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Hey!

So glad you’re here. If this is your first time cracking open "Adobe Illustrator", don’t worry — almost everyone feels a little lost at the start. That blank artboard can look pretty intimidating, right?

This bot will walk you, guide you through everything slowly, like we’re sitting side by side at the same desk. No fancy design talk, no rushing. Just simple steps so you can actually start making cool stuff without the overwhelm.

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CTRL - FOR WINDOWS

CMD - FOR MAC

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Essential / File

Shortcut Action

Ctrl/Cmd + N New document

Ctrl/Cmd + O Open

Ctrl/Cmd + S Save

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + S Save As

Ctrl/Cmd + Alt/Option + S Save a Copy

Ctrl/Cmd + W Close document

Ctrl/Cmd + P Print

Ctrl/Cmd + Z Undo

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + Z Redo

Ctrl/Cmd + X Cut

Ctrl/Cmd + C Copy

Ctrl/Cmd + V Paste

Ctrl/Cmd + F Paste in Front

Ctrl/Cmd + B Paste in Back

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + V Paste in Place

Ctrl/Cmd + A Select All

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + A Deselect All

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Selection

Shortcut Action

V Selection Tool

A Direct Selection Tool

Y Magic Wand

Q Lasso Tool

Ctrl/Cmd + A Select all

Ctrl/Cmd + 2 Lock selected

Ctrl/Cmd + Alt/Option + 2 Unlock all

Ctrl/Cmd + 3 Hide selected

Ctrl/Cmd + Alt/Option + 3 Show all

Ctrl/Cmd + 6 Reselect

Shift + click Add/remove from selection

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Drawing

Shortcut Action

P Pen Tool

+ Add Anchor Point

- Delete Anchor Point

Shift + C Anchor Point Tool

N Pencil Tool

Shift + B Blob Brush

B Paintbrush

Shift + M Shape Builder

Shift + E Eraser

C Scissors

Shift + ` Curvature Tool

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Shapes

Shortcut Action

M Rectangle

L Ellipse

Polygon Tool No default single-key shortcut

Star Tool No default single-key shortcut

Flare Tool No default single-key shortcut

Drag + Shift Constrain proportions

Drag + Alt/Option Draw from center

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Transform

Shortcut Action

R Rotate

O Reflect

S Scale

E Free Transform

Shift + R Warp

Shift + W Width

Alt/Option + drag Duplicate while dragging

Shift + drag Constrain movement/rotation

Ctrl/Cmd + D Transform Again

Shift + Ctrl/Cmd + M Move

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Arrange & Objects

Shortcut Action

Ctrl/Cmd + G Group

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + G Ungroup

Ctrl/Cmd + ] Bring Forward

Ctrl/Cmd + [ Send Backward

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + ] Bring to Front

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + [ Send to Back

Ctrl/Cmd + 2 Lock

Ctrl/Cmd + 3 Hide

Ctrl/Cmd + 7 Clipping Mask

Ctrl/Cmd + Alt/Option + 7 Release Clipping Mask

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View & Navigation

Shortcut Action

Ctrl/Cmd + + Zoom in

Ctrl/Cmd + - Zoom out

Ctrl/Cmd + 0 Fit Artboard in Window

Ctrl/Cmd + 1 100% / Actual Size

Ctrl/Cmd + Alt/Option + 0 Fit All in Window

Spacebar Temporarily use Hand Tool

F Screen modes

Tab Hide/show panels and toolbar

Shift + Tab Hide/show panels

Ctrl/Cmd + Y Outline/Preview mode

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + Y Pixel Preview

Ctrl/Cmd + R Show/Hide rulers

Ctrl/Cmd + ; Show/Hide guides

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + ; Lock/Unlock guides

Ctrl/Cmd + ' Show/Hide grid

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + ' Snap to grid

Colors & Appearance

Shortcut Action

D Default Fill/Stroke

X Swap Fill and Stroke

/ Set selected fill/stroke to None

Shift + X Swap Fill and Stroke

I Eyedropper

G Gradient

K Live Paint Bucket

Shift + L Live Paint Selection

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Text

Shortcut Action

T Type Tool

