Mastering InDesign: 87 Keyboard Shortcuts Every Designer Should Know

Ask any InDesign power user their secret weapon and they‘ll likely tell you "keyboard shortcuts". By keeping your hands on the keyboard, you can fly through document setup, layout tweaks, and file management in a fraction of the time.

According to an Adobe study, using keyboard shortcuts can save the average designer up to 8 work weeks per year. That‘s 2 months of productivity reclaimed with just a few key combos!

While InDesign offers over 1500 menu commands, there are around 200 default shortcuts. And of those, an even smaller subset will make up the bulk of your shortcut usage. In this guide, we‘ll walk through the 87 most essential InDesign shortcuts that every designer should know, as well as power user tips to crank your productivity to 11. Let‘s get started!

Contents

• Redo, Undo & Other Essentials
• Navigating Pages & Spreads
• Arranging Objects & Frames
• Type & Text Formatting
• Essential Tools & Panels
• View & Screen Mode Shortcuts
• Customizing Shortcuts for Max Productivity
• Shortcut Mastery Tips
• Free Shortcut Cheatsheets

Redo, Undo & Other Core InDesign Shortcuts

Of all the InDesign shortcuts, Undo and Redo are perhaps the most important to know. We‘ve all been saved by a well-timed ⌘Z after an accidental deletion or move. But don‘t overlook the power of Redo (⇧⌘Z) which lets you compare changes and try out different looks in seconds.

It‘s important to note that Redo is different from Repeat (⌘D). While Redo will reverse your last Undo, Repeat will duplicate your most recent action. Need to resize multiple objects to the same dimensions? Resize the first, then hit ⌘D on each one after. Both are huge time-savers!

Here are the other core shortcuts every InDesign user should memorize:

• New Document: ⌘N
• Open: ⌘O
• Save: ⌘S
• Close: ⌘W
• Place/Import: ⌘D
• Export: ⌘E
• Print: ⌘P
• Copy: ⌘C
• Paste: ⌘V
• Paste in Place: ⇧⌘V
• Cut: ⌘X

According to an InDesign Secrets poll, ⌘D is the most-used shortcut.

Navigating Pages, Spreads & Documents

Besides the core commands, the next most important shortcuts to learn are those for navigating your InDesign document. Minimize your trips to the Pages panel with these navigation combos:

• First Page: ⇧⌘PageUp
• Last Page: ⇧⌘PageDown
• Previous Page: ⇧PageUp
• Next Page: ⇧PageDown
• Next Spread: ⌥PageDown
• Previous Spread: ⌥PageUp
• Go to Page: ⌘J

Tip: On Mac, you can also use ⌘← or ⌘→ to jump to the first or last page.

To change your view as you work:

• Fit Page in Window: ⌘0
• Actual Size: ⌘1
• Zoom In: ⌘+
• Zoom Out: ⌘-

Manipulating Objects, Frames & Layouts

Quickly arranging and transforming elements is key for efficient layout design. These shortcuts let you move, scale and align objects with ease:

• Group: ⌘G
• Ungroup: ⇧⌘G
• Lock: ⌘L
• Unlock All: ⌥⌘L
• Fit Frame to Content: ⌥⌘C
• Fit Content to Frame: ⌥⌘E
• Center Objects: ⇧⌘M
• Bring to Front: ⇧⌘]
• Send to Back: ⇧⌘[

To select multiple objects, hold ⇧ and click each one. You can drag to select or ⌘-click to select objects below.

Pro Tip: To resize an object and its contents simultaneously, hold ⇧ while dragging a corner handle.

Type, Text & Tables

Many designers spend the bulk of their InDesign time working with type. Here are the shortcuts you need to style text like a typography master:

• Bold: ⌘B
• Italic: ⌘I
• Underline: ⌘U
• Increase Font Size: ⇧⌘>
• Decrease Font Size: ⇧⌘<
• Increase Leading: ⌥↑
• Decrease Leading: ⌥↓
• Left Align: ⇧⌘L
• Center Align: ⇧⌘C
• Right Align: ⇧⌘R
• Justify: ⇧⌘J

To insert special characters, use:

• Copyright: ⌥G
• Registered Trademark: ⌥R
• Ellipsis: ⌥;
• Em Dash: ⇧⌥-
• En Dash: ⌥-

For tables, remember these to modify rows and columns:

• Insert Row: ⏎
• Delete Row: Backspace
• Insert Column: ⇥ with Type tool
• Delete Column: Backspace with Type tool

