Adobe Illustrator 9 keyboard shortcuts 
Tags: Adobe | Illustrator | Vector | Graphics Blog Articles
List of shortcut keys
| Shortcut | Command | How useful(?) |
Files Adobe Illustrator 9 | ||
| Ctrl-N | New Document dialog box | + – |
| Ctrl-O | Open dialog box in Adobe Illustrator | + – |
| Ctrl-W | Close | + – |
| Ctrl-S | Save | + – |
| Ctrl-Shft-S | Save As dialog box in Adobe Illustrator | + – |
| Ctrl-Alt-S | Save a Copy dialog box | + – |
| Ctrl-Alt-P | Document Setup dialog box | + – |
| Ctrl-Q | Quit/Exit Illustrator | + – |
Tools Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| V | Selection | + – | |
| A | Direct-selection | + – | |
| Y | Lasso | + – | |
| Q | Direct-select Lasso | + – | |
| P | Pen | + – | |
| T | Type | + – | |
| L | Ellipse | + – | |
| M | Rectangle | + – | |
| B | Paintbrush | + – | |
| N | Pencil | + – | |
| R | Rotate | + – | |
| S | Scale | + – | |
| O | Reflect | + – | |
| E | Free Transform | + – | |
| W | Blend | + – | |
| J | Column Graph | + – | |
| U | Gradient Mesh | + – | |
| G | Gradient | + – | |
| I | Eyedropper | + – | |
| C | Scissors | + – | |
| H | Hand | + – | |
| Z | Zoom | + – | |
| + | Add-anchor-point | + – | |
| - | Delete-anchor-point | + – | |
| Shft-C | Convert-anchor-point | + – | |
Dialog boxes Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Tab | Highlight next field/option in Adobe Illustrator dialog boxes | + – | |
| Shft-Tab | Highlight previous field/option | + – | |
| Esc | Cancel | + – | |
| Enter | OK | + – | |
Palettes Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Tab | Show/hide all palettes | + – | |
| Shft-Tab | Show/hide all palettes except Toolbox | + – | |
| Enter | Apply value in palette field in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Shft-Enter | Apply value in field, keep field selected | + – | |
| Tab | Highlight next field (pointer in palette) | + – | |
| Shft-Tab | Highlight previous field (pointer in palette) | + – | |
Views Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-Y | Preview/Outline view toggle | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-Y | Pixel Preview view on/off in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-Shft-Y | Overprint Preview view on/off | + – | |
| Caps lock | Use crosshair pointer (drawing tools) | + – | |
| Ctrl-H | Show/Hide Edges | + – | |
| Double-click Hand tool | Display entire artboard in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Ctrl-0 | Fit In Window | + – | |
| Double-click Zoom tool or Ctrl-1 | 100% view size | + – | |
| Alt-click | Zoom out (Zoom tool selected) | + – | |
| Ctrl-Spacebar-click or Ctrl-+ | Zoom in (any tool selected) | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-Spacebar-click or Ctrl--(minus) | Zoom out (any tool selected) | + – | |
| Drag with Zoom tool, then Spacebar-drag | Adjust Zoom marquee position | + – | |
| Drag Zoom tool or Ctrl-drag in Navigator palette | Zoom in on specific area of artboard | + – | |
| Spacebar | Use Hand tool (any tool selected) | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-Shft-3 | Hide all unselected objects in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-3 | Show All | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-W | Show/Hide Template(s) | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-B | Show/Hide Bounding Box | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-D | Show/Hide Transparency Grid | + – | |
| F with menu bar/Full screen mode | Standard screen mode/Full screen mode | + – | |
Undo/redo Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-Z | Undo last operation in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-Z | Redo last undone operation | + – | |
Create objects Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Alt-drag | Draw object from center using Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, or Ellipse tool in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Shft-drag | Draw circle with Rectangle or Rounded Rectangle tool; square with Ellipse tool | + – | |
Polygon, Star, Spiral tools Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Spacebar | Move object as you draw with Polygon, Star, or Spiral tool | + – | |
| Shft | Constrain orientation as you draw with Polygon, Star, or Spiral tool | + – | |
| Up or down arrow | Add or subtract sides as you draw with the Polygon tool, points as you draw with the Star tool, or segments as you draw with the Spiral tool | + – | |
| Alt | Align shoulders as you draw with Star tool | + – | |
| Ctrl | Increase or decrease outer radius as you draw with Star tool or decay as you draw with Spiral tool | + – | |
Select/Copy Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-6 | Select Again (last used command on Edit menu > Select submenu) | + – | |
| Ctrl | Use last-used selection tool (any non-selection tool chosen) | + – | |
| Ctrl-Tab | Toggle between Selection tool and Direct-selection tool or Group-selection tool | + – | |
| Alt | Toggle between Group-selection and Direct-selection tools | + – | |
| Ctrl-A | Select All in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-A | Deselect All | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-[-click | Select an object hidden behind another object | + – | |
| Shft-drag | Add to selection with either lasso tool in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Alt-drag | Subtract from selection with either lasso tool | + – | |
Move Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Double-click Selection tool | Move dialog box | + – | |
| Alt-drag | Drag copy of object | + – | |
| Any arrow key | Move selected object the current Keyboard Increment (Preferences > General) | + – | |
| Shft-arrow key | Move selection 10x Keyboard Increment in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Shft | Constrain movement to multiple of 45º | + – | |
Clipboard Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-X | Cut | + – | |
| Ctrl-C | Copy | + – | |
| Ctrl-V | Paste | + – | |
| Ctrl-F | Paste In Front | + – | |
| Ctrl-B | Paste In Back | + – | |
Transform Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Alt-click | Transform tool dialog/set origin (any transform tool except Free Transform) | + – | |
| Shft-drag | Transform object along multiple of 45º (Shear, Reflect, Rotate tool) | + – | |
