Complete Affinity Designer keyboard shortcuts reference — 161 shortcuts across 11 categories. Quick reference cheat sheet for Windows.
Affinity Designer is a vector tool, so unlike its sibling Affinity Photo the keys that matter here are node editing, shape building and curves. Many bindings are shared across the Affinity suite and several match Illustrator, but the tool letters differ enough that this page is worth reading even if you know the other apps. The table is the Windows keymap; on macOS use Cmd.
Operations (10)
Shortcut
Action
Ctrl + .
Set Selection Box
X
Switch between Stroke/Fill colours
Shift + X
Swap Stroke/Fill colours
D
Set default Stroke/Fill colours
/
Set No fill on Stroke/Fill
Alt + Backspace
Fill with Foreground Colour
Ctrl + Backspace
Fill with Background Colour
;
Toggle Snapping
Backspace
Delete a node retaining curve geometry
Escape
Cancel a sizing, moving, or creating operation
File (11)
Shortcut
Action
Ctrl + N
New Document
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + N
New from Clipboard
Ctrl + O
Open Document
Ctrl + W
Close Document
Ctrl + Alt + W
Close All Documents
Ctrl + Tab
Switch Document/View
Ctrl + S
Save
Ctrl + Shift + S
Save As
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S
Export
Ctrl + Shift + P
Document Setup
Ctrl + P
Print
Tools (21)
Shortcut
Action
V
Move Tool
A
Node Tool
F
Point Transform Tool
O
Contour Tool
C
Corner Tool
P
Pen Tool
N
Pencil Tool
W
Stroke Width Tool
K
Knife Tool
B
Vector Brush Tool
G
Gradient Tool
Y
Transparency Tool
R
Vector Flood Fill Tool
M
Rectangle, Ellipse and Rounded Rectangle cycle
S
Shape Builder Tool
T
Artistic and Frame text tools cycle
I
Colour Picker Tool
H
View Tool
Z
Zoom Tool
L
Freehand Selection Tool
E
Erase Brush Tool
Edit (6)
Shortcut
Action
Ctrl + Z
Undo
Ctrl + Shift + Z
Redo
Ctrl + Shift + V
Paste Style
Alt + Shift + V
Paste FX
Ctrl + Alt + V
Paste Inside
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + V
Paste without Format
Objects (17)
Shortcut
Action
Ctrl + G
Group
Ctrl + Shift + G
Ungroup
Ctrl + J
Duplicate
Ctrl + Shift + ]
Move to Front
Ctrl + ]
Move Forward One
Ctrl + Shift + [
Move to Back
Ctrl + [
Move Back One
Ctrl + Alt + G
Move Inside
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + G
Move Outside
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + H
Show All
Ctrl + Shift + A
Select All on Current Layer
Ctrl + L
Lock
Ctrl + Shift + L
Unlock
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + L
Unlock All
Ctrl + Shift + N
New Pixel Layer
Ctrl + Shift + R
Rename Layer
Ctrl + Enter
Convert to Curves
Text (45)
Shortcut
Action
Ctrl + T
Show Character panel
Ctrl + Shift + T
Show Typography panel
Ctrl + Shift + ;
Spelling Options
Left
Move insertion point one character left
Right
Move insertion point one character right
Ctrl + Left
Move insertion point to start of word
Ctrl + Right
Move insertion point to end of word
Home
Move insertion point to start of line
End
Move insertion point to end of line
Ctrl + Home
Move insertion point to start of text frame
Ctrl + End
Move insertion point to end of text frame
Ctrl + Up
Move insertion point to start of current paragraph
📜 Every shortcut on this page is taken from the official Affinity Designer documentation — affinity.help
🔧 Spotted an error or a missing shortcut? Suggest an edit on GitHub — every accepted fix goes live on this page, the API and the CLI.
The tools that are not where Illustrator puts them
A is the Node tool — Illustrator's direct selection — and V the Move tool. P is the pen and N the pencil; C is the Corner tool, which rounds any vertex of a shape interactively, and O the Contour tool for offsetting a path. S is the Shape Builder, K the Knife and W the Stroke Width tool. M cycles the rectangle, ellipse and rounded rectangle, and T the text tools. B is the vector brush and R the vector flood fill, which fills closed regions without a Live Paint step.
Curves and objects
Ctrl + Enter converts a shape or text to curves, after which nodes can be edited; Backspace on a node deletes it while keeping the curve's geometry. Ctrl + J duplicates in place and Ctrl + G groups. Ctrl + Alt + G moves the selection inside the object below it, which is how clipping is done in Affinity; the reverse, moving it back out, is Ctrl + Alt + Shift + G. Ctrl + ] and Ctrl + [ reorder one step, stepping the selection to the next object is Ctrl + Alt + ], to the previous one Ctrl + Alt + [. Ctrl + Shift + A selects everything on the current layer.
Viewing and text
Ctrl + Alt + Y toggles pixel view so vectors render as they will export, and Ctrl + Y toggles wireframe. Ctrl + 8 is actual size and Ctrl + 9 pixel size. , opens a split view with vector and pixel sides by side. Text has its own keys: Ctrl + > and Ctrl + < change size, tracking tightens with Alt + Left and loosens with Alt + Right, and the baseline shifts with Alt + Shift + Up (raise) and Alt + Shift + Down (lower). Ctrl + Shift + P opens Document Setup for artboard size and colour format.
Frequently asked questions
Where is direct selection?
The Node tool, on A. V is the Move tool for whole objects.
How do I clip an object inside another?
Select it and press Ctrl + Alt + G to move it inside the object below; Ctrl + Alt + Shift + G moves it out.
How do I check how a vector will look when exported?
Ctrl + Alt + Y switches to pixel view at the document DPI; the comma key opens a split view showing both.
How do I round the corners of a shape?
Press C for the Corner tool and drag a node, or set a radius in the context toolbar.
🤖 Ask AI about Affinity Designer shortcuts
Open your assistant with this page preloaded as the source — great for follow-up questions like "which of these work in other apps?"