| 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 and keep clicking frame stack |
| Increase/decrease a value in a field |
Click in field, press up/down arrow |
| Highlight the Last Used Field (in a panel) |
Cmd-Option-tilde(~) |
| 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-' |
Here are many of InDesign CS6’s keyboard shortcuts. Some of them are the little known, hidden keystrokes!
Download them as a (nicely formatted single page that’s easily printed), or scroll down to the shortcut you need.
Feel free to link to this page to share it with others! Enjoy…
