After Effects shortcuts
After Effects shortcuts: the cheat sheet, Windows and Mac
These are the After Effects keyboard shortcuts worth knowing by heart: the property reveals, keyframe and easing keys, trimming and splitting layers, centring the anchor point, previewing and the tools. On a Mac, Cmd stands in for Ctrl and Option for Alt. The last column says what each key does in Premation, the free, open-source motion editor that starts on After Effects' keymap — checked against the editor's own command table, so a cell says Same only when the chord really does the same thing.
Taking these keys to Premation
It starts on the After Effects keymap
Premation's default shortcut preset mirrors After Effects': V, W, Y, G, Q, Ctrl+T and the other toolbar keys, the P/S/R/T/A/U reveals, F9 Easy Ease, Alt+[ and Alt+] trims, Ctrl+Shift+D split and Ctrl+Alt+Home for the anchor point. Muscle memory mostly carries over unchanged.
Rebind, disable or reset any key
Window → Customize → Shortcuts lists every command. Give one a new chord, disable it, reset it to its default, or Reset All. The dialog flags a chord that another command already uses before you commit it.
Where a key means something else
A few chords differ: Ctrl+N makes a new project (New Composition has no key), Ctrl+Alt+H is the performance HUD rather than Toggle Hold Keyframe, Ctrl+Shift+K switches theme rather than opening Keyframe Velocity, Ctrl+B is the Bone tool, and Shift+Page Up/Down jump between markers instead of ten frames. The tables mark every one.
J, K and L depend on focus
With the timeline focused, J and K step to the previous and next keyframe as in After Effects. In the viewport, or with nothing focused, J, K and L are a shuttle: reverse, stop, forward, tap again for 2× and 4×.
Space plays; Numpad 0 does not
Space plays and pauses (hold it for the Hand tool). Premation has no separate Numpad 0 preview. Numpad . previews audio only, as in After Effects.
Keys Premation adds
Ctrl+Shift+P opens the command palette (search commands, layers, compositions or a timecode), Ctrl+Alt+1…9 recalls a 3D camera bookmark, Shift+F4 cycles shaded / wireframe / bounding-box display and ` collapses the sidebars.
Layers & transform: reveal and keyframe
Select one or more layers first. Press a reveal key twice where shown; add Shift to add to what is already revealed instead of replacing it.
| Action | Windows | Mac | In Premation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reveal Position | P | P | Same |
| Reveal Scale | S | S | Same |
| Reveal Rotation | R | R | Same |
| Reveal Opacity | T | T | Same |
| Reveal Anchor Point | A | A | Same |
| Reveal keyframed properties | U | U | Same |
| Reveal every modified property | U U | U U | Same |
| Reveal effects | E | E | Same |
| Reveal mask path / mask feather | M / F | M / F | Same (M M shows every mask property) |
| Reveal audio levels / waveform | L / L L | L / L L | Same |
| Show only the selected properties | S S | S S | Same |
| Add a property to the reveal | Shift + reveal key | Shift + reveal key | Same |
| Add a keyframe: Position / Scale / Rotation / Opacity / Anchor | Alt+Shift+P / S / R / T / A | Opt+Shift+P / S / R / T / A | Same |
| Centre anchor point in layer content | Ctrl+Alt+Home | Cmd+Opt+Home | Same |
| Centre layer in the composition | Ctrl+Home | Cmd+Home | Same |
| Fit layer to comp | Ctrl+Alt+F | Cmd+Opt+F | Same |
| Fit layer to comp width / height | Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H / G | Cmd+Opt+Shift+H / G | Same |
| Rotate 1° (Shift: 10°) | Numpad + / − | Numpad + / − | Same |
