One of the most underrated features in Adobe creative apps are the various object alignment tools (left align, right align, align top edges, horizontal align middle, etc.) If you\u2019re anything like me, you use these tools regularly. And while they are conveniently \u2014\u00a0and sometimes even dynamically \u2014\u00a0located in multiple locations, you may find yourself moving your cursor back-and-forth from your artwork to the alignment panel more often than you\u2019d like. This can slow down \u2014\u00a0or even disrupt \u2014\u00a0your workflow. The solution? Keyboard shortcuts!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this guide we setup keyboard shortcuts for the most common alignment actions. I also include notes about variations you can explore on your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adobe apps come chalk full of keyboard shortcuts (see official keyboard shortcuts lists for InDesign<\/a>, Illustrator<\/a>, Photoshop<\/a> and XD<\/a>), so finding a combination of keystrokes that are not already designated to a shortcut can be tricky, and you\u2019ll likely need to press several keys to employ any new shortcut. In this guide, most of our shortcuts will involve only three keys, but, luckily, they don\u2019t require years of finger yoga to be able to get your hands in the positions required to press them all at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re going to start with Adobe InDesign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For our keyboard shortcuts we\u2019ll consistently press Control+Command and then add a modifier key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As much as I tried to get directly into the setup of these shortcuts, there is at least one more thing that needs clarification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Adobe uses different names for the same action, in different locations within the same app. Here\u2019s what I mean. When you position your cursor over the first button in the Alignment panel, the tooltip says \u201cAlign left edges,\u201d but, when you setup your keyboard shortcuts, the name for this action is \u201cHorizontal Align Left.\u201d Why Adobe would use two names for the same action is beyond me, but this is what we have to work with. And, if that isn\u2019t bad enough, these same alignment actions get different names in different Adobe apps. For example, the tool tip in InDesign and Photoshop is \u201cAlign left edges,\u201d but in Illustrator it is \u201cHorizontal Align Left\u201d and simply \u201cAlign Left\u201d in XD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, in the lists of the shortcuts we\u2019ll create, I include the action\u2019s name (from the shortcut creator dialog box), then the tooltip, then the shortcut itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use your new shortcuts<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n And, you\u2019re done! <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026 Kind of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To create shortcuts in other Adobe apps, keep reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Understanding that Adobe apps are developed by app-specific teams helps us understand why each app handles very similar tasks so differently. Organizations the size of Adobe cannot have an entirely flat org. structure, so silos exist, and this affects how we interact with their apps. In this section, we\u2019ll uncover some of these dissimilarities and how to overcome them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adobe InDesign doesn\u2019t list the object alignment actions anywhere in the app\u2019s menus, which is why, when setting up the shortcuts you must find them in Product Area<\/em>: Object Editing<\/em>. This isn\u2019t bad, it\u2019s just different than the rest of the apps we cover in this guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Adobe Illustrator shortcut setup is a bit different than that of InDesign. One of the reasons for this is that the alignment actions can<\/em> be found in the app\u2019s menus, so that\u2019s where you find the actions in the keyboard shortcut setup process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adobe Illustrator does not<\/em> let you use the Control key or the arrow keys in keyboard shortcuts, so I\u2019ve substituted the Option key for the Control Key and letter keys for the arrow keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Adobe Photoshop does<\/em> allow you to use the Command key, but doesn\u2019t <\/em>allow you to use Arrow keys in keyboard shortcuts. So, similar to Adobe Illustrator, my solution is to use the first letter from each action\u2019s directional component. I.e. C<\/strong> for C<\/strong>enter, L<\/strong> for L<\/strong>eft, R<\/strong> for R<\/strong>ight, etc. as the modifier key in the shortcut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The shortcut setup is a bit different in Photoshop, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adobe XD doesn\u2019t allow you to create custom \u2014 or modify existing \u2014 keyboard shortcuts. (It has been a feature request since 2018.) This limitation is one of the reasons we used the specific shortcuts key combinations that we did \u2014 they are the defaults in XD, so no additional setup is necessary \u2026 in XD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s not to say that XD is perfect. XD does its part in confusing all these alignment matters. XD is the only app that lists the vertical alignment options before the horizontal options.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNote: for ease of research, writing and reading this tutorial, I\u2019ll be using Mac keys only, Windows users willl need to adjust accordingly. I.e. Command on MacOS = Ctrl on Windows.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Due to these inconsistencies, while writing this guide, I nearly created a keyboard shortcut<\/em> for inserting the face palm emoji.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Action name<\/th> Tooltip<\/th> Shortcut<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Horizontal Align Center<\/td> Align horizontal centers<\/td> Control+Command+C<\/td><\/tr> Horizontal Align Left<\/td> Align left edges<\/td> Control+Command+Arrow-Left<\/td><\/tr> Horizontal Align Right<\/td> Align right edges<\/td> Control+Command+Arrow-Right<\/td><\/tr> Vertical Align Bottom<\/td> Align bottom edges<\/td> Control+Command+Arrow-Down<\/td><\/tr> Vertical Align Center<\/td> Align vertical centers<\/td> Control+Command+M *<\/td><\/tr> Vertical Align Top<\/td> Align top edges<\/td> Control+Command+Arrow-Up<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n *I use the letter M<\/strong> for the Vertical Align Center shortcut to differentiate between C<\/strong> for Horizontal Align C<\/em><\/strong>enter<\/em> and M<\/strong> for Vertical<\/em> Align
Center<\/s> M<\/strong>iddle. I find it helpful to think that you can find the shape of the letter V (for vertical) in the shape of the letter M.<\/pre>\n\n\n\nSetup keyboard shortcuts in Adobe InDesign<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nAdobe Abnormalities<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Adobe InDesign<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Adobe Illustrator<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Setup keyboard shortcuts in Adobe Illustrator<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Action name<\/th> Shortcut<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Horizontal Align Left<\/td> Option+Command+L<\/td><\/tr> Horizontal Align Center<\/td> Option+Command+C<\/td><\/tr> Horizontal Align Right<\/td> Option+Command+R<\/td><\/tr> Vertical Align Top<\/td> Option+Command+T<\/td><\/tr> Vertical Align Center<\/td> Option+Command+M *<\/td><\/tr> Vertical Align Bottom<\/td> Option+Command+B<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n * Remember M is for Middle<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Adobe Photoshop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Setup keyboard shortcuts in Adobe Photoshop<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\u2022 Note: this list is not<\/strong><\/em> alphabetical, it appears in the same order as it does in the menu<\/li>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Repeat for all the other shortcuts using the below guide.<\/li>\n\n\n\nAction name<\/th> Shortcut<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Top Edges<\/td> Control+Option+Command+T<\/td><\/tr> Vertical Centers<\/td> Control+Option+Command+M *<\/td><\/tr> Bottom Edges<\/td> Control+Option+Command+B<\/td><\/tr> Left Edges<\/td> Control+Option+Command+L<\/td><\/tr> Horizontal Centers<\/td> Control+Option+Command+C<\/td><\/tr> Right Edges<\/td> Control+Option+Command+R<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n * Remember M is for Middle<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Adobe XD<\/h2>\n\n\n\n