Keyboard shortcuts

Operations shortcuts

Action	Key
Constrain the movement of an object horizontally, vertically or diagonally	-drag
Select multiple objects	-click
Select overlapped object	-click
Cycle Selection Box	.
Set Selection Box	.
Decrease/increase shape's/curve's stroke width by percentage	[ ]
Decrease/increase shape's/curve's stroke width by absolute values	[ ]
Change opacity for selected layer (or Brush tools in Pixel Persona)	numeric keys (4=40%, 43=43%, etc.)
Erase with Pixel Tool (Pixel Persona only)
Switch between Stroke/Fill (or Foreground/Background) color selectors (Color and Swatches panels)	X
Swap Stroke/Fill (or Foreground/Background) color selectors	X +X
Set Stroke/Fill (or Foreground/Background) color selectors and any vector objects that are selected to black and white, respectively	D
Set No fill on Stroke/Fill (or Foreground/Background) color selectors	/ (International and selected keyboards only)
Fill with Foreground Color (Pixel Persona only)	+
Fill with Background Color (Pixel Persona only)	+
Modify attribute listed on a panel or dialog	Drag attribute text label
Toggle Snapping	;

Action (Curve drawing)	Key
Edit line or brush strokes as you draw/paint
Create cusp node (sharp corner)	-drag control handle
Snap a line's control handle to 45° intervals	-drag control handle
Create a straight line segment as you draw	-drag Drag + right-click

Action (Curve editing with Node Tool)	Key
Convert to Smooth node	-click -click
Convert to Sharp node	-click
Select next node on a curve	]
Select previous node on a curve	[
Straighten a segment	-click a segment
Delete a segment	-click -click
Delete a node (retaining curve's geometry)
Delete a node (for 'best-fitting' reshaped curve)	-

Action (Transforming)	Key
Move with horizontal, vertical or diagonal constraint	-drag
Rotate in 15° intervals	-drag rotation/corner handle
Rotate around opposite corner	-drag corner handle Drag corner handle then hold down right mouse button
Cancel a sizing, moving, or creating operation
Resize vector objects, maintaining aspect ratio	-drag from a corner handle
Resize an object from its center	-drag from a corner handle
Mirror shearing	-drag
Nudge1	arrow keys
Nudge (by modified distance)1	-arrow keys

¹ Nudge distances are customisable via Affinity Designer>Settings (or >Preferences) (Tools)

¹ Nudge distances are customisable via Edit>Settings (Tools)

Action (Warping)	Key
Apply mesh warp	G G

Action (Shape Building) via numeric keypad	Key
Add mode	+
Delete mode	-
Create mode	*

Action (Symbols)	Key
Create symbol	K

File shortcuts

Action	Key
New Document	N +N
New from Clipboard	N +++N
Open Document	O +O
Close Document/Close App (when no documents open)	W +W
Close All Documents	W ++W
Switch Document/View	+
Save	S +S
Save As	S ++S
Export	S +++S
Document Setup	P ++P
Print	P +P

Tools shortcuts

Action (General and Designer Persona)	Key
Move Tool	V
Node Tool	A
Point Transform Tool	F
Contour Tool	O
Corner Tool	C
Pen Tool	P
Pencil Tool	N
Stroke Width Tool	W
Knife Tool	K
Vector Brush Tool	B
Gradient Tool	G
Transparency Tool	Y
Vector Flood Fill Tool	R
Rectangle, Ellipse, and Rounded Rectangle tools cycle	M
Shape Builder Tool	S
Artistic and Frame text tools cycle	T
Color Picker Tool	I
View Tool	H
Zoom Tool	Z

Action (Pixel Persona only)	Key
Move Tool	V
Marquee Selection Tools cycle	M
Freehand Selection Tool	L
Selection Brush Tool	W
Pixel Tool	Y
Paint Brush Tool	B
Erase Brush Tool	E
Flood Fill Tool	G
Dodge and Burn Brush Tools cycle	O
Color Picker Tool	I
View Tool	H
Zoom Tool	Z

