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Update: June 2017 – Updated to include V1.5 shortcuts and PC version shortcuts.
Affinity Photo is award winning photo editing software available as a one time purchase, rather than the subscription model offered by Adobe if you want to use Photoshop. Not only does it have power that rivals Photoshop, but it’s also able to work with PSD files, so you need not worry about collaborating with people who use the Adobe suite.
A Simple List Format!
As with most editing programs, there’s a good selection of keyboard shortcuts that can really help to speed up your workflow. The makers of Affinity Photo offer a shortcut guide on their website, but it’s in the form of a confusing keyboard overlay that, in my opinion, is totally unintuitive and takes forever to find the thing you’re looking for. I really think that the wheel doesn’t need to be reinvented here just for the sake of fancy graphics and I saw a lot of comments to the same effect on the Affinity forum, so I’ve compiled this simple tabulated list of Affinity Photo keyboard shortcuts that you can easily search. Please bookmark this page, or download the whole thing as a PDF that can be printed and kept at your desk or stored on your phone for easy reference.
GET THE PDF EBOOK VERSION FOR FREE
I’ve created an easy-reference PDF that you can store on your smartphone, laptop or tablet and always have it to hand. I know what it’s like with shortcuts… we remember the basic ones pretty easily, but after periods of inactivity with specific software we forget a few of the other ones. No need to remember where to look on the internet though with this handy guide!
Keyboard symbol guide
Option Key
⌥
Command Key
⌘
Shift Key
⇧
Control Key
Ctrl
Return Key
↵
Alt Key
Alt
Tab
⇥
A note about using Alt on the Mac: It’s actually quite unusual to use the Alt command on the Mac, but it is used by Affinity Photo. There is no dedicated Alt key on the Mac, so you have to hold down the fn key and then press the Option (⌥) key. In the list of shortcuts, I will simply write Alt instead of fn + ⌥ because Mac keyboards have Alt marked on the top of the Option key in superscript to indicate this already.
Affinity Photo Shortcuts
Editing shortcuts
Action
Mac
PC
Resize Document
⌥ + ⌘ + I
Alt + Ctrl + I
Resize Canvas
⌥ + ⌘ + C
Alt + Ctrl + C
Select multiple
⇧ + click
⇧ + click
Select overlapping layer content
⌥ + click
Alt + click
Reset Selection Box
. (period)
. (period)
Toggle Snapping
;
;
Erase with Pixel Tool on current layer
⌘
Ctrl
Switch between Stroke/Fill (or Colour 1/Colour 2) colour selectors (Colour and Swatches panels)
Increase/decrease brush width (Photo and Liquify Personas)
] [
] [
Decrease/increase brush width with on-screen readout
Ctrl + ⌥ + drag (left/right)
Alt + right button down + drag (left/right)
Decrease/increase brush hardness with on-screen readout
Ctrl + ⌥ + drag (up/down)
Alt + right button down + drag (up/down)
Draw straight line connecting two strokes
