Gimp has a very nice way of dealing with short cuts
or hotkeys. If you don't like a default short cut or
if your favorite command hasn't been assigned to a default
hotkey, then just bring up the menu holding the command, for
example <Image>/File/Preference and press an
alternative key, like Ctrl-U. The preference dialog
will now pop up when you press Ctrl-U. (remember not
to have caps lock on). If Ctrl-U was occupied by e.g <Image>/
File /Print before you did the reassignment, then this
short cut has been erased. All of this happened on the fly.
You will actually see the reassignment take place and there
is no need to restart Gimp. (in some other operating
systems you'll get messages like ""$$" has
discovered that the mouse cursor has changed position, please
restart "$$" so it can be updated")
This can also be done by editing your personal menu rc
file in your personal gimp directory. This makes it
possible to share your short cuts with your friends. If you
are a former Photoshop user, you can for example re-bind your
keys so Gimp will use the same hotkeys as Photoshop.
As authors of this book we suggest that you stick to the
default short cuts. Otherwise it may be difficult to follow
our instructions (you may run into some problems when we
write Ctrl-N to get a new image, and you quit Gimp because
you have reassigned the short cut).
If you want to remove your personal short cuts just type
rm .gimp/menurc in an xterm shell.
The next pages display a Quick Reference to the
default keybindings in Gimp. It's a good idea to print this
page, and keep it beside your computer.
Conventions
- The left column lists options available for a certain
tool (clicking different mouse buttons and/or
pressing hotkeys). The right column describes the
result.
- The different tools are listed in the left column,
and the hotkeys for calling up each tool are listed
in the right column.
- {1} represents left mouse button.
- {2} represents the middle mouse button.
- {3} represents the right mouse button.
- Shift + {1} - Shift + Shift + Ctrl means the
following:
- First press Shift, then press the left
mouse button. Release Shift then press Shift
again. Press Ctrl and drag the mouse
while holding Shift and Ctrl. When
you are finished, first release the mouse button,
then release Shift and Ctrl.
Default short cuts in Gimp.
| Selection
tools |
| {1} |
Draw
selection |
| {1} + {3} -
{1} |
Cancel
selection |
| On existing
selections |
| Shift + {1} -
Shift |
Add to
selection |
| Ctrl + {1} -
Ctrl |
Subtract from
selec-
tion |
Shift + Ctrl
+ {1} -
Shift - Ctrl |
Union of
selection |
| Alt + {1} |
Move
selection |
| Rectangular and ellipse |
R/E |
| {1} + Shift |
Circle/square
only |
| {1} + Ctrl |
Start from
centre |
| {1} + Shift +
Ctrl |
Start
circle/square
from centre |
Shift + {1} -
Shift +
Shift |
Add
circle/square to
selection |
Shift + {1} -
Shift +
Ctrl |
Add
rect/ellipse to
selection starting
from centre |
Shift + {1} -
Shift +
Shift + Ctrl |
Add
circle/square to
