd+Up Arrow	Select previous layer in stacking order	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+Down Arrow	Extend selection to next layer in stacking order	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+Up Arrow	Extend selection to previous layer in stacking order	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+A	Deselect all layers	+ –
X	Scroll topmost selected layer to top of Timeline panel	+ –
Shft+F4	Show or hide Parent column	+ –
F4	Show or hide Layer Switches and Modes columns	+ –
Optn-click solo switch	Turn off all other solo switches	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+V	Turn Video (eyeball) switch on or off for selected layers	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+V	Turn off Video switch for all video layers other than selected layers	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+Y	Open settings dialog box for selected solid, light, camera, null, or adjustment layer	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+V	Paste layers at current time	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+D	Split selected layers (If no layers are selected, split all layers.)	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+C	Precompose selected layers	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+T	Open Effect Controls panel for selected layers	+ –
Double-click a layer	Open layer in Layer panel (opens source composition for precomposition layer in Composition panel)	+ –
Optn-double-click a layer	Open source of a layer in Footage panel (opens precomposition layer in Layer panel)	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+R	Reverse selected layers in time	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+T	Enable time remapping for selected layers	+ –
[ (left bracket) or ] (right bracket)	Move In point or Out point of selected layers to current time	+ –
Optn+[ (left bracket) or Optn+] (right bracket)	Trim In point or Out point of selected layers to current time	+ –
Optn-click stopwatch	Add or remove expression for a property	+ –
Double-click effect selection in Effects & Presets panel	Add an effect (or multiple selected effects) to selected layers	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+, (comma) or Cmnd+Optn+, (comma)	Set In point or Out point by time-stretching	+ –
Optn+Home	Move In point of selected layers to beginning of composition	+ –
Optn+End	Move Out point of selected layers to end of composition	+ –
Cmnd+L	Lock selected layers	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+L	Unlock all layers	+ –
Cmnd+U, Cmnd+Shft+U, Cmnd+Optn+Shft+U	Set Quality to Best, Draft, or Wireframe for selected layers	+ –
Shft+ - (hyphen) or Shft+= (equal sign) on the main keyboard	Cycle forward or backward through blending modes for selected layers	+ –
Cmnd+F	Find in Timeline panel	+ –
	Note: Some shortcuts are marked with an asterisk (*) to remind you to make sure that Num Lock is on when you use the numeric keypad.	+ –


Shortcuts: showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel Adobe After Effects CS4
	Note: This table contains double-letter shortcuts (for example, LL). To use these shortcuts, press the letters in quick succession.	+ –
Cmnd+F	Find in Timeline panel	+ –
Cmnd+` (accent grave)	Toggle expansion of selected layers to show all properties	+ –
Cmnd-click triangle to the left of the property group name	Toggle expansion of property group and all child property groups to show all properties	+ –
A	Show only Anchor Point property (for lights and cameras, Point Of Interest)	+ –
L	Show only Audio Levels property	+ –
F	Show only Mask Feather property	+ –
M	Show only Mask Path property	+ –
TT	Show only Mask Opacity property	+ –
T	Show only Opacity property (for lights, Intensity)	+ –
P	Show only Position property	+ –
R	Show only Rotation and Orientation properties	+ –
S	Show only Scale property	+ –
RR	Show only Time Remap property	+ –
FF	Show only instances of missing effects	+ –
E	Show only Effects property group	+ –
MM	Show only mask property groups	+ –
AA	Show only Material Options property group	+ –
EE	Show only expressions	+ –
UU	Show only modified properties	+ –
PP	Show only paint strokes and Puppet pins	+ –
LL	Show only audio waveform	+ –
U	Show only properties with keyframes or expressions	+ –
SS	Show only selected properties and groups	+ –
Optn+Shft-click property or group name	Hide property or group	+ –
Shft+property or group shortcut	Add or remove property or group from set that is shown	+ –
Optn+Shft+property shortcut	Add or remove keyframe at current time	+ –


Shortcuts: showing properties in the Effect Controls panel Adobe After Effects CS4
Mac OS	Result	+ –
Cmnd+` (accent grave)	Toggle expansion of selected effects to show all properties	+ –
Cmnd-click triangle to the left of the property group name	Toggle expansion of property group and all child property groups to show all properties	+ –


