Indesign Keyboard Shortcuts

Tools

V, Escape	Selection Tool
a	Direct Selection tool
Ctrl+Tab	Toggle Selection and Direct Selection tool
Shift+p	Page tool
u	Gap tool
p	Pen tool
=	Add Anchor Point tool
–	Delete Anchor Point tool
Shift+c	Convert Direction Point tool
t	Type tool
Shift+t	Type On A Path tool
n	Pencil tool (Note tool)
\	Line tool
f	Rectangle Frame tool
m	Rectangle tool
l	Ellipse tool
r	Rotate tool
s	Scale tool
o	Shear tool
e	Free Transform tool
i	Eyedropper tool
k	Measure tool
g	Gradient tool
c	Scissors tool
h	Hand tool
Spacebar (Layout mode), Alt (Text mode), /Alt+Spacebar (both)	Temporarily select Hand tool
z	Zoom tool
Ctrl+Space	Temporarily select Zoom In tool
x	Toggle Fill and Stroke
Shift+x	Swap Fill and Stroke
j	Toggle between Formatting Affects Container and Formatting Affects Text
, (comma)	Apply Color
. (period)	Apply Gradient
/	Apply No Color
w	Switch between Normal View and Preview Mode
Shift+g	Gradient Feather tool

Selecting and moving objects

Any tool (except selection tools)+Ctrl	Temporarily select Selection or Direct Selection tool (last used)
Direct Selection tool+Alt; / Pen, Add Anchor Point, / Delete Anchor Point tool+Alt+Ctrl	Temporarily select Group Selection tool
Esc/ double-click	Select container of selected content
Shift+Esc/ double-click	Select content of selected container
Selection, Direct Selection, / Group Selection tool+Shift-click (to deselect, click center point)	Add to or subtract from a selection of multiple objects
Selection, Direct Selection, / Group Selection tool+Alt-drag*	Duplicate selection
Alt+Arrow Keys	Duplicate and offset selection
Alt+Shift+Arrow Keys	Duplicate and offset selection by 10 times**
Arrow Keys	Move selection**
Ctrl+Shift+Arrow Keys	Move selection by 10th**
Shift+Arrow Keys	Move selection by 10 times**
Selection / Direct Selection tool+Ctrl+Shift-click	Select master page item from document page
Selection tool+Ctrl-click, / Selection tool+Alt+Ctrl-click	Select next object behind or in front
Alt+Ctrl+ Page Down/Page Up	Select next or previous frame in story
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+ Page Down/Page Up	Select first or last frame in story
Ctrl+[	Send object backward
Shift+Ctrl+[	Send object to back
Ctrl+]	Bring object forward
Shift+Ctrl+]	Bring object to front
*Press Shift to constrain movement to 45° angles. **Amount is set in Edit > Preferences > Units & Increments

Transforming Objects

Transformation tool+Alt-drag	Duplicate and transform selection
Select object+double-click Scale tool, Rotate tool, / Shear tool in Toolbox	Display Transform tool dialog box
Ctrl+, (comma)	Decrease scale by 1%
Ctrl+. (period)	Increase scale by 1%
Ctrl+Alt+. (period)	Increase scale by 5%
Selection tool+Ctrl-drag	Resize frame and content
Selection tool+Shift+Ctrl-drag	Resize frame and content proportionately
Ellipse tool, Polygon tool, / Rectangle tool+Shift-drag	Constrain proportion
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+z	Switch image from High Quality Display to Fast Display

Editing Paths and Frames

Direct Selection tool+Alt+Ctrl, / Pen tool+Alt	Temporarily select Convert Direction Point tool
Alt	Temporarily switch between Add Anchor Point and Delete Anchor Point tool
Scissors tool+Alt	Temporarily select Add Anchor Point tool
Pen tool+Shift	Keep Pen tool selected when pointer is over path or anchor point
Pen tool+Space	Move anchor point and handles while drawing
F10	Display the Stroke panel

Working with Tables

Begin dragging row / column border, and then hold down Alt as you drag	Insert or delete rows or columns while dragging
Shift-drag interior row / column border	Resize rows or columns without changing the size of the table
Shift-drag right / bottom table border	Resize rows or columns proportionally
Tab/Shift+Tab	Move to next/previous cell
Alt+Page Up/Alt+Page Down	Move to first/last cell in column
Alt+Home/Alt+End	Move to first/last cell in row
Page Up/Page Down	Move to first/last row in frame
Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Move up/down one cell
Arrow Left/Arrow Right	Move left/right one cell
Shift+Arrow Up/+Arrow Down	Select cell above/below the current cell
Shift+Arrow Right/Arrow Left	Select cell to the right/left of the current cell
Enter on numeric keypad	Start row on next column
Shift+Enter on numeric keypad	Start row on next frame
Esc	Toggle between text selection and cell selection