Action (Export Persona only)	Key
Slice Tool	S
Slice Selection Tool	L

Edit shortcuts

Action	Key
Undo	Z +Z
Redo	Z ++Z
Paste Style	V ++V
Paste FX	V ++V
Paste Inside	V ++V
Paste without Format	V +++V

Object control shortcuts

Action	Key
Group	G +G
Ungroup	G ++G
Duplicate	J +J
Move to Front	] ++]
Move Forward One	] +]
Move to Back	[ ++[
Move Back One	[ +[
Move Inside	G ++G
Move Outside	G +++G
Show All	H +++H
Select All on Current Layer	A ++A
Lock	L +L
Unlock	L ++L
Unlock All	L +++L
New Pixel Layer	N ++N
Rename Layer	R ++R
Convert to Curves	+

Painting shortcuts

Action	Key
Picks up a new brush color	-drag
Change selected layer content/brush tool's opacity	numeric keys (4=40%, 43=43%, etc.)
Decrease/increase brush width	[ ]
Toggle between standard brush cursor and crosshair cursor	Caps lock
Rotate brush nozzle anti-clockwise/clockwise (Pixel Persona only)
Decrease/increase brush width with on-screen readout	-drag (left/right) +-drag (left/right)
Decrease/increase brush hardness with on-screen readout (Pixel Persona only)	-drag (up/down) +-drag (up/down)
Paint a brush stroke along a straight line	Click then -click
Toggle brush properties (for width/hardness, shape/spacing or rotation, Pixel Persona only):	+left-click ++left-click
Setting brush properties on page (after setting above toggle, Pixel Persona only)	For nozzle shape: +left-click+drag (left/right) For nozzle shape: ++left-click+drag (left/right) For nozzle spacing: +left-click+drag (up/down) For nozzle spacing: ++left-click+drag (up/down) For nozzle rotation: +left-click+drag (left/right) For nozzle rotation: ++left-click+drag (left/right)
Setting brush hardness and flow (Pixel Persona only)	For modifying hardness: +] and +[ to increase and decrease the setting in 10% increments, respectively For modifying flow: +numeric keys to set percentage (press numeric keys in quick succession to set precise value)
Setting Strength (Smudge Brush Tool, Pixel Persona)	numeric keys (3=30%, 33=33%, etc.)
Ignore brush size and associated tool on the Brushes panel	+left-click +left-click
Ignore the associated tool on the Brushes panel	++left-click ++left-click

Text shortcuts

Action	Key
Show Character panel	T +T
Show Typography panel	T ++T
Spelling Options	; ++;

Action (Navigation)	Key
Moves insertion point one character left
Moves insertion point one character right
Moves insertion point to start of word	+
Moves insertion point to end of word	+
Moves insertion point to start of line	Home
Moves insertion point to end of line	End
Moves insertion point to start of text frame	+Home
Moves insertion point to end of text frame	+End
Moves insertion point to start of current paragraph	+
Moves insertion point to start of next paragraph	+

Action (Deleting)	Key
Delete character to left of insertion point
Delete character to right of insertion point	Delete
Delete from insertion point to start of word	+
Delete from insertion point to end of word	+Delete
Delete from insertion point to start of line
Delete from insertion point to end of paragraph	K

Action (Formatting)	Key
Bigger text	> +>
Smaller text	< +<
Precise bigger text	> ++>
Precise smaller text	< ++<
Bold	B +B
Italic	I +I
Underline	U +U
Superscript	+ ++=
Subscript	- ++-
Align Left	L ++L
Align Center	C ++C
Align Right	R ++R
Justify Left	| ++|

Action (Typography)	Key
Tighten (Spacing, 10‰ decrement)	+
Loosen (Spacing, 10‰ increment)	+
Tighten More (Spacing, 50‰ decrement)	++
Loosen More (Spacing, 50‰ increment)	++
Raise Baseline	++
Lower Baseline	++
Precise Raise Baseline	+++
Precise Lower Baseline	+++
Increase Paragraph Leading	+
Decrease Paragraph Leading	+
Precise Increase Paragraph Leading	++
Precise Decrease Paragraph Leading	++

