Ctrl+A

Select all

Ctrl+Shift+A/F2

Deselect all

enter on main keyboard

Rename selected layer, composition, folder, effect, group, or mask

enter on numeric keypad

Open selected layer, composition, or footage item

Ctrl+Alt+Arrow Down/Arrow Up

Move selected layers, masks, effects, or render items down (back) / up (forward) in stacking order

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Arrow Down/Arrow Up

Move selected layers, masks, effects, or render items to bottom (back) / top (front) of stacking order

Shift+Arrow Down/Arrow Up

Extend selection to next item / previous item in Project panel, Render Queue panel, or Effect Controls panel

Ctrl+D

Duplicate selected layers, masks, effects, text selectors, animators, puppet meshes, shapes, render items, output modules, or compositions

Ctrl+Q

Quit

Ctrl+Z

Undo

Ctrl+Shift+Z

Redo

Ctrl+Option+[/ on numeric keypad

Purge all

Esc

Interrupt running a script

Ctrl+Alt+N

New project

Ctrl+O

Open project

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+P

Open most recent project

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N

New folder in Project panel

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K

Open Project Settings dialog box

Ctrl+F

Find in Project panel

Alt+click bit-depth button at bottom of Project panel

Cycle through color bit depths for project

Click bit-depth button at bottom of Project panel

Open Project Settings dialog box

Ctrl+Alt+;

Open Preferences dialog box

Hold down ctrl+Alt+shift while starting After Effects

Restore default preferences settings

Ctrl+0 (zero)

Open or close Project panel

Ctrl+Alt+0 (zero)

Open or close Render Queue panel

Ctrl+1

Open or close Tools panel

Ctrl+2

Open or close Info panel

Ctrl+3

Open or close Preview panel

Ctrl+4

Open or close Audio panel

Ctrl+5

Open or close Effects and Presets panel

Ctrl+6

Open or close Character panel

Ctrl+7

Open or close Paragraph panel

Ctrl+8

Open or close Paint panel

Ctrl+9

Open or close Brushes panel

F3/Ctrl+Shift+T

Open or close Effect Controls panel for selected layer

Ctrl+F11

Open Flowchart panel for project flowchart

Shift+f10, shift+f11, /Shift+F12

Switch to workspace

Ctrl+W

Close active viewer window or panel (closes content first)

Ctrl+Shift+W

Close all active viewer wwindow or panels

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N

Split the frame containing the active viewer and create a new viewer with opposite locked/unlocked state

` (accent grave)

Maximize or restore panel under pointer

Ctrl+\

Resize application window or floating window to fit screen. (Press again to resize window so that contents fill the screen.)

Ctrl+Alt+\

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.)

\

Toggle activation between Composition panel and Timeline panel for current composition

Shift+,/.

Cycle to previous / to next item in active viewer (for example, cycle through open compositions)

Alt+Shift+,/.

Cycle to previous / to next panel in active frame (for example, cycle through open Timeline panels)

Click with middle mouse button

Activate a view in a multi-view layout in the Composition panel without affecting layer selection

Alt+click tool button in Tools panel

Cycle through tools

V

Activate Selection tool

H

Activate Hand tool. To temporarily activate Hand tool: Hold down spacebar or the middle mouse button and press h

Z

Activate Zoom In tool. Add option/alt to zoom out

W

Activate Rotation tool

C

Activate and cycle through Camera tools

Y

Activate Pan Behind tool

Q

Activate and cycle through Mask and Shape tools

G

Activate and cycle through Pen tools. Add command/ctrl to temporarily activate Selection tool when pen tool is selected

Ctrl+Alt

Temporarily activate Pen tool when the Selection tool is selected and pointer is over a path (Add Vertex tool when pointer is over a segment; Convert Vertex tool when pointer is over a vertex)

Ctrl+B

Activate and cycle through Brush, Clone Stamp, and Eraser tools

Ctrl+T

Activate and cycle through Type tools

Ctrl+P

Activate and cycle through Puppet tools

Alt+W

Activate Roto Brush tool

alt (in shape layer)

