Using+Keyboard+Shortcut+Hotkeys

What are keyboard shortcuts and why should I use them?
Keyboard shortcuts (also known as "hotkeys") help you speed up your work and increase your productivity. All design professionals and savvy computer users use them. In fact, a revealing sign that you are still a beginner is the fact that you still use the mouse and menu to save your file.

Since there are literally hundreds of hotkeys, it is impossible for you to memorize all of them. Fortunately, the most common ones are listed right in the menu system. If you find yourself using the mouse to point to the same menu command a little too often, it's time to memorize the hotkey for that command. If you use this strategy, you'll end up memorizing only the hotkeys you use most often (tip: the first hotkey you should memorize is File > Save).

Since many programs have similar functions, the software engineers have tried to assign the same hotkeys across multiple applications. Many applications allow you to customize hotkeys for just about any function. Some applications allow you to record a sequence of keys (sometimes referred to as "macros" or "actions") and assign a hotkey to "play back" the sequence. You can also purchase utilities that allow you to assign hotkeys to just about any function on your computer.

In Adobe programs, there are many "secret" hotkeys that are not in the menu system. To access those, use the Help Menu and search for the keyword "keys." You can also print out help menu screens as reference.

Here are some helpful handouts regarding hotkeys:
 * Common Keyboard Shortcut Hotkeys for Macintosh (PDF file)
 * Common Keyboard Shortcut Hotkeys for Windows (PDF file)
 * Finger Dance from The Illustrator WOW Book (PDF file)
 * Keyboard Shortcuts for Illustrator (PDF file)
 * Keyboard Shortcuts for Flash (PDF file)
 * Keyboard Shortcuts: Foreign Accents and Special Characters (PDF file)

Note for Mac users:
 * The "Cmd" key is equivalent to the "Ctrl" key on Windows computers
 * The "Opt" key is equivalent to the "Alt" key on Windows computers