After Effects shortcuts
- 241 shortcuts
- 26 sections
- Design
- Verified against official docs
Your answer helps keep this page right.
Do these shortcuts work for you?
Two After Effects sections hold nothing but single letters. Layer Properties (single-key reveals) includes Position, Scale, Rotation, Opacity and Anchor Point, and Tools includes Selection Tool, Pen Tool, Hand Tool and Zoom Tool. The section Panels, viewers, workspaces puts a panel on each of the ten number keys with one modifier, from Open or close project panel on zero to Open or close brushes panel on nine.
Start with these
- Selection Tool
- Position
- Scale
- Rotation
- Opacity
- New Composition
Tips for After Effects
- Easy ease selected keyframes F9 is a function key alone. Easy ease selected keyframes in ⇧F9 adds Shift, and Easy ease selected keyframes out ⇧⌘F9 adds one more modifier.
- The five Fast previews shortcuts use the number keys from one to five with the same two modifiers, starting with Fast previews off ⌥⌘1.
Jump to section
- Project & Files
- Composition & Timeline
- Preview
- Layers
- Layer Properties (single-key reveals)
- Tools
- General
- Projects
- Preferences
- Panels, viewers, workspaces
- Activate
- Composition
- Time navigation
- Previews
- Views
- Footage
- Effects and animation presets
- Showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel
- Modifying layer properties
- 3D Layers
- Keyframes and the Graph Editor
- Text
- Masks
- Paint tools
- Shape Layers
- Saving, exporting, and rendering
Project & Files6
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| New Project | |
| Open Project | |
| Save | |
| Save As | |
| Import File | |
| Close Project |
Composition & Timeline8
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Composition Settings | |
| New Composition | |
| Set Work Area Begin | |
| Set Work Area End | |
| Go To Beginning | |
| Go To End | |
| Prev Keyframe | |
| Next Keyframe |
Preview2
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Play Pause | |
| Audio Preview |
Layers33
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| New Solid | |
| Duplicate Layer | |
| Bring Forward | |
| Send Backward | |
| Bring To Front | |
| Send To Back | |
| New solid layer | |
| New null layer | |
| New adjustment layer | |
| Select next layer in stacking order | |
| Select previous layer in stacking order | |
| Extend selection to next layer in stacking order | |
| Extend selection to previous layer in stacking order | |
| Deselect all layers | |
| Scroll topmost selected layer to top of timeline panel | |
| Show or hide parent column | |
| Show or hide layer switches and modes columns | |
| Setting the sampling method for selected layers | |
| Setting the sampling method for selected layers | |
| Turn video switch on or off for selected layers | |
| Turn off video switch for all video layers other than selected layers | |
| Open settings dialog box for selected solid light camera null or adjustment layer | |
| Paste layers at current time | |
| Split selected layers | |
| Open effect controls panel for selected layers | |
| Reverse selected layers in time | |
| Enable time remapping for selected layers | |
| Set in point or out point by timestretching | |
| Move selected layers so that their in point is at beginning of composition | |
| Move selected layers so that their out point is at end of composition | |
| Lock selected layers | |
| Unlock all layers | |
| Cycle forward or backward through blending modes for selected layers |
Layer Properties (single-key reveals)7
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Position | |
| Scale | |
| Rotation | |
| Opacity | |
| Anchor Point | |
| Show Keyframes | |
| Show Effects |
Tools7
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Selection Tool | |
| Rotation Tool | |
| Pan Behind Tool | |
| Pen Tool | |
| Shape Tool | |
| Zoom Tool | |
| Hand Tool |
General12
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Select all | |
| Deselect all | |
| Rename selected layer composition folder effect group or mask | |
| Move selected layers masks effects or render items down or up in stacking order | |
| Move selected layers masks effects or render items to bottom or top of stacking order | |
| Extend selection to next item in project panel render queue panel or effect controls panel | |
| Extend selection to previous item in project panel render queue panel or effect controls panel | |
| Quit | |
| Undo | |
| Redo | |
| Interrupt running a script | |
| Display filename corresponding to the frame at the current time in the info panel |
Projects5
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| New project | |
| Open most recent project | |
| New folder in project panel | |
| Open project settings dialog box | |
| Find in project panel |
Preferences1
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Open preferences dialog box |
Panels, viewers, workspaces23
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Open or close project panel | |
| Open or close render queue panel | |
| Open or close tools panel | |
| Open or close info panel | |
| Open or close preview panel | |