Managing Text

Ctrl+F1	Insert selected text into Find What box
Shift+F1	Insert selected text into Find What box and finds next
Shift+F2/Alt+Ctrl+f	Find next occurrence of Find What text
Ctrl+F2	Insert selected text into Change To box
Ctrl+F3	Replace selection with Change To text

Working with Type

Shift+Ctrl+b	Bold
Shift+Ctrl+i	Italic
Shift+Ctrl+y	Normal
Shift+Ctrl+u	Underline
Shift+Ctrl+/	Strikethrough
Shift+Ctrl+k	All caps (on/off)
Shift+Ctrl+h	Small caps (on/off)
Shift+Ctrl+[+]	Superscript
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+[+]	Subscript
Shift+Ctrl+x/ Shift+Alt+Ctrl+x	Reset horizontal or vertical scale to 100%
Shift+Ctrl+L, R, /c	Align left, right, or center
Shift+Ctrl+F (all lines) / J (all but last line)	Justify all lines
Shift+Ctrl+>/<	Increase or decrease point size*
Shift+Ctrl+Alt+ >/<	Increase or decrease point size by five times*
Alt+Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Increase or decrease leading (horizontal text)*
Alt+Ctrl+ Arrow Up/+Arrow Down	Increase or decrease leading by five times (horizontal text)*
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+a	Auto leading
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+g	Align to grid (on/off)
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+h	Auto-hyphenate (on/off)
Alt+ Arrow Left/Arrow Right	Increase or decrease kerning and tracking (horizontal text)
Alt+Ctrl+ Arrow Left/Arrow Right	Increase or decrease kerning and tracking by five times (horizontal text)
Alt+Ctrl+\	Increase kerning between words*
Alt+Ctrl+Backspace	Decrease kerning between words*
Alt+Ctrl+q	Clear all manual kerning and reset tracking to 0
Shift+Alt+ Arrow Up/+Arrow Down	Increase or decrease baseline shift** (horizontal text)
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+ Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Increase or decrease baseline shift by five times (horizontal text)
Shift-click loaded text icon	Automatically flow story
Alt-click loaded text icon	Semi-automatically flow story
Alt+Ctrl+/	Recompose all stories
Alt+Ctrl+n	Insert current page number

Navigating Through and Editing Text

Arrow Right/Arrow Left	Move to right or left one character
Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Move up or down one line
Ctrl+ Arrow Right/Arrow Left	Move to right or left one word
Home/End	Move to start or end of line
Ctrl+Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Move to previous or next paragraph
Ctrl+Home/Ctrl+End	Move to start or end of story
Double-click word	Select one word
Shift+ Arrow Right/Arrow Left	Select one character right or left
Shift+ Arrow Up/+Arrow Down	Select one line above or below
Shift+Home/+End	Select start or end of line
Triple-click / quadruple-click paragraph, depending on Text Preferences setting	Select one paragraph
Shift+Ctrl+ Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Select one paragraph before or after
Shift+Ctrl+\	Select current line
Shift-click	Select characters from insertion point
Shift+Ctrl+ Home/Ctrl+End	Select start or end of story
Ctrl+a	Select all in story
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+ Page Up/Page Down	Select first/last frame
Alt+Ctrl+ Page Up/Page Down	Select previous/next frame
Ctrl+Backspace/Delete	Delete word in front of insertion point (Story Editor)
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+/	Update missing font list

