My 30 Favorite Keyboard Shortcuts for Adobe After Effects
- Boone
- Jan 25, 2022
- 2 min read
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.
Center Anchor Point in Layer (Ctrl+Alt+Home)
Center in View (Ctrl+Home)
Change Keyframe Interpolation (F9 or Ctrl+click)
Duplicate a Clip (Ctrl+D)
Maximize App Window (Ctrl + \)
Go to First/Last Frame of Layer (I/O)
Trim Work Area to Layer Duration (IBON)
Maximize Panel (~)
Move Frame by Frame (Ctrl+Left/Right Arrows)
Open Effect Controls (F3)
Pan Behind (Y)
Precompose Layers (Ctrl+Shift+C)
Scroll to Current Time in Timeline (D)
Select Layer Above/Below (Ctrl+Up/Down Arrows)
Send Layer Back/Forward (Ctrl+[/Ctrl+])
Set Layer In/Out Point to Playhead ([/])
Set Marker (Shift+8)
Show Properties with Expressions (EE)
Show Properties with Keyframes (U)
Snap Anchor Point (Ctrl)
Solo Layer Properties (SS)
Split a Clip (Shift+Ctrl+D)
Take and Show Snapshots (SHIFT + F5-F8)
Toggle Between Switches and Modes Columns (F4)
Trim Comp to Work Area (Ctrl+Shift+X)
Trim Work Area to Playhead (B/N)
Trim Layer In/Out Point to Playhead (Alt + [/])
View a Flowchart (Tab)
Zoom In/Out on Composition (, .)
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 -