Keyboard shortcuts can be extremely helpful and time saving…

Many people do not realize that keyboard shortcuts can be extremely helpful and time saving. A study even noted that by using keyboard shortcuts, you can save 1 hour out of the 8 hours you work every day. For example, instead of clicking Image > Adjustments > Curves from the menus, it would be much faster if you hit Ctrl + M (or Cmd + M for Mac users) on your keyboard.

Although it may not be possible to remember ALL the available shortcuts, it would be beneficial if you know some of the frequently used ones. Below are some keyboard shortcuts that you should remember:

• Turning a color image into grayscale – hitting Shift + Ctrl + U (Shift + Cmd + U) will turn your color image into grayscale, but still in RGB mode.
• Changing the brush size – to change the brush size you are using, you can use the “[“ or “]” keys. Hold Shift + [ to soften the brush or Shift + ] to harden it.
• Using the Transform tool – pressing Ctrl + T (Cmd + T) will bring up the Transform tool. Use left click on the mouse to scale and rotate the image. Right click (Cmd + Click) to skew and distort.
• Quick Fills – to open the fill dialog box, hit Shift + Backspace. To fill a layer or a selection with foreground color, you can press Alt + Del (Opt + Del for Mac). To fill a layer or a selection with background color, press Ctrl + Del (Cmd + Del).
• Hiding the “marching ants” – to hide the “marching ants” that appear when you select an area, press Ctrl + H (Cmd + H).
• Keeping proportions – when you are selecting, resizing, or cropping an object, it is better to keep things in proportion. In order to do so, hit the Shift button while dragging the mouse.
• Toggling between modes – when you want to toggle between different screen modes, press the “F” key.
• Hiding palettes – hitting the Tab button will hide all the palettes so you can have a bigger workspace. If you need to use a certain tool, rolling your mouse on the right or left side of the screen will make the palettes pop out. They will disappear again once you’ve rolled your mouse back to the canvas.

Those are the few shortcuts that may come in handy when you are working on images. Happy editing!

M.A.H.

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