| Shft-drag | Scale object uniformly (Scale, Free Transform tools) | + – | |
| F-11 | Show/Hide Attributes palette in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Ctrl-D | Transform Again | + – | |
| ~ drag | Transform pattern fill, not object(any transform tool) | + – | |
| Start dragging, then Alt-drag | Transform copy of object (any transform tool) in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Modify value, then press Alt-Enter | Transform copy of object (Transform palette) | + – | |
| Modify W or H value, then press trl-Enter | Scale object uniformly (Transform palette) | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-D | Transform Each dialog box | + – | |
Bounding box Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Shft-drag handle | Scale object uniformly using bounding box(Free Transform or Selection tool) | + – | |
| Alt-drag handle | Resize object from center using bounding box in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
Blends Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-Alt-B | Blend > Make | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-Shft-B | Blend > Release | + – | |
Free Transform tool Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Alt-drag a handle | Transform from center | + – | |
| Start dragging corner handle, then Ctrl-drag | Distort | + – | |
| Start dragging side handle, then Ctrl-drag | Skew | + – | |
| Start dragging corner handle, then Ctrl-Alt-Shft- | Make Perspective | + – | |
Pen/Reshape Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Alt | Add-anchor-point and Delete-anchor-point tool toggle (either selected) | + – | |
| Alt | Use Add-anchor-point tool (Scissors tool selected) | + – | |
| Alt | Use Convert-anchor-point tool (Pen tool selected) | + – | |
| Alt | Smooth and Pencil tools toggle in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Shft-drag | Constrain direction line angle to multiple of 45º with Direct-selection or Convert-anchor-point tool | + – | |
| Ctrl-J | Join two selected endpoints | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-J | Average two selected endpoints | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-Shft-J | Average and Join two selected endpoints | + – | |
| Drag, then Alt-release | Close path while drawing with Pencil or Paintbrush tool | + – | |
| Alt-drag tool | Cut in a straight line with Knife tool in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Alt-Shft | Cut in 45º increment with Knife tool | + – | |
Fill & Stroke Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| F-10 | Show/Hide Stroke palette | + – | |
| D | Default fill/stroke | + – | |
| Alt | Eyedropper and Paint Bucket tool toggle (either one selected) | + – | |
| X | Fill/Stroke box toggle (Toolbox and Color palette) | + – | |
| < (comma) | Apply last-used solid color in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| / | Apply fill/stroke of None | + – | |
Color palette Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-I or F-6 | Show/Hide Color palette | + – | |
| Alt-click or drag color spectrum bar on Color pale | Change fill color if Stroke box on Toolbox is selected, or vice versa | + – | |
| Shft-click color spectrum bar | Cycle through color models in Adobe Illustrator Color pallete | + – | |
| Shft-X | Swap fill/stroke | + – | |
Swatches palette Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-Alt-click list, start typing name name | Select a swatch name in Adobe Illustrator Swatches pallete | + – | |
Layers Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| F-7 | Show/Hide Layers palette in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
Grouping Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-G | Group | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-G | Ungroup | + – | |
Restacking (keyboard) Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-Shft-] | Bring To Front | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-[ | Send To Back in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Ctrl-] | Bring Forward | + – | |
| Ctrl-[ | Send Backward | + – | |
Select Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Click selection square or Alt-click name | Select layer, sublayer, group, or object | + – | |
| Shft-click square | Add to selection in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Alt-drag-square | Copy selection to new layer, sublayer, group | + – | |
Views Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Alt-click eye icon | Hide/show all other layers | + – | |
| Ctrl-click eye icon | View a layer in Outline/Preview view | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-click eye icon | View all other layers in Outline/ Preview view | + – | |
| Alt-click blank box in second column | Lock/unlock all other layers in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
Create top-level layers Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-L | Create layer above currently selected layer | + – | |
| Ctrl-click New Layer button | Create layer at top of list | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-click New Layer button | Create layer below currently selected layer | + – | |
Lock/unlock (keyboard) Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-2 | Lock (selected object) | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-Shft-2 | Lock all unselected objects | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-2 | Unlock All | + – | |
Type Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-T | Show/Hide Character palette | + – | |
| Ctrl-M | Show/Hide Paragraph palette | + – | |
| Enter | Hard Return | + – | |
| Shft-Enter | Soft Return | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-Shft-M | Highlight font field on Character palette | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-T | Show/hide Tab Ruler palette | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-(hyphen key) | Force hyphenate a word in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-O | Create Outlines | + – | |
Type tools Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Alt | Use Area Type tool (Type tool selected, over open path) | + – | |
| Alt | Use Path Type tool (Type tool selected, over closed path) | + – | |