| Open or close audio panel | |
| Open or close effects presets panel | |
| Open or close character panel | |
| Open or close paragraph panel | |
| Open or close paint panel | |
| Open or close brushes panel | |
| Open or close effect controls panel for selected layer | |
| Open flowchart panel for project flowchart | |
| Switch to workspace | |
| Close active panel or all viewers of type of active viewer for example if a timeline panel is active this command closes all timeline panels | |
| Maximize or restore panel under pointer | |
| Resize application window or floating window to fit screen | |
| Move application window or floating window to main monitor resize window to fit screen | |
| Toggle activation between composition panel and timeline panel for current composition | |
| Cycle to previous or next item in active viewer | |
| Cycle to previous or next panel in active frame | |
| Resize application window or floating window to fit screen. (Press again to resize window so that contents fill the screen.) | |
| Move application window or floating window to main monitor; resize window to fit screen. (Press again to resize window so that contents fill the screen.) |
Activate5
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Activate roto brush tool | |
| Activate and cycle through camera tools | |
| Activate and cycle through type tools | |
| Activate and cycle through brush clone stamp and eraser tools | |
| Activate and cycle through puppet tools |
Composition5
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Set work area to duration of selected layers or if no layers are selected set work area to composition duration | |
| Open composition miniflowchart for active composition | |
| Activate the most recently active composition that is in the same composition hierarchy as the currently active composition | |
| Trim composition to work area | |
| New composition from selection |
Previews6
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Display snapshot in active viewer | |
| Fast previews off | |
| Fast previews adaptive resolution | |
| Fast previews draft | |
| Fast previews fast draft | |
| Fast previews wireframe |
Views20
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Toggle showing straight RGB color | |
| Show alpha boundary in layer panel | |
| Show alpha overlay in layer panel | |
| Show refine edge xray | |
| Zoomout in composition layer or footage panel | |
| Zoom to fit in composition layer or footage panel | |
| Zoom up to 100to fit in composition layer or footage panel | |
| Open view options dialog box for active composition panel | |
| Zoom in timeline panel to singleframe units | |
| Zoom out in timeline panel to show the entire composition duration | |
| Prevent images from being rendered for previews in viewer panels | |
| Show or hide safe zones | |
| Show or hide grid | |
| Show or hide proportional grid | |
| Show or hide rulers | |
| Show or hide guides | |
| Turn snapping to grid on or off | |
| Turn snapping to guides on or off | |
| Lock or unlock guides | |
| Show or hide layer controls |
Footage10
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Import multiple files or image sequences | |
| Add selected items to most recently activated composition | |
| Replace selected source footage for selected layers with footage item selected in project panel | |
| Delete a footage item without a warning | |
| Open interpret footage dialog box for selected footage item | |
| Remember footage interpretation | |
| Edit selected footage item in application with which its associated | |
| Replace selected footage item | |
| Reload selected footage items | |
| Set proxy for selected footage item |
Effects and animation presets3
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Delete all effects from selected layers | |
| Apply most recently applied effect to selected layers | |
| Apply most recently applied animation preset to selected layers |
Showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel15
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Toggle expansion of selected layers to show all properties | |
| Show only audio levels property | |
| Show only mask feather property | |
| Show only mask path property | |
| Show only mask opacity property | |
| Show only time remap property | |
| Show only instances of missing effects | |
| Show only mask property groups | |
| Show only material options property group | |
| Show only expressions | |
| Show only modified properties | |
| Show only paint strokes roto brush strokes and puppet pins | |
| Show only audio waveform | |
| Show only selected properties and groups | |
| Add or remove property or group from set that is shown |
Modifying layer properties17
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Open autoorientation dialog box for selected layers | |
| Open opacity dialog box for selected layers | |
| Open rotation dialog box for selected layers | |
| Open position dialog box for selected layers | |
| Centerselected layers in view | |
| Center anchor point in the visible content | |
| Move selected layers 1frame earlier or later | |