⇧ + click
⇧ + click
Text shortcuts
Action
Mac
PC
Bigger text
⌘ + >
Ctrl + >
Smaller text
⌘ + <
Ctrl + <
Precise bigger text
⌥ + ⌘ + >
Alt + Ctrl + >
Precise smaller text
⌥ + ⌘ + <
Alt + Ctrl + <
Tighten
⌥ + ←
Alt + ←
Loosen
⌥ + →
Alt + →
Tighten More
⌥ + ⌘ + ←
Alt + ⇧ + ←
Loosen More
⌥ + ⌘ + →
Alt + ⇧ + →
Bold
⌘ + B
Ctrl + B
Italic
⌘ + I
Ctrl + I
Underline
⌘ + U
Ctrl + U
Show Character
⌘ + T
Ctrl + T
Show Typography
⇧ + ⌘ + T
⇧ + Ctrl + T
Superscript
Ctrl + ⌘ + +
Ctrl + Alt + +
Subscript
Ctrl + ⌘ + –
Ctrl + Alt + –
Align Left
⌥ + ⌘ + L
Ctrl + Alt + L
Align Right
⌥ + ⌘ + R
Ctrl + Alt + R
Align Centre
⌥ + ⌘ + C
Ctrl + Alt + C
Justify Left
⌥ + ⌘ + I
⇧ + Alt + Ctrl + \
Increase Paragraph Leading
⌥ + ↓
Alt + ↓
Decrease Paragraph Leading
⌥ + ↑
Alt + ↑
Precise Paragraph Increase Leading
⌥ + ⌘ + ↓
⇧ + Ctrl + ↓
Precise Paragraph Decrease Leading
⌥ + ⌘ + ↑
⇧ + Ctrl + ↑
Raise Baseline
⌥ + ⇧ + ↑
Alt + ⇧ + ↑
Lower Baseline
⌥ + ⇧ + ↓
Alt + ⇧ + ↓
Precise Raise Baseline
⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + ↑
Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + ↑
Precise Lower Baseline
⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + ↓
Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + ↓
Special Characters
Ctrl + ⌘ + Spacebar
Ctrl + Alt + Spacebar
Spelling Options
⇧ + ⌘ + ;
⇧ + Ctrl + ;
Line Break
Ctrl + ↵
Ctrl + ↵
Non Breaking Space
⌥ + Spacebar
Alt + Spacebar
En Dash
⌥ + –
Alt + –
Em Dash
⌥ + ⇧ + –
Alt + ⇧ + –
View shortcuts
Action
Mac
PC
Zoom In
⌘ + +
Ctrl + +
Zoom Out
⌘+ –
Ctrl + –
Zoom to Fit
⌘ + 0
Ctrl + 0
(Zoom to) 100%
⌘ + 1
Ctrl + 1
(Zoom to) 200%
⌘ + 2
Ctrl + 2
(Zoom to) 400%
⌘ + 3
Ctrl + 3
(Zoom to) 800%
⌘ + 4
Ctrl + 4
(Zoom to) Actual Size
⌘ + 8
Ctrl + 8
(Zoom to) Pixel Size
⌘ + 9
Ctrl + 9
Hot key panning
Spacebar
Spacebar
Hot key zoom in
Spacebar + ⌘ + Click
Spacebar + Ctrl
Hot key zoom out
Spacebar + ⌥ + Click
Spacebar + Alt + Click
View Tool
H
H
Scroll vertically up/down
Mouse scroll wheel
Mouse scroll wheel
Scroll horizontally left/right
⇧ + Mouse wheel
⇧ + Mouse wheel
Toggle Full Screen
Ctrl + ⌘ + F
Switch between views
⌘ + `
Ctrl + ⇥
Show Rulers
⌘ + R
Ctrl + R
Show Guides
⌘ + ;
Ctrl + ;
Show Grid
⌘ + ‘
Ctrl + ‘
Grid Plane cycle
‘
‘
Split View cycle (Liquify/Develop Persona)
,
,
Pixel selection/Mask shortcuts
Action
Mac
PC
Select All
⌘ + A
Ctrl + A
Deselect
⌘ + D
Ctrl + D
Invert Pixel Selection
⇧ + ⌘ + I
⇧ + Ctrl + I
Add to selection (Marquee/Free hand selection tools only)
Ctrl
Ctrl
Remove from selection
⌥
⌥
Grow/Shrink
⌘ + B
Ctrl + B
Feather
⇧ + F6
⇧ + F6
Refine Edges
⌥ + ⌘ + R
Ctrl + Alt + R
Move selection in 1-pixel increments
arrow key
arrow key
Move selection in 10-pixel increments
⇧ + arrow key
⇧ + arrow key
Selection from layer
⌘ + click layer thumbnail or O
Ctrl + click layer thumbnail or O
Selection from layer luminosity
⇧ + ⌘ + click layer thumbnail
⇧ + Ctrl + click layer thumbnail
Polygon selection (Freehand Selection Tool only)
⇧ + ⌘ + click on page.
⇧ + Ctrl + click on page.
