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My 30 Favorite Keyboard Shortcuts for Adobe After Effects

The nice folks over at Logickeyboard just sent me a bunch of cool custom shortcut keyboards, so I figured it was time to do another video about hotkeys. Let me know what your favorite shortcut is in the comment section of the YouTube video for a chance to win your own Logickeyboard!



FYI there is no real categorization to these hotkeys - they're just the ones that I find myself using the most on a daily basis.

  1. Center Anchor Point in Layer (Ctrl+Alt+Home)

  2. Center in View (Ctrl+Home)

  3. Change Keyframe Interpolation (F9 or Ctrl+click)

  4. Duplicate a Clip (Ctrl+D)

  5. Maximize App Window (Ctrl + \)

  6. Go to First/Last Frame of Layer (I/O)

  7. Trim Work Area to Layer Duration (IBON)

  8. Maximize Panel (~)

  9. Move Frame by Frame (Ctrl+Left/Right Arrows)

  10. Open Effect Controls (F3)

  11. Pan Behind (Y)

  12. Precompose Layers (Ctrl+Shift+C)

  13. Scroll to Current Time in Timeline (D)

  14. Select Layer Above/Below (Ctrl+Up/Down Arrows)

  15. Send Layer Back/Forward (Ctrl+[/Ctrl+])

  16. Set Layer In/Out Point to Playhead ([/])

  17. Set Marker (Shift+8)

  18. Show Properties with Expressions (EE)

  19. Show Properties with Keyframes (U)

  20. Snap Anchor Point (Ctrl)

  21. Solo Layer Properties (SS)

  22. Split a Clip (Shift+Ctrl+D)

  23. Take and Show Snapshots (SHIFT + F5-F8)

  24. Toggle Between Switches and Modes Columns (F4)

  25. Trim Comp to Work Area (Ctrl+Shift+X)

  26. Trim Work Area to Playhead (B/N)

  27. Trim Layer In/Out Point to Playhead (Alt + [/])

  28. View a Flowchart (Tab)

  29. Zoom In/Out on Composition (, .)

  30. Zoom to Single-Frame Units (;)

If you're new to the world of Adobe After Effects and you want to learn some new shortcuts, then check out the Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts dialogue box. Here you can search commands via a specific key, keyword, modifier, and even save out your own custom shortcuts.



One of the coolest parts of this layout is how you can quickly view all shortcuts connected to a modifier key simply by holding down the modifier. The keyboard display will instantly filter out everything except secondary keys that work with the modifier. I also love to simply select a key and then view all of the commands related to the key in the bottom righthand side of the dialogue box. I also love pizza.


Be sure to check out Logickeyboard's After Effects Cheat Sheet -


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