Tools & Panels to Know

While you can cycle through tools with ⇧⌘I, knowing the direct shortcuts for your most-used ones will save you serious time. Adobe thankfully assigns logical letters to each:

• Selection: V
• Direct Selection: A
• Type: T
• Line: \
• Rectangle Frame: F
• Rectangle: M
• Ellipse: L
• Polygon: ⇧M

To show and hide panels, use:

• Layers: F7
• Align: ⇧F7
• Stroke: F10
• Color: F6
• Gradient: F9
• Swatches: F5
• Glyphs: ⇧F11

Changing Screen Modes & Grids

We all know that hitting W cycles through screen modes. But there are dedicated shortcuts for showing and hiding layout aids too:

• Hide/Show All Panels: ⇥
• Show/Hide Guides: ⌘;
• Lock/Unlock Guides: ⌥⌘;
• Show/Hide Frame Edges: ⌘H
• Show/Hide Rulers: ⌘R
• Show/Hide Document Grid: ⌘‘
• Show/Hide Baseline Grid: ⌥⌘‘

Note: For both grid shortcuts, use the straight single quote mark.

Customizing Shortcuts for Maximum Productivity

While the default shortcuts are a great starting point, real productivity gains come when you customize InDesign to match your unique workflow. To create your own shortcuts:

1. Go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts
2. Select the Product Area for the command
3. Locate the command in the list
4. Click New Shortcut and type your combo
5. Click Assign then OK to save

You can even remap shortcuts from other apps like QuarkXPress or set different profiles for print vs digital projects. Just choose the desired set from the Set dropdown.

Pro Tip: You can map little-used Unicode characters to create easy-to-memorize shortcuts, like ⌘☥ to show hidden characters.

Tips to Master InDesign Shortcuts

Like any skill, mastering InDesign shortcuts takes practice. Try these tips to speed up your learning:

1. Keep hands on home row with your left pinky near ⌘ and right thumb resting on ⌥. This setup makes almost every shortcut a cinch.
2. Use first letters as mnemonics – think F for frame, T for type, L for lock, Z for undo, etc.
3. Customize shortcuts for your most-used features to make memorization easier. Pick combos that make sense for you.
4. If remembering combos is tricky, use Sticky Keys on Mac to hit ⇧, ⌘ and ⌥ in sequence vs simultaneously.
5. Don‘t feel you have to learn every shortcut at once. Master the essentials first then add more over time.
6. Practice, practice, practice! Try to use shortcuts whenever possible and resist reaching for the mouse. Building muscle memory takes repetition.
7. Print and post a cheat sheet near your desk for quick reference. There are tons of great InDesign shortcut PDFs available online.
8. Challenge yourself to go mouse-free for an hour each day. Whenever you get stuck, look up the shortcut.
9. Embrace the Repeat (⌘D) shortcut to work on multiple objects quickly. Need to resize a dozen images? Set the dimensions for one then hit ⌘D for each after.
10. Download Adobe‘s searchable shortcut PDF and keep it handy for less common commands.

Downloadable InDesign Shortcut Cheatsheets

To help fast-track your shortcut mastery, we‘ve created a suite of free PDF cheatsheets. Download, print and keep them at your desk to quickly reference the shortcuts for each InDesign task:

• Core Shortcuts & Navigation Cheatsheet
• Objects, Frames & Layout Cheatsheet
• Type, Text & Tables Cheatsheet
• Tools & Panels Shortcuts Cheatsheet
• Screen Modes & View Cheatsheet

We‘ll be adding more assets to the library soon, so check back often! Have a shortcut cheatsheet you want us to create? Let us know on Twitter @[handle].

Embrace Shortcuts for InDesign Mastery

At first, using InDesign keyboard shortcuts might feel awkward and slow you down. But the short-term lag is well worth the long-term productivity gains. With repetition, your fingers will fly across the keys shifting layouts in seconds.

Like any good design, the key is intentional practice. Rather than reaching for the mouse on autopilot, consciously use the keyboard. Over time, shortcuts become second nature.

Start with the core essentials like Undo, Redo, Copy, Paste, Group and Align. Then layer in tools, navigation and text styling. Before long you‘ll be customizing lesser-used commands to match your flow.

While there‘s no replacement for creativity, keyboard shortcuts are the closest thing to a magic bullet for efficient design. The seconds you shave off each command really stack up over the course of a day, week or year.

So ditch the mouse, keep your hands on the keys, and watch your productivity soar. Happy shortcutting!