246 Shortcuts for InDesign CS5 (Windows)  [edit]

1. Tools
V, Escape	Selection Tool
a	Direct Selection tool
Ctrl+Tab	Toggle Selection and Direct Selection tool
Shift+p	Page tool
u	Gap tool
p	Pen tool
=	Add Anchor Point tool
-	Delete Anchor Point tool
Shift+c	Convert Direction Point tool
t	Type tool
Shift+t	Type On A Path tool
n	Pencil tool (Note tool)
\	Line tool
f	Rectangle Frame tool
m	Rectangle tool
l	Ellipse tool
r	Rotate tool
s	Scale tool
o	Shear tool
e	Free Transform tool
i	Eyedropper tool
k	Measure tool
g	Gradient tool
c	Scissors tool
h	Hand tool
Spacebar (Layout mode), Alt (Text mode), /Alt+Spacebar (both)	Temporarily select Hand tool
z	Zoom tool
Ctrl+Space	Temporarily select Zoom In tool
x	Toggle Fill and Stroke
Shift+x	Swap Fill and Stroke
j	Toggle between Formatting Affects Container and Formatting Affects Text
, (comma)	Apply Color
. (period)	Apply Gradient
/	Apply No Color
w	Switch between Normal View and Preview Mode
Shift+g	Gradient Feather tool

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2. Selecting and moving objects
Any tool (except selection tools)+Ctrl	Temporarily select Selection or Direct Selection tool (last used)
Direct Selection tool+Alt; / Pen, Add Anchor Point, / Delete Anchor Point tool+Alt+Ctrl	Temporarily select Group Selection tool
Esc/ double-click	Select container of selected content
Shift+Esc/ double-click	Select content of selected container
Selection, Direct Selection, / Group Selection tool+Shift-click (to deselect, click center point)	Add to or subtract from a selection of multiple objects
Selection, Direct Selection, / Group Selection tool+Alt-drag*	Duplicate selection
Alt+Arrow Keys	Duplicate and offset selection
Alt+Shift+Arrow Keys	Duplicate and offset selection by 10 times**
Arrow Keys	Move selection**
Ctrl+Shift+Arrow Keys	Move selection by 10th**
Shift+Arrow Keys	Move selection by 10 times**
Selection / Direct Selection tool+Ctrl+Shift-click	Select master page item from document page
Selection tool+Ctrl-click, / Selection tool+Alt+Ctrl-click	Select next object behind or in front
Alt+Ctrl+ Page Down/Page Up	Select next or previous frame in story
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+ Page Down/Page Up	Select first or last frame in story
Ctrl+[	Send object backward
Shift+Ctrl+[	Send object to back
Ctrl+]	Bring object forward
Shift+Ctrl+]	Bring object to front
*Press Shift to constrain movement to 45° angles. **Amount is set in Edit > Preferences > Units & Increments

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3. Transforming Objects
Transformation tool+Alt-drag	Duplicate and transform selection
Select object+double-click Scale tool, Rotate tool, / Shear tool in Toolbox	Display Transform tool dialog box
Ctrl+, (comma)	Decrease scale by 1%
Ctrl+. (period)	Increase scale by 1%
Ctrl+Alt+. (period)	Increase scale by 5%
Selection tool+Ctrl-drag	Resize frame and content
Selection tool+Shift+Ctrl-drag	Resize frame and content proportionately
Ellipse tool, Polygon tool, / Rectangle tool+Shift-drag	Constrain proportion
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+z	Switch image from High Quality Display to Fast Display

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4. Editing Paths and Frames
Direct Selection tool+Alt+Ctrl, / Pen tool+Alt	Temporarily select Convert Direction Point tool
Alt	Temporarily switch between Add Anchor Point and Delete Anchor Point tool
Scissors tool+Alt	Temporarily select Add Anchor Point tool
Pen tool+Shift	Keep Pen tool selected when pointer is over path or anchor point
Pen tool+Space	Move anchor point and handles while drawing
F10	Display the Stroke panel