Viewing documents and document workspaces

Spacebar (with no text insertion point), Alt-drag (with text insertion point), /Alt+Spacebar (in both text and non-text modes)	Temporarily select Hand tool
Ctrl+Space	Temporarily select Zoom In tool
Alt+Ctrl+Space/ Alt+Zoom In tool	Temporarily select Zoom Out tool
Ctrl+5, 2, 4	Zoom to 50%, 200%, or 400%
Shift+F5	Redraw screen
Ctrl+Alt+n	Open new default document
Alt+Ctrl+2	Switch between current and previous zoom levels
Ctrl+~/ Shift+Ctrl+F6/ Ctrl+Shift+~	Switch to next/previous document window
Page Up/Page Down	Scroll up/down one screen
Ctrl+ Page Up/Page Down	Go back/forward to last-viewed page
Alt+ Page Up/Page Down	Go to previous/next spread
Double-click Hand tool	Fit spread in window
Ctrl+j	Activate the Go To command
Ctrl+Alt++ (plus)	Fit selection in window
Ctrl+J, type prefix of master, press Enter	Go to master page while panel is closed
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+u	Cycle through units of measurement
Shift-drag guide	Snap guide to ruler increments
Ctrl-drag guide	Switch between page and spread guides (creation only)
Ctrl-drag from zero point	Create vertical and horizontal ruler guides for the spread
Alt+Ctrl+g	Select all guides
Right-click zero point and choose an option	Lock or unlock zero point
Alt-drag guide	Use current magnification for view threshold of new guide
Press first letter of button name, if underlined	Select buttons in alert dialog boxes
Ctrl+Help > About Design	Show information on installed plugins and InDesign components

Working with XML

Arrow Right/Arrow Left	Expand/Collapse element
Alt+ Arrow Right/Arrow Left	Expand/Collapse element and child elements
Shift+ Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Extend XML selection up/down
Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Move XML selection up/down
Page Up/Page Down	Scroll structure pane up/down one screen
Home/End	Select first/last XML node
Shift+ Home/Shift+End	Extend selection to first/last XML node
Ctrl+ Arrow Left/Arrow Right	Go to previous/next validation error
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F7	Automatically tag text frames and tables

Indexing

Shift+Ctrl+Alt+[	Create index entry without dialog box
Ctrl+7	Open index entry dialog box
Shift+Ctrl+Alt+]	Create proper name index entry (last name, first name)

Panels

alt-click Delete icon	Delete without confirmation
alt-click New button	Create item and set options
Shift+Enter	Apply value and keep focus on option
Ctrl+Alt+~	Activate last-used option in last-used panel
Shift-click	Select range of styles, layers, links, swatches, or library objects in a panel
Ctrl-click	Select nonadjacent styles, layers, links, swatches, or library objects in a panel
Tab	Apply value and select next value
Esc	Move focus to selected object, text, or window
Tab	Show/Hide all panels, Toolbox, and Control panel (with no insertion point)
Shift+Tab	Show/Hide all panels except the Toolbox and Control panel (docked or not)
Ctrl+Alt+Tab	Open or close all stashed panels
Alt+drag any panel tab (in the group) to edge of screen	Stash a panel group
Alt+Ctrl-click in list, and then use keyboard to select item by name	Select item by name
Alt+Ctrl+m	Open the Drop Shadow panel

Control Panel

Ctrl+6	Toggle focus to/from Control panel
Ctrl+Alt+7	Toggle Character/Paragraph text attributes mode
Any key on the numeric keypad / keyboard numbers	Change reference point when proxy has focus
Alt+Arrow Down	Display the pop-up menu that has focus
alt-click Kerning icon	Open Units & Increments Preferences
alt-click Number Of Columns icon	Open the Text Frame Options dialog box
alt-click X / Y icon	Open the Move dialog box
alt-click Angle icon	Open the Rotate dialog box
alt-click X / Y Scale icon	Open the Scale dialog box
alt-click Shear icon	Open the Shear dialog box
alt-click Superscript, Subscript, / Small Caps button	Open Text Preferences
alt-click Underline button	Open the Underline Options dialog box
alt-click Strikethrough button	Open the Strikethrough Options dialog box
alt-click Align To Baseline Grid, / Do Not Align To Baseline Grid button	Open the Grids Preferences
alt-click Drop Cap Number Of Lines, / Drop Cap One Or More Characters icon	Open the Drop Caps & Nested Styles dialog box
alt-click Leading icon	Open the Justification dialog box

Type panels and dialog boxes

Alt+Ctrl+Shift+j	Open Justification dialog box
Alt+Ctrl+j	Open Paragraph Rules dialog box
Alt+Ctrl+k	Open Keep Options dialog box
Ctrl+t	Activate Character panel
Ctrl+Alt+t	Activate Paragraph panel

Character and paragraph styles

Select text and press Shift+Alt+Ctrl+c	Make character style definition match text
Select text and press Shift+Alt+Ctrl+r	Make paragraph style definition match text
Shift+Alt+Ctrl-double-click style	Change options without applying style
alt-click paragraph style name	Remove style and local formatting
Alt+Shift-click paragraph style name	Clear overrides from paragraph style
F11, Shift+F11	Show/hide Paragraph and Character Styles panels, respectively

