JDesignz Blog: Top 10 Killer Photoshop Combo Moves

Is time kickin’ your ass? Well, learn to defend yourself! Master these killer Photoshop keyboard combos and you’ll find yourself with more time for the important things (e.g. Facebook trivia questions). These combos assume you’re using Photoshop CS3 on Windows platform with default keyboard shortcuts.

Legend:
( ) = Repeat as desired
{ } = Manual Input Required

10. Cloak of Invisibility

Remove everything from the screen except for your file.

F, F, F | Cycle through Screen Modes
Tab | Remove Tools and Palettes
Ctrl+H | Hide Extras (Grid, Guides, Slices, etc.)
Ctrl+R | Hide Rulers

9. Quick Brush Jab

Quickly and easily customize a brush. This combo is a staple for digital painting.

B | Brush Tool
Right-Click and Select or F5 and Select | Open condensed or full Brush Palette
or . or , or Shift+. or Shift+, | Cycle through brushes or jump to first or last brush
[ or ]: | Shrink or enlarge brush radius
Shift+[ or Shift+] | Decrease or increase brush hardness
{Numeric Input} | Change brush opacity (e.g. ‘5′ = 50%, ‘55′ = 55%)

8. Quick Brush Jab Path Stroke

Stroke a path with a customized brush.

{Draw Path} | Use any tool to draw a path
B | Select Brush Tool
Quick Brush Jab | Use the Quick Brush Jab Combo to customize brush
Enter | Stroke the path with your customized brush

7. Gaussian Attack

Apply a filter, fade it and apply again. Good combo for fine-tweaking filters.

{Apply a Filter} | Manually choose and apply a filter (warning: using the Lens Flare filter may result in a swift kick to the mouse balls)
Ctrl+Shift+F | Fade the filter
(Ctrl+F or Ctrl+Shift+F) | Reapply filter with or without dialog box

6. Shadow Maker

Create a basic shadow based on a chosen layer.

{Select Layer} | Select the layer the shadow will be created after. The transparency of this layer needs to resemble the desired shape of the shadow.
Ctrl+J | Layer via Copy
Ctrl+[ | Move layer down
D | Reset color defaults
Alt+Shift+Backspace | Fill with black and preserve transparency
Ctrl+T | Free transform
{Transform} | Modify to your liking
Enter | Commit

5. Layer Catcher

Select, group and mask layers. Often easier than using the layers palette.

V | Selection Tool
Ctrl+Click or Ctrl+Shift+Click or Ctrl+Shift+Right-Click | Select your layers
Ctrl+G | Group Layers

4. OCD Layer Sort

Rearrange your layers quickly and easily. Great cure for you neuroticism.

F7 | Show Layer Palette
Alt+[ or Alt+] or Alt+, or Alt+. | Select a layer
Shift+Alt+[ or Shift+Alt+] or Shift+Alt+, or Shift+Alt+. | Select more layers
Ctrl+[ or Ctrl+] or Shift+Ctrl+[ or Shift+Control+] | Move layers down or up or send to bottom or bring to top