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5. Working with Tables
Begin dragging row / column border, and then hold down Alt as you drag	Insert or delete rows or columns while dragging
Shift-drag interior row / column border	Resize rows or columns without changing the size of the table
Shift-drag right / bottom table border	Resize rows or columns proportionally
Tab/Shift+Tab	Move to next/previous cell
Alt+Page Up/Alt+Page Down	Move to first/last cell in column
Alt+Home/Alt+End	Move to first/last cell in row
Page Up/Page Down	Move to first/last row in frame
Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Move up/down one cell
Arrow Left/Arrow Right	Move left/right one cell
Shift+Arrow Up/+Arrow Down	Select cell above/below the current cell
Shift+Arrow Right/Arrow Left	Select cell to the right/left of the current cell
Enter on numeric keypad	Start row on next column
Shift+Enter on numeric keypad	Start row on next frame
Esc	Toggle between text selection and cell selection

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6. Managing Text
Ctrl+F1	Insert selected text into Find What box
Shift+F1	Insert selected text into Find What box and finds next
Shift+F2/Alt+Ctrl+f	Find next occurrence of Find What text
Ctrl+F2	Insert selected text into Change To box
Ctrl+F3	Replace selection with Change To text

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7. Working with Type
Shift+Ctrl+b	Bold
Shift+Ctrl+i	Italic
Shift+Ctrl+y	Normal
Shift+Ctrl+u	Underline
Shift+Ctrl+/	Strikethrough
Shift+Ctrl+k	All caps (on/off)
Shift+Ctrl+h	Small caps (on/off)
Shift+Ctrl+[+]	Superscript
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+[+]	Subscript
Shift+Ctrl+x/ Shift+Alt+Ctrl+x	Reset horizontal or vertical scale to 100%
Shift+Ctrl+L, R, /c	Align left, right, or center
Shift+Ctrl+F (all lines) / J (all but last line)	Justify all lines
Shift+Ctrl+>/<	Increase or decrease point size*
Shift+Ctrl+Alt+ >/<	Increase or decrease point size by five times*
Alt+Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Increase or decrease leading (horizontal text)*
Alt+Ctrl+ Arrow Up/+Arrow Down	Increase or decrease leading by five times (horizontal text)*
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+a	Auto leading
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+g	Align to grid (on/off)
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+h	Auto-hyphenate (on/off)
Alt+ Arrow Left/Arrow Right	Increase or decrease kerning and tracking (horizontal text)
Alt+Ctrl+ Arrow Left/Arrow Right	Increase or decrease kerning and tracking by five times (horizontal text)
Alt+Ctrl+\	Increase kerning between words*
Alt+Ctrl+Backspace	Decrease kerning between words*
Alt+Ctrl+q	Clear all manual kerning and reset tracking to 0
Shift+Alt+ Arrow Up/+Arrow Down	Increase or decrease baseline shift** (horizontal text)
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+ Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Increase or decrease baseline shift by five times (horizontal text)
Shift-click loaded text icon	Automatically flow story
Alt-click loaded text icon	Semi-automatically flow story
Alt+Ctrl+/	Recompose all stories
Alt+Ctrl+n	Insert current page number

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8. Navigating Through and Editing Text
Arrow Right/Arrow Left	Move to right or left one character
Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Move up or down one line
Ctrl+ Arrow Right/Arrow Left	Move to right or left one word
Home/End	Move to start or end of line
Ctrl+Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Move to previous or next paragraph
Ctrl+Home/Ctrl+End	Move to start or end of story
Double-click word	Select one word
Shift+ Arrow Right/Arrow Left	Select one character right or left
Shift+ Arrow Up/+Arrow Down	Select one line above or below
Shift+Home/+End	Select start or end of line
Triple-click / quadruple-click paragraph, depending on Text Preferences setting	Select one paragraph
Shift+Ctrl+ Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Select one paragraph before or after
Shift+Ctrl+\	Select current line
Shift-click	Select characters from insertion point
Shift+Ctrl+ Home/Ctrl+End	Select start or end of story
Ctrl+a	Select all in story
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+ Page Up/Page Down	Select first/last frame
Alt+Ctrl+ Page Up/Page Down	Select previous/next frame
Ctrl+Backspace/Delete	Delete word in front of insertion point (Story Editor)
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+/	Update missing font list

