The ultimate multi-software cheat sheet built to help UI/UX designers, digital artists, developers, marketers, and content creators work faster and eliminate repetitive mouse clicks.
In high-pace design environments, the difference between an average creator and a top-tier visual specialist is workflow velocity. Every time you lift your hand from the keyboard to navigate toolbar menus or right-click dropdowns, you lose cognitive focus. Keeping your hands anchored on shortcut hotkeys cuts asset creation and editing time by 30% to 50%.
This authoritative reference categorizes verified shortcuts across the four dominant design tools: Figma (UI/UX & design systems), Adobe Photoshop CC (photo editing & compositing), Canva (rapid social graphics & presentations), and Adobe Illustrator (vector branding & typography).
Notice how common actions (like Duplicate) differ across apps — master these 10 core operations first to smoothly switch between creative suites.
| Action | Figma | Photoshop | Canva | Illustrator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Copy | Ctrl+C | Ctrl+C | Ctrl+C | Ctrl+C |
| 2. Paste | Ctrl+V | Ctrl+V | Ctrl+V | Ctrl+V |
| 3. Undo | Ctrl+Z | Ctrl+Z | Ctrl+Z | Ctrl+Z |
| 4. Redo | Ctrl+Y or Shift+Z | Ctrl+Shift+Z | Ctrl+Shift+Z | Ctrl+Shift+Z |
| 5. Duplicate | Ctrl+D | Ctrl+J | Ctrl+D | Alt+Drag / Ctrl+D |
| 6. Group Objects | Ctrl+G | Ctrl+G | Ctrl+G | Ctrl+G |
| 7. Ungroup | Ctrl+Shift+G | Ctrl+Shift+G | Ctrl+Shift+G | Ctrl+Shift+G |
| 8. Save / Export | Ctrl+Shift+E (Export) | Ctrl+S | Auto-saved | Ctrl+S |
| 9. Zoom to Fit | Shift+1 | Ctrl+0 | Ctrl+Alt+0 | Ctrl+0 |
| 10. Search / Quick Actions | Ctrl+/ or Ctrl+P | Ctrl+F | / (Slash key) | Ctrl+F |
Note: On macOS, substitute Ctrl with ⌘ (Command) and Alt with ⌥ (Option).
Whether you work on a Windows workstation or an Apple MacBook, design software hotkeys follow an identical ergonomic mapping. Here is how modifier keys directly translate:
Designed for interface designers, interaction specialists, and frontend devs building component design systems.
Essential keyboard hotkeys for photo retouchers, matte painters, concept artists, and commercial digital retouchers.
High-speed shortcuts for social media graphics, presentation slides, and marketing asset creation.
The essential hotkeys for precision vector paths, anchor point manipulation, and brand identity design.
The top Figma shortcuts are: Shift + A (Auto Layout container), F (Frame tool), Ctrl + D (Duplicate), Ctrl + Click (Deep Select nested layer), and Ctrl + / (Quick Actions command bar).
Select any group of objects or existing frame and press Shift + A. This converts them into a responsive Auto Layout frame. To remove Auto Layout, press Alt + Shift + A (or ⌥ + Shift + A on macOS).
In Adobe Photoshop, press Ctrl + J (or ⌘ + J on Mac). Unlike Figma and Illustrator which use Ctrl + D, Photoshop reserves Ctrl + D for Deselect.
In Canva, select any element or text box and press Ctrl + D (or ⌘ + D on Mac). You can also hold Alt (or Option on Mac) and drag the element to clone it.
Across Figma, Photoshop, Canva, and Illustrator, the grouping shortcut is identical: Ctrl + G (or ⌘ + G on Mac). To ungroup, press Ctrl + Shift + G (or ⌘ + Shift + G on Mac).
Figma hotkeys share the exact same finger positions across both platforms. Replace the Windows Ctrl key with the Mac ⌘ Command key, and the Windows Alt key with the Mac ⌥ Option key.
Inside any Figma design canvas, press Ctrl + Shift + ? (or ⌘ + Shift + ? on Mac). A color-coded keyboard shortcut map will slide open from the bottom showing all shortcuts you've unlocked.
In Adobe Photoshop, press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + K (or ⌘ + ⌥ + Shift + K on Mac) to launch the Keyboard Shortcuts & Menus editor, where you can modify or create custom hotkeys.
Yes, Canva provides complete native keyboard support on both web browsers and their desktop apps, including instant 1-key element insertion (T for Text, R for Rectangle, C for Circle, L for Line) and the / Magic Studio slash command.
Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator possess the deepest keyboard shortcut ecosystems with hundreds of assignable actions dating back over 30 years. However, Figma features the fastest modern UI layout hotkeys centered around Auto Layout and components.