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Written by : Dreama Nicholason |
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hi guys welcome to this video where i will be showing you my shortcuts to work faster we're not here to waste time we're here to save time so here is the first usable shortcut first one is moving an object to do so we're going to press ctrl shift m after the object is selected in this menu you can select your transformation and then you can create a copy of the object or you can just simply apply it to the object next up is a very important and time saving shortcut to repeat the transformation you've done earlier you can use ctrl command d show you how it works we are applying the move transformation on the object again and create a copy and to repeat it we simply press ctrl d the reason why this is a shortcut to remember is that it can be applied to any transformation you have done and want to do again like rotation scaling and reflecting the last shortcut to move and copy an object fast is to choose to increase the keyboard increment to do so we're going to press ctrl k which will open the preferences menu in the preference menu we're going to open up the general tab and select keyboard increment the keyboard increment is the distance the object will move when you use the arrow keys now you see when we use the arrow keys the object will take a bigger step than before you can also hold alt when using the arrow keys to make a duplicate of the object next up is number four grouping or ungrouping objects the reason why we do this is so that we can treat multiple objects as one okay so we start with creating multiple shapes and then we select the shapes you want to group together after the shapes are selected we're going to press ctrl or command g now we can treat this combine shape as one to ungroup the shapes we simply press ctrl shift g or command shift g number five the align panel to toggle the align panel we press shift f7 in the align panel we're going to click on the three horizontal bars and click on show options in the right bottom you'll see a line two you have three options aligned to the selection aligned to the key object or aligned to the artboard the most simple one is aligning to the artboard to make it a bit more advanced we're going to select align to the key object first you have to select multiple objects you want to align then you click on align to key object the key object is the object that will maintain its position when aligning to select it just simply click on the object and now the other objects will align to the key object the last option we have is aligning to the selection select multiple objects and click on align to selection what it means is that it will align in the full area of your selected objects keep in mind that a tutorial on the full options of the align panel deserves a tutorial on its own but to keep it short these are the basics shortcut number six locking or unlocking objects accidentally selecting shapes in the background can be frustrating and take a lot of your time to fix it we're using command or control 2 which will lock the selected objects into place when you want to unlock the objects you can press ctrl alt 2 or command option 2. number 7 hiding objects is actually quite similar to locking the object but instead of locking it we're going to hide it to hide it we select the object you want to hide and press ctrl or command 3. to unhide it we press ctrl alt 3 or command option 3. number eight copy and pasting the right way okay so obviously copying the object is control or command c but when it comes to pasting your three options the first and most used option is ctrl v but this will paste the object in the middle of your screen and not in the center of the copied object to fix this you must use ctrl or command f this will paste it in front of the original or you use ctrl or command b and this will paste it in the back of the original so remember v for the middle of the screen f for the front and b for the back the last shortcut is actually a bonus tip you can use math in illustrator so you don't have to get out your calculator for example we are using the rotate tool let's say i want to get exactly eight pieces out of a full circle then what we do is we fill in a full circle which is 360 degrees and divide it by eight pieces and here you go eight pieces out of a full circle and this is it for today i want to thank you for watching and hope that you have learned some skill that you will actually use you can check out my channel for more usable videos and don't forget to subscribe
Thanks for your comment Lou Schatzel, have a nice day.
