MY CARTAcrobat Keyboard Shortcuts
Acrobat Keyboard Shortcuts
How to Apply Acrobat Keyboard Shortcuts in Acrobat XI
You can use Acrobat keyboard shortcuts in Adobe Acrobat XI to perform commands. Acrobat keyboard shortcuts in Acrobat XI appear in the Menu Bar to the right of the specific command to which they correspond. For example, if you click the “Edit” command in the Menu Bar, you can see the Acrobat keyboard shortcut for the “Copy” command, which is “Ctrl+C” on the keyboard. You can then click away from the Menu Bar drop-down menu to retract it. Next, select the content to copy within the PDF, hold down the “Ctrl” key on the keyboard, and then strike the “C” key on the keyboard to copy the selected content. If your goal is to become faster using Acrobat, learning the Acrobat keyboard shortcuts will assist you.
Notice that not every command in the Menu Bar has a corresponding Acrobat keyboard shortcut. However, there is a keystroke combination you can perform to access every command. If you press the “Alt” key on your keyboard and then examine the Menu Bar, you will see that each command category (like “File” or “Edit”) has a single underlined letter- for example the “F” in “File,” and the “V” in the “View” command. If you hold down the “Alt” key on your keyboard and strike the underlined letter for the corresponding command category on your keyboard, you will see its drop-down menu appear. At that point if you examine the sub-commands in the drop-down menu, you’ll notice that each one of the subcommands also has a single letter underlined. At this point, you no longer have to hold down the “Alt” key, you can just strike the key on your keyboard that corresponds to the underlined letter of the subcommand that you would like to execute. You will find that every command has an Acrobat keyboard shortcut if you follow this method!
Important Note on Acrobat Keyboard Shortcuts in Acrobat XI
To enable single-key Acrobat keyboard shortcuts in Acrobat XI, select “Edit| Preferences…” from the Menu Bar to open the “Preferences” dialog box. Select the “General” category, and then check the “Use single-key accelerators to access tools” checkbox. Then click the “OK” button in the “Preferences” dialog box.
Below is a listing of the most commonly used keyboard shortcuts in Acrobat XI. This material is also contained within the manuals in our course titled “Mastering Acrobat Made Easy v.XI.”
| Tool Selection Shortcuts | Acrobat Keyboard Shortcut Key |
| Hand Tool | H |
| Temporarily select Hand Tool | Spacebar |
| Select Tool | V |
| Marquee Zoom Tool | Z |
| Cycle though the Zoom Tools (Marquee Zoom, Dynamic Zoom, Loupe Tool) | Shift + Z |
| Temporarily select Dynamic Zoom Tool when Marquee Zoom Tool is selected | Shift |
| Temporarily zoom out when Marquee Zoom Tool is selected | Ctrl (Win) or Option (Mac) |
| Temporarily select Zoom In Tool | Ctrl + Spacebar (Win) or Spacebar + Command (Mac) |
| Select Object Tool | R |
| Edit Object Tool | O |
| Enter and Exit Forms Editing Mode | A |
| Crop Tool | C |
| Link Tool | L |
| Text Field Tool | F |
| Cycle through the tools in Forms Authoring Mode (Text Field, Check Box, Radio Buttons, List Box, Dropdown Box, Button, Digital Signature, Barcode) | Shift + F |
| 3D Tool | M |
| Cycle through the multimedia tools (Flash, Video) | Shift + M |
| Edit Document Text Tool | T |
| Redaction | Y |
| Cycle though the Touch Up Tools (Touch Up Text, Touch Up Reading Order, Touch Up Object) | Shift + T |
| JavaScript Debugger | Ctrl + J (Win) or Command + J (Mac) |
| Insert Files | Ctrl + Shift + I (Win only) |
| Delete Pages | Ctrl + Shift + D (Win only) |
| Open Output Preview | ~ (tilde) |
| Touch Up Reading Order Tool (or return focus to dialog box, if already selected) | Shift + Ctrl + U (Win) or Shift + Command + U (Mac |
| Comments Shortcuts | Acrobat Keyboard Shortcut Key |
| Sticky Note Tool | S |
| Text Edits Tool | E |
| Stamp Tool | K |
| Current Highlighting Tool | U |
| Cycle though highlighting tools (Highlighter, Underline Text, Cross Out Text) | Shift + U |
| Current drawing markup tool | D |
| Cycle through drawing markup tools (Cloud, Arrow, Line, Rectangle, Oval, Polygon Line, Polygon, Pencil Tool, Eraser tool) | Shift + D |
| Cloud Tool | Q |
| Text Box Tool | X |
| Current Stamp or Attach Tool | J |
| Cycle though Stamp, Attach File, Record Audio Comment | Shift + J |
| Move focus to next comment or form field | Tab |