Shift + T Touch Type Tool

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + O Create Outlines

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + < Decrease font size

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + > Increase font size

Alt/Option + ↑/↓ Adjust leading

Alt/Option + ←/→ Adjust kerning/tracking

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + L Align left

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + C Align center

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + R Align right

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Align & Distribute

Shortcut Action

Shift + F7 Align panel

Shift + F7 Open Align panel

Shift + F7 Distribute using Align panel

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Pathfinder

Shortcut Action

Shift + Ctrl/Cmd + F9 Pathfinder panel

Unite Combines shapes

Minus Front Subtracts front shape

Intersect Keeps overlapping area

Exclude Removes overlapping area

Divide Splits overlapping objects

Trim Removes hidden portions

Merge Combines overlapping same-color areas

Crop Crops to frontmost shape

Outline Converts intersections into paths

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Layers

Shortcut Action

F7 Layers panel

Ctrl/Cmd + ] Move forward

Ctrl/Cmd + [ Move backward

Ctrl/Cmd + 2 Lock selection

Ctrl/Cmd + Alt/Option + 2 Unlock all

Ctrl/Cmd + 3 Hide selection

Ctrl/Cmd + Alt/Option + 3 Show all

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Artboards

Shortcut Action

Shift + O Artboard Tool

Ctrl/Cmd + 0 Fit selected artboard

Ctrl/Cmd + Alt/Option + 0 Fit all artboards

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Symbols

Shortcut Action

Shift + S Symbol Sprayer

Shift + Alt/Option + S Symbol-related variations depending on tool configuration

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Panels

Shortcut Action

F5 Brushes

F6 Color

F7 Layers

Shift + F3 Transform

Shift + F5 Appearance

Shift + F6 Color Guide

Shift + F7 Align

Shift + F8 Info

Shift + F9 Gradient

Shift + F10 Stroke

Shift + F11 Attributes

Shift + F12 Graphic Styles

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Precision Movement

Shortcut Action

Arrow keys Move selected object by keyboard increment

Shift + Arrow Move by a larger increment

Alt/Option + Arrow Adjust certain text spacing/positioning

Enter Open Move dialog when appropriate

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Guides & Grids

Shortcut Action

Ctrl/Cmd + R Rulers

Ctrl/Cmd + ; Guides

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + ; Lock guides

Ctrl/Cmd + ' Grid

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + ' Snap to grid

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Display Modes

Shortcut Action

Ctrl/Cmd + Y Outline mode

Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + Y Pixel Preview

F Cycle screen modes

Tab Hide UI

Shift + F Cycle screen modes

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Useful Modifier Keys

These aren't standalone shortcuts, but they're extremely important in Illustrator:

Shift — Constrains proportions, angles, or movement.

Alt (Windows) / Option (Mac) — Often duplicates or transforms from the center.

Ctrl (Windows) / Command (Mac) — Temporarily accesses selection/navigation functions while using other tools.

Spacebar — Temporarily activates the Hand Tool.

Alt + mouse wheel — Zooms in/out around the cursor in many setups.

Shift + mouse wheel — Horizontal scrolling where supported.

V = Select

A = Direct Select

P = Pen

M = Rectangle

L = Ellipse

T = Type

B = Brush

N = Pencil

I = Eyedropper

G = Gradient

R = Rotate

S = Scale

O = Reflect

E = Free Transform

Shift+M = Shape Builder

Shift+E = Eraser

C = Scissors

Ctrl/Cmd+G = Group

Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+G = Ungroup

Ctrl/Cmd+Z = Undo

Ctrl/Cmd+C/V/X = Copy/Paste/Cut

Ctrl/Cmd+D = Transform Again

Ctrl/Cmd+Y = Outline Mode

Ctrl/Cmd+0 = Fit Artboard

Ctrl/Cmd+1 = 100% Zoom

Shift+O = Artboard Tool