Adobe Illustrator Keyboard Shortcuts

Mac Command (⌘) as the modifier. Single-key tools work the same as on Windows. Cmd+D repeats the last transform — a powerful technique for evenly-spaced duplicates.

Windows Ctrl as the modifier. Same single-key tool shortcuts as Mac. The full transform-again workflow using Ctrl+D applies here.

Single-key tool activation. Press the key to switch tools without any modifier:

• V: Selection tool (select and move whole objects)
• A: Direct Selection tool (select individual anchor points and path segments)
• P: Pen tool
• T: Type tool
• B: Paintbrush tool
• R: Rotate tool
• S: Scale tool
• E: Free Transform tool
• M: Rectangle tool
• L: Ellipse tool
• G: Gradient tool
• I: Eyedropper

Object stacking order. Cmd+[ / Ctrl+[ sends one step backward. Cmd+] / Ctrl+] brings one step forward. Cmd+Shift+[ / Ctrl+Shift+[ sends to the very back; Cmd+Shift+] / Ctrl+Shift+] brings to the very front.

Group and ungroup. Cmd+G / Ctrl+G groups the selection. Cmd+Shift+G / Ctrl+Shift+G ungroups.

Transform again. Cmd+D / Ctrl+D repeats the last transformation — same distance, same angle, same scale. Paste an object, move it by a specific amount, then press Cmd+D repeatedly to create evenly-spaced copies in one keypress per step.

Path operations. Join paths, average points, outline stroke, and other path operations all have keyboard shortcuts.

Panel toggle. Tab hides and shows all open panels — giving full canvas view for detailed work.

A printable PDF of Illustrator shortcuts is available for each platform. The single-key tool list and stacking order shortcuts are the most useful for everyday vector work.

Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Figma, Canva, and Affinity Designer sit near Adobe Illustrator because they touch nearby parts of visual production. Illustrator is often where precise vector editing, drawing, and artwork decisions happen. Photoshop is commonly used for image editing and raster work, InDesign for page layout and publication-style projects, Figma for interface and product design, Canva for quick visual assembly, and Affinity Designer for vector design workflows. They are related by audience and workflow, not because every project moves through all of them.

What does Cmd+D / Ctrl+D do in Illustrator?

Transform Again — it repeats the last transformation applied to the selected object. If you copied an object and moved it 20px to the right, pressing Cmd+D will move it another 20px to the right. Repeated presses create evenly-spaced duplicates. This works with any transform: move, rotate, scale, reflect.

Are Illustrator tool shortcuts the same as Photoshop's?

Many are. V for the selection/move tool, T for type, P for pen, I for eyedropper, and several others are consistent between Illustrator and Photoshop. The differences appear in tools that are application-specific — mesh and liquify tools in Photoshop don't exist in Illustrator and vice versa.

Does Illustrator let you customize keyboard shortcuts?

Yes. Cmd+Option+Shift+K (Mac) or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K (Windows) opens Illustrator's keyboard shortcuts editor, where you can remap any shortcut. The pages on HKeys cover the default shortcuts.

This section lists official sources and documentation for Adobe Illustrator. Use these references to verify shortcut behavior instead of trusting old notes, screenshots, or memory. They are especially helpful when comparing Windows and macOS behavior, where the same design action may depend on different modifier habits.

Official references are useful for checking platform differences, keyboard layout issues, browser conflicts, operating system shortcut conflicts, and app-version differences. Even in a desktop design app, the OS can reserve familiar key patterns or a layout can make a shortcut feel different than expected. When something does not behave cleanly, verify it against the official source before changing your notes, updating a team reference, or teaching the workflow.