Tabs Panel

Shift+Ctrl+t	Activate Tabs panel
alt-click tab	Switch between alignment options

Layers Panel

alt-click layer	Select all objects on layer
Alt-drag small square to new layer	Copy selection to new layer
Ctrl-click Create New Layer	Add new layer below selected layer
Shift+Ctrl-click Create New Layer	Add new layer to the top of the layer list
Shift+Alt+Ctrl-click Create New Layer	Add new layer to the top of the layer list and open New Layer dialog box
alt-click Create New Layer	Add new layer and open New Layer dialog box

Pages Panel

alt-click master	Apply master to selected page
alt-click the master you want to base the selected master on	Base another master page on selected master
Ctrl-click Create New Page button	Create master page
alt-click New Page button	Display Insert Pages dialog box
Shift+Ctrl+p	Add new page after last page

Color Panel

Shift-drag slider	Move color sliders in tandem
alt-click color bar	Select a color for the nonactive fill or stroke
Shift-click color bar	Switch between color modes (CMYK, RGB, LAB)

Separations Preview panel

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+y	Turn on Overprint preview
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+~ (tilde)	Show all plates
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+1	Show Cyan plate
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+2	Show Magenta plate
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+3	Show Yellow plate
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+4	Show Black plate
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+5	Show 1st Spot plate
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+6	Show 2nd Spot plate
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+7	Show 3rd Spot plate

Swatches Panel

alt-click New Swatch button	Create new swatch based on the current swatch
Alt+Ctrl-click New Swatch button	Create spot color swatch based on the current swatch
Shift+Alt+Ctrl-double-click swatch	Change options without applying swatch

Transform Panels

Alt+Enter	Apply value and copy object
Ctrl+Enter	Apply width, height, or scale value proportionally

