12 Photoshop Hotkeys to Speed up Your Workflow

If you’re an avid Photoshopper, you probably already know each tool, filter and panel inside and out. But you might not know about all the special keyboard commands in Photoshop that make your editing life a little easier. These hotkeys work on both Mac and PC and offer quick access to the tools and options you love to use. Once you learn them, they can really cut down on your editing time, especially when you’re strapped for time or you’re editing a boatload of images. So, next time you’re editing, give some of our favorites a shot!

1. Find a color within an image

Instead of using the Eyedropper tool, you can always find a color within an image by using these hotkeys. It’s like magic!

• Mac: Opt+Brush Tool
• PC: Alt+Brush Tool

2. Increase/decrease brush size

One of the most useful shortcuts out there.

• Mac: ]/[
• PC: ]/[

3. Save for web & devices

This is a long one but well worth it if you often find yourself saving images for the web.

• Mac: Cmd+Shift+Opt+S
• PC: Ctrl+Shift+Alt+S

4. Free Transform

This is probably the most common shortkeys. You’ll find yourself using this one a lot if you need to resize layers.

• Mac: Cmd+T
• PC: Cmd+T

5. New layer

No matter what you’re doing in Photoshop, you will always, always need to add a new layer.

• Mac: Shift+Cmd+N
• PC: Shift+Ctrl+N

6. Merge layers

Often, you will need to merge layers together. Do it quickly and easily with this keyboard combo.

• Mac: Cmd+Shift+E
• PC: Ctrl+Shift+E

7. Bring a layer forward or backward

Photoshop layers always required re-positioning. Instead of clicking and dragging your layers, this quick hotkey can help save some time.

• Mac: Cmd+] (forward)
• Mac: Cmd+[ (backward)
  
• PC: Ctrl+] (forward)
• PC: Ctrl+[ (backward)
  

8. Invert selection

Once you’ve made a selection, you can invert it quickly and easily.

• Mac: Cmd+Shift+I
• PC: Ctrl+Shift+I

9. Find sizing handles

Sometimes when working with pasted files in Photoshop, it’s difficult to find its original handles to resize it. This option will help you resize those files to fit your canvas.

• Mac: Cmd+T, Cmd+0
• PC: Ctrl+T, then Ctrl+0

10. Quick photo fixes

These will really automate your Photoshopping life. While we always recommend manually fixing your photos, sometimes time is limited and you just need a quick fix. These commands can really save the day.

Auto Tone

• Mac: Shift+Cmd+L
• PC: Shift+Ctrl+L

Auto Contrast

• Mac: Opt+Shift+Cmd+L
• PC: Alt+Shift+Ctrl+L

Auto Color

• Mac: Shift+Cmd+B
• PC: Shift+Ctrl+B

11. Changing image size

One of the most common dialog boxes is Image Size. Find it quickly and easily with these hotkeys.

• Mac: Cmd+Opt+i
• PC: Ctrl+Alt+i

12. Zoom in / out

When I first discovered this, I was blown away.

• Mac / PC: Press Z and then move your mouse side to side