| Move focus to previous comment or form field | Shift + Tab |
| Open pop-up note (or text field in Comments List panel) for currently selected comment | Enter (Win) or Return (Mac) |
| Close pop-up (or text field in Comments List panel) for currently selected comment | Esc |
| PDF Navigation Shortcuts | Key |
| Previous Screen | Page Up or Shift + Enter (Win) or Shift + Return (Mac) |
| Next Screen | Page Down or Enter (Win) or Return (Mac) |
| First page | Home or Shift + Ctrl + Page Up (Win) or Shift + Ctrl + Up Arrow Key (Win) or Shift + Command + Up Arrow Key (Mac) |
| Last Page | End or Shift + Ctrl + Page Down (Win) or Shift + Ctrl + Down Arrow Key (Win) or Shift + Command + Down Arrow Key (Mac) |
| Previous Page | Left Arrow Key or Ctrl + Page Up (Win) or Command + Page Up (Mac) |
| Next Page | Right Arrow Key or Ctrl + Page Down (Win) or Command + Page Down (Mac) |
| Previous Open Document | Ctrl + F6 (Win) or Command + F6 (Mac) |
| Next Open Document | Shift + Ctrl + F6 (Win) or Shift + Command + F6 (Mac) |
| Scroll Up | Up Arrow Key |
| Scroll Down | Down Arrow Key |
| Scroll (when Hand Tool is selected) | Spacebar |
| Zoom In | Ctrl + = (Win) or Command + = (Mac) |
| Zoom Out | Ctrl + – (Win) or Command + – (Mac) |
| PDF Portfolio Shortcuts (available for the files list of the Details pane) | Acrobat Keyboard Shortcut Key |
| Move forward or backward between the current column header selected for sorting, the current row with the focus, and the Go Back button if in a folder | Tab or Shift + Tab |
| Move focus to the next or previous row when in the body of the file list on the left | Up Arrow Key or Down Arrow Key |
| Selects the next or previous column header for sorting | Left Arrow Key or Right Arrow Key |
| If pressed in the body of the file list, navigate one level up from within a folder | Backspace (Win) or Delete (Mac) |
| Press the Go Back button in a folder if focus is on the button. | Enter or Spacebar |
| If pressed when focus is on a row in the file list representing a subfolder, navigate to a subfolder, or open an attachment in Preview mode. | Enter |
| If in the body of the file list, move to the first or last row | Home or End |
| If in the body of the file list, move to the next or last set of rows to fit the screen | Page Down or Page Up |
| Select or deselect all files | Ctrl + A (Win) or Command + A (Mac) or Shift + Ctrl + A (Win) or Shift + Command + A (Mac) |
| If in the body of the file list, extend the selection by adding the next row above or below the selected row | Shift + Up Arrow Key or Shift + Down Arrow Key |
| Change whether the row with focus is in the selection | Ctrl + Spacebar (Win) or Command + Spacebar (Mac) |
| Move focus up or down one row without changing the selection | Ctrl + Up Arrow Key (Win) or Command + Up Arrow Key (Mac) or Ctrl + Down Arrow Key (Win) or Command + Down Arrow Key (Mac) |
| Reverse the sort order when focus is on a column header | Spacebar |
| Task Pane Navigation Shortcuts | Acrobat Keyboard Shortcut Key |
| Move focus to the next item among Document Pane, Task Panes, Message Bar, and Navigation Bar | F6 |
| Move focus to the previous item among Document Pane, Task Panes, Message Bar, and Navigation Bar | Shift + F6 |
| Move focus to the next panel in the Task Pane | Ctrl + Tab (Win) or Command + Tab (Mac) |
| Move focus to the previous panel in the Task Pane | Ctrl + Shift + Tab (Win) or Command + Shift + Tab (Mac) |
| Navigate to the next panel and panel control within an open Task Pane | Tab |
| Navigate to the previous panel and panel control within an open Task Pane | Shift + Tab |
| Navigate to the next command button within a panel | Down Arrow Key |
| Navigate to the previous command button within a panel | Up Arrow Key |
| Expand or collapse panel in focus (press F6 to move focus to Tools pane, then tab to desired panel) | Spacebar or Enter and Left Arrow Key or Right Arrow Key |
| Open or Close the Task Pane | Shift + F4 |
| Close the pane that lists the tasks of an Action | Ctrl + Shift + F4 |
| Open the menu and move the focus to the first menu option when focus is on a command with a submenu or submenu element with a side menu | Spacebar or Enter |
| Move the focus back to the parent command button with a submenu or submenu element with a side menu | Esc |
| Run the command in focus | Spacebar or Enter |
| Navigate to the next item in the active panel in the Create New Action, Edit Action, Create New Tool Set, or the Edit Tool Set dialog boxes | Tab |
