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GIMP Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows

Keyboard shortcuts for GIMP on Windows. Covers selection and paint tools, layers, dialogs, and canvas navigation for image editing on Windows.
Key label style

Help

Help
F1
Context Help
Shift+F1

Tools

Rect Select
R
Ellipse Select
E
Free Select
F
Fuzzy Select
Z
Select By Color
Shift+O
Scissors
I
Paths
B
Color Picker
O
Move
M
Crop and Resize
Shift+C
Rotate
Shift+R
Scale
Shift+T
Shear
Shift+S
Perspective
Shift+P
Flip
Shift+F
Text
T
Bucket Fill
Shift+B
Blend
L
Pencil
N
Paintbrush
P
Eraser
Shift+E
Airbrush
A
Ink
K
Clone
C
Blur/Sharpen
Shift+U
Smudge
S
Dodge/Burn
Shift+D

Context

Swap Colors
X
Default Colors
D

File

New image
Ctrl+N
Open image
Ctrl+O
Open image as new layer
Ctrl+Alt+O
Duplicate image
Ctrl+D
Open recent image 01
Ctrl+1
Open recent image 02
Ctrl+2
Open recent image 03
Ctrl+3
Open recent image 04
Ctrl+4
Open recent image 05
Ctrl+5
Open recent image 06
Ctrl+6
Open recent image 07
Ctrl+7
Open recent image 08
Ctrl+8
Open recent image 09
Ctrl+9
Open recent image 10
Ctrl+0
Save image
Ctrl+S
Save under a new name
Ctrl+Shift+S
Export to
Ctrl+E
Export ...
Ctrl+Shift+E
Quit
Ctrl+Q

Dialogs

Layers
Ctrl+L
Brushes
Ctrl+Shift+B
Patterns
Ctrl+Shift+P
Gradients
Ctrl+G
Tool-Options
Ctrl+Shift+T
Palettes
Ctrl+P
Info window
Ctrl+Shift+I
Navigation window
Ctrl+Shift+N

Within a Dialog

Close the window
Alt+F4
or
Ctrl+W
Jump to next widget
Tab
Jump to previous widget
Shift+Tab
Set the new valueAccepts the value you typed in a text field and returns focus to the canvas.
Enter
Activate current button or list
Space
or
Enter
In a multi-tab dialog, switch tabs
Ctrl+Alt+Pg Up
or
Ctrl+Pg Dn

Within a File Dialog

Open Location
Shift+L
Up-Folder
Alt+Up
Down-Folder
Alt+Down

Window

Main MenuMenus can also be activated by Alt with the letter underscored in the menu name.
F10
Drop-down Menu
Shift+F10
or
Click
Toggle fullscreen
F11
Toggle quickmask
Shift+Q
Close document window
Ctrl+W

Zoom

Zoom in
=
Zoom out
-
Zoom 1:1
1
Shrink wrapFits the window to the image size.
Ctrl+E
Fit image in window
Ctrl+Shift+E
Zoom
Shift+Scroll up
or
Shift+Scroll down

Scrolling (panning)

Scroll canvasPlain arrow keys also scroll; Shift+arrows scrolls faster, and Ctrl+arrows jumps straight to the canvas border.
Ctrl+<any arrow key>
Scroll canvas
Middle-click+Drag
Scroll canvas vertically
Scroll up
or
Scroll down
Scroll canvas horizontally
Ctrl+Scroll up
or
Ctrl+Scroll down

Rulers and Guides

Drag off a ruler to create a guideDrag off the horizontal or vertical ruler to create a new guide line. Drag a guide line onto the ruler to delete it.
Drag
Drag a sample point out of the rulers
Ctrl+Drag
Toggle rulers
Ctrl+Shift+R
Toggle guides
Ctrl+Shift+T

Undo/redo

Undo
Ctrl+Z
Redo
Ctrl+Y

Clipboard

Copy selectionPlaces a copy of the selection on the GIMP clipboard.
Ctrl+C
Cut selectionWorks the same as Copy selection followed by deleting the selection.
Ctrl+X
Paste clipboardPlaces the clipboard contents as a floating selection.
Ctrl+V
Clears selection
Ctrl+K
Named copy selection
Ctrl+Shift+C
Named cut selection
Ctrl+Shift+X
Named paste clipboard
Ctrl+Shift+V

Fill

Erase selection
Del
Fill with FG Color
Ctrl+,
Fill with BG Color
Ctrl+.
Fill with Pattern
Ctrl+;

Layers

Select the layer above
Pg Up
or
Ctrl+Tab
Select the layer below
Pg Dn
or
Ctrl+Shift+Tab
Select the first layer
Home
Select the last layer
End
Merge visible layers
Ctrl+M
Anchor layer
Ctrl+H

Selections

Toggle selections
Ctrl+T
Select all
Ctrl+A
Select none
Ctrl+Shift+A
Invert selection
Ctrl+I
Float selection
Ctrl+Shift+L
Path to selection
Shift+V

Filters

Repeat last filter
Ctrl+F
Reshow last filter
Ctrl+Shift+F

Zoom tool

Zoom in
Click
Zoom out
Shift+Click
Zoom into the area
Drag

Intro

GIMP on Windows uses Ctrl for menu commands and dialogs, and bare letters for tool switching, no modifier needed for most tools, Shift for a related variant.

Windows-specific shortcut notes

Dialogs toggle, they don't just open. Ctrl+L and the other dialog shortcuts open the dialog if it's closed, or bring it to focus if it's already open behind another window, rather than creating a duplicate.

Double-click a tool button for its options. This isn't a keyboard shortcut, but it's the fastest way to reach a tool's option panel directly from the toolbox.

The middle mouse button pans. Press and drag with the middle mouse button to pan the canvas freely, independent of the scroll-wheel and Ctrl+arrow-key panning shortcuts.

Printable PDF

The GIMP Windows shortcut list is available as a printable PDF. The tool-switching letters and the layer navigation shortcuts are the most useful section for everyday editing.

FAQ

Need more than shortcuts?
Visit the GIMP app page for an overview and helpful links.

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