Essential InDesign shortcuts: Your ultimate cheat sheet

Adobe InDesign is a powerhouse design tool used across a wide range of creative and professional contexts, from corporate communications and marketing to book and magazine publishing. Its robust features make it indispensable for professional and collaborative design, but its interface — filled with menus, palettes, and endless toolsets — can be intimidating.

The good news? Adobe has packed InDesign with hundreds of PC and Mac keyboard shortcuts to simplify your workflow. By focusing on the functions you use most, you can dramatically boost your efficiency and work smarter, not harder.

This cheat sheet isn’t an exhaustive list of every shortcut InDesign offers. Instead, it highlights the most essential, practical, and hidden-gem shortcuts to streamline your workflow — whether you’re just starting out or are a seasoned pro.

What we'll cover

1. Navigation and interface shortcuts

InDesign is a powerful design tool, but navigating its many features can sometimes feel overwhelming. Learning navigation shortcuts is one of the easiest ways to work faster and stay organized.

For instance, quickly jumping between spreads or frames can save valuable time compared to manual scrolling or clicking. Start with these essential shortcuts to streamline your workflow and make the most of this versatile tool.

2. Tool selection shortcuts

InDesign’s tools are the backbone of your design work, and Adobe made selecting them quick and intuitive with single-letter shortcuts. You don’t have to memorize them all — just focus on your top 3–10 most-used tools. By switching tools with your keyboard instead of your mouse, you can work more efficiently and keep your creative flow uninterrupted.

3. Text and typography shortcuts

Since InDesign is built for publishing, it’s no surprise that its text and type tools are more advanced than those in other Adobe products like Photoshop or Illustrator. Whether you’re adjusting kerning, aligning paragraphs, or applying text styles, mastering these shortcuts will make working with type effortless and more precise.

Note: Be mindful when using shortcuts for elements like bold, italics, drop caps, or strikethrough text. In most professional workflows, it’s best to rely on character styles and paragraph styles to ensure consistency and flexibility throughout your design.

4. Editing Shortcuts

When working in InDesign, you’re often dealing with text — sometimes a lot of it. In addition to the type and typography shortcuts, these options will help you handle all those words more efficiently, saving you time and clicks.

5. File and document management shortcuts

Most actions in the File menu have built-in keyboard shortcuts available, and many of them are straightforward. Learning these basics can speed up everything from saving to exporting, keeping your focus on design instead of menus.

6. Object and path editing shortcuts

Need to tweak a path without having to switch tools? InDesign offers several shortcuts and key combinations to make quick adjustments, giving you the flexibility to stay in your flow while editing projects.

7. Color and swatch management shortcuts

These shortcuts often combine keyboard commands with mouse clicks, but they’re invaluable for frequent swatch users. Once you master these harder-to-find tricks, working with color becomes much faster and smoother.

8. View and preview shortcuts

Creating production-ready pages and products often means switching between views to check every detail. These InDesign keyboard shortcuts let you jump between view and preview modes with just a few keystrokes, avoiding time-consuming menu navigation.

9. Table and cell shortcuts

Tables are an important feature for many InDesign users, but navigating them isn’t as intuitive as in spreadsheet applications. The following shortcuts are specifically designed for working within tables, helping you move and edit with ease. 

Note: Some shortcuts behave differently or may not function outside of table contexts.

10. Object and effects shortcuts

From resizing objects to applying effects, these shortcuts simplify common tasks, letting you manipulate elements with precision and speed.

11. Custom shortcut management

Last, we’d be remiss not to share that InDesign doesn’t just give you shortcuts — it lets you create and manage your own custom shortcuts. If a frequently used function doesn’t already have a keyboard shortcut, here’s how to set one up:

1. Close all documents.
2. Open the Edit menu and select Keyboard Shortcuts.
3. Select or create a new shortcut set.
4. Navigate to the product area relevant to your desired function.
5. Choose the command and click New Shortcut.
6. Press your desired key combination. If it’s already in use, InDesign will alert you before making changes.

Discover how to further streamline your design workflows

Adobe InDesign is the gold standard for professional page layout, typesetting, and design. But when it comes to collaborative design feedback and approval, it has its limitations. Sharing proofs with managers and stakeholders can be cumbersome, particularly when not everyone in the approval pipeline is familiar with or has access to such a specialized tool.

Ziflow offers a helpful solution. Built specifically for creative design and approval workflows, Ziflow integrates seamlessly with Adobe Creative Cloud and supports over 1,200 file types — including Photoshop and InDesign files. Its intuitive interface enables stakeholders to review, comment, and approve designs without needing to navigate the complexities of InDesign.

This InDesign cheat sheet is your go-to source for mastering InDesign shortcuts and streamlining your personal workflows. To bring the same level of efficiency and professionalism to your proofing and approval process, give Ziflow a try today.

Ziflow is the easiest way to manage review and approval of your video projects

See how Ziflow streamlines approval of your creative projects — including video. Start your free trial today.