Shortcuts: modifying layer properties Adobe After Effects CS4
Drag property value	Modify property value by default increments	+ –
Shft-drag property value	Modify property value by 10x default increments	+ –
Cmnd-drag property value	Modify property value by 1/10 default increments	+ –
Cmnd+Alt+O	Open Auto-Orientation dialog box for selected layers	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+O	Open Opacity dialog box for selected layers	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+R	Open Rotation dialog box for selected layers	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+P	Open Position dialog box for selected layers	+ –
Cmnd+Home	Center selected layers in view (modifies Position property to place anchor points of selected layers in center of current view)	+ –
arrow key	Move selected layers 1 pixel at current magnification (Position)	+ –
Shft+arrow key	Move selected layers 10 pixels at current magnification (Position)	+ –
Optn+Page Up or Optn+Page Down	Move selected layers 1 frame earlier or later	+ –
Optn+Shft+Page Up or Optn+Shft+Page Down	Move selected layers 10 frames earlier or later	+ –
+ (plus) or - (minus) on numeric keypad	Increase or decrease Rotation (Z Rotation) of selected layers by 1�º	+ –
Shft++ (plus) or Shft+- (minus) on numeric keypad	Increase or decrease Rotation (Z Rotation) of selected layers by 10�º	+ –
Ctrl+Optn++ (plus) or Ctrl+Optn+- (minus) on numeric keypad	Increase or decrease Opacity (or Intensity for light layers) of selected layers by 1%	+ –
Ctrl+Optn+Shft++ (plus) or Ctrl+Optn+Shft+- (minus) on numeric keypad	Increase or decrease Opacity (or Intensity for light layers) of selected layers by 10%	+ –
Cmnd++ (plus) or Optn++ (plus) on numeric keypad	Increase Scale of selected layers by 1%	+ –
Cmnd+- (minus) or Optn+- (minus) on numeric keypad	Decrease Scale of selected layers by 1%	+ –
Cmnd+Shft++ (plus) or Optn+Shft++ (plus) on numeric keypad	Increase Scale of selected layers by 10%	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+- (minus) or Optn+Shft+- (minus) on numeric keypad	Decrease Scale of selected layers by 10%	+ –
Shft-drag with Rotation tool	Modify Rotation or Orientation in 45�º increments	+ –
Shft-drag layer handle with Selection tool	Modify Scale, constrained to footage frame aspect ratio	+ –
Double-click Rotation tool	Reset Rotation to 0º	+ –
Double-click Selection tool	Reset Scale to 100%	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+F	Scale and reposition selected layers to fit composition	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+H	Scale and reposition selected layers to fit composition width, preserving image aspect ratio for each layer	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+G	Scale and reposition selected layers to fit composition height, preserving image aspect ratio for each layer	+ –


Shortcuts: 3D layers Adobe After Effects CS4
	Note: (Mac OS) Shortcuts involving function keys F9-F12 may conflict with shortcuts used by the operating system. See Mac OS Help for instructions to reassign Dashboard & Expose shortcuts.	+ –
F10	Switch to 3D view 1 (defaults to Front)	+ –
F11	Switch to 3D view 2 (defaults to Custom View 2)	+ –
F12	Switch to 3D view 3 (defaults to Active Camera)	+ –
Esc	Return to previous view	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+L	New light	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+C	New camera	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+\	Move the camera and its point of interest to look at selected 3D objects	+ –
Optn+Shft+C	Turn Casts Shadows property on or off for selected 3D layers	+ –


Shortcuts: keyframes and the Graph Editor Adobe After Effects CS4
	Note: (Mac OS) Shortcuts involving function keys F9-F12 may conflict with shortcuts used by the operating system. See Mac OS Help for instructions to reassign Dashboard & Expose shortcuts.	+ –
Shft+F3	Toggle between Graph Editor and layer bar modes	+ –
Click property name	Select all keyframes for a property	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+A	Select all visible keyframes and properties	+ –
Shft+F2 or Cmnd+Optn+Shft+A	Deselect all keyframes, properties, and property groups	+ –
Optn+Right Arrow or Optn+Left Arrow	Move keyframe 1 frame later or earlier	+ –
Optn+Shft+Right Arrow or Optn+Shft+Left Arrow	Move keyframe 10 frames later or earlier	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+K	Set interpolation for selected keyframes (layer bar mode)	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+H	Set keyframe interpolation method to hold or Auto Bezier	+ –
Cmnd-click in layer bar mode	Set keyframe interpolation method to linear or Auto Bezier	+ –
Cmnd+Optn-click in layer bar mode	Set keyframe interpolation method to linear or hold	+ –
F9	Easy ease selected keyframes	+ –
Shft+F9	Easy ease selected keyframes in	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+F9	Easy ease selected keyframes out	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+K	Set velocity for selected keyframes	+ –
Optn+Shft+property shortcut	Add or remove keyframe at current time (For property shortcuts, see Shortcuts: showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel.)	+ –