| Scale 1% (Shift: 10%) | Alt+Numpad + / − | Opt+Numpad + / − | Same |
| Auto-Orient | Ctrl+Alt+O | Cmd+Opt+O | Same |
| Layer (solid) settings | Ctrl+Shift+Y | Cmd+Shift+Y | Same (Layer Settings…) |
| Show / hide layer controls | Ctrl+Shift+H | Cmd+Shift+H | Different: Find and Replace Text… |
Timeline & keyframes
| Action | Windows | Mac | In Premation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy Ease | F9 | F9 | Same |
| Easy Ease In | Shift+F9 | Shift+F9 | Same |
| Easy Ease Out | Ctrl+Shift+F9 | Cmd+Shift+F9 | Same |
| Toggle the Graph Editor | Shift+F3 | Shift+F3 | Same |
| Previous / next keyframe | J / K | J / K | Same with the timeline focused; elsewhere J / K / L shuttle |
| Nudge selected keyframes one frame | Alt+← / → | Opt+← / → | Different: ← / → (Shift: ten frames) |
| Toggle Hold Keyframe | Ctrl+Alt+H | Cmd+Opt+H | Different: Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+H is the performance HUD; Toggle Hold is in the right-click menu |
| Keyframe Velocity… | Ctrl+Shift+K | Cmd+Shift+K | Different: Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+K switches theme |
| Keyframe Interpolation… | Ctrl+Alt+K | Cmd+Opt+K | Not bound (right-click menu) |
| Add or remove an expression | Alt+Shift+= | Opt+Shift+= | Same (opens the expression editor) |
| Mask path keyframe | Alt+Shift+M | Opt+Shift+M | Same |
| Toggle Switches / Modes | F4 | F4 | Same |
| Go to time | Alt+Shift+J | Opt+Shift+J | Same |
Preview & navigation
| Action | Windows | Mac | In Premation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play / stop | Space | Space | Same |
| Preview (numeric keypad) | Numpad 0 | Numpad 0 | Not bound: use Space |
| Preview audio only | Numpad . | Numpad . | Same (Alt: the work area) |
| Go to start / end | Home / End | Home / End | Same |
| Next / previous frame | Page Down / Page Up | Page Down / Page Up | Same |
| Forward / back ten frames | Shift+Page Down / Page Up | Shift+Page Down / Page Up | Different: next / previous marker |
| Go to layer in / out point | I / O | I / O | Different: I / O mark in / out; Shift+I / O go to the in / out point |
| Set work area start / end | B / N | B / N | Same |
| Take snapshot / show snapshot | Shift+F5 / F5 | Shift+F5 / F5 | Swapped: F5 takes, Shift+F5 shows |
| Show guides | Ctrl+; | Cmd+; | Same |
| Show grid | Ctrl+' | Cmd+' | Same |
| Show proportional grid | Alt+' | Opt+' | Same |
| Snap to grid | Ctrl+Shift+' | Cmd+Shift+' | Same |
| Composition mini-flowchart | Tab | Tab | Same |
| Maximise the panel under the pointer | ` | ` | Different: ` collapses the sidebars (Shift+`: viewport only) |
Tools
| Action | Windows | Mac | In Premation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selection | V | V | Same |
| Hand (hold for temporary) | H (Space) | H (Space) | Same |
| Zoom | Z | Z | Same |
| Rotation | W | W | Same |
| Pan Behind (anchor point) | Y | Y | Same |
| Pen (again: Mask Feather) | G | G | Same |
| Shape tools | Q | Q | Q is Rectangle; Shift+Q is Ellipse |
| Type (again: vertical) | Ctrl+T | Cmd+T | Same |
| Puppet Pin | Ctrl+P | Cmd+P | Same |
| Roto Brush | Alt+W | Opt+W | Same |
| Camera tools | C | C | Same (cycles unified / orbit / pan / dolly) |
| Brush | Ctrl+B | Cmd+B | Different: Ctrl/Cmd+B is the Bone tool |
Composition, layers & file
| Action | Windows | Mac | In Premation |
|---|---|---|---|
| New composition | Ctrl+N | Cmd+N | Different: Ctrl/Cmd+N is New Project; New Composition… has no key |
| New project | Ctrl+Alt+N | Cmd+Opt+N | Not bound (Ctrl/Cmd+N) |
| Composition settings | Ctrl+K | Cmd+K | Same |
| Pre-compose | Ctrl+Shift+C | Cmd+Shift+C | Same |
