101 After Effects Keyboard Shortcuts You Must Know
Published on 20 March 2025
Table of Contents
Introduction
Adobe After Effects is a powerful tool for motion graphics, visual effects, and compositing. But without help of the its Keyboard Shortcuts, you just can’t make the best use of it.
Mastering its extensive features can be time-consuming. One of the most effective ways to enhance productivity and streamline your workflow is by utilizing the After Effects keyboard shortcuts.
These shortcuts allow you to perform tasks quickly, reducing the need to navigate through menus and saving valuable time during long and tedious works.
Keyboard shortcuts in After Effects cover a wide range of functions, from basic operations like creating new compositions (Ctrl+N/Cmd+N) or previewing your work (Spacebar) to more advanced tasks such as toggling layer properties (e.g., P for Position, S for Scale, T for Opacity) or splitting layers (Ctrl+Shift+D/Cmd+Shift+D).
By memorizing and incorporating these shortcuts into your daily workflow, you can significantly speed up repetitive tasks and focus more on the creative aspects of your project, be it an animated explainer or some compositing work using different plugins.
Additionally, customizing shortcuts to suit your specific needs can further optimize your efficiency. After Effects allows users to reassign keys to functions they frequently use, creating a personalized setup that aligns with their workflow.
Whether you’re animating text, masking layers, or adjusting keyframes, keyboard shortcuts are an indispensable tool for professionals looking to work smarter, not harder.
In summary, mastering Adobe After Effects keyboard shortcuts is a game-changer for anyone seeking to improve their workflow.
Let’s get started.
1. After Effects Keyboard Shortcuts for General Workspace Operations
These are much more pertinent to the Project level, right after launching the application.
| Sl No | Commands | Functions |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ctrl + Alt + N | New Project |
| 2. | Ctrl + O | Open Project |
| 3. | Ctrl + S | Save Project |
| 4. | Ctrl + Shift + S | Save As |
| 5. | Ctrl + I | Import File |
| 6. | Ctrl + Alt + I | Import Multiple Files |
| 7. | Ctrl + Q | Exit/Quit |
2. The After Effects Shortcuts for working with Compositions
| Sl No | Commands | Functions |
|---|---|---|
| 8. | Ctrl + N | New Composition |
| 9. | Ctrl + K | Composition Settings |
| 10. | 0 (on the numeric keypad) | Preview Composition |
| 11. | Shift + 0 (on the numeric keypad) | RAM Preview |
| 12. | Ctrl + Alt + S | Save Frame As |
| 13. | Ctrl + Shift + / | Add to Render Queue |
3. The After Effects Shortcuts for working with Layers
| Sl No | Commands | Functions |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | Ctrl + Y | New Solid Layer |
| 15. | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + Y | New Null Object |
| 16. | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + N | New Shape Layer |
| 17. | Ctrl + Alt + Y | New Adjustment Layer |
| 18. | Ctrl + D | Duplicate Layer |
| 19. | Ctrl + Shift + D | Split Layer |
| 20. | Ctrl + Shift + C | Pre-compose Layers |
| 21. | Ctrl + L | Toggle Lock/Unlock Layer |
| 22. | Ctrl + Shift + Alt + V | Toggle Visibility (Eye Icon) |
| 23. | F4 | Toggle Switches/Modes |
4. After Effects Keyboard Shortcuts for Timeline Navigation
| Sl No | Commands | Functions |
|---|---|---|
| 24. | Home or Ctrl + Alt + Left Arrow | Go to Start of Composition |
| 25. | End or Ctrl + Alt + Right Arrow | Go to End of Composition |
| 26. | J | Go to Previous Keyframe |
| 27. | K | Go to Next Keyframe |
| 28. | [ | Move Layer In Point to Current Time |
| 29. | ] | Move Layer Out Point to Current Time |
| 30. | Ctrl + Shift + X | Trim Layer to Work Area |
5. The Keyframe Shortcuts of After Effects
| Sl No | Commands | Functions |
|---|---|---|
| 31. | Alt + Shift + P | Add Position Keyframe |
| 32. | Alt + Shift + R | Add Rotation Keyframe |
| 33. | Alt + Shift + S | Add Scale Keyframe |
| 34. | Alt + Shift + T | Add Opacity Keyframe |
| 35. | Alt + Shift + A | Add Anchor Point Keyframe |
| 36. | Ctrl + Alt + H | Toggle Hold Keyframe |
| 37. | F9 | Easy Ease |
| 38. | Shift + F9 | Easy Ease In |
| 39. | Ctrl + Shift + F9 | Easy Ease Out |
