How To Use Shortcuts Efficiently

Art directors will find themselves in front of their computers for hours most days. After a great idea is delivered, its time to get to work to make them come to life, whether its with a new design on Illustrator, or mocking something up on Photoshop.

That work can become very tedious sometimes, and a lot of it can be accelerated if you know the right shortcuts to some of the functions. Which is why I have prepared a list with 3 very important shortcuts for you to use and become a pro.

1. Duplicate. This one can be a little bit confusing, since it is a different shortcut on Illustrator than it is on Photoshop. To duplicate a layer in Photoshop, you select said layer, and use the shortcut Command + J. This will create an identical layer placed on the same exact place. For Illustrator, there are two options. The old and always useful “Copy and Paste” (Command + C, Command + V) will duplicate the selection but it will be pasted in a different position, while using Command + F will duplicate it and leave it exactly where the original is.

2. Accents. Working in a multicultural environment, you are bound to end up using words from different languages, a lot of which use particular accents. The most common can be obtained by simply using the shortcut Option + E, and then the letter you want to accentuate. Option + N + N  will give you the “ñ” very commonly used in the Spanish language, while Option + C will give you the “ç” used in Portuguese and French.

3. Proportions. When trying to create shapes, finding the perfect proportion in the naked eye is almost impossible. Adobe makes is very simple for us by only clicking Shift while you are creating that shape, locking the proportions of that shape. Shift is also very important when dragging objects, because when you want those objects to stay in the same line, all you do is press Shift while dragging it and it will lock that move to only points on that coordinate.

Hopefully these shortcuts help you become more efficient in the Adobe software, and soon I’ll be providing more of them to make your life easier.