Photoshop Killer Keystroke Commands

In this article I will teach you about the importance of keyboard shortcuts for  Photoshop . There are only a few keyboard shortcuts that you need to diligently memorize but this effort will pay off huge dividends in streamlining your workflow and enhancing the sheer enjoyment of working with  Photoshop !

One question that I hear repeated over and over is why is there not a multiple undo option for  Photoshop  like other standard computer programs. Well, there is such a feature in  Photoshop . It’s just that  Photoshop’s  intellectual model is based upon the history palette. In most software programs, you can continuously press Ctrl-Z (Command-Z for Macintosh users) to undo the offending error. Sometimes you’re left in the lurch because you can’t undo the undo! With  Photoshop , this command is called “step backward” on the edit menu. The keystroke command is Alt-Ctrl-Z. If you feel that you’ve gone too far you can “step forward” which is Shift-Crtl-Z. This is the same principle as the History Palette but it’s great to know that when you’re immersed in your project and you don’t necessarily want to fumble through your menus or palettes to take immediate action!

Here are a few other standard menu shortcuts, which are common to a lot of applications but ones you really should know:

Ctl-N = New file Ctl-O = Open file Ctl-S = Save file Ctl-C, X, V = Copy, Cut, Paste

Here is another killer shortcut, when you are working with the brush tool, how do you usually increase your brush size? Do you usually go up to the brush menu bar and scrub the slider left and right? This step always annoyed me because it completely breaks my concentration not to mention my creativity. Next time you have to use the brush tool, experiment with the [ key (that’s the left bracket next to the P key) to decrease the brush tool and the ] key (the right bracket next to the [ key). You can even adjust the softness or hardness of the brush this way. To increase the softness, it’s Shift-Ctrl-[. To increase the hardness, it’s Shift-Ctrl-].

Here are some other shortcuts that will rocket propel your workflow:

Ctl-Space = Zoom in Ctl-Alt-Space = Zoom out v = move tool t = Text tool

I hope this tutorial has been helpful. Please drop me an email, if you have question or comments.

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