| 40. | Select property and press Delete | Delete All Keyframes |
| 41. | Alt Click on a Layer Property Stopwatch | Add Expression |
6. After Effects Keyboard Shortcuts for View
| Sl No | Commands | Functions |
|---|---|---|
| 42. | . (Period Key) or Ctrl + + | Zoom In |
| 43. | , (Comma Key) or Ctrl + – | Zoom Out |
| 44. | Shift + / | Fit to Window |
| 45. | Ctrl + / | Toggle Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction |
| 46. | Ctrl + Shift + H | Toggle Transparency Grid |
| 47. | Ctrl + Shift + H | Toggle Layer Controls |
7. After Effects Keyboard Shortcuts for the Tools
| Sl No | Commands | Functions |
|---|---|---|
| 48. | V | Selection Tool |
| 49. | H | Hand Tool |
| 50. | Z | Zoom Tool |
| 51. | W | Rotation Tool |
| 52. | Y | Pan Behind (Anchor Point) Tool |
| 53. | Q | Rectangle Tool |
| 54. | G | Pen Tool |
| 55. | Ctrl + T | Type Tool |
| 56. | Ctrl + B | Brush Tool |
| 57. | Ctrl + B (then select from toolbar) | Clone Stamp Tool |
| 58. | Ctrl + B (then select from toolbar) | Eraser Tool |
8. The Workspace Shortcuts for After Effects
| Sl No | Commands | Functions |
|---|---|---|
| 59. | Shift + F11 | Reset Workspace |
| 60. | Ctrl + 0 | Toggle Project Panel |
| 61. | Ctrl + 5 | Toggle Effects & Presets Panel |
| 62. | Ctrl + 3 | Toggle Preview Panel |
| 63. | Ctrl + Alt + T | Toggle Timeline Panel |
| 64. | Ctrl + Alt + 1 | Toggle Composition Panel |
9. After Effects Keyboard Shortcuts for Animation
| Sl No | Commands | Functions |
|---|---|---|
| 65. | P | Show Position Properties |
| 66. | S | Show Scale Properties |
| 67. | R | Show Rotation Properties |
| 68. | T | Show Opacity Properties |
| 69. | A | Show Anchor Point Properties |
| 70. | U | Show All Properties |
| 71. | UU | Show Modified Properties |
| 72. | EE | Show Expression (With a Layer Selected) |
| 73. | Select layer, then Shift + Click on parent pick whip | Parent Layer |
| 73. | Select layer, then Shift + Click on parent pick whip | Parent Layer |
10. The Shortcuts for Effects & Presets
| Sl No | Commands | Functions |
|---|---|---|
| 74. | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + E | Apply Last Effect |
| 75. | Ctrl + Space (in Effects & Presets panel) | Search Effects |
11. After Effects Keyboard Shortcuts for Masking
| Sl No | Commands | Functions |
|---|---|---|
| 76. | Ctrl + Shift + N | New Mask |
| 77. | Ctrl + Shift + I | Invert Mask |
| 78. | F | Feather Mask |
| 79. | M (then adjust properties) | Expand Mask |
| 80. | MM | Toggle Mask Path |
12. After Effects Hotkeys for Text Editing
| Sl No | Commands | Functions |
|---|---|---|
| 81. | Ctrl + Shift + L | Align Text Left |
| 82. | Ctrl + Shift + C | Align Text Center |
| 83. | Ctrl + Shift + R | Align Text Right |
| 84. | Ctrl + 6 | Toggle Character Panel |
| 85. | Ctrl + 7 | Toggle Paragraph Panel |
13. The Rendering Shortcuts of After Effects
| Sl No | Commands | Functions |
|---|---|---|
| 86. | Ctrl + Alt + 0 | Render Queue |
| 87. | Ctrl + Shift + / | Add to Render Queue |
| 88. | Ctrl + Shift + S | Render Settings |
| 89. | Ctrl + Alt + M | Output Module Settings |
14. After Effects Keyboard Shortcuts for Miscellaneous Operations
| Sl No | Commands | Functions |
|---|---|---|
| 86. | Ctrl + Alt + 0 | Render Queue |
| 90. | Ctrl + Z | Undo |
| 91. | Ctrl + Shift + Z | Redo |
| 92. | Ctrl + X | Cut |
| 93. | Ctrl + C | Copy |
| 94. | Ctrl + V | Paste |
| 95. | Delete | Delete |
| 96. | Ctrl + A | Select All |
| 97. | Ctrl + Shift + A | Deselect All |
| 98. | Ctrl + Alt + / | Purge Memory |
| 99. | LL | Reveal Audio Waveform |
| 100. | AA (Selecting the Layer with Audio Track) | Reveal Audio Level Keyframes |
| 101. | Keyboard Shortcuts | Ctrl + Alt + K |
Conclusion
After Effects is possibly the most used program for motion design and VFX. Though it’s not the most preferred choice of the industry professionals, it’s the most popular software among the huge user base comprising semi-professionals and amateur content creators and publisher.
Whether you’re tweaking a template or creating a short with vector animations, you must keep the shortcuts as many possible in your muscle-memory to speed up your work.
My best guess is you just have to spend a week at most to pick up most the hotkeys I tabled above.
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