Quick Mask
Q
Q
Invert Mask
⌘ + I
Ctrl + I
Workspace shortcuts
Action
Mac
PC
Show/Hide Studio (panels)
⇧ + ⌘ + H
⇧ + Ctrl + H
Show/Hide Toolbar
⌥ + ⌘ + T
Alt + Ctrl + T
Toggle UI
⇥
⇥
Hide Workspace
⌘ + H
Ctrl + H
Adjustment and Filter shortcuts
Action
Mac
PC
Levels (Adjustment)
⌘ + L
Ctrl + L
HSL (Adjustment)
⌘ + U
Ctrl + U
Invert (Adjustment)
⌘ + I
Ctrl + I
Curves (Adjustment)
⌘ + M
Ctrl + M
Black and White (Adjustment)
⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + B
Alt + ⇧ + Ctrl + B
Repeat Filter
⌘ + F
Ctrl + F
Liquify Persona shortcuts
Action
Mac
PC
Mask All
⌘ + D
Ctrl + D
Invert Mask
⌘ + I
Ctrl + I
Clear Mask
⌘ + A
Ctrl + A
Misc shortcuts
Action
Mac
PC
Preferences
⌘ + ,
Ctrl + ,
Liquify Persona
⌥ + ⌘ + L
Alt + Ctrl + L
Export Persona
⌥ + ⌘ + E
Alt + Ctrl + E
Develop Persona
⌥ + ⌘ + R
Alt + Ctrl + R
Hide Others (applications)
⌥ + ⌘ + H
Alt + Ctrl + H
Media Browser
⇧ + ⌘ +M
Alt + Ctrl + M
Spot any mistakes?
In the past, some shortcuts have been changed by the Affinity guys during updates, and they’ve also made it incredibly hard to track all of these down. I’ve spent a huge amount of time trying to make this as accurate as possible, but there’s always the chance that a couple of mistakes have crept in, particularly possible in the PC list. If you find a mistake, please leave a comment below so that I can find a solution and correct it.
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Professional photographer based in Yukon, Canada, and founder of Shutter Muse. His editorial work has been featured in publications all over the world, and his commercial clients include brands such as Nike, Apple, Adobe and Red Bull.
Affinity does not open property lost 1/2
program when open lost all controls on right side ..how do I get back. tried to stitch 2 photos together WHICH TUTORIAL WILL GIVE ME INFORMATION
USED PHOTOSHOP FOR YEARS ..DID IT THEM. DO YOU HAVE PHONE # TO CALL OR A BASIC BOOK TO READ HELPFUL PLEASE REPLY
CONFUSED PLEASE HELP
Edward, you will want to contact the makers of the software to get that question answered. I have no direct affiliation with them I’m afraid. They have a help forum as well on their website.
I see two mistakes for the PC short cut version, the second from the top Resize Canvas has the command symbol (Alt + ⌘ + C) where it should be the CTRL key. Second one is the Mirror shearing where it has the command key ⌘ + drag. 🙂
In MAC Version 1.72 of AF, the “Selection from Layer Luminosity” is not ‘shift + command + click on layer thumbnail’ but is ‘shift + command + option + click on layer thumbnail’
Alt is not a key on the Mac at all, it’s just another name for the Option key which is popular in the UK (option was never written on the key there). Holding “fn” does not change the function of the alt key in any way.
I know this is a few years down the track, but as a newby to Affinity, I just want to say THANK YOU for taking the time to do this. It will help me immensely.
Affinity does not open property lost 1/2
program when open lost all controls on right side ..how do I get back. tried to stitch 2 photos together WHICH TUTORIAL WILL GIVE ME INFORMATION
USED PHOTOSHOP FOR YEARS ..DID IT THEM. DO YOU HAVE PHONE # TO CALL OR A BASIC BOOK TO READ HELPFUL PLEASE REPLY
CONFUSED PLEASE HELP
Edward, you will want to contact the makers of the software to get that question answered. I have no direct affiliation with them I’m afraid. They have a help forum as well on their website.
I see two mistakes for the PC short cut version, the second from the top Resize Canvas has the command symbol (Alt + ⌘ + C) where it should be the CTRL key. Second one is the Mirror shearing where it has the command key ⌘ + drag. 🙂
Nevermind, please disregard my correction above, the errors were corrected in the downloaded version.
Hey Richard! Yes i did fix them in the downloaded version, but thanks for reminding me to fix them on this page too! Much appreciated.
In MAC Version 1.72 of AF, the “Selection from Layer Luminosity” is not ‘shift + command + click on layer thumbnail’ but is ‘shift + command + option + click on layer thumbnail’
Thanks for the update Bruce!
Alt is not a key on the Mac at all, it’s just another name for the Option key which is popular in the UK (option was never written on the key there). Holding “fn” does not change the function of the alt key in any way.
I know this is a few years down the track, but as a newby to Affinity, I just want to say THANK YOU for taking the time to do this. It will help me immensely.
Really appreciated
Carol
You’re very welcome!