30 Essential Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts for Efficient Designing

Adobe Illustrator is a powerhouse for vector design, but efficiency matters just as much as creativity. Manually clicking through menus for every function can interrupt your workflow and slow down the design process. That’s where shortcuts come in! Learning a few essential Illustrator keyboard commands can speed up your work, whether you're drawing, selecting, or managing layers.

This guide covers 30 must-know shortcuts that will help you design faster and more effectively—so you can bring your creative ideas to life with ease.

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Navigation and Viewing Shortcuts

Zooming in and out of Adobe documents:

Mac: Cmd + + | Mac: Cmd + -

Windows: Ctrl + + | Windows: Ctrl + -

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Fitting Adobe artboard to the window:

‍Mac: Cmd + 0

‍Windows: Ctrl + 0

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Switch between open documents:

Mac: Cmd + Tab

‍Windows: Ctrl + Tab

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Toggle between Preview and Outline mode:

Mac: Cmd + Y

‍Windows: Ctrl + Y

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Adobe Illustrator File Management

Create a new document:

Mac: Cmd + N

‍Windows: Ctrl + N

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Open an existing file:

Mac: Cmd + O

‍Windows: Ctrl + O

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Save your Illustrator work:

Mac: Cmd + S

‍Windows: Ctrl + S

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Save As (a new Illustrator file):

Mac: Cmd + Shift + S

‍Windows: Ctrl + Shift + S

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Close current document:

Mac: Cmd + W

‍Windows: Ctrl + W

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Editing & Selection Shortcuts

Select all objects:

Mac: Cmd + A

‍Windows: Ctrl + A

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Deselect selection:

Mac: Cmd + Shift + A

‍Windows: Ctrl + Shift + A

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Group selected objects:

Mac: Cmd + G

‍Windows: Ctrl + G

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Ungroup Illustrator objects:

Mac: Cmd + Shift + G

‍Windows: Ctrl + Shift + G

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Duplicate an object:

Mac: Cmd + C, Cmd + F

‍Windows: Ctrl + C, Cmd + F

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Illustrator Tools and Shapes

Switch to Selection Tool:

Mac: V

‍Windows: V

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Switch to Direct Selection Tool:

Mac: A

‍Windows: A

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Switch to Pen Tool:

Mac: P

‍Windows: P

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Switch to Eyedropper Tool:

Mac: I

‍Windows: I

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Draw a perfect circle or square:

Mac: Hold Shift while dragging the cursor

‍Windows: Hold Shift while dragging the cursor

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Draw from the centre outwards:

Mac: Hold Option while dragging

‍Windows: Hold Alt while dragging

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Lock selected objects:

Mac: Cmd + 2

‍Windows: Ctrl + 2

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Unlock selected objects:

Mac: Cmd + Option + 2

‍Windows: Ctrl + Alt + 2

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Hide selected objects:

Mac: Cmd + 3

‍Windows: Ctrl + 3

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Show all hidden objects:

Mac: Cmd + Option + 3

‍Windows: Ctrl + Alt + 3

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Type and Text Editing

Create a new text area in Illustrator:

Mac: Press T and click on the canvas

‍Windows: Press T and click on the canvas

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Increase or decrease font size:

Mac: Cmd + Shift + > or Cmd + Shift + <

‍Windows: Ctrl + Shift + > or Ctrl + Shift + <

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Convert text to outlines:

Mac: Cmd + Shift + O

‍Windows: Ctrl + Shift + O

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Change text alignment:

Mac: Cmd + Shift + L (left), C (centre), R (right)

‍Windows: Ctrl + Shift + L (left), C (centre), R (right)

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For help speeding up your work in Photoshop view 30 Adobe InPhotoshop Shortcuts.

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Mastering shortcuts in Adobe Illustrator can help you work faster, but what about getting your designs approved just as efficiently? That’s where design review software GoProof comes in. Instead of juggling endless email threads and messy feedback, GoProof streamlines the entire proofing process—allowing clients and stakeholders to review, comment, and approve designs directly in one place.

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FAQS - Frequently Asked Questions