Keyboard Shortcuts
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: Go to Help > Keyboard Shortcuts or press ? to see all shortcuts. Use the Shortcut Remap dialog to customize tool shortcuts — conflicts are detected automatically.
General
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Shift+Z | Redo |
| Ctrl+Y | Redo (alternative) |
| Ctrl+S | Save |
| Ctrl+K | Command Palette |
| Ctrl+F | Find & Replace |
| Ctrl+, | Preferences |
| Tab | Toggle Fullscreen Mode |
| \ | Toggle Right Sidebar |
| ? | Keyboard Shortcuts Dialog |
| Escape | Deselect / Reset Rotation / Cancel |
| ` | Switch to Previous Tool |
These shortcuts are remappable via Preferences. Default keys shown below.
| Shortcut | Tool |
|---|
| V | Select tool |
| H | Hand tool (pan) |
| B | Brush tool |
| E | Eraser tool |
| R | Rectangle tool |
| C | Circle tool |
| L | Line tool |
| A | Arrow tool |
| P | Polygon tool |
| T | Text tool |
| I | Color picker tool |
| F | Fill tool |
| S | Star tool |
| Q | Blur tool |
| G | Gradient tool |
| K | Clone stamp tool |
| J | Spray paint tool |
| N | Sharpen tool |
| O | Dodge/Burn tool |
| U | Smudge tool |
| D | Measure tool |
| W | Freeform polygon tool |
| X | Pen tool |
| M | Marquee selection tool |
| Y | Red-eye removal tool |
| Z | Color replace tool |
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+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+ArrowLeft | Viewport back (zoom/pan history) |
| Alt+ArrowRight | 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 |
| Ctrl+L | Toggle lock on selected objects |
| 0 | Set layer/object opacity to 100% |
| 1-9 | Set layer/object opacity (10%-90%) |
| Shift+ArrowLeft / Shift+ArrowRight | 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 |
Object vs. layer opacity: When objects are selected with the Select tool, number keys set object opacity. When no objects are selected, they set layer opacity.
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 |
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 | — | — |