| Adjust Font Size | |
| Increase by Increment (set in Preferences) | Cmd-Shift-> |
| Decrease by Increment | Cmd-Shift-< |
| (add Option to the above keystrokes to make them Increment x 5) | |
| Adjust Leading | |
| Increase by Increment (set in Preferences) | Option-down arrow |
| Decrease by Increment | Option-up arrow |
| (add Cmd to the above keystrokes to make them Increment x 5) | |
| Revert to Auto Leading | Cmd-Option-Shift-A |
| Adjust Kerning / Tracking & Word Spacing | |
| Increase by Increment (set in Preferences) | Option-right arrow |
| Decrease by Increment | Option-left arrow |
| (add Cmd to the above keystrokes to make them Increment x 5) | |
| Increase between words | Cmd-Option-Shift-\ |
| Decrease between words | Cmd-Option-Shift-Delete |
| Clear all manual kerning, tracking, and word spacing | Cmd-Option-Q |
| Adjust Baseline Shift | |
| Move Up by Increment (set in Preferences) | Option-Shift-up arrow |
| Move Down by Increment | Option-Shift-down arrow |
| (add Cmd to the above keystrokes to make them Increment x 5) | |
| Scaling Pictures | |
| Make sure the picture content is selected (not the frame that it’s inside). | |
| Scale 5% Bigger | Cmd-Opt-> |
| Scale 5% Smaller | Cmd-Opt-< |
| Scale 1% Bigger | Cmd-> |
| Scale 1% Smaller | Cmd-< |
| Fitting Content & Pictures | |
| Fit Content Proportionally | Cmd-Opt-Shift-E |
| Fill Frame Proportionally | Cmd-Opt-Shift-C |
| Center Content | Cmd-Shift-E |
| Fit Frame to Content | Cmd-Opt-C |
| Nudging Objects | |
| Move by Increment (set in Preferences) | Any arrow key |
| Move by Increment x 10 | Shift-any arrow key |
| Move by Increment x 1/10 | Cmd-Shift-any arrow key |
| Flowing Text | |
| Multi-Page Autoflow (creates additional pages) | Shift-click |
| Semi-autoflow (keeps text in cursor so you can continue flowing) | Option-click |
| Fixed-Page Autoflow (does not create additional pages) | Shift-Option-click |
| Styling Text & Working with Styles | |
| Bold | Cmd-Shift-B |
| Italic | Cmd-Shift-I |
| Normal | Cmd-Shift-Y |
| All Caps | Cmd-Shift-K |
| Edit Style Sheet without Applying it | Cmd-Option-Shift-Double click style |
| Redefine a Paragraph Style | Cmd-Opt-Shift-R |
| Redefine a Character Style | Cmd-Opt-Shift-C |
| Working with Paragraph Styles | |
| To remove local formatting (non Style changes) | Opt-click Style Name |
| To remove local formatting and Character Styles | Opt-Shift-click Style Name |
| Working with Master Pages | |
| Override a single master page item on a document page | Cmd-Shift-click it |
| Override several master page items | Cmd-Shift-drag a marquee over them |
| Override all master page items on pages selected in Pages panel | Cmd-Opt-Shift-L |
| Insert Special Characters | |
| Indent to Here | Cmd-\ |
| Right Indent Tab | Shift-Tab |
| Discretionary Hyphen | Cmd-Shift-hyphen (-) |
| Nonbreaking Hyphen | Cmd-Opt-hyphen (-) |
| Type in Single Straight Quote (Foot Mark) | Ctrl-' |
| Type in Double Straight Quote (Inch Mark) | Ctrl-Shift-' |
| Current Page Number (Auto Page Numbering) | Cmd-Opt-Shift-N |
| Insert White Space | |
| Em space | Cmd-Shift-M |
| En space | Cmd-Shift-N |
| Nonbreaking space | Cmd-Opt-X |
| Thin space | Cmd-Opt-Shift-M |
| Insert Break Characters | |
| Column Break | Enter (on keypad) |
| Frame Break | Shift-Enter (on keypad) |
| Page Break | Cmd-Enter (on keypad) |
| Forced Line Break (or “soft return”) | Shift-Return |
| Moving Text Cursor | |
| Move cursor to beginning or end of line | Home or End |
