100 Essential Photoshop Shortcuts for Mac Users

“Art Can’t be rushed, but Photoshop can.”

— Esther Nariyoshi (aka the author of this post)

Hi I am Esther Nariyoshi, an illustrator based in the US. Welcome to your ultimate resource for mastering Adobe Photoshop shortcuts on Mac! Whether you're a graphic designer, photographer, or digital artist, familiarizing yourself with these shortcuts can greatly enhance your workflow and efficiency. Let's dive into 100 essential Photoshop shortcuts for Mac users, organized for easy reference.

This post was written with Mac users in mind, to read about the shortcut conversion for PC users, scroll to the end of this article.

Basic Shortcuts

New Document: Command+N
Open Document: Command+O
Save: Command+S
Save As: Command+Shift+S
Print: Command+P
Close: Command+W
Undo/Redo: Command+Z
Step Forward: Command+Shift+Z
Step Backward: Command+Option+Z
Deselect: Command+D
Cut: Command+X
Copy: Command+C
Paste: Command+V
Select All: Command+A
Free Transform: Command+T
Duplicate Layer/Object: Command+J
Hide Photoshop: Command+H
Quit Photoshop: Command+Q

View and Navigation

Zoom In: Command++
Zoom Out: Command+-
Fit on Screen: Command+0
Actual Pixels: Command+Option+0
Hide Guides: Command+;
Hide Grid: Command+' (Apostrophe)
Hide Rulers: Command+R
Toggle Full Screen: Control+Command+F
Scroll Image: Spacebar (hold and drag)
Rotate View: R

Tool Shortcuts

Move Tool: V
Brush Tool: B
Clone Stamp Tool: S
History Brush Tool: Y
Eraser Tool: E
Gradient Tool: G
Dodge/Burn/Sponge Tool: O
Pen Tool: P
Type Tool: T
Path Selection Tool: A
Rectangle/Marquee Tool: M
Lasso Tool: L
Magic Wand/Quick Selection Tool: W
Crop Tool: C
Eyedropper Tool: I
Hand Tool: H
Zoom Tool: Z
Default Foreground/Background Colors: D
Switch Foreground/Background Colors: X

Layer Management

New Layer: Command+Shift+N
Group Layers: Command+G
Ungroup Layers: Command+Shift+G
Merge Layers: Command+E
Merge Visible: Command+Shift+E
Flatten Image: Command+Shift+F
Bring Layer to Front: Command+Shift+]
Send Layer to Back: Command+Shift+[
Lock/Unlock Layer: Command+/
Layer Opacity: Number Keys (10% increments)
Fill Layer: Command+Delete (Backspace)
New Adjustment Layer: Command+Option+L/M/U/E/G/B etc.

Text Editing

Bold: Command+Shift+B
Italic: Command+Shift+I
Underline: Command+Shift+U
Increase Font Size: Command+Shift+>
Decrease Font Size: Command+Shift+<
Align Left: Command+Shift+L
Align Center: Command+Shift+C
Align Right: Command+Shift+R
Vertical Type Tool: Command+Shift+T

Image Adjustments

Levels: Command+L
Curves: Command+M
Brightness/Contrast: Command+Shift+B
Hue/Saturation: Command+U
Color Balance: Command+B
Black & White: Command+Shift+Alt+B
Invert Colors: Command+I
Desaturate: Command+Shift+U
Image Size: Command+Option+I
Canvas Size: Command+Option+C

Selections and Masking

Feather Selection: Command+Option+D
Inverse Selection: Command+Shift+I
Refine Edge: Command+Option+R
Select and Mask: Command+Option+M

Filter and Effects

Last Filter: Command+F
Gaussian Blur: Command+Option+F
Liquify: Command+Shift+X
Vanishing Point: Command+Option+V
Lens Correction: Command+Shift+R

Window and Panel Shortcuts

Show/Hide Layers Panel: F7
Show/Hide Brush Panel: F5
Show/Hide Color Panel: F6
Show/Hide Channels Panel: Command+6
Show/Hide Paths Panel: Command+7
Show/Hide Actions Panel: Option+F9
Show/Hide History Panel: Command+Option+Y
Cycle Through Panels: Command+Tab
Arrange Documents: Command+Option+~

Miscellaneous

Switch Between Open Documents: Command+` (Grave Accent)
Create Clipping Mask: Command+Option+G
Toggle Layer Mask: Shift+Click on Layer Mask
Toggle Brush Preview: Caps Lock

For PC users

Key Differences:

Command (⌘) on Mac is usually equivalent to Ctrl on Windows.
Option (⌥) on Mac generally corresponds to Alt on Windows.
The Control (⌃) key on Mac does not have a direct equivalent in Windows but is used less frequently as a modifier key in Photoshop shortcuts. In some cases, it translates to the Right-click functionality in Windows.
Function Keys (F1, F2, etc.) and other keys like Spacebar, Enter, and Arrow keys are typically the same on both platforms.

Examples:

Mac: Command+N (⌘N) to create a new document.
- PC: Ctrl+N
Mac: Command+Option+Z (⌘⌥Z) to step backward.
- PC: Ctrl+Alt+Z
Mac: Command+Shift+ (⌘⇧) to increase brush size.
- PC: Ctrl+Shift+
Mac: Option+Click (⌥Click) to define a source point for the Clone Stamp Tool.
- PC: Alt+Click