| Navigate to the previous item in the active panel in the Create New Action, Edit Action, Create New Tool Set, and the Edit Tool Set dialog boxes | Shift + Tab |
| General Navigation Shortcuts | Acrobat Keyboard Shortcut Key |
| Move focus to menus | F10 (Win) or Ctrl + F2 (Mac) |
| Move focus to toolbar in browser and application | Shift + F8 |
| Move to next open document (when focus is on document pane) | Ctrl + F6 (Win) or Command + F6 (Mac) |
| Move to previous open document (when focus is on document pane) | Ctrl + Shift + F6 (Win) or Command + Shift + F6 (Mac) |
| Close current document | Ctrl + F4 (Win) or Command + F4 (Mac) |
| Close all open documents | Command + Option + W (Mac) |
| Move focus to next comment, link, or form field in the document pane | Tab |
| Move focus to document pane | F5 |
| Move focus to previous comment, link, or form field in the document pane | Shift + Tab |
| Activate selected tool, item (such as a movie clip or bookmark), or command | Spacebar + Enter (Win) or Spacebar + Return (Mac) |
| Open context menu | Shift + F10 (Win) or Control + click (Mac) |
| Close context menu | F10 (Win) or Esc (Mac) |
| Return to Hand tool or Select tool | Esc |
| Move focus to next tab in a tabbed dialog box | Ctrl + Tab (Win) |
| Move to previous search result and highlight it in the document | Shift + F3 (Win) |
| Move to next search result and highlight it in the document | F3 |
| Search previous document (with Search results displaying multiple files) | Alt + Shift + Left Arrow Key (Win) or Command + Shift + Left Arrow Key (Mac) |
| Search next document (with Search results displaying multiple files) | Alt + Shift + Right Arrow Key (Win) or Command + Shift + Right Arrow Key (Mac) |
| Select text (with Select tool selected) | Arrow keys |
| Select next word or deselect previous word (with Select tool selected) | Shift + Ctrl + Left Arrow Key or Right Arrow Key |
| Navigation Pane Shortcuts | Acrobat Keyboard Shortcut Key |
| Open and move focus to navigation pane | Ctrl + Sift + F5 (Win) or Command + Shift + F5 (Mac) |
| Move focus among the Document, Message Bar, and Navigation Panels | F6 |
| Move focus to previous pane or panel | Shift + F6 |
| Move among the elements of the active navigation panel | Tab |
| Move to previous or next navigation panel and make it active (when focus is on the panel button) | Up Arrow Key or Down Arrow Key |
| Move to next navigation panel and make it active (when focus is anywhere in the navigation pane) | Ctrl + Tab (Win) |
| Expand the current bookmark (focus on Bookmarks panel) | Right Arrow Key or Shift + + (plus sign) |
| Collapse the current bookmark (focus on Bookmarks panel) | Left Arrow Key or -(minus sign) |
| Expand all bookmarks | Shift + * (asterisk) |
| Collapse selected bookmark | / (forward slash) |
| Move focus to next item in a navigation panel | Down Arrow Key |
| Move focus to previous item in a navigation panel | Up Arrow Key |
| Help Window Shortcuts | Key |
| Open Help Window | F1 or Command + ? (Mac) |
| Close Help Window | Ctrl + W (Win) or Command + W (Mac) or Alt + F4 (Win) |
| Move back to previously opened topic | Alt + Left Arrow Key (Win) or Command + Left Arrow Key (Mac) |
| Move forward to next topic | Alt + Right Arrow Key (Win) or Command + Right Arrow Key (Mac) |
| Move to next pane | Ctrl + Tab (Win) |
| Move to previous pane | Shit + Ctrl + Tab (Win) |
| Move focus to the next link within a pane | Tab (Win) |
| Move focus to the previous link within a pane | Shift + Tab (Win) |
| Activate highlighted link | Enter (Win) |
| Print Help topic | Ctrl + P (Win) or Command + P (Mac) |
| Accessibility Shortcuts | Acrobat Keyboard Shortcut Key |
| Change reading settings for the current document | Shift + Ctrl + 5 (Win) or Shift + Command + 5 (Mac) |
| Reflow a tagged PDF, and return to un-reflowed view | Ctrl + 4 (Win) or Command + 4 (Mac) |
| Activate and deactivate Read Out Loud | Shift + Ctrl + Y (Win) or Shift + Command + Y (Mac) |
| Read only the current page out loud | Shift + Ctrl + V (Win) or Shift + Command + V (Mac) |
| Read out loud from the current page to the end of the document | Shift + Ctrl + B (Win) or Shift + Command + B (Mac) |
| Pause reading out loud | Shift + Ctrl + C (Win) or Shift + Command + C (Mac) |
| Stop reading out loud | Shift + Ctrl + E (Win) or Shift + Command + E (Mac) |