Adjust Font Size
Increase by Increment (set in Preferences)	Cmd-Shift->
Decrease by Increment	Cmd-Shift-<
(add Option to the above keystrokes to make them Increment x 5)
Adjust Leading
Increase by Increment (set in Preferences)	Option-down arrow
Decrease by Increment	Option-up arrow
(add Cmd to the above keystrokes to make them Increment x 5)
Revert to Auto Leading	Cmd-Option-Shift-A
Adjust Kerning / Tracking & Word Spacing
Increase by Increment (set in Preferences)	Option-right arrow
Decrease by Increment	Option-left arrow
(add Cmd to the above keystrokes to make them Increment x 5)
Increase between words	Cmd-Option-Shift-\
Decrease between words	Cmd-Option-Shift-Delete
Clear all manual kerning, tracking, and word spacing	Cmd-Option-Q
Adjust Baseline Shift
Move Up by Increment (set in Preferences)	Option-Shift-up arrow
Move Down by Increment	Option-Shift-down arrow
(add Cmd to the above keystrokes to make them Increment x 5)
Scaling Pictures
Make sure the picture content is selected (not the frame that it’s inside)
Scale 5% Bigger	Cmd-Opt->
Scale 5% Smaller	Cmd-Opt-<
Scale 1% Bigger	Cmd->
Scale 1% Smaller	Cmd-<
Fitting Content & Pictures
Fit Content Proportionally	Cmd-Opt-Shift-E
Fill Frame Proportionally	Cmd-Opt-Shift-C
Center Content	Cmd-Shift-E
Fit Frame to Content	Cmd-Opt-C
Nudging Objects
Move by Increment (set in Preferences)	Any arrow key
Move by Increment x 10	Shift-any arrow key
Move by Increment x 1/10	Cmd-Shift-any arrow key
Flowing Text
Multi-Page Autoflow (creates additional pages)	Shift-click
Semi-autoflow (keeps text in cursor so you can continue flowing)	Option-click
Fixed-Page Autoflow (does not create additional pages)	Shift-Option-click
Styling Text & Working with Styles
Bold	Cmd-Shift-B
Italic	Cmd-Shift-I
Normal	Cmd-Shift-Y
All Caps	Cmd-Shift-K
Edit Style Sheet without Applying it	Cmd-Option-Shift-Double click style
Redefine a Paragraph Style	Cmd-Opt–Shift-R
Redefine a Character Style	Cmd-Opt–Shift-C
Working with Paragraph Styles
To remove local formatting (non Style changes)	Opt-click Style Name
To remove local formatting and Character Styles	Opt-Shift-click Style Name
Working with Master Pages
Override a single master page item on a document page	Cmd-Shift-click it
Override several master page items	Cmd-Shift-drag a marquee over them
Override all master page items on pages selected in Pages panel	Cmd-Opt-Shift-L
Insert Special Characters
Indent to Here	Cmd-\
Right Indent Tab	Shift-Tab
Discretionary Hyphen	Cmd-Shift-hyphen (-)
Nonbreaking Hyphen	Cmd-Opt-hyphen (-)
Type in Single Straight Quote (Foot Mark)	Ctrl-‘
Type in Double Straight Quote (Inch Mark)	Ctrl-Shift-‘
Current Page Number (Auto Page Numbering)	Cmd-Opt-Shift-N
Insert White Space
Em space	Cmd-Shift-M
En space	Cmd-Shift-N
Nonbreaking space	Cmd-Opt-X
Thin space	Cmd-Opt-Shift-M
Insert Break Characters
Column Break	Enter (on keypad)
Frame Break	Shift-Enter (on keypad)
Page Break	Cmd-Enter (on keypad)
Forced Line Break (or “soft return”)	Shift-Return
Moving Text Cursor
Move cursor to beginning or end of line	Home or End
Move cursor one word to the left/right	Cmd-Left/right arrow
Move cursor to Previous paragraph	Cmd-Up Arrow
Move cursor to Next paragraph	Cmd-Down Arrow
Selecting & Working with Text
Leave Text Frame and switch to Selection tool	Esc
Select from cursor to beginning or end of line	Shift-Home or Shift-End
Select from cursor to end of story	Cmd-Shift-End
Select from cursor to beginning of story	Cmd-Shift-Home
Select whole word	Double-click
Select line	Cmd-Shift-\ (or Triple-click)
Select one word to the left/right	Cmd-Shift-Left/Right arrow
Navigating & Scrolling Through Documents
Scroll using Hand tool	Option-Spacebar-Drag
Go to the First Page	Cmd-Shift-Page Up
Go to the Last Page	Cmd-Shift-Page Down
Go to Page (then type in page number)	Cmd-J
Switch between open Documents	Cmd-tilde(~)
Zooming
Get the Zoom in tool without selecting it	Hold Cmd then Space
Get the Zoom out tool without selecting it	Hold Cmd then Space and Option
Zoom In or Out	Cmd-plus(+) or Cmd-minus(-)
Fit Page in Window	Cmd-0 (zero)
Fit Spread in Window	Cmd-Option-0 (zero)
Access zoom percentage box (so you can enter a zoom level)	Cmd-Opt-5
Toggle between current and previous zoom levels	Cmd-Opt-2
Find / Change
Insert selected text into Find What box	Cmd-F1
Insert selected text into Find What box and then Find Next instance	Shift-F1
Find the next occurrence of Find What text	Shift-F2 or Cmd-Option-F
Insert selected text into Change To box	Cmd-F2
Replace selected text with Change To text	Cmd-F3
Replace selected text with Change To text and Find Next	Shift-F3
Working with Panels
Highlight the first option in the Control panel	Cmd-6
Toggle Control panel between Character & Paragraph options	Cmd-Opt-7
Apply a value but keep it highlighted in panel	Shift-Return
Show/Hide all Panels including Toolbox	Tab (while not in a text frame)
Show/Hide all Panels except the Toolbox	Shift-Tab (while not in a text frame)
Expand/Collapse Panel Stacks	Cmd-Opt-Tab (while not in a text frame)
Create new (style, swatches, etc) & display options dialog	Opt-click New button
Working with Dialog Boxes
Rotate down through section of options displayed on the left	Page Down
Rotate up through section of options displayed on the left	Page Up
Jump to section of options displayed on the left	Cmd-1 for 1st, Cmd-2 for 2nd, etc.
Choose Yes, No, Don’t Save, or Save	Y, N, D, or S
Miscellaneous Good Stuff
Select frame hidden behind another	Hold and keep clicking frame stack
Increase/decrease a value in a field	Click in field, press up/down arrow
Highlight the Last Used Field (in a panel)	Cmd-Option-tilde(~)
Tabs panel: Move Left Indent (triangle) without moving First Line Indent	Hold Shift while dragging the (bottom) triangle
Select all Guides	Cmd-Opt-G
Select an Individual Table Cell	With Type tool, click in cell and hit Esc
Quick Apply	Press Cmd-Return. Then start typing a style name, menu item, text variable, etc. Then press Return to apply.
Sort Menus Alphabetically	Hold Cmd-Opt-Shift and click on Menu
Toggle Typographer’s Quotes preference	Cmd-Opt-Shift-‘