| New solid | Ctrl+Y | Cmd+Y | Same |
| New null object | Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Y | Cmd+Opt+Shift+Y | Same |
| New adjustment layer | Ctrl+Alt+Y | Cmd+Opt+Y | Same |
| New text layer | Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T | Cmd+Opt+Shift+T | Same |
| New camera / new light | Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C / L | Cmd+Opt+Shift+C / L | Same |
| New mask | Ctrl+Shift+N | Cmd+Shift+N | Same |
| Invert mask | Ctrl+Shift+I | Cmd+Shift+I | Same |
| Effect Controls panel | F3 | F3 | Same |
| Import file | Ctrl+I | Cmd+I | Not bound |
| Add to Render Queue | Ctrl+M | Cmd+M | Not bound (F6 opens the Render Queue) |
| Save / Save As | Ctrl+S / Ctrl+Shift+S | Cmd+S / Cmd+Shift+S | Same |
| Increment and Save | Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S | Cmd+Opt+Shift+S | Same |
Editing: split, trim, duplicate
| Action | Windows | Mac | In Premation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Split layer at the playhead | Ctrl+Shift+D | Cmd+Shift+D | Same |
| Trim layer in point to the playhead | Alt+[ | Opt+[ | Same |
| Trim layer out point to the playhead | Alt+] | Opt+] | Same |
| Move layer in / out point to the playhead | [ / ] | [ / ] | Same |
| Nudge layer one frame in time (Shift: ten) | Alt+Page Up / Page Down | Opt+Page Up / Page Down | Same |
| Duplicate | Ctrl+D | Cmd+D | Same |
| Undo / redo | Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z | Cmd+Z / Cmd+Shift+Z | Same |
| Select all | Ctrl+A | Cmd+A | Same |
| Deselect all | F2 | F2 | Different: Esc deselects; F2 renames in the timeline and panels |
| Bring forward / send backward | Ctrl+] / Ctrl+[ | Cmd+] / Cmd+[ | Same |
| Bring to front / send to back | Ctrl+Shift+] / [ | Cmd+Shift+] / [ | Same |
| Time-reverse layer | Ctrl+Alt+R | Cmd+Opt+R | Same |
Questions
- What is the shortcut to centre the anchor point in After Effects?
- Ctrl+Alt+Home on Windows, Cmd+Option+Home on a Mac. It moves the anchor point to the middle of the layer's content without moving the layer. Ctrl+Home (Cmd+Home) is the other half: it moves the layer to the centre of the composition. Both chords do the same in Premation.
- What is the shortcut to add a keyframe in After Effects?
- Alt+Shift plus the property's reveal letter: Alt+Shift+P for Position, S for Scale, R for Rotation, T for Opacity and A for Anchor Point (Option+Shift on a Mac). It sets a keyframe at the playhead at the current value, turning the stopwatch on if needed. The same chords work in Premation.
- How do I cut or split a layer in After Effects?
- Ctrl+Shift+D (Cmd+Shift+D) splits the selected layer at the playhead into two layers. To shorten a layer instead, Alt+[ trims its in point and Alt+] its out point to the playhead. All three work the same in Premation.
- What are the After Effects shortcuts on a Mac?
- The same keys with Mac modifiers: Cmd wherever Windows uses Ctrl, and Option wherever it uses Alt. Single-letter keys such as P, S, R, T, U, V and G are identical on both systems.
- Is there an After Effects shortcut keys PDF?
- Adobe keeps the complete list in After Effects' online help, and the app has a visual editor under Edit ▸ Keyboard Shortcuts. This page is the short version: the keys used daily, grouped by job, with Windows and Mac side by side.
- Do After Effects shortcuts work in Premation?
- Most do, because Premation's default preset is After Effects' keymap. The tables above mark the exceptions — New Composition, Toggle Hold Keyframe, Keyframe Velocity, the snapshot keys and a few navigation keys — and any chord can be rebound in Window → Customize → Shortcuts.