Keyboad Shortcuts

You can use your keyboard to quickly accomplish numerous tasks in Pixelmator. In order to find the shortcuts for common commands, look in the menus (or see the keyboard shortcuts listed below). In order to complete an action in the left column, press the keys indicated in the right column.

Action

Shorcut

Palettes

Reset palettes to their default location Shift-Command-R
Show or hide Tools palette Command-1
Show or hide Layers palette Command-2
Show or hide Effects Browser Command-3
Show or hide Brushes palette Command-4
Show or hide Gradients palette Command-5
Show or hide Photo Browser Command-6
Show or hide Colors palette Shift-Command-C
Show or hide Fonts palette Command-T

Select tools

Move V
Zoom Z
Eyedropper I
Hand H
Type T
Crop C
Slice K
Elliptical Marquee Y
Rectangular Marquee M
Lasso L
Magic Wand W
Brush B
Pixel P
Eraser E
Paint Bucket N
Gradient G
Clone Stamp S
Sharpen O
Red Eye R

Create new

Create new file Command-N
Open existing file Command-O
Close window Command-W

Save

Save Command-S
Export for web Shift-Command-E

View images

Zoom in Command-Plus sign (+)
Zoom out Command-Minus sign (-)
Zoom in or out Option-Mouse scroll
Horizontal scrolling Shift-Mouse scroll
Fit image in window Command-0
Magnify 100% Option-Command-0
Show or hide Rulers Command-R
Show or hide Guides Option-Command-Semicolon (;)
Show or hide Grid Option-Command-Prime (')
Snap guide to the ruler mark Shift-drag guide
Enter or leave full-screen view Command-Control-F
Enter or leave Quick Mask mode Q

Edit images

Undo last action Command-Z
Redo last action Shift-Command-Z
Fill with color Option-Command-F
Fill with secondary color. Hold down the Shift key to preserve transparency Option-Backspace
Fill with primary color. Hold down the Shift key to preserve transparency Command-Backspace
Stroke Shift-Command-O
Invert color Command-I
Levels Command-L
Curves Command-K
Color Balance Command-B
Hue and Saturation Command-U
Desaturate Option-Command-U
Canvas Size Option-Command-C
Image Size Option-Command-I
Color Management Shift-Command-K
Soft Proof Shift-Option-P
Last Filter Shift-Command-F

Work with selections

Constrain to a circle or a square Shift-drag selection
Add to selection Hold down the Shift key as you drag
Subtract from a selection Hold down the Shift Option as you drag
Select All Command-A
Deselect Command-D
Load layer transparency as a selection Option-Command-L
Refine Selection Option-Command-R
Copy Command-C
Cut Command-X
Paste Command-V
Duplicate Shift-Command-D

Work with layers

Transform Command-F
Preserve layer transparency /
Cycle blending modes Shift-Plus sign (+) or Minus sign (-)
Select all layers Option-Command-A
Hide other layers Option-click layer visibility checkbox
Place new layer in the canvas center Shift-drag image from the Finder
Create or release clipping mask Option-Command-G or Option-click between layers
Link layers Shift-Command-L
Merge selected layers Command-E
Group layers Command-G
Ungroup layers Shift-Command-G
Rename layer Double-click the layer name
Create new layer Shift-Command-N
Duplicate layer Option-drag layer
Select top layer Option-Period (.)
Select next layer Option-Right Bracket (])
Select previous layer Option-Left Bracket ([)
Select bottom layer Option-Comma (,)
Bring to front Option-Command-Right Bracket (])
Send to back Option-Command-Left Bracket ([)
Bring forward Command-Right Bracket (])
Send backward Command-Left Bracket ([)

Move objects using arrow keys

Move layer or selection content with border layer by 1 pixel Command-Arrows
Move layer or selection content with border layer by 10 pixels Shift-Command-Arrows
Move selection border by 1 pixel Arrows
Move selection border by 10 pixels Shift-Arrows

Paint

Switch between primary and secondary colors X
Open brush settings Double-click the Brush
Paint straight lines Shift-click
Paint vertical or horizontal lines Shift-drag
Navigate through brushes Comma (,) or Period (.)
Increase or decrease brush size Left Bracket ([) or Right Bracket (])
Change brush hardness Shift-Left Bracket ([) or Shift-Right Bracket (])
Navigate through gradients Comma (,) or Period (.)
Cycle gradient modes Left Bracket ([) or Right Bracket (])
Constrain gradient to 45ยบ angle Shift-drag gradient
Delete brush in the Brushes palette Option-click brush
Sample background color Option-click

Print

Print Command-P
Page setup Shift-Command-P

General

Show Pixelmator preferences Command-Comma (,)
Check Spelling Command-Semicolon (;)
File Info Shift-Option-Command-I
Close window Command-W
Close all windows Option-Command-W
Cycle through windows Command-Grave Accent (`) key
Minimize window Command-M
Minimize all windows Option-Command-M
Hide Pixelmator Command-H
Hide others Option-Command-H
Switch to Vectormator mode Command-Shift-V
Quit Pixelmator Command-Q