Photoshop Shortcuts: Tricks and Tips For Beginners

In this Photoshop tutorial, learn the 15 amazing Photoshop shortcuts, hidden tools, and tricks to help you make photo editing a breeze.

I hope you enjoyed the video putting these 15 Photoshop shortcuts and tricks to use. If you’re not into videos, or just need a refresher, continue below!

Photoshop Shortcuts and Tricks: 15 Must Know!

1. Fit Image To Screen

Mac: CMD + 0       –        PC: CTRL + 0

With this shortcut you are able to quickly zoom out of your image without the hassle of pressing the minus key repeatedly.

2. Temporary Zoom Out

Mac: H + CLICK      –     PC: H + CLICK

Temporarily zoom out of your photo to see the entire image. This shortcut is fantastic for quickly getting the larger view of the image, then quickly zooming into specific areas as needed. Definitely one I use when working on fine details!

3. Navigate Document

MAC: HOLD SPACE BAR + CLICK      –    PC: HOLD SPACE BAR + CLICK    

By holding the space bar you can pan around the image while zoomed in. For those without a magic mouse or track pad, this is an extremely key shortcut to remember! A hand icon will appear when you this shortcut is active!

4. Reposition Marquee Selections

Mac: HOLD SPACE BAR      –     PC: HOLD SPACE BAR

Making a selection with the Marquee tool can be annoyingly tricky. By pressing the space bar while you make a selection, you can reposition the selection while it is still being edited! An easy shortcut that is definitely a life saver.

5. Reposition Active Anchor Points

Mac: HOLD SPACE BAR     –    PC: HOLD SPACE BAR

Another lesser known use for the space bar! Use the space bar to reposition active anchor points with your pen tool. By holding the space bar, you can move anchor points while still being able to adjust the paths curve.

6. Isolate Layer Visibility

Mac: OPT + CLICK ON EYEBALL      –     PC: ALT + CLICK ON EYEBALL

When you have countless layers in your project, sometimes you will need to view just a single layer. It can be a pain to turn off all other layers individually, so just hold the Alt or Option key and click on your desired layer to isolate it.

7. Quickly Change Brush Opacity

Mac: Numbers Keys      –      PC: Numbers Keys

By pressing the number keys on your keyboard, you can quickly change the brush opacity while your brush tool is active. For example: 1= 10% 2=20%, 6=60%, you get the idea. If you want to use an opacity that does not land on a tenth, press the two numbers you wish, quickly in sequence, for that opacity. A great shortcut to reduce your amount of clicks!

8. Quickly Change Layer Opacity

Mac: Numbers Keys      –      PC: Numbers Keys

Click on the desired layer and make sure your move tool is selected. Now press any number on your keyboard to change your layers opacity, just like our brush tool. For example: 1= 10% 2=20%, 6=60% and you get the idea. If you want to use an opacity that does not land on a tenth, press the two numbers you wish, quickly in sequence, for that opacity.

9. Delete Curves Anchor Points

Mac: CMD + CLICK      –      PC: CNTRL + CLICK

While you are using your curves adjustment layer, you may want to get rid of some points on the curve, without fully reseting the adjustments. By using the above shortcut, you can easily get rid of selected anchor points without ruining the other anchor points.

10. Quickly Reset Adjustment Layers

Change Adjustment Layer Preset Back To Default

With all adjustment layers, there is a preset drop down menu. The moment you make an adjustment, that preset turns to “custom”. If you are unhappy with certain adjustments and want to start all over, simply change your preset from “custom” to “default”.

11. Converting To Paragraph Text

Right Click Text Layer > Convert To Paragraph Text

When you create a text layer, it will continue to type in a straight line for eternity. This is called point text. What if you just want to give the text some boundaries for where it can be written? That’s where paragraph text come in. Once converted, just set your text box to a desired size and type away!

12. Duplicating Layer Styles

Mac: Opt Click + Drag Layer FX      –      PC: Alt Click + Drag Layer FX

When you are wanting to apply the same layer FX over to multiple layers, simply hover on the FX icon in your layers panel, hold the shortcut above, and drag onto layer you wish to copy FX to.

13. Layer Panel Customization

Go to the hamburger menu on the top right of your layers panel, then to down to “panel options”

This panel options window allows you to customize the size and look of your layers. if you have a hard time reading smaller texts, this may be a really useful customization feature!

14. Selecting Colour Ranges

Go to top menu > Select > Colour Range

This trick allows you to make a selection based off of colours in your image. This is a key feature when wanting to intuitively change colours, or even just making a specific selection. Skip to 16:36 in the video at the top of this post to see how it works.

15. Delete Cropped Pixels

Checking or Unchecking Delete Cropped Pixels Box

This feature with the crop tool dictates whether the parts of the image outside of your crop get permanently deleted, or simply hidden. There is no right or wrong with this, but if you are ever uncertain about a crop, make sure the “delete cropped pixels” box is not checked off.

Below is an example of cropping the image but not deleting cropped pixels. This is useful when you are experimenting with the crop.

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So those are the 15 Photoshop shortcuts you can use to improve your workflow and edit faster. What Photoshop shortcuts or tricks did I miss that you could not live without? Let me know down in the comments below this post!

Want to learn more fun Photoshop tricks? Click here to discover 20 more awesome Photoshop shortcuts, hacks, and hidden tools!

Happy Editing,

-Brendan