Temporarily convert Selection tool to Shape Duplication tool

ctrl (in shape layer)

Temporarily convert Selection tool to Direct Selection tool

Ctrl+N

New composition

Ctrl+K

Open Composition Settings dialog box for selected composition

B/N

Set beginning or end of work area to current time

Ctrl+Alt+B

Set work area to duration of selected layers or, if no layers are selected, set work area to composition duration

tap on shift

Open Composition Mini-Flowchart for active composition

Shift+Esc

Activate the most recently active composition that is in the same composition hierarchy as currently active composition

Alt+Shift+J

Go to specific time

Shift+Home/End

Go to beginning / to end of work area

J/K

Go to previous / to next visible item in time ruler

Home/End/Ctrl+Option+Arrow Left/Arrow Right

Go to beginning / to end of composition, layer, or footage item

Page Down/page up or ctrl+Arrow Right/Arrow Left

Go forward 1 frame / backward 1 frame

Shift+Page Down/page up or ctrl+Shift+Arrow Right/Arrow Left

Go forward 10 frames / backward 10 frames

I

Go to layer In point

O

Go to layer Out point

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Arrow Left/arrow/right

Go to previous / to next In point or Out point

D

Scroll to current time in Timeline panel

Space

Start or stop standard preview

0 (zero) on numeric keypad

RAM preview

Shift+0 on numeric keypad

RAM preview with alternate settings

Ctrl+click RAM Preview button or press ctrl+0 on numeric keypad

Save RAM preview

Ctrl+Shift+click RAM Preview button or press ctrl+Shift+0 on numeric keypad

Save RAM preview with alternate settings

. on numeric keypad

Preview only audio, from current time

Alt+. on numeric keypad

Preview only audio, in work area

Drag /Alt+drag current-time indicator, depending on Live Update setting

Manually preview (scrub) video

Ctrl+drag current-time indicator

Manually preview (scrub) audio

Alt+0 (zero) on numeric keypad

RAM preview number of frames specified by Alternate RAM Preview preference (defaults to 5)

[/ on numeric keypad

Show current frame on video preview device

Ctrl+[/ on numeric keypad

Toggle Output Device preference between Desktop Only and video preview device

Shift+F5/F6/F7/F8

Take snapshot

F5/F6/F7/F8

Display snapshot in active viewer

Ctrl+F5/F6/F7/F8

Purge snapshot

Shift+[/ on numeric keypad

Turn display color management on or off for active view

Alt+1/2/3/4

Show red / green / blue / alpha channel as grayscale

Alt+Shift+1/2/3

Show colorized red / green / blue channel

Alt+Shift+4

Toggle showing straight RGB color

Alt+5

Show alpha boundary (outline between transparent and opaque regions) in Layer panel

Alt+6

Show alpha overlay (colored overlay on transparent regions) in Layer panel

Double-click Hand tool

Reset view in the Composition panel to 100% and center composition in the panel

./,

Zoom in / zoom out in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel

/

Zoom to 100%

Shift+/

Zoom to fit

Alt+/

Zoom up to 100%

Ctrl+J/Ctrl+Shift+J/Ctrl+Alt+J

Set resolution to Full / Half / Custom in Composition panel

Ctrl+Alt+U

Open View Options dialog box for active Composition panel

=/-

Zoom time in / out

;/Shift+;

Zoom in / zoom out Timeline panel to single-frame units (Press again to zoom out to show entire composition duration.)

