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Catalog / Affinity Designer Cheat Sheet

Affinity Designer Cheat Sheet

A comprehensive cheat sheet for Affinity Designer, covering essential tools, shortcuts, and techniques to enhance your workflow and design capabilities.

Interface & Navigation

Workspace Basics

Studio Panels

Dockable panels for tools, layers, color, etc. Accessed via Window menu.

Toolbar

Located on the left, contains essential tools for drawing, selecting, and editing.

Context Toolbar

Changes based on the selected tool. Offers specific settings and options.

Document Tabs

Manage multiple open documents. Drag to rearrange or create new windows.

Presets

Save and load presets from a range of settings like export, fonts, styles and more.

Preferences

Adjust settings, keyboard shortcuts and more via Affinity Designer > Preferences.

Navigation Shortcuts

Zoom In

Ctrl + + (Windows) / Cmd + + (Mac)

Zoom Out

Ctrl + - (Windows) / Cmd + - (Mac)

Zoom to Fit

Ctrl + 0 (Windows) / Cmd + 0 (Mac)

Hand Tool (Pan)

H or hold Spacebar

Rotate View

Ctrl + Shift + Scroll (Windows) / Cmd + Shift + Scroll (Mac)

Undo / Redo

Ctrl + Z / Ctrl + Shift + Z (Windows) Cmd + Z / Cmd + Shift + Z (Mac)

Basic Tools & Functions

Selection & Transformation

Move Tool (V)

Select and move objects.
Hold Shift to constrain proportions while resizing.

Node Tool (A)

Edit vector paths by manipulating nodes and handles.

Transform Panel

Precisely control object size, position, rotation, and shear. Found in Studio panels.

Snapping

Enable snapping to precisely align objects. Toggle snapping options in the toolbar.

Duplicate

Ctrl+J (Windows) / Cmd+J (Mac) Duplicates the selected object.

Vector Drawing

Pen Tool (P)

Create precise vector paths with bezier curves.

Pencil Tool (N)

Draw freehand vector paths.

Shape Tools

Rectangle, Ellipse, Triangle, etc. Create basic shapes quickly. Hold shift to constrain to perfect shape.

Boolean Operations

Combine shapes using Add, Subtract, Intersect, and Xor operations. Located in the toolbar when multiple shapes are selected.

Convert to Curves

Ctrl + Enter (Windows) / Cmd + Enter (Mac) Converts a shape into editable curves

Corner Tool

Rounds corners of vector shapes.

Color & Appearance

Color Panel

Choose colors for fills and strokes. Supports various color models (RGB, CMYK, HSL).

Gradient Tool (G)

Apply linear, radial, and other gradient types to objects.

Effects Panel

Add effects like shadows, glows, and bevels to objects. Located in Studio panels.

Swatches Panel

Save and organize frequently used colors. Create color palettes.

Transparency Tool (M)

Apply transparency gradients or solid transparency to objects.

Layers & Effects

Layer Management

Layers Panel

Organize and manage objects using layers. Create groups, rename layers, and adjust visibility.

Grouping Layers

Ctrl + G (Windows) / Cmd + G (Mac) Group selected layers for easier manipulation.

Locking Layers

Prevent accidental modification of layers.

Clipping Masks

Use a shape to mask the visibility of another layer. Drag a layer onto another in the layers panel to create a clipping mask.

Blend Modes

Change how layers interact with each other (e.g., Multiply, Screen, Overlay). Located in the Layers panel.

Layer Visibility

Toggle layers on and off to help isolate content.

Effects & Adjustments

Live Filters

Non-destructive filters that can be applied to layers (e.g., Blur, Sharpen, Distort). Accessed via Layer > New Live Filter Layer.

Adjustment Layers

Apply color and tonal adjustments non-destructively (e.g., Brightness/Contrast, HSL, Curves). Accessed via Layer > New Adjustment Layer.

Layer Effects

Add effects like shadows, glows, and outlines directly to layers. Accessed via the fx icon in the Layers panel.

Gradients

Gradients can be added as fills or strokes, and they are fully editable via the gradient tool.

Layer Opacity

Adjust the overall transparency of a layer via the layers panel.

Typography & Text

Text Tools

Text Tool (T)

Create artistic text (for headlines) or frame text (for paragraphs).

Text Styles

Save and apply consistent text formatting across your document. Accessed via the Text Styles panel.

Character Panel

Adjust font, size, kerning, tracking, and other character properties. Located in Studio panels.

Paragraph