- Dreama Nicholason, Staff Member
today's video consists of multiple keyboard shortcuts for advanced workflow in Adobe Illustrator so follow along so you can elevate your knowledge with keyboard shortcuts and sponsoring today's video is skill share our skill share offers thousands of inspiring classes for creative and curious people on topics including illustration design photography video freelancing and much much more now to become a member of this learning community with two months of totally free access stay tuned into the very end of the video and make 2020 the year where you explore new skills and expand on your passions so the first shortcut is kind of split into two separate shoka's now in the layers window we can select individual objects on a layer and the blue icon lets us know when it's selected but to select them all simply just hold down the alt/option key and then click the layers panel here but this is a quick way to highlight all objects on a single layer but also you can press command or control a to select everything outside of the layers window you essentially do the same thing but without the layers window open now the second a shortcut is a real gem and it saves me a lot of hassle in my workflow sometimes we have a really busy artboard and we might need to access shapes or objects below other objects very quickly now obviously the circle is in the way of the Fox below but I can hold down the command or the control key while still using the selection tool and then just double click this will grant access to parts of my design below the circle without having to hide or remove other objects so the third keyboard shortcut helps in viewing your design without any anchor points or handles obstructing your view they can be annoying sometimes and so to hide them simply press command or control key and then H this will hide your anchor points and your handles by pressing the same shortcuts is going to bring them back into view now this is especially useful for those of you who use illustrator CC and opt to use the anchor points with a large setting now one of my favorite tools that I use on a regular basis in my workflow is the group selection tool now it doesn't actually have any keyboard shortcut given to it as you can see it's right here below the direct selection tool now you could always assign your own shortcuts or you can simply use a direct selection tool and then hold down the alt option key and this is going to bring up the group selection tool for use now letting go of the alt option key will bring you back to the direct selection tool and so you can easily toggle between the two with this way now we all know that under the color palettes we have the fill box the gradient box and then the nothing box well they're actually shortcuts for all three of these so firstly if you press the comma key on your keyboard you opt to use the fill on a selection and then you can press a period or a full stop which will add a gradient and then a ford slash is going to apply nothing on the object at all but now a quick example of how to use this and speed up your workflow is that let me just select one part of the fox and then use the select same function to access all orange shapes I can then press the period key on my keyboard to apply a gradient to all the objects and then press and G for the gradient tool so it's applied evenly across the design itself this way shortcuts are very useful indeed and when working with color it just speeds things up a little bit now it's a quick and a neat little shortcut for when you're using the shape builder tool now of course you need to select your objects as you usually would and then look at the shape builder tool here or use a shortcut of Shift + M now to unite my entire selection I would have to draw all over the place like so or I could just hold down the shift key and then click and drag to select and unite my entire set of shapes now this obviously works like the Pathfinder unite function but it's nice to know that you have this when using the shape at at all on large designers now for the next keyboard shortcuts I will bring up the preference settings with command or control K now notice here you have the increment settings and - set to 1 this indicates how far I can add an object along my artboard in Adobe Illustrator so if I press the arrow keys on my keyboard the Fox is going to be belong at this pace however if I want to speed things up I could just hold down the shift key and then nudge them again so now things are sped up by a factor of 10 and again this is something that will save you time over your days and your years working with illustrator now this keyboard shortcut is handy if you're working on various documents or have many windows open instead of coming up to the top and then selecting the document you want to use you can just hold down the command or the control key and then press the apostrophe on your keyboard to toggle between your documents now as I mentioned at the start of video sponsoring today's tutorial is skill share skill shares an awesome community with an abundance of classes be curious and creative people alike most classes are under 60 minutes with short lessons to fit any schedule this means that they can be easily integrated into your work flow day to day now as you guys know I really like to design posters in my free time as it's a passion I've come to really enjoy and so one class I'd been eyeing up on Skillshare is a digital poster design class taught by Tami Coker now you can join Skillshare and become a member for two months totally for free simply by clicking the link in the description box below you're going to be able to really grow in the creative areas that you want to for 2020 and you will learn new skills that you've always wanted to master so do check out Skillshare a link down below so let me know if you can add some new shortcuts to your workflow arsenal and do remember if you want to keep learning essential skills within illustrator or as a designer in general subscribe to my channel for weekly your graphic design content do have a great day and a positive start of the week and until next time guys design your future today peace
Thanks Victor your participation is very much appreciated
- Dreama Nicholason
About the author
I've studied library instruction at California State University, Long Beach in Long Beach and I am an expert in curriculum and instruction. I usually feel lonely. My previous job was employment interviewer I held this position for 25 years, I love talking about breakdancing and journaling. Huge fan of Jeffree Star I practice skeleton and collect buttons.
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