Caps Lock

Suspend image updates

'

Show or hide safe zones

Ctrl+'

Show or hide grid

Alt+'

Show or hide proportional grid

Ctrl+R

Show or hide rulers

Ctrl+;

Show or hide guides

Ctrl+Shift+'

Turn snapping to grid on or off

Ctrl+Shift+;

Turn snapping to guides on or off

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+;

Lock or unlock guides

Ctrl+Shift+H

Show or hide layer controls

Ctrl+I

Import one file or image sequence

Ctrl+Alt+I

Import multiple files or image sequences

alt-double-click

Open movie in an After Effects Footage panel

Ctrl+/

Add selected items to most recently activated composition

Ctrl+Alt+/

Replace selected source footage for selected layers with footage item selected in Project panel

Alt+drag footage item from Project panel onto selected layer

Replace source for a selected layer

Ctrl+Backspace

Delete a footage item without a warning

Ctrl+Alt+G

Open Interpret Footage dialog box for selected footage item

Ctrl+Alt+C

Remember footage interpretation

Ctrl+E

Edit selected footage item in application with which it’s associated (Edit Original)

Ctrl+H

Replace selected footage item

Ctrl+Alt+L

Reload selected footage items

Ctrl+Alt+P

Set proxy for selected footage item

Ctrl+Shift+E

Delete all effects from selected layers

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E

Apply most recently applied effect to selected layers

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F

Apply most recently applied animation preset to selected layers

Ctrl+Y

New solid layer

Ctrl+Alt+Y

New adjustment layer

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Y

New null layer

0...9 on numeric keypad

Select layer (1-999) by its number (enter digits rapidly for two-digit and three-digit numbers)

Shift+0...9 on numeric keypad

Toggle selection of layer (1-999) by its number

Ctrl+Arrow Down/Arrow Up

Select next layer / previous layer in stacking order

Ctrl+Shift+Arrow Down/Arrow Up

Extend selection to next / previous layer in stacking order

Ctrl+Shift+A

Deselect all layers

X

Scroll topmost selected layer to top of Timeline panel

Shift+F4

Show or hide Parent column

F4

Show or hide Layer Switches and Modes columns

Alt+click solo switch

Turn off all other solo switches

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+V

Turn Video (eyeball) switch on or off for selected layers

Ctrl+Shift+V

Turn off Video switch for all video layers other than selected layers

Ctrl+Shift+Y

Open settings dialog box for selected solid, light, camera, null, or adjustment layer

Ctrl+Alt+V

Paste layers at current time

Ctrl+Shift+D

Split selected layers (If no layers are selected, split all layers.)

Ctrl+Shift+C

Precompose selected layers

Ctrl+Shift+T

Open Effect Controls panel for selected layers

Double-click a layer

Open layer in Layer panel (opens source composition for precomposition layer in Composition panel)

alt-double-click a layer

Open source of a layer in Footage panel (opens precomposition layer in Layer panel)

Ctrl+Alt+R

Reverse selected layers in time

Ctrl+Alt+T

Enable time remapping for selected layers

[/]

Move In point / Out point of selected layers to current time

Alt+[/]

Trim In point / Out point of selected layers to current time

Alt+click stopwatch

Add or remove expression for a property

Double-click effect selection in Effects and Presets panel

Add an effect (or multiple selected effects) to selected layers

Ctrl+Shift+,/Ctrl+Alt+,

Set In point or Out point by time-stretching

Alt+Home/End

Move In point / move Out point of selected layers to beginning of composition

Ctrl+L

Lock selected layers

Ctrl+Shift+L

Unlock all layers

Ctrl+U/Ctrl+Shift+U/Ctrl+Alt+Shift+U

Set Quality to Best / Draft / Wireframe for selected layers

Shift+-/[+]

Cycle forward / cycle backward through blending modes for selected layers

Ctrl+F

Find in Timeline panel

Ctrl+F

Find in Timeline panel

Ctrl+` (accent grave)

Toggle expansion of selected layers to show all properties

Ctrl+click triangle to the left of the property group name

Toggle expansion of property group and all child property groups to show all properties

A

Show only Anchor Point property (for lights and cameras, Point Of Interest)

L

Show only Audio Levels property

F

Show only Mask Feather property

M

Show only Mask Path property

tt

Show only Mask Opacity property

T

Show only Opacity property (for lights, Intensity)

