Affinity Keyboard Shortcuts

Affinity is listed here for macOS and Windows, and shortcuts can feel different even when the creative action is the same. The main reason is modifier behavior: macOS and Windows use different keyboard habits for common commands like copying, undoing, grouping, saving, exporting, and zooming. That matters when you switch machines, follow a teammate’s notes, or use a reference made for the other platform. The workflow may look familiar, but the physical shortcut can still change. Choose the platform above that matches where you actually work.

Vector Studio — Vector design, node editing, artboards, and illustration. The Affinity equivalent of Adobe Illustrator-style work. Covers Mac and Windows.

Pixel Studio — Photo editing, layer-based compositing, image adjustments, and retouching. The Affinity equivalent of Adobe Photoshop-style work. Covers Mac and Windows.

Layout Studio — Multi-page layout, text frames, master pages, and publishing work. The Affinity equivalent of Adobe InDesign-style work. Covers Mac and Windows.

Affinity by Canva uses a studio model — switching between different creative environments inside one unified application. Each studio focuses on a different workflow area and has its own toolset, shortcut patterns, and panels. Vector Studio is for drawing and vector editing, Pixel Studio is for image and raster work, and Layout Studio is for page layout and publishing. The shortcut behavior for each studio is covered in the studio platform pages.

If you're coming from Adobe Creative Cloud, the shortcuts for each Affinity studio are similar to their Adobe counterparts but not identical. Adobe Illustrator is useful to compare with Vector Studio, Adobe Photoshop is useful to compare with Pixel Studio, and Adobe InDesign is useful to compare with Layout Studio.

What is Affinity by Canva?

Affinity by Canva is a unified creative application organized around three professional creative studios: Vector Studio for vector design, Pixel Studio for photo and image editing, and Layout Studio for page layout and publishing. HKeys covers the Affinity shortcut references for Mac and Windows.

Do Affinity studios use the same keyboard shortcuts as Adobe Creative Cloud?

Many are similar — especially single-key tool shortcuts. V for selection, T for text, P for pen, and others follow familiar creative-app conventions. The differences appear in studio-specific operations and in Affinity's unified studio workflow, which is not identical to Adobe's separate-app model.

Is Affinity available on iPad?

Yes — Affinity is available on iPad through the App Store. However, HKeys does not currently have iPad platform pages for Affinity. The shortcut references here cover Mac and Windows only.

This section lists official sources and documentation for Affinity. Use these references to verify shortcut behavior instead of relying on memory, old screenshots, or another person’s setup. They are especially helpful when comparing macOS and Windows, where the same editing or workspace action may depend on different keyboard habits.

Official references are useful for checking platform differences, keyboard layout issues, browser conflicts, operating system shortcut conflicts, and app-version differences. A shortcut can be correct in one context and still feel wrong because the OS, layout, or active workspace gets in the way. When something behaves differently than expected, verify it against the official source before updating personal notes, changing a team cheat sheet, or teaching the workflow.