Affinity Photo Keyboard Shortcuts

Cheat sheet guide

Affinity Photo shortcuts worth learning first

This page collects 115 searchable Affinity Photo keyboard shortcuts across 4 categories. Start with the shortcuts for Tools, Editing, Layers, Adjustments & View, then print the cheat sheet once the important ones are worth keeping nearby.

Move toolV
UndoCtrlZ
Group layersCtrlG
LevelsCtrlL
Crop toolC
Selection brushW

Tools

45 shortcuts

Move tool

V

Crop tool

C

Selection brush

W

Paint brush

B

Dodge / burn

O

Clone stamp

S

Healing brush

J

Text tool

T

Zoom tool

Z

Pan / hand tool

HSpace

Space

Eyedropper

I

Color panel: Switch the active color selector

X

Color panel: Swap the two colors

ShiftX

Shift+X

Color panel: Reset to black and white

D

Crop tool: Cycle overlays

O

Crop tool: Flip the golden spiral

ShiftO

Shift+O

Photo Persona: Cycle marquee selection tools

M

Photo Persona: Freehand selection

L

Photo Persona: Cycle fill and gradient tools

G

Photo Persona: Color replacement brush

R

Photo Persona: Pixel tool

Y

Photo Persona: Cycle eraser tools

E

Photo Persona: Cycle pen and node tools

P

Photo Persona: Cycle geometric shape tools

U

Liquify Persona: Push forward

P

Liquify Persona: Push left

L

Liquify Persona: Twirl

T

Liquify Persona: Pinch

U

Liquify Persona: Punch

N

Liquify Persona: Turbulence

B

Liquify Persona: Clone the mesh

C

Liquify Persona: Reconstruct the mesh

R

Liquify Persona: Freeze an area

F

Liquify Persona: Thaw an area

W

Develop Persona: Remove red eyes

R

Develop Persona: Remove blemishes

L

Develop Persona: Paint an overlay

B

Develop Persona: Erase an overlay

E

Develop Persona: Overlay gradient

G

Develop Persona: White balance tool

W

Export Persona: Slice tool

S

Export Persona: Select slices

L

Liquify Persona: Mask the entire image

CtrlA

Ctrl+A · Cmd+A

Liquify Persona: Clear the mask

CtrlD

Ctrl+D · Cmd+D

Liquify Persona: Invert the mask

CtrlI

Ctrl+I · Cmd+I

Editing

36 shortcuts

Undo

CtrlZ

Ctrl+Z · Cmd+Z

Redo

CtrlY

Ctrl+Y · Cmd+Y

Cut

CtrlX

Ctrl+X · Cmd+X

Copy

CtrlC

Ctrl+C · Cmd+C

Paste

CtrlV

Ctrl+V · Cmd+V

Paste in place

CtrlAltV

Ctrl+Alt+V · Cmd+Opt+V

Select all

CtrlA

Ctrl+A · Cmd+A

Deselect

Esc

Esc

Invert selection

CtrlShiftI

Ctrl+Shift+I · Cmd+Shift+I

Duplicate layer

CtrlJ

Ctrl+J · Cmd+J

Resize the document

CtrlAltI

Ctrl+Alt+I · Opt+Cmd+I

Resize the canvas

CtrlAltC

Ctrl+Alt+C · Opt+Cmd+C

Cycle the selection box

.

Set the selection box

Ctrl.

Ctrl+. · Cmd+.

Toggle snapping

;