Shortcuts: text Adobe After Effects CS4
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+T	New text layer	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+L, Cmnd+Shft+C, or Cmnd+Shft+R	Align selected horizontal text left, center, or right	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+L, Cmnd+Shft+C, or Cmnd+Shft+R	Align selected vertical text top, center, or bottom	+ –
Shft+Right Arrow or Shft+Left Arrow	Extend or reduce selection by one character to right or left in horizontal text	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+Right Arrow or Cmnd+Shft+Left Arrow	Extend or reduce selection by one word to right or left in horizontal text	+ –
Shft+Up Arrow or Shft+Down Arrow	Extend or reduce selection by one line up or down in horizontal text	+ –
Shft+Right Arrow or Shft+Left Arrow	Extend or reduce selection by one line to right or left in vertical text	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+Up Arrow or Cmnd+Shft+Down Arrow	Extend or reduce selection one word up or down in vertical text	+ –
Shft+Up Arrow or Shft+Down Arrow	Extend or reduce selection by one character up or down in vertical text	+ –
Shft+Home or Shft+End	Select text from insertion point to beginning or end of line	+ –
Home or End	Move insertion point to beginning or end of line	+ –
Double-click text layer	Select all text on a layer	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+Home or Cmnd+Shft+End	Select text from insertion point to beginning or end of text frame	+ –
Shft-click	Select text from insertion point to mouse click point	+ –
Left Arrow or Right Arrow; Up Arrow or Down Arrow; Cmnd+Left Arrow or Cmnd+Right Arrow; or Cmnd+Up Arrow or Cmnd+Down Arrow	In horizontal text, move insertion point one character left or right; one line up or down; one word left or right; or one paragraph up or down	+ –
Up Arrow or Down Arrow; Left Arrow or Right Arrow; Cmnd+Up Arrow or Cmnd+Down Arrow; or Cmnd+Left Arrow or Cmnd+Right Arrow	In vertical text, move insertion point one character up or down; one left or right; one word up or down; or one paragraph left or right	+ –
Double-click, triple-click, quadruple-click, or quintuple-click with Type tool	Select word, line, paragraph, or entire text frame	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+K	Turn All Caps on or off for selected text	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+K	Turn Small Caps on or off for selected text	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+= (equals)	Turn Superscript on or off for selected text	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+= (equals)	Turn Subscript on or off for selected text	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+X	Set horizontal scale to 100% for selected text	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+X	Set vertical scale to 100% for selected text	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+A	Auto leading for selected text	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+Ctrl+Q	Reset tracking to 0 for selected text	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+J	Justify paragraph; left align last line	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+J	Justify paragraph; right align last line	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+F	Justify paragraph; force last line	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+, (comma) or Cmnd+Shft+. (period)	Decrease or increase font size of selected text by 2 units	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+, (comma) or Cmnd+Optn+Shft+. (period)	Decrease or increase font size of selected text by 10 units	+ –
Optn+Down Arrow or Optn+Up Arrow	Increase or decrease leading by 2 units	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Down Arrow or Cmnd+Optn+Up Arrow	Increase or decrease leading by 10 units	+ –
Optn+Shft+Down Arrow or Optn+Shft+Up Arrow	Decrease or increase baseline shift by 2 units	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+Down Arrow or Cmnd+Optn+Shft+Up Arrow	Decrease or increase baseline shift by 10 units	+ –
Optn+Left Arrow or Optn+Right Arrow	Decrease or increase kerning or tracking 20 units (20/1000 ems)	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Left Arrow or Cmnd+Optn+Right Arrow	Decrease or increase kerning or tracking 100 units (100/1000 ems)	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+T	Toggle paragraph composer	+ –


Shortcuts: masks Adobe After Effects CS4
Cmnd+Shft+N	New mask	+ –
Optn-click mask	Select all points in a mask	+ –
Optn+` (accent grave) or Optn+Shft+` (accent grave)	Select next or previous mask	+ –
Double-click mask with Selection tool or select mask in Timeline panel and press Cmnd+T	Enter free-transform mask editing mode	+ –
Esc	Exit free-transform mask editing mode	+ –
Cmnd-drag	Scale around center point in Free Transform mode	+ –
arrow key	Move selected path points 1 pixel at current magnification	+ –
Shft+arrow key	Move selected path points 10 pixels at current magnification	+ –
Cmnd+Optn-click vertex	Toggle between smooth and corner points	+ –
Cmnd+Optn-drag vertex	Redraw Bezier handles	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+I	Invert selected mask	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+F	Open Mask Feather dialog box for selected mask	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+M	Open Mask Shape dialog box for selected mask	+ –