| Shft with any type tool | Switch to vertical/horizontal type tool equivalent as you create type in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Double-click with any selection tool | Switch to Type tool when selecting type block | + – | |
Selecting type Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Double-click | Select a word | + – | |
| Triple-click | Select a paragraph in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Ctrl-A | Select all the type in a block | + – | |
| Ctrl-left/right arrow | Move insertion pointer left/right one word | + – | |
| Up/Down arrow | Move insertion pointer up/down one line | + – | |
Alignment Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-Shft-L | Align left | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-C | Align center | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-R | Align right | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-J | Justify | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-F | Justify last line | + – | |
Point size Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-Shft-> | Increase point size in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-< | Decrease point size | + – | |
Leading Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Alt-down arrow | Increase leading | + – | |
| Alt-up arrow | Decrease leading | + – | |
| Double-click leading button on Character palette | Set leading to the current font size in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
Horizontal scale Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-Shft-X | Reset horizontal scale to 100% | + – | |
Kerning/tracking Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Alt-right arrow | Increase kerning/tracking in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Alt-left arrow | Decrease kerning/tracking | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt right arrow | Increase kerning/tracking 5x | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt left arrow | Decrease kerning/tracking 5x | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-Q | Reset kerning/tracking to 0 | + – | |
Baseline shift Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Alt-Shft up arrow | Increase baseline shift | + – | |
| Alt-Shft down arrow | Decrease baseline shift | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-Shft up arrow | Increase baseline shift 5x | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-Shft down arrow | Decrease baseline shift 5x | + – | |
Curly quotes Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Alt-0146 (numeric keypad only) | ' | + – | |
| Alt-0145 | ' | + – | |
| Alt-0148 | " | + – | |
| Alt-0147 | " | + – | |
Brushes Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| F-5 | Show/Hide Brushes palette in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
Combine Paths Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-8 | Compound Path > Make | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-8 | Compound Path > Release | + – | |
| Ctrl-4 | Repeat last-used Pathfinder command in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
Gradients Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| F-9 | Show/Hide Gradient palette in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| > (period) | Reapply last-used gradient | + – | |
| Ctrl-click thumbnail | Reset gradient palette to black and white | + – | |
| Alt-drag | Duplicate color stop | + – | |
| Alt-click swatch | Apply swatch color to active color stop in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Shft-drag with Gradient Mesh tool | Move mesh point along one of its lines | + – | |
| Shft-click with Gradient Mesh tool | Add mesh point using adjacent mesh color | + – | |
| Alt-click with Gradient Mesh tool | Remove mesh point | + – | |
Clipping masks Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-7 | Clipping Mask > Make | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-7 | Clipping Mask > Release | + – | |
Transparency palette Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Alt-click mask thumbnail | View only opacity mask in mask edit mode in Adobe Illustrator Transparency palette | + – | |
| Shft-click mask thumbnail | Disable opacity mask | + – | |
Effects Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-Shft-E | Apply Last Effect | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-Shft-E | Last Effect (reopen last effect dialog box) | + – | |
Appearances Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-/ | Add new fill | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-/ | Add new stroke | + – | |
| Alt-Shft-click with Eyedropper | Sample style and append appearance of selected object in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
Filters Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-E | Apply Last Filter in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-E | Last Filter (reopen last filter dialog box) | + – | |
Precision Tools Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-R | Show/Hide Rulers | + – | |
| Ctrl-; | Show/Hide Guides | + – | |
| Ctrl-5 | Make Guides | + – | |
| Click selection square on Layers palette, then Ctr | Release Guides | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft- double-click guide | Release a guide | + – | |
| Alt-drag new guide | Convert guide between horizontal/vertical orientation in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-; | Lock/Unlock Guides | + – | |
| Ctrl-" | Show/Hide Grid | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-" | Snap To Grid | + – | |
| Ctrl-Alt-" | Snap To Point (Pixel Preview off); Snap To Pixel (Pixel Preview on) | + – | |
| Ctrl-U | Smart Guides | + – | |
| Shft-drag with tool | Constrain Measure tool to multiple of 45º | + – | |
Preferences Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-K | General Preferences dialog box in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
Export/Print Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-Alt-Shft-S | Save for Web | + – | |
| Ctrl-Shft-P | Page Setup/Print Setup dialog box | + – | |
| Ctrl-P | Print dialog box in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| F-8 | Show/Hide Info | + – | |
Shortcuts/Help Adobe Illustrator 9 | |||
| Ctrl-Alt-Shft-K | Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box in Adobe Illustrator | + – | |
| F1 | Illustrator Help (online) | + – | |
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