selection starting
from centre |
Ctrl + {1} -
Ctrl +
Shift |
Subtract
circle/
square from selec-
tion |
Ctrl + {1} -
Ctrl +
Ctrl |
Subtract
ellipse/
square from selec-
tion starting from
centre |
|
Ctrl + {1} -
Ctrl +
Shift + Ctrl |
Subtract
circle/
square from selec-
tion starting from
centre |
Shift + Ctrl
+ {1} -
Shift - Ctrl + Shift |
Circle/square
union
of selection |
Shift + Ctrl
+ {1} -
Shift - Ctrl + Ctrl |
Ellipse/rectangle
union of selection
starting from centre |
Shift + Ctrl
+ {1} -
Shift - Ctrl + Shift +
Ctrl |
Circle/square
union
of selection starting
from centre |
| Bezier |
B |
| {1} (inside
bezier) |
Convert to
selection |
| {1} |
Move both
control
handles |
| Shift + {1} |
Move one
control
handle |
| Ctrl + {1} |
Move control
point |
| Remaining
selection tools |
| Fuzzy select |
Z |
| Free |
F |
| Intelligent
scissors |
I |
|
| Move
tool |
M |
| {1} |
Move current
layer |
| {1} + Shift |
Move current even
if 100% transparent |
| Ctrl + [arrow key] |
Move layer 1 pixel |
| Shift + [arrow key] |
Move layer 25 pix-
els |
| Alt + [arrow key] |
Move selection 1
pixel |
| Alt + Shift + [arrow key] |
Move selection 25
pixels |
|
| Transform
tool |
Shift
+ T |
| Rotation mode |
| {1} |
Rotate with
1°
increments |
| Ctrl + {1} |
Rotate with 15°
increments |
| Scaling Mode |
| {1} |
Free scaling |
| Shift + {1} |
Scale in X direc-
tion only |
| Ctrl + {1} |
Scale in Y direc-
tion only |
| Shift + Ctrl + {1} |
Scale with fixed
ratio |
| Shearing mode |
| {1} |
Free shearing |
| Perspective mode |
| {1} |
Move point |
| All |
| {1} + {3} - {3} |
Preview |
|
| Magnify
tool |
Shift
+ M |
| {1} or = |
Zoom in |
| Shift + {1} or = |
Zoom out |
| {2} |
Pan image |
|
| Crop
tool |
Shift
+ C |
| {1} |
Make crop
selection |
| {1} + {3} - {1} |
Cancel crop |
| {1} inside crop |
Perform crop |
|
| Text
tool |
T |
| {1} |
Set top left
of text |
|
| Color
picker tool |
O |
| {1} |
Get color |
|
| Bucket
fill tool |
Shift
+ M |
| With no selection |
| {1} |
Fill
with FG color |
| Shift + {1} |
Fill with BG color |
| With selection |
| {1} |
Fill selection
with
FG color |
| Shift + {1} |
Fill selection
with
BG color |
|
| Color
picker tool |
O |
| {1} |
Set
active color
with cursor |
| X |
Swap BG FG color |
| D |
Set default colors |
|
| Clone
tool |
C |
| {1} |
Clone |
| Ctrl + {1} |
Set clone source
point |
| Alt + {1} |
Quick clone |
Shift ± {1} +
dis-
tance ± {1} |
Line clone |
|
|
| Paint tools |
| Blend
tool |
L |
| Pencil
tool |
Shift
+ P |
| Airbrush
tool |
A |
| {1} |
Paint |
| Alt + {1} |
Quick draw |
Shift ± {1} +
dis-
tance ± {1} |
Line draw |
|
| Eraser
tool |
Shift
+ E |
| {1} |
Set to
BG and Clear |
| Alt + {1} |
Quick erase |
Shift ± {1} +
dis-
tance ± {1} |
Line erase |
|
| Blend
tool |
L |
| {1} +
drag - {1] |
Set
start => end of
gradient |
| {1} + {2} - {1} |
Cancel gradient |
|
| Convolver tool |
V |
| {1} |
Blur/Sharpen
with
brush |
|
|
| File |
| New |
Ctrl +
N |
| Open |
Ctrl + O |
| Close |
Ctrl + W |
| Quit |
Ctrl + Q |
|
| Dialogs |