Shortcuts: paint tools Adobe After Effects CS4
X	Swap paint background color and foreground colors	+ –
D	Set paint foreground color to black and background color to white	+ –
Optn-click	Set foreground color to the color currently under any paint tool pointer	+ –
Cmnd+Optn-click	Set foreground color to the average color of a 4-pixel x 4-pixel area under any paint tool pointer	+ –
Cmnd-drag	Set brush size for a paint tool	+ –
Cmnd-drag, then release Cmnd while dragging	Set brush hardness for a paint tool	+ –
Hold Shft while beginning stroke	Join current paint stroke to the previous stroke	+ –
Optn-click	Set starting sample point to point currently under Clone Stamp tool pointer	+ –
Cmnd+Shft	Momentarily activate Eraser tool with Last Stroke Only option	+ –
Optn+Shft-drag with Clone Stamp tool	Show and move overlay. (Change Offset value of aligned Clone Stamp tool or change Source Position value of unaligned Clone Stamp tool.)	+ –
Optn-click the button for the preset	Duplicate a Clone Stamp tool preset in Paint panel	+ –
Digit on numeric keypad (for example, 9=90%, 1=10%)*	Set opacity for a paint tool	+ –
. (decimal) on numeric keypad*	Set opacity for a paint tool to 100%	+ –
Shft+a digit on numeric keypad (for example, 9=90%, 1=10%)*	Set flow for a paint tool	+ –
Shft+. (decimal) on numeric keypad*	Set flow for a paint tool to 100%	+ –
Cmnd+Page Up or Cmnd+Page Down	Move earlier or later by number of frames specified for stroke Duration	+ –
	Note: Some shortcuts are marked with an asterisk (*) to remind you to make sure that Num Lock is on when you use the numeric keypad.	+ –


Shortcuts: shape layers Adobe After Effects CS4
Cmnd+G	Group selected shapes	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+G	Ungroup selected shapes	+ –
Select Path property in Timeline panel and press Cmnd+T	Enter free-transform path editing mode	+ –
Page Up when dragging to create shape	Increase star inner roundness	+ –
Page Down when dragging to create shape	Decrease star inner roundness	+ –
Up Arrow when dragging to create shape	Increase number of points for star or polygon; increase roundness for rounded rectangle	+ –
Down Arrow when dragging to create shape	Decrease number of points for star or polygon; decrease roundness for rounded rectangle	+ –
Hold spacebar when dragging to create shape	Reposition shape during creation	+ –
Left Arrow when dragging to create shape	Set rounded rectangle roundness to 0 (sharp corners); decrease polygon and star outer roundness	+ –
Right Arrow when dragging to create shape	Set rounded rectangle roundness to maximum; increase polygon and star outer roundness	+ –
Shft when dragging to create shape	Constrain rectangles to squares; constrain ellipses to circles; constrain polygons and stars to zero rotation	+ –
Cmnd when dragging to create shape	Change outer radius of star	+ –


Shortcuts: markers Adobe After Effects CS4
* (multiply) on numeric keypad	Set marker at current time (works during RAM preview and audio-only preview)	+ –
Optn+* (multiply) on numeric keypad	Set marker at current time and open marker dialog box	+ –
Shft+0-9 on main keyboard	Set and number a composition marker (0-9) at the current time	+ –
0-9 on main keyboard	Go to a composition marker (0-9)	+ –
Optn-click the markers or keyframes	Display the duration between two layer markers or keyframes in the Info panel	+ –
Cmnd-click marker	Remove marker	+ –


Shortcuts: motion tracking Adobe After Effects CS4
arrow key	Move feature region, search region, and attach point 1 pixel at current magnification	+ –
Shft+arrow key	Move feature region, search region, and attach point 10 pixels at current magnification	+ –
Optn+arrow key	Move feature region and search region 1 pixel at current magnification	+ –
Optn+Shft+arrow key	Move feature region and search region 10 pixels at current magnification	+ –


Shortcuts: saving, exporting, and rendering Adobe After Effects CS4
Cmnd+S	Save project	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+Shft+S	Increment and save project	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+S	Save As	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+/ (on main keyboard)	Add active composition or selected items to render queue	+ –
Cmnd+Optn+S	Add current frame to render queue	+ –
Cmnd+Shft+D	Duplicate render item with same output filename as original	+ –