Keyboard Shortcuts

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Paint Forge supports 100+ keyboard shortcuts for tools, editing, navigation, and more. Tool shortcuts are customizable via the Shortcut Remap dialog in Preferences.

Custom shortcuts: Open the in-app Keyboard Shortcuts dialog with ? to see your current bindings. Use the Shortcut Remap dialog to customize tool shortcuts — conflicts are detected automatically.

Tools

Tool keys are remappable via the Customize Shortcuts dialog. Defaults shown below.

Shortcut	Action
`Shift + V`	Select tool
`Shift + H`	Hand tool (pan)
`Shift + B`	Brush tool
`Shift + E`	Eraser tool
`Shift + R`	Rectangle tool
`Shift + C`	Circle tool
`Shift + L`	Line tool
`Shift + A`	Arrow tool
`Shift + P`	Polygon tool
`Shift + T`	Text tool
`Shift + I`	Color picker tool
`Shift + F`	Fill tool
`Shift + S`	Star tool
`Shift + Q`	Blur tool
`Shift + G`	Gradient tool
`Shift + K`	Clone stamp tool
`Shift + J`	Spray paint tool
`Shift + N`	Sharpen tool
`Shift + O`	Dodge/Burn tool
`Shift + U`	Smudge tool
`Shift + W`	Freeform polygon tool
`Shift + M`	Marquee selection tool
`Shift + Y`	Red-eye removal tool
`Shift + Z`	Color replace tool

General

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + Z`	Undo
`Ctrl + Shift + Z`	Redo
`Ctrl + Y`	Redo (alternative)
`Ctrl + S`	Save (auto-save enabled)
`Ctrl + K`	Command Palette
`Ctrl + F`	Find & Replace
`Ctrl + L`	Open Library
`Ctrl + Alt + L`	Link selected objects (when exactly 2 are selected)
`Ctrl + ,`	Preferences
`Tab`	Toggle Fullscreen Mode
`\`	Toggle Right Sidebar
`?`	Keyboard Shortcuts Dialog
`Escape`	Deselect / Reset Rotation / Cancel
`	Switch to Previous Tool

Floating Panels

Focus a panel header first (click it or Tab to it) — Navigator, Reference, and Camera Setups.

Shortcut	Action
`Arrow Keys`	Move the focused panel between snap positions
`Home`	Return the focused panel to its default position
`Alt + Arrow Keys`	Resize the focused panel — Right/Down grow, Left/Up shrink (16 px)
`Shift + Alt + Arrow Keys`	Resize the focused panel in larger steps (64 px)
`Enter`/`Space`	Collapse or expand the focused panel
`Double-click header`	Collapse or expand a panel
`Escape`	Cancel an in-progress panel drag or resize

Colors

Shortcut	Action
`X`	Swap primary ↔ secondary (or fill ↔ stroke on selected object)
`D`	Reset colors to black / white

Edit Operations

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + C`	Copy selected objects
`Ctrl + V`	Paste (with cascading offset)
`Ctrl + Shift + V`	Paste in Place (original position)
`Ctrl + Alt + Shift + V`	Paste as New Layer
`Ctrl + X`	Cut (copy + delete)
`Ctrl + D`	Duplicate selected objects
`Delete`/`Backspace`	Delete selected
`Ctrl + A`	Select all objects
`Shift + X`	Swap fill & stroke on selected objects
`Ctrl + Alt + C`	Copy style
`Ctrl + Alt + V`	Paste style
`Ctrl + Shift + C`	Copy merged to clipboard (PNG)
`Ctrl + Alt + S`	Create named snapshot
`Ctrl + R`	Repeat last filter
`Ctrl + Alt + E`	Quick Export (uses saved Export preferences)
`Ctrl + Alt + T`	Copy transform (position, size, rotation)

