Adobe Creative Suite Keyboard Shortcuts

The standard keys discussed in the previous two sections are mostly easy enough to use: to get an a , you press the [A] key; to get a 1, you press the [1] key; and so on. To use a keyboard shortcut, you typically press one of the modifier keys ”keys that modify the effect of the key you press. (That sentence says typically because some keyboard shortcuts don t use any modifier key, as you ll see later in this book.)

Using the Modifier Keys in Windows

Standard keyboards for Windows PCs include four modifier keys (Figure 1-3):

• [Shift]The [Shift] key derives from the typewriter and changes the case of the letter. The name comes from the [Shift] key on a typewriter physically shifting the typewriter mechanism ”either lifting the platen or lowering the typebars so that the top part of the typebar (containing the uppercase letter), rather than the lower part of the typebar (containing the lowercase letter), strikes the platen. (The typebars are the metal bars containing the letters . The platen is the roller around which the sheet of paper is wrapped and fed, and against which the typebars strike.)

• [Alt]The [Alt] key alters the keypress . In Windows, [Alt] is used to access accelerator keys on menus and other command bars (such as toolbars ). For example, to display the File menu in many applications, you press [Alt]-[F].

• [Ctrl]The [Ctrl] key (pronounced control ) is used in Windows to trigger keyboard shortcuts. For example, to issue a Print command in many applications, you can press [Ctrl]-[P].

• The is used for shortcuts that involve Windows itself rather than the applications that run on it. For example, you can press -[R] to display the Run dialog box or -[Break] to display the System Properties dialog box.

  Figure 1-3: Standard PC keyboards have four modifier keys: [Shift], [Alt], [Ctrl], and .

[Ctrl], [Alt], and [Shift] can be used in combination, thus producing many more key combinations ”for example, [Ctrl]-[M], [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[M], [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[Shift]-[M], [Ctrl]-[Shift]-[M], and [Alt]-[Shift]-[M]. The more keys in a combination, the harder it is for most users to press, but the less chance that any user will press that combination by accident . isn t normally used in combination with other modifier keys, although it is possible to program Windows to recognize such key combinations.

Many laptops include another modifier key on their keyboard: the function ([Fn]) key, which is typically used to provide additional functionality on a keyboard that doesn t have enough keys for each separate function. For example, pressing [Fn]-[F5] on some laptops decreases the screen brightness, and [Fn]-[F6] increases it.

A laptop keyboard may also have an embedded keypad to provide the functionality of the keypad on a full- size keyboard. The embedded keypad usually appears on the right side of the keyboard, with the letter [J] doubling for [1], [K] for [2], and [L] for [3]. You press a numeric lock key ([NumLock]) to activate the keypad function.

Using the Modifier Keys on the Mac

Figure 1-4: Desktop Mac keyboards have four modifier keys: [ z ], [Shift], [Option], and [Ctrl].

Standard keyboards for Macs include four modifier keys (Figure 1-4):

• [Shift]The [Shift] key derives from the typewriter and changes the case of the letter. The name comes from the [Shift] key on a typewriter physically shifting the typewriter mechanism ”either lifting the platen or lowering the typebars so that the top part of the typebar (containing the uppercase letter), rather than the lower part of the typebar (containing the lowercase letter), strikes the platen. (The typebars are the metal bars containing the letters. The platen is the roller around which the sheet of paper is wrapped and fed, and against which the typebars strike.)

• [ z ]The [ z ] key (the key with the Apple logo) is used in Mac OS X to trigger keyboard shortcuts. For example, to issue a Print command in many applications, you can press [ z ]-[P]. Mac OS X uses many [ z ]-[Shift] shortcuts. For example, pressing [ z ]-[Shift]-[A] with the Finder active displays your Applications folder.

• [Alt]/[Option] The[Alt]/[Option] key alters the keypress. For example, Photoshop uses [ z ]-[Option]-[W] for the File Close All command and [ z ]-[W] for the File Close command.

  Note	This book refers to the Mac [Alt]/[Option] key as [Option] from here on.

• [Ctrl] The [Ctrl] key (pronounced control and sometimes spelled out as [Control]) is used both to trigger keyboard shortcuts and to produce a right click with a single-button mouse (you hold down [Ctrl] while you click).

[ z ], [Ctrl], [Option], and [Shift] can be used in combination, thus producing many more key combinations ”for example, [ z ]-[M], [ z ]-[Option]-[M], [ z ]-[Option]-[Shift]-[M], [ z ]-[Shift]-[M], [Option]-[M], and [Option]-[Shift]-[M]. The more keys in a combination, the harder it is for most users to press, but the less chance that any user will press that combination by accident.

PowerBooks and iBooks include another modifier key on their keyboard: the function ([Fn]) key, which is typically used to provide additional functionality on a keyboard that doesn t have enough keys for each separate function. For example, on current PowerBook models, you must press [Fn] and the function key to invoke the function key, because the key s primary mapping is to a hardware function: on G4 PowerBooks, the [F1] key without [Fn] pressed decreases the screen s brightness, the [F2] key without [Fn] pressed increases the brightness, the [F3] key without [Fn] pressed mutes the sound, and so on.

PowerBooks and iBooks also have an embedded keypad to provide the functionality of the keypad on a full-size keyboard. The embedded keypad appears on the right side of the keyboard, with the letter [J] doubling for [1], [K] for [2], and [L] for [3]. You press [NumLock] to activate the keypad function.