| Move cursor one word to the left/right | Cmd-Left/right arrow |
| Move cursor to Previous paragraph | Cmd-Up Arrow |
| Move cursor to Next paragraph | Cmd-Down Arrow |
| Selecting & Working with Text | |
| Leave Text Frame and switch to Selection tool | Esc |
| Select from cursor to beginning or end of line | Shift-Home or Shift-End |
| Select from cursor to end of story | Cmd-Shift-End |
| Select from cursor to beginning of story | Cmd-Shift-Home |
| Select whole word | Double-click |
| Select line | Cmd-Shift-\ (or Triple-click) |
| Select one word to the left/right | Cmd-Shift-Left/Right arrow |
| Navigating & Scrolling Through Documents | |
| Scroll using Hand tool | Option-Spacebar-Drag |
| Go to the First Page | Cmd-Shift-Page Up |
| Go to the Last Page | Cmd-Shift-Page Down |
| Go to Page (then type in page number) | Cmd-J |
| Switch between open Documents | Cmd-tilde(~) |
| Zooming | |
| Get the Zoom in tool without selecting it | Hold Cmd then Space |
| Get the Zoom out tool without selecting it | Hold Cmd then Space and Option |
| Zoom In or Out | Cmd-plus(+) or Cmd-minus(–) |
| Fit Page in Window | Cmd-0 (zero) |
| Fit Spread in Window | Cmd-Option-0 (zero) |
| Access zoom percentage box (so you can enter a zoom level) | Cmd-Opt-5 |
| Toggle between current and previous zoom levels | Cmd-Opt-2 |
| Find / Change | |
| Insert selected text into Find What box | Cmd-F1 |
| Insert selected text into Find What box and then Find Next instance | Shift-F1 |
| Find the next occurrence of Find What text | Shift-F2 or Cmd-Option-F |
| Insert selected text into Change To box | Cmd-F2 |
| Replace selected text with Change To text | Cmd-F3 |
| Replace selected text with Change To text and Find Next | Shift-F3 |
| Working with Panels | |
| Highlight the first option in the Control panel | Cmd-6 |
| Toggle Control panel between Character & Paragraph options | Cmd-Opt-7 |
| Apply a value but keep it highlighted in panel | Shift-Return |
| Show/Hide all Panels including Toolbox | Tab (while not in a text frame) |
| Show/Hide all Panels except the Toolbox | Shift-Tab (while not in a text frame) |
| Expand/Collapse Panel Stacks | Cmd-Opt-Tab (while not in a text frame) |
| Create new (style, swatches, etc) & display options dialog | Opt-click New button |
| Working with Dialog Boxes | |
| Rotate down through section of options displayed on the left | Page Down |
| Rotate up through section of options displayed on the left | Page Up |
| Jump to section of options displayed on the left | Cmd-1 for 1st, Cmd-2 for 2nd, etc. |
| Choose Yes, No, Don’t Save, or Save | Y, N, D, or S |
| Miscellaneous Good Stuff | |
| Select frame hidden behind another | Hold Cmd and keep clicking frame stack |
| Increase/decrease a value in a field | Click in field, press up/down arrow |
| Tabs panel: Move Left Indent (triangle) without moving First Line Indent | Hold Shift while dragging the (bottom) triangle |
| Select all Guides | Cmd-Opt-G |
| Select an Individual Table Cell | With Type tool, click in cell and hit Esc |
| Quick Apply | Press Cmd-Return. Then start typing a style name, menu item, text variable, etc. Then press Return to apply. |
| Sort Menus Alphabetically | Hold Cmd-Opt-Shift and click on Menu |
| Toggle Typographer’s Quotes preference | Cmd-Opt-Shift-' |
InDesign CS4 Shortcuts: Mac
Keyboard Shortcuts
Here are many keyboard shortcuts for InDesign CS4, including lesser known and hidden keystrokes!