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9. Viewing documents and document workspaces
Spacebar (with no text insertion point), Alt-drag (with text insertion point), /Alt+Spacebar (in both text and non-text modes)	Temporarily select Hand tool
Ctrl+Space	Temporarily select Zoom In tool
Alt+Ctrl+Space/ Alt+Zoom In tool	Temporarily select Zoom Out tool
Ctrl+5, 2, 4	Zoom to 50%, 200%, or 400%
Shift+F5	Redraw screen
Ctrl+Alt+n	Open new default document
Alt+Ctrl+2	Switch between current and previous zoom levels
Ctrl+~/ Shift+Ctrl+F6/ Ctrl+Shift+~	Switch to next/previous document window
Page Up/Page Down	Scroll up/down one screen
Ctrl+ Page Up/Page Down	Go back/forward to last-viewed page
Alt+ Page Up/Page Down	Go to previous/next spread
Double-click Hand tool	Fit spread in window
Ctrl+j	Activate the Go To command
Ctrl+Alt++ (plus)	Fit selection in window
Ctrl+J, type prefix of master, press Enter	Go to master page while panel is closed
Shift+Alt+Ctrl+u	Cycle through units of measurement
Shift-drag guide	Snap guide to ruler increments
Ctrl-drag guide	Switch between page and spread guides (creation only)
Ctrl-drag from zero point	Create vertical and horizontal ruler guides for the spread
Alt+Ctrl+g	Select all guides
Right-click zero point and choose an option	Lock or unlock zero point
Alt-drag guide	Use current magnification for view threshold of new guide
Press first letter of button name, if underlined	Select buttons in alert dialog boxes
Ctrl+Help > About Design	Show information on installed plugins and InDesign components

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10. Working with XML
Arrow Right/Arrow Left	Expand/Collapse element
Alt+ Arrow Right/Arrow Left	Expand/Collapse element and child elements
Shift+ Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Extend XML selection up/down
Arrow Up/Arrow Down	Move XML selection up/down
Page Up/Page Down	Scroll structure pane up/down one screen
Home/End	Select first/last XML node
Shift+ Home/Shift+End	Extend selection to first/last XML node
Ctrl+ Arrow Left/Arrow Right	Go to previous/next validation error
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F7	Automatically tag text frames and tables

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11. Indexing
Shift+Ctrl+Alt+[	Create index entry without dialog box
Ctrl+7	Open index entry dialog box
Shift+Ctrl+Alt+]	Create proper name index entry (last name, first name)

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12. Panels
alt-click Delete icon	Delete without confirmation
alt-click New button	Create item and set options
Shift+Enter	Apply value and keep focus on option
Ctrl+Alt+~	Activate last-used option in last-used panel
Shift-click	Select range of styles, layers, links, swatches, or library objects in a panel
Ctrl-click	Select nonadjacent styles, layers, links, swatches, or library objects in a panel
Tab	Apply value and select next value
Esc	Move focus to selected object, text, or window
Tab	Show/Hide all panels, Toolbox, and Control panel (with no insertion point)
Shift+Tab	Show/Hide all panels except the Toolbox and Control panel (docked or not)
Ctrl+Alt+Tab	Open or close all stashed panels
Alt+drag any panel tab (in the group) to edge of screen	Stash a panel group
Alt+Ctrl-click in list, and then use keyboard to select item by name	Select item by name
Alt+Ctrl+m	Open the Drop Shadow panel

