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Do these shortcuts work for you?
A letter, alone or with Shift, is all that any GIMP shortcut in Tools needs: Rectangle select, Paintbrush, Pencil, Gradient and Text are single letters, and Eraser, Bucket fill, Rotate, Scale and Perspective are a letter with Shift. In the Image & Layers section, New layer and Duplicate layer share their two modifiers, and Flatten image adds Shift to the keys of Merge down.
Start with these
- Rectangle select
- Paintbrush
- Eraser
- New layer
- Export as
- Fit image in window
Tips for GIMP
- Zoom in + and Zoom out - are the plus and minus keys with no modifier.
- In Select, Shift and the keys of Select all CtrlA give Select none ShiftCtrlA.
- In File, Open image CtrlO and Open as layers CtrlAltO share a letter, and the second has one modifier more.
File7
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| New image | |
| Open image | |
| Open as layers | |
| Save | |
| Save as | |
| Export as | |
| Quit GIMP |
Edit6
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Undo | |
| Redo | |
| Copy | |
| Cut | |
| Paste | |
| Paste as new image |
Select4
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Select all | |
| Select none | |
| Invert selection | |
| Select by color |
View5
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Fit image in window | |
| Zoom in | |
| Zoom out | |
| Toggle rulers | |
| Toggle guides |
Image & Layers6
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Canvas size | |
| Fit canvas to layers | |
| New layer | |
| Duplicate layer | |
| Merge down | |
| Flatten image |
Tools14
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Rectangle select | |
| Ellipse select | |
| Free select (Lasso) | |
| Fuzzy select (Magic Wand) | |
| Pencil | |
| Paintbrush | |
| Eraser | |
| Gradient | |
| Bucket fill | |
| Text | |
| Color picker | |
| Rotate | |
| Scale | |
| Perspective |
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many keyboard shortcuts does GIMP have on Windows?
GIMP has 42 keyboard shortcuts on Windows, organized into 6 sections: File, Edit, Select, View, and more. This page lists all of them with searchable, organized shortcut tables.
Which GIMP shortcuts should I learn first?
Start with Rectangle select (R), Paintbrush (P), Eraser (Shift+E), New layer (Shift+Ctrl+N), Export as (Shift+Ctrl+E), Fit image in window (Shift+Ctrl+J). The sections on this page list the rest.
Can I download GIMP shortcuts as a PDF?
Yes. Click the download button at the top of this page to generate a printable PDF cheat sheet with all 42 GIMP shortcuts. The PDF includes organized sections, keycap-style key labels, and space for your own notes.
Do these GIMP shortcuts work on all Windows keyboards?
Yes. These shortcuts work on standard Windows keyboards. The modifier keys are Ctrl, Alt, Shift, and the Windows key (⊞). Some laptop keyboards may have compact layouts where certain keys require an Fn modifier to access.
Maintained by Vladik Didyk