| Move selected layers 10frames earlier or later | |
| Increase or decrease rotation of selected layers by | |
| Increase or decrease rotation of selected layers by | |
| Increase scale of selected layers by | |
| Decrease scale of selected layers by | |
| Increase scale of selected layers by | |
| Decrease scale of selected layers by | |
| Scale and reposition selected layers to fit composition | |
| Scale and reposition selected layers to fit composition width preserving image aspect ratio for each layer | |
| Scale and reposition selected layers to fit composition height preserving image aspect ratio for each layer |
3D Layers8
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Switch to 3D view | |
| Switch to 3D view | |
| Switch to 3D view | |
| New light | |
| New camera | |
| Move the camera and its point of interest to look at selected 3D layers | |
| With a camera tool selected move the camera and its point of interest to look at all 3D layers | |
| Turn casts shadows property on or off for selected 3D layers |
Keyframes and the Graph Editor11
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Toggle between graph editor and layer bar modes | |
| Select all visible keyframes and properties | |
| Deselect all keyframes properties and property groups | |
| Move keyframe 1frame later or earlier | |
| Move keyframe 10frames later or earlier | |
| Set interpolation for selected keyframes | |
| Set keyframe interpolation method to hold or auto bezier | |
| Easy ease selected keyframes | |
| Easy ease selected keyframes in | |
| Easy ease selected keyframes out | |
| Set velocity for selected keyframes |
Text17
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| New text layer | |
| Extend or reduce selection by one character to right or left in horizontal text | |
| Extend or reduce selection by one word to right or left in horizontal text | |
| Select text from insertion point to beginning or end of text frame | |
| In horizontal text move insertion point one character left or right one line up or down one word left or right or one paragraph up or down | |
| In vertical text move insertion point one character up or down one left or right one word up or down or one paragraph left or right | |
| Turn superscript on or off for selected text | |
| Turn subscript on or off for selected text | |
| Set vertical scale to 100for selected text | |
| Auto leading for selected text | |
| Justify paragraph left align last line | |
| Justify paragraph right align last line | |
| Decrease or increase font size of selected text by 10units | |
| Increase or decrease leading by 2units | |
| Decrease or increase baseline shift by 2units | |
| Decrease or increase kerning or tracking 20units | |
| Decrease or increase kerning or tracking 100units |
Masks3
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Select next or previous mask | |
| Invert selected mask | |
| Open mask shape dialog box for selected mask |
Paint tools1
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Move earlier or later by number of frames specified for stroke duration |
Shape Layers2
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Group selected shapes | |
| Ungroup selected shapes |
Saving, exporting, and rendering3
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Increment and save project | |
| Add active composition or selected items to render queue | |
| Add current frame to render queue |
Report a problem
GitHub is public. Email is private.
Related resources
More Design shortcuts
Explore more macOS apps
Frequently Asked Questions
How many keyboard shortcuts does After Effects have on macOS?
After Effects has 241 keyboard shortcuts on macOS, organized into 26 sections: Project & Files, Composition & Timeline, Preview, Layers, and more. This page lists all of them with searchable, organized shortcut tables.
Which After Effects shortcuts should I learn first?
Start with Selection Tool (V), Position (P), Scale (S), Rotation (R), Opacity (T), New Composition (⇧⌘C). The sections on this page list the rest.
Can I download After Effects shortcuts as a PDF?
Yes. Click the download button at the top of this page to generate a printable PDF cheat sheet with all 241 After Effects shortcuts. The PDF includes organized sections, keycap-style key labels, and space for your own notes.
Where is the official After Effects keyboard shortcuts documentation?
The official After Effects keyboard shortcuts documentation is available on their website. Every shortcut on this page is sourced from and verified against the official documentation to ensure accuracy.
Do these After Effects shortcuts work on all Mac keyboards?
Yes. These shortcuts work on all Mac keyboards, including MacBook built-in keyboards and external Apple keyboards. The modifier keys are Command (⌘), Option (⌥), Control (⌃), and Shift (⇧). On keyboards without a Function row, some F-key shortcuts may require holding the Fn key.
Maintained by Vladik Didyk
Access After Effects shortcuts from your menu bar
KeyShortcut detects the active app and shows its shortcuts instantly. Switch it on in Settings. No memorization needed.