Authors: Daniel K. Schneider (TECFA) and Marielle Lange (WidgEd)
This page contains the most important Flash CS3 keyboard shortcuts. There may be some mistakes and omissions for now (e.g. programming/debugging is not covered). Table size optimized for Mozilla/Windows.
The useful list
Standard windows commands not shown here
- F5 - Add simple frame
- F6 - Add new Keyframe
- F7 - Add blank Keyframe
- CTRL+ENTER - Test a Movie
- F9 - Action Panel
- F4 - Show/Hide All Panels
- F10 - Keystroke Menu command mode
Tools Panel
While drawing on the stage you quickly can change tools that way.
- V - Selection Tool
- A - Sub Selection Tool
- Q - Free Transform tool
- F - Gradient Transform Tool
- L - Lasso Tool
- P - Pen Tool
- N - Line Tool
- T - Text Tool
- R - Rectangle Tool
- O - Oval Tool
- Y - Pencil Tool
- B - Paint Brush
- S - Ink Bottle
- K - Paint Bucket
- I - EyeDropper
- D - Dropper
- E - Eraser
- H - Hand Tool
- M,Z - Magnifier (Zoom)
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Modifying and editing
- CTRL+G - Group
- CTRL+SHIFT-G - Ungroup
- CTRL+B - Break Apart
- CTRL+A - Select All
- CTRL+SHIFT+A - Deselect All
- CTRL+C - Copy
- CTRL+V - Paste
- CTRL+SHIFT+V - Paste in Place
- CTRL+D - Duplicate
- CTRL+SHIFT+O - Optimize Curves
- CTRL+T - Modify Font
- CTRL+SHIFT+T - Modify Paragraph
- CTRL+left Arrow - Narrower Letter Spacing (kerning)
- CTRL+right Arrow - wider Letter Spacing (kerning)
- CTRL+SHIFT+9 - Rotate 90° Clockwise
- CTRL+SHIFT+7 - Rotate 90° Counter clockwise
- CTRL+SHIFT+Z - Remove Transform
- CTRL+ALT+S - Scale and Rotate
- CTRL+SHIFT+Z - Remove Transform
Arranging
- CTRL+Up Arrow - Move Ahead
- CTRL+Down Arrow - Move Behind
- CTRL+SHIFT+Up Arrow - Bring to Front
- CTRL+SHIFT+Down Arrow - Send to Back
- CTRL+ALT+1 - Left Align
- CTRL+ALT+2 - Horizontal Center
- CTRL+ALT+3 - Right Align
- CTRL+ALT+4 - Top Align
- CTRL+ALT+5 - Vertical Center
- CTRL+ALT+6 - Bottom Align
- CTRL+ALT+7 - Distribute Widths
- CTRL+ALT+9 - Distribute Heights
- CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+7 - Make Same Width
- CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+9 - Make Same Height
- CTRL+ALT+8 - Set "Align to stage"
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Windows and Panels
Open/close various Panels
- F1 - Help
- F4 - Show/Hide Panels
- CTRL+K - Align Panel
- CTRL+T - Transform
- SHIFT+F9 - Color Mixer
- CTRL+F9 - Color Swatches
- CTRL+L - Show/Hide Library
- F9 - Actions
If your screen is big enough you won't need these a lot ...
- CTRL+F3 - Properties Inspector
- CTRL+F2 - Tools Panel
- CTRL+ALT-T - Timeline
- CTRL+M - Modify Movie Properties
- CTRL+E - Toggle between Edit Movie& Edit Symbol Mode
- CTRL+SHIFT+L - Show/Hide Timeline
- CTRL+SHIFT+W - Show/Hide Work Area
Frames and Symbols
(most of the time, position first inside the timeline)
- F5 - Add frame (extend the timeline)
- SHIFT+F5 - Delete Frame
- F6 - Add Key Frame (and copy over old contents)
- SHFIT-F6 - Clear Key Frame
- F7 - Add Blank Key Frame (and leave the stage empty)
- F8 - Turn into Symbol
- CTRL+F8 - Make new Symbol
- CLICK DRAG - Move keyframe (Select, release - then drag !)
- CTRL-DRAG - Select several Frames
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Timeline
- Enter - Play Movie
- CTRL+0 (zero) - Rewind Movie
- < - Previous Frame
- > - Next Frame
- CTRL+ENTER - Test Movie
- CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER - Debug Movie
- Home - Goto First Scene
- End - Goto Last Scene
- Page Up - Goto Previous Scene
- Page Down - Goto Next Scene
Files
- CTRL+N - New File
- CTRL+O - Open File
- CTRL+S - Save File
- CTRL+R - Import Image/Sound/etc...
- CTRL+SHIFT+O - Open as Library
- SHIFT+F12 - Publish
- CTRL+SHIFT+R - Export to .swf/.spl/.gif/etc...
View
- CTRL+1 - View movie at 100% size
- CTRL+2 - Show Frame
- CTRL+3 - Show All
Generate shortcut table
- Menu Edit->Keyboard shortcuts
- Click on the little icon on top right (Export Set as HTML). This will generate a single HTML file with several tables, showing all commands that can have a shortcuts plus the shortcuts currently defined.
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Links
Conventions
- On a Mac replace "Control" by "Command"
- In this table, "+" means hold down both (usually I just use a "-" for this)
Other tricks
(from Adobe, to sort out)
With the arrow cursor:
Control + Click and Drag - Duplicates a shape
By hitting the control key first (Macintosh & Windows) and THEN clicking and dragging on a selected shape or group of shapes, you will create a duplicate of those shapes at the spot where you release the mouse button.
CTRL+Clicking a keyframe to move frame:
CTRL+clicking a frame in the timeline switches the cursor to a slider, and allows you to click and drag that frame to a new place in the timeline within that same layer. Useful if you want to stretch out tweens for example
With the magnifier tool:
Control + Click - Toggles to the opposite magnifier.
If the + magnifier (zoom in) is active, and you hit Control while clicking, you will switch to the - magnifier and actually zoom OUT.
With the dropper tool:
Shift + Click - Select a color for both fill and outline tools
Clicking a red fill will do the same, giving you the Bucket tool, and switching fill colors to red. But the outline tool colors are not changed. Clicking on text switches the text tool to that color, and gives you the text tool. Shift clicking with the dropper makes the color you click on active for ALL tools, and doesn't automatically switch you to any tool. It leaves the dropper active.
This is one of the least well known short cuts in Flash, and is the ONLY way to use the dropper on an outline for example, and then be able to switch to the fill tool and have that color automatically active already.