Quick Shortcuts

  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E will merge a copy of all Layers
  • F Cycle through workspace backgrounds
  • X Change your foreground and background colors
  • D Reset foreground and background colors to black and white
  • ] and [ Change your brush tip size
  • Cmd/Ctrl+J Duplicate a layer or selection
  • Space Bar Hold Space and drag to navigate around the image
  • TAB Hides or shows all panels and tools
  • Cmd/Ctrl+T Transform a layer
  • Cmd/Ctrl+E Merge selected layer down, or merges several highlighted layers
  • Cmd/Ctrl/Ctrl+Shift+Opt+S Save for web & devices
  • Cmd/Ctrl+L Bring up levels box
  • Cmd/Ctrl+T Open Free Transform tool
  • Cmd/Ctrl+M Open Curves
  • Cmd/Ctrl+B Edit Colour Balance
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt+C Scale your image to your preferred state
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Opt+G Create clipping mask
  • Cmd/Ctrl+0 Fit on screen
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+>/< Increase/decrease size of selected text by 2pts
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Option+Shift->/< Increase/decrease size of selected text by 10pts
  • ]/[ Increase/decrease brush size
  • Shift+F5 Fill the selection
  • }/{ Increase/decrease brush hardness
  • ,/. previous/next brush
  • </> First/last brush
  • Cmd/Ctrl+] Bring layers forward
  • Cmd/Ctrl+[ Send layer back
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+[ Send layer to bottom of stack
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+] Bring layer to bottom of stack

Quick Tips

Undo, undo, undo
You probably know that Cmd/Ctrl+Z is Undo, but you may not know Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+Z lets you undo more than one history state.

Close all images
To close all of your documents at the same time, Shift-click any image window’s close icon.

Spring-loaded move
While using any tool, hold Cmd/Ctrl to temporarily switch to the Move tool. Release to go back to your original tool. Note that spring-loaded keyboard shortcuts work for other tool shortcuts, too.

Interactive zoom
For interactive zooming, hold Cmd/Ctrl+Space then drag right to zoom in, or left to zoom out. The zoom targets where your mouse icon is, so it’s one of the quickest ways to navigate around an image.

Easier marquee selections
Hold down Alt to start a selection at the centre point with any Marquee tool, and then hold Space to temporarily move the selection around.

1000 history states
Go to Edit>Preferences>Performance to change the number of History states up to a maximum of 1000. Beware though of the effect that this has on performance.

Bird’s eye view
When zoomed in close, hold down H and drag in the image to instantly dart out to full screen then jump back to another area. One of the best Photoshop tips for viewing work!

Working with Layers

Converting layer styles
Converting a Layer Style to a normal pixel-based layer gives you greater control to edit the contents. To do so, add a style then right-click Effects and choose Create Layer.

View one layer
If you’re working with multiple layers and you want to view one layer on its own, there’s no need to hide all the others manually, simply hold down Alt and click the Eye icon of a layer to make every other layer invisible. Hold down Alt and click again to reveal them.

View one layer
If you’re working with multiple layers and you want to view one layer on its own, there’s no need to hide all the others manually, simply hold down Alt and click the Eye icon of a layer to make every other layer invisible. Hold down Alt and click again to reveal them.

Unlink layers and masks
You can move either a mask or an image independently of one another by clicking the link between the two thumbnails in the Layers Panel. Highlight the thumbnail you want to reposition, then grab the Move tool.

Quick copy
Hold down Alt and drag a mask, style or layer to
quickly duplicate it.

Convert the background
Double-click the Background Layer and hit OK to convert it to an editable layer

Move layers up or down
You can move layers up or down the stack in the Layers Panel while watching the image change. Hold down Cmd/Ctrl and press ] or [. Add in Shift to move a layer right to the top or bottom.

Fill shortcuts
You can press Alt+Backspace to fill a layer or
selection with the Foreground colour, Cmd/Ctrl+Backspace to fill a layer or selection with the Background colour, or Shift+Backspace to quickly access the Fill Options.

The 50% grey layer
A new layer filled with 50% grey is useful in lots of situations. For example, you can dodge and burn with it, add texture, or manipulate a Lens Flare effect, all in a completely non-destructive way. To create a 50% grey layer, make a new layer then go to Edit>Fill, then set the Blend Mode to Overlay.

Layer group shortcut
Layer Groups are incredibly useful, but don’t bother clicking on the Layer Group icon, as you’ll have to add layers to the new group manually. Instead, you should highlight several layers and either drag them to this icon or alternatively hit Cmd/Ctrl+G.