Action (Special characters)	Key
Line Break	+
Non-Breaking Space	+
Soft Hyphen	- ++-
Non-Breaking Hyphen	- ++-
En Dash	- +-
Em Dash	- ++-
Toggle Unicode	U +U

View shortcuts

Action	Key
Rotate document view (about cursor)	while using a mouse scroll wheel while using a mouse scroll wheel
Rotate document view (about center)	+ while using a mouse scroll wheel + while using a mouse scroll wheel
Increase document view rotation speed	while rotating the document view
Reset document view rotation	R +++R
Zoom In	+ +=
Zoom Out	- +-
Zoom to Fit	0 (or double-click View Tool icon) +0 (or double-click View Tool icon)
Zoom to Width	0 (or double-click View Tool icon) ++0 (or double-click View Tool icon)
Zoom to Selection	0 (or double-click Layers panel thumbnail) ++0 (or double-click Layers panel thumbnail)
(Zoom to) 100%	1 (or double-click Zoom Tool icon) +1 (or double-click Zoom Tool icon)
(Zoom to) 200%	2 +2
(Zoom to) 400%	3 +3
(Zoom to) 800%	4 +4
(Zoom to) Actual Size	8 +8
(Zoom to) Pixel Size	9 +9
Hot key zoom	-drag +-drag
Hot key zoom in	-click +-click
Hot key zoom out	-click +-click
Hot key zoom in marquee	-drag +-drag
Hot key panning
Scroll vertically up/down	Mouse scroll wheel
Scroll horizontally left/right	+Mouse scroll wheel
Show Rulers	R +R
Show Guides	; +;
Show Grid	' +'
Grid Plane cycle	'
Pixel view mode	Y ++Y
Pixel (Retina) view mode	Y +++Y
Last used wireframe mode (Outline or X-ray) toggle	Y
Toggle Split View	,
Switch to Next View	` `
Clip to Canvas	\
Isolate an object	-click Layers panel thumbnail

Selection shortcuts

Action	Key
Select All	A +A
Deselect	D +D
Invert Pixel Selection	I ++I
Select Next	] ++]
Select Previous	[ ++[
Select Parent	+
Nudge selection1	Arrow key
Modified nudge selection1	arrow key +arrow key
Selection from layer	-click Layers panel thumbnail
Selection from layer luminosity	-click Layers panel thumbnail +-click Layers panel thumbnail
Add to/remove from object selection (by clicking object)	-click (Move Tool)
Add to/remove from object selection (when selection marquee wholly encompasses object)	-drag (Move Tool)
Add to object selection (when selection marquee partially intersects object)	-drag (Move Tool) Drag with left mouse button, then hold down right mouse button (Move Tool)
Add to pixel selection	-drag (Marquee and Freehand Selection tools) +-drag (Marquee and Freehand Selection tools)
Remove from pixel selection	-drag (Marquee and Freehand Selection tools)

¹ Nudge distances are customizable via Affinity Designer>Settings (or >Preferences) (Tools)

¹ Nudge distances are customizable via Edit>Settings (Tools)

Workspace shortcuts

Action	Key
Show/Hide Studio	H ++H
Show/Hide Toolbar	T ++T
Toggle UI

Blend mode shortcuts

Action	Key
Next Blend Mode	= +=
Previous Blend Mode	- +-
Normal	N ++N
Darken	K ++K
Multiply	M ++M
Color Burn	B ++B
Linear Burn	A ++A
Lighten	G ++G
Screen	S ++S
Color Dodge	D ++D
Add	W ++W
Overlay	O ++O
Soft Light	F ++F
Hard Light	H ++H
Vivid Light	V ++V
Linear Light	J ++J
Pin Light	Z ++Z
Hard Mix	L ++L
Difference	E ++E
Exclusion	X ++X
Hue	U ++U
Saturation	T ++T
Color	C ++C
Luminosity	Y ++Y

Other blend modes do not have keyboard shortcuts by default but can be assigned them, if required.

Misc shortcuts

Action	Key
Settings (or Preferences)	, +,
Curves (Adjustment)	M +M
Black and White (Adjustment)	B +++B

macOS shortcuts

Action	Key
Toggle Full Screen	F
Hide Workspace	H
Hide Others (apps)	H