P

Show only Position property

R

Show only Rotation and Orientation properties

S

Show only Scale property

rr

Show only Time Remap property

ff

Show only instances of missing effects

E

Show only Effects property group

mm

Show only Mask property groups

aa

Show only Material Options property group

ee

Show only Expressions

uu

Show only modified properties

pp

Show only Paint Strokes, Roto Brush strokes, and Puppet pins

ll

Show only Audio Waveform

U

Show only properties with keyframes or expressions

ss

Show only selected properties and groups

Alt+Shift+click property / group name

Hide property or group

Shift+property / group shortcut

Add or remove property or group from set that is shown

Alt+property shortcut

Add or remove keyframe at current time

Ctrl+` (accent grave)

Toggle expansion of selected effects to show all properties

Ctrl+click triangle to the left of the property group name

Toggle expansion of property group and all child property groups to show all properties

Drag property value

Modify property value by default increments

Shift+drag property value

Modify property value by 10x default increments

Ctrl+drag property value

Modify property value by 1/10 default increments

Ctrl+Shift+O

Open Opacity dialog box for selected layers

Ctrl+Shift+R

Open Rotation dialog box for selected layers

Ctrl+Shift+P

Open Position dialog box for selected layers

Ctrl+Alt+O

Open Auto-Orientation dialog box for selected layers

Ctrl+Home

Center selected layers in view (modifies Position property to place anchor points of selected layers in center of current view)

Arrow Keys

Move selected layers 1 pixel at current magnification (Position)

Shift+Arrow Keys

Move selected layers 10 pixels at current magnification (Position)

Alt+Page Up/Page Down

Move selected layers 1 frame earlier / 1 frame later

Alt+Shift+Page Up/Page Down

Move selected layers 10 frames earlier / 10 frames later

[+]/- on numeric keypad

Increase / decrease Rotation (Z Rotation) of selected layers by 1°

Shift+[+]/- on numeric keypad

Increase / decrease Rotation (Z Rotation) of selected layers by 10°

Ctrl+Alt+[+]/- on numeric keypad

Increase / decrease Opacity (or Intensity for light layers) of selected layers by 1%

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+[+]/- on numeric keypad

Increase / decrease Opacity (or Intensity for light layers) of selected layers by 10%

Ctrl+[+]/-/Alt+[+]/- on numeric keypad

Increase / decrease Scale of selected layers by 1%

Ctrl+[+]/-/Alt+Shift+[+]/- on numeric keypad

Increase / decrease Scale of selected layers by 10%

Shift+drag with Rotation tool

Modify Rotation or Orientation in 45° increments

Shift+drag layer handle with Selection tool

Modify Scale, constrained to footage frame aspect ratio

Double-click Rotation tool

Reset Rotation to 0°

Double-click Selection tool

Reset Scale to 100%

Ctrl+Alt+F

Scale and reposition selected layers to fit composition

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H

Scale and reposition selected layers to fit composition width, preserving image aspect ratio for each layer

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+G

Scale and reposition selected layers to fit composition height, preserving image aspect ratio for each layer

F10

Switch to 3D view 1 (defaults to Front)

F11

Switch to 3D view 2 (defaults to Custom View 2)

F12

Switch to 3D view 3 (defaults to Active Camera)

Esc

Return to previous view

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L

New light

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C

New camera

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+\

Move the camera and its point of interest to look at selected 3D layers

F

With a camera tool selected, move the camera and its point of interest to look at selected 3D layers

Ctrl+Shift+F

With a camera tool selected, move the camera and its point of interest to look at all 3D layers

Alt+Shift+C

Turn Casts Shadows property on or off for selected 3D layers

Shift+F3

Toggle between Graph Editor and layer bar modes

Click property name

Select all keyframes for a property

Ctrl+Alt+A

Select all visible keyframes and properties

Shift+F2/Ctrl+Alt+Shift+A

Deselect all keyframes, properties, and property groups

Alt+Arrow Right/Arrow Left

Move keyframe 1 frame later / earlier

Alt+Shift+Arrow Right/Arrow Left

Move keyframe 10 frames later / earlier

Ctrl+Alt+K

Set interpolation for selected keyframes (layer bar mode)