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13. Control Panel
Ctrl+6	Toggle focus to/from Control panel
Ctrl+Alt+7	Toggle Character/Paragraph text attributes mode
Any key on the numeric keypad / keyboard numbers	Change reference point when proxy has focus
Alt+Arrow Down	Display the pop-up menu that has focus
alt-click Kerning icon	Open Units & Increments Preferences
alt-click Number Of Columns icon	Open the Text Frame Options dialog box
alt-click X / Y icon	Open the Move dialog box
alt-click Angle icon	Open the Rotate dialog box
alt-click X / Y Scale icon	Open the Scale dialog box
alt-click Shear icon	Open the Shear dialog box
alt-click Superscript, Subscript, / Small Caps button	Open Text Preferences
alt-click Underline button	Open the Underline Options dialog box
alt-click Strikethrough button	Open the Strikethrough Options dialog box
alt-click Align To Baseline Grid, / Do Not Align To Baseline Grid button	Open the Grids Preferences
alt-click Drop Cap Number Of Lines, / Drop Cap One Or More Characters icon	Open the Drop Caps & Nested Styles dialog box
alt-click Leading icon	Open the Justification dialog box

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14. Type panels and dialog boxes
Alt+Ctrl+Shift+j	Open Justification dialog box
Alt+Ctrl+j	Open Paragraph Rules dialog box
Alt+Ctrl+k	Open Keep Options dialog box
Ctrl+t	Activate Character panel
Ctrl+Alt+t	Activate Paragraph panel

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15. Character and paragraph styles
Select text and press Shift+Alt+Ctrl+c	Make character style definition match text
Select text and press Shift+Alt+Ctrl+r	Make paragraph style definition match text
Shift+Alt+Ctrl-double-click style	Change options without applying style
alt-click paragraph style name	Remove style and local formatting
Alt+Shift-click paragraph style name	Clear overrides from paragraph style
F11, Shift+F11	Show/hide Paragraph and Character Styles panels, respectively

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16. Tabs Panel
Shift+Ctrl+t	Activate Tabs panel
alt-click tab	Switch between alignment options

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17. Layers Panel
alt-click layer	Select all objects on layer
Alt-drag small square to new layer	Copy selection to new layer
Ctrl-click Create New Layer	Add new layer below selected layer
Shift+Ctrl-click Create New Layer	Add new layer to the top of the layer list
Shift+Alt+Ctrl-click Create New Layer	Add new layer to the top of the layer list and open New Layer dialog box
alt-click Create New Layer	Add new layer and open New Layer dialog box

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18. Pages Panel
alt-click master	Apply master to selected page
alt-click the master you want to base the selected master on	Base another master page on selected master
Ctrl-click Create New Page button	Create master page
alt-click New Page button	Display Insert Pages dialog box
Shift+Ctrl+p	Add new page after last page

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19. Color Panel
Shift-drag slider	Move color sliders in tandem
alt-click color bar	Select a color for the nonactive fill or stroke
Shift-click color bar	Switch between color modes (CMYK, RGB, LAB)

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20. Separations Preview panel
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+y	Turn on Overprint preview
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+~ (tilde)	Show all plates
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+1	Show Cyan plate
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+2	Show Magenta plate
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+3	Show Yellow plate
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+4	Show Black plate
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+5	Show 1st Spot plate
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+6	Show 2nd Spot plate
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+7	Show 3rd Spot plate

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21. Swatches Panel
alt-click New Swatch button	Create new swatch based on the current swatch
Alt+Ctrl-click New Swatch button	Create spot color swatch based on the current swatch
Shift+Alt+Ctrl-double-click swatch	Change options without applying swatch

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22. Transform Panels
Alt+Enter	Apply value and copy object
Ctrl+Enter	Apply width, height, or scale value proportionally

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Sources: Adobe Indesign CS5 Help