Fill with the foreground color

AltBackspace

Alt+Backspace · Opt+Backspace

Fill with the background color

CtrlBackspace

Ctrl+Backspace · Cmd+Backspace

Convert the selected shape to curves

CtrlEnter

Ctrl+Enter · Cmd+Enter

Create a document

CtrlN

Ctrl+N · Cmd+N

Create a document from the clipboard

CtrlAltShiftN

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N · Opt+Shift+Cmd+N

Open a document

CtrlO

Ctrl+O · Cmd+O

Close the document or empty app window

CtrlW

Ctrl+W · Cmd+W

Close every open document

CtrlAltW

Ctrl+Alt+W · Opt+Cmd+W

Switch between documents

CtrlTab

Ctrl+Tab

Save the document

CtrlS

Ctrl+S · Cmd+S

Save under a new name

CtrlShiftS

Ctrl+Shift+S · Shift+Cmd+S

Export the document

CtrlAltShiftS

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S · Opt+Shift+Cmd+S

Print the document

CtrlP

Ctrl+P · Cmd+P

Copy the merged visible content

CtrlShiftC

Ctrl+Shift+C · Shift+Cmd+C

Paste the copied style

CtrlShiftV

Ctrl+Shift+V · Shift+Cmd+V

Paste the copied layer effects

AltShiftV

Alt+Shift+V · Ctrl+Cmd+V

Paste without formatting

CtrlAltShiftV

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+V · Opt+Shift+Cmd+V

Open the fill dialog

ShiftF5

Shift+F5

Grow or shrink the pixel selection

CtrlB

Ctrl+B · Cmd+B

Refine the selection edges

CtrlAltR

Ctrl+Alt+R · Opt+Cmd+R

Toggle Quick Mask

Q

Layers

17 shortcuts

Group layers

CtrlG

Ctrl+G · Cmd+G

Ungroup

CtrlShiftG

Ctrl+Shift+G · Cmd+Shift+G

Merge selected

CtrlE

Ctrl+E · Cmd+E

Flatten document

CtrlShiftAltE

Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E · Cmd+Shift+Opt+E

Bring forward

Ctrl]

Ctrl+] · Cmd+]

Send backward

Ctrl[

Ctrl+[ · Cmd+[

Lock layer

CtrlL

Ctrl+L · Cmd+L

Select every layer

CtrlAltA

Ctrl+Alt+A · Opt+Cmd+A

Select the next layer

Alt]

Alt+] · Opt+]

Select the previous layer

Alt[

Alt+[ · Opt+[

Select the parent layer

Ctrl↑

Ctrl+↑ · Cmd+↑

Fade the last operation

CtrlShiftF

Ctrl+Shift+F · Shift+Cmd+F

Invert the layer colors

CtrlI

Ctrl+I · Cmd+I

Unlock the selected layer

CtrlShiftL

Ctrl+Shift+L · Shift+Cmd+L

Unlock every layer

CtrlAltShiftL

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L · Ctrl+Cmd+L

Create a layer

CtrlShiftN

Ctrl+Shift+N · Shift+Cmd+N

Rename the selected layer

CtrlShiftR

Ctrl+Shift+R · Shift+Cmd+R

Adjustments & View

17 shortcuts

Levels

CtrlL

Ctrl+L · Cmd+L

Curves

CtrlM

Ctrl+M · Cmd+M

Hue / saturation

CtrlU

Ctrl+U · Cmd+U

Brightness / contrast

CtrlShiftB

Ctrl+Shift+B · Cmd+Shift+B

Zoom in

Ctrl=

Ctrl+= · Cmd+=

Zoom out

Ctrl-

Ctrl+- · Cmd+-

Zoom to fit

Ctrl0

Ctrl+0 · Cmd+0

Zoom 100%

Ctrl1

Ctrl+1 · Cmd+1

Show or hide rulers

CtrlR

Ctrl+R · Cmd+R

Show or hide guides

Ctrl;

Ctrl+; · Cmd+;

Show or hide the grid

Ctrl'

Ctrl+' · Cmd+'

Show or hide Studio panels

CtrlShiftH

Ctrl+Shift+H · Shift+Cmd+H

Toggle the interface

Tab

Tab

Add a black and white adjustment

CtrlAltShiftB

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+B · Opt+Shift+Cmd+B

Repeat the last filter

CtrlF

Ctrl+F · Cmd+F

Open app settings

Ctrl,

Ctrl+, · Cmd+,

Documentation check for this addition

79 additional actions were checked against the official documentation on 2026-11-03. Existing actions were retained. These are documentary checks, not tests in installed applications. A dash means this batch does not provide a verified binding for that system. Context such as PDF viewer, text field or address bar is part of the action.

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