Ctrl+Alt+H

Set keyframe interpolation method to hold or Auto Bezier

Ctrl+click in layer bar mode

Set keyframe interpolation method to linear or Auto Bezier

Ctrl+Alt+click in layer bar mode

Set keyframe interpolation method to linear or hold

F9

Easy ease selected keyframes

Shift+F9

Easy ease selected keyframes in

Ctrl+Shift+F9

Easy ease selected keyframes out

Ctrl+Shift+K

Set velocity for selected keyframes

Alt+Shift+property shortcut

Add or remove keyframe at current time (For property shortcuts, see Showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel (keyboard shortcuts).)

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T

New text layer

Ctrl+Shift+L

Align selected horizontal or vertical text left

Ctrl+Shift+C

Align selected horizontal or vertical text center

Ctrl+Shift+R

Align selected horizontal or vertical text right

Arrow Keys

Move insertion point one character left/right/up/down

Ctrl+Arrow Left/Arrow Right

Move insertion point one word left / one word right

Ctrl+Arrow Up/Arrow Down

Move insertion point one paragraph up / one paragraph down

Home/End

Move insertion point to beginning / to end of line

Shift+Arrow Right/Arrow Left

Extend / reduce selection by one character to right/left in horizontal text (or one/down in vertical text)

Shift+Arrow Up/Arrow Down

Extend / reduce selection by one line up/down in horizontal text (or right/left in vertical text)

Ctrl+Shift+Arrow Right/Arrow Left

Extend / reduce selection by one word to right/left in horizontal text (or up/down in vertical text)

Shift+Home/End

Select text from insertion point to beginning / to end of line

Ctrl+Shift+Home/End

Select text from insertion point to beginning / to end of text frame

Shift+click

Select text from insertion point to mouse click point

Double-click text layer

Select all text on a layer

Double-click, triple-click, quadruple-click, / quintuple-click with Type tool

Select word, line, paragraph, or entire text frame

Ctrl+Shift+K

Turn All Caps on or off for selected text

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K

Turn Small Caps on or off for selected text

Ctrl+Shift+=

Turn Superscript on or off for selected text

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+=

Turn Subscript on or off for selected text

Ctrl+Shift+X

Set horizontal scale to 100% for selected text

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+X

Set vertical scale to 100% for selected text

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+A

Auto leading for selected text

Ctrl+Shift+Q

Reset tracking to 0 for selected text

Ctrl+Shift+J

Justify paragraph; left align last line

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+J

Justify paragraph; right align last line

Ctrl+Shift+F

Justify paragraph; force last line

Ctrl+Shift+,/.

Decrease / increase font size of selected text by 2 units

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+,/.

Decrease / increase font size of selected text by 10 units

Alt+Arrow Up/Arrow Down

Increase / decrease leading by 2 units

Ctrl+Option+Arrow Down/Arrow Up

Increase / decrease leading by 10 units

Alt+Shift+Arrow Down/Arrow Up

Decrease / increase baseline shift by 2 units

Ctrl+Option+Shift+Arrow Down/Arrow Up

Decrease / increase baseline shift by 10 units

Alt+Arrow Left/Arrow Right

Decrease / increase kerning or tracking 20 units (20/1000 ems)

Ctrl+Option+Arrow Left/Arrow Right

Decrease / increase kerning or tracking 100 units (100/1000 ems)

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T

Toggle paragraph composer

Ctrl+Shift+N

New mask

Alt+click mask

Select all points in a mask

Alt+` (accent grave) /Alt+Shift+`

Select next / select previous mask

Double-click mask with Selection tool / select mask in Timeline panel and press ctrl+T

Enter free-transform mask editing mode

Esc

Exit free-transform mask editing mode

Ctrl+drag

Scale around center point in Free Transform mode

Arrow Keys

Move selected path points 1 pixel at current magnification

Shift+Arrow Keys

Move selected path points 10 pixels at current magnification

Ctrl+Alt+click vertex

Toggle between smooth and corner points

Ctrl+Alt+drag vertex

Redraw Bezier handles

Ctrl+Shift+I

Invert selected mask

Ctrl+Shift+F

Open Mask Feather dialog box for selected mask

Ctrl+Shift+M

Open Mask Shape dialog box for selected mask

X

Swap paint background color and foreground colors

D

Set paint foreground color to black and background color to white

Alt+click

Set foreground color to the color currently under any paint tool pointer

Ctrl+Alt+click

Set foreground color to the average color of a 4-pixel x 4-pixel area under any paint tool pointer

Ctrl+drag

Set brush size for a paint tool

Ctrl+drag, then release ctrl while dragging

Set brush hardness for a paint tool

Hold shift while beginning stroke

Join current paint stroke to the previous stroke

Alt+click

Set starting sample point to point currently under Clone Stamp tool pointer

Ctrl+Shift

Momentarily activate Eraser tool with Last Stroke Only option

Alt+Shift+drag with Clone Stamp tool

Show and move overlay (change Offset value of aligned Clone Stamp tool or change Source Position value of unaligned Clone Stamp tool)

3…7

Activate a specific Clone Stamp tool preset

Alt+click the button for the preset

Duplicate a Clone Stamp tool preset in Paint panel

1…9 on numeric keybaord

Set opacity for a paint tool (e.g. 1=10%, 9=90%)

. on numeric keybaord

Set opacity for a paint tool to 100%

Shift+1…9 on numeric keybaord

Set flow for a paint tool (e.g. 1=10%, 9=90%)

Shift+. on numeric keybaord

Set flow for a paint tool to 100%

Ctrl+Page Up/Page Down

Move to earlier / move to later by number of frames specified for stroke Duration (alternatively use 1/2)

Ctrl+G

Group selected shapes

Ctrl+Shift+G

Ungroup selected shapes

Select Path property in Timeline panel and press ctrl+T

Enter free-transform path editing mode

Page Up/page down when dragging to create shape

Increase / decrease star inner roundness

Arrow Up/arrow down when dragging to create shape

Increase / decrease number of points for star or polygon; increase / decrease roundness for rounded rectangle

Hold spacebar when dragging to create shape

Reposition shape during creation

arrow left when dragging to create shape

Set rounded rectangle roundness to 0 (sharp corners); decrease polygon and star outer roundness

arrow right when dragging to create shape

Set rounded rectangle roundness to maximum; increase polygon and star outer roundness

shift when dragging to create shape

Constrain rectangles to squares; constrain ellipses to circles; constrain polygons and stars to zero rotation

ctrl when dragging to create shape

Change outer radius of star

* on numeric keypad

Set marker at current time (works during RAM preview and audio-only preview) and/or open marker dialog box

Shift+0...9

Set and number a composition marker (0-9) at the current time

0...9

Go to composition marker 0-9

Alt+click the markers / keyframes

Display the duration between two layer markers or keyframes in the Info panel

Ctrl+click marker

Remove marker

Arrow Keys

Move feature region, search region, and attach point 1 pixel at current magnification

Shift+Arrow Keys

Move feature region, search region, and attach point 10 pixels at current magnification

Alt+Arrow Keys

Move feature region and search region 1 pixel at current magnification

Alt+Shift+Arrow Keys

Move feature region and search region 10 pixels at current magnification

Ctrl+S

Save project

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S

Increment and save project

Ctrl+Shift+S

Save As

Ctrl+Shift+/

Add active composition or selected items to render queue

Ctrl+Alt+S

Add current frame to render queue

Ctrl+Shift+D

Duplicate render item with same output filename as original