View & Navigation

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + =`/`Ctrl + +`	Zoom in
`Ctrl + -`	Zoom out
`Ctrl + 0`	Reset zoom to 100%
`Space + Drag`	Pan canvas (temporary hand tool)
`Middle Mouse + Drag`	Pan canvas
`Alt + Scroll`	Rotate canvas (1° per tick)
`Alt + Shift + Scroll`	Rotate canvas (15° increments)
`Shift + Scroll`	Pan canvas horizontally
`Ctrl + Shift + O`	Toggle Outline Mode
`Ctrl + Shift + B`	Cycle color blindness simulation mode
`Alt + ←`	Viewport back (zoom/pan history)
`Alt + →`	Viewport forward (zoom/pan history)

Layer Operations

Shortcut	Action
`Alt + ]`	Select layer above
`Alt + [`	Select layer below
`Alt + ,`	Toggle layer visibility
`Alt + .`	Toggle layer lock
`Ctrl + E`	Merge layer down
`Ctrl + Shift + E`	Merge visible layers
`Ctrl + Shift + Alt + E`	Stamp visible to new layer
`Ctrl + G`	Group selected layers/objects
`Ctrl + Shift + G`	Ungroup
`0`	Set layer/object opacity to 100%
`1 - 9`	Set layer/object opacity (10%-90%)
`Shift + ←`/`Shift + →`	Cycle through layer comps
`Ctrl + J`	Layer Via Copy (copy selection to new layer)
`Ctrl + Shift + J`	Layer Via Cut (cut selection to new layer)
`Ctrl + \`	Toggle Mask Editing mode on the active layer

Pixel Selection

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + Shift + I`	Invert pixel selection
`Ctrl + Shift + D`	Clear pixel selection
`Ctrl + Shift + A`	Select all pixels
`Ctrl + Shift + L`	Select layer pixels (non-transparent pixels on active layer)
`Q`	Toggle Quick Mask Mode

Object Arrangement

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + ]`	Bring forward
`Ctrl + Shift + ]`	Bring to front
`Ctrl + [`	Send backward
`Ctrl + Shift + [`	Send to back
`Arrow Keys`	Nudge selected objects 1px
`Shift + Arrow Keys`	Nudge selected objects 10px

Brush & Painting

Shortcut	Action
`[`	Decrease brush size
`]`	Increase brush size
`Alt + Click`	Sample color (on supported tools)

Text Formatting

These shortcuts work when a text or textbox object is selected:

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + B`	Toggle bold
`Ctrl + I`	Toggle italic
`Ctrl + U`	Toggle underline
`Ctrl + Shift + X`	Toggle strikethrough

Save Conflict

These shortcuts work when the save-conflict dialog is open. Esc dismisses (Radix default).

Shortcut	Action
`Enter`	Primary action — Merge if available, otherwise Reload
`1`	Dismiss without resolving
`2`	Overwrite cloud (force-save your local copy)
`3`	Reload from cloud (discards local changes)
`4`	Merge automatically (when available)

Touch Gestures

Shortcut	Action
`Pinch`	Zoom canvas in / out
`Two-finger rotate`	Rotate canvas view
`Two-finger tap`	Undo
`Three-finger tap`	Redo (or cancel QuickShape during a snap)
`Hold ½s mid-stroke`	QuickShape — snap stroke to a clean shape
`Hold ~1.2s after snap`	QuickShape — commit as editable vector object

Warp tools

The 4 vector warp tools (mesh / cage / puppet / brush) share a tool-local interaction model. Each commits to a stacked modifier on the target object that you can re-edit, animate, or convert.

Shortcut	Action
`Enter`	Cage warp: close the cage / commit the warp
`Escape`	All warp tools: cancel + revert in-progress edits
`Backspace`	Cage warp: remove the last vertex during placement
`Shift + drag`	Mesh warp: multi-select grid handles; group-drag them as one
`Alt + drag handle`	Mesh warp: soft-select with falloff radius around the dragged handle
`Right-click row`	Properties: convert modifier between warp kinds (puppet ↔ cage, mesh ↔ brush, etc.)

Transform Modifiers

Hold these modifier keys during object transforms for constrained behavior:

Modifier	During Resize	During Move	During Rotate
`Shift`	Proportional (aspect-ratio locked)	Axis-locked (horizontal or vertical)	Snap to 15° increments
`Alt`	Scale from center	Duplicate and move	—
`Shift` + `Alt`	Proportional + from center	—	—

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