| Brushes |
Shift
+ Ctrl + B |
| Patterns |
Shift + Ctrl + P |
| Palette |
Ctrl + P |
| Gradient editor |
Ctrl + G |
| Tool options |
Shift + Ctrl + T |
| Layers &
Channels |
Ctrl + L |
|
| Edit |
| Cut |
Ctrl +
X |
| Copy |
Ctrl + C |
| Paste |
Ctrl + V |
| Clear |
Ctrl + K |
| Fill |
Ctrl + . |
| Undo |
Ctrl + Z |
| Redo |
Ctrl + R |
| Cut Named |
Shift + Ctrl + X |
| Copy Named |
Shift + Ctrl + C |
| Paste Named |
Shift + Ctrl + V |
|
| Filters |
| Repeat
Last |
Alt +
F |
| Re-show Last |
Shift + Alt + F |
|
|
| Select |
| Toggle |
Ctrl +
T |
| Invert |
Ctrl + I |
| All |
Ctrl + A |
| None |
Shift + Ctrl + A |
| Float |
Shift + Ctrl + L |
| Sharpen |
Shift + Ctrl + H |
| Feather |
Shift + Ctrl + F |
|
| View |
| Zoom
in |
= |
| Zoom out |
- |
| Zoom 1:1 |
1 |
| Window info |
Shift + Ctrl + I |
| Toggle Rulers |
Shift + Ctrl + R |
| Toggle Guides |
Shift + Ctrl + T |
| Shrink Wrap |
Ctrl + E |
|
| Image |
Channel
Ops Dupli-
cate |
Ctrl +
D |
| Channel Ops Offset |
Shift + Ctrl + O |
|
| Layers |
| Dialog |
Ctrl +
L |
| Raise Layer |
Ctrl + F |
| Lower Layer |
Ctrl + B |
Merge Visible Lay-
ers |
Ctrl + M |
|
|
| Tools |
| Rect Select |
R |
| Ellipse Select |
E |
| Fuzzy Select |
Z |
| Bezier Select |
B |
| Intelligent Scissors |
I |
| Move |
M |
| Magnify |
Shift + M |
| Crop |
Shift + C |
| Transform |
Shift + T |
| Flip |
Shift + F |
| Text |
T |
| Color Picker |
O |
| Bucket Fill |
Shift + B |
| Blend |
L |
| Paintbrush |
P |
| Pencil |
Shift + P |
| Eraser |
Shift + E |
| Airbrush |
A |
| Clone |
C |
| Convolve |
V |
|
| Layers & Channels dialog |
| Layers ops menu |
| New layer |
Ctrl + N |
| Raise layer |
Ctrl + F |
| Lower layer |
Ctrl + B |
| Duplicate layer |
Ctrl + C |
| Delete layer |
Ctrl + X |
| Scale layer |
Ctrl + S |
| Resize layer |
Ctrl + R |
Merge visible lay-
ers |
Ctrl + M |
| {1} |
Select layer (visi-
ble and anchor) |
| Shift + {1} |
View current layer
only |
Alt + {1}
Red layer mask |
View layer mask (or
remove red mask) |
Alt + {1}
Green layer mask |
View layer mask (or
remove green mask) |
Alt + {1}
Blue layer mask |
View layer mask (or
remove blue mask) |
| Channels ops menu |
| New channel |
Ctrl + N |
| Raise channel |
Ctrl + F |
| Lower channel |
Ctrl + B |
| Duplicate channel |
Ctrl + C |
| Delete channel |
Ctrl + X |
Channel to selec-
tion |
Ctrl + S |
|
| Gradient Editor dialog: Ops menu |
| Left endpoint color |
L |
Load from Left
neighbor's right
endpoint |
Ctrl + L |
Load from Right
endpoint |
Alt + L |
| Load from FG color |
Ctrl + |
Right
endpoint
color |
R |
Load from Right
neighbor's right
endpoint |
Ctrl+R |
Load from Left
endpoint |
Alt + R |
| Load from FG color |
Alt + F |
| Segments |
Split segment at
midpoint |
S |
Split segment uni-
formly |
U |
| Delete segment |
D |
Re-centre seg-
ment's midpoint |
C |
Re-distribute han-
dles in segment |
Ctrl + C |
|
| Selection
operands |
| Flip segments |
F |
| Replicate segment |
M |
Blend endpoints'
colors |
B |
Blend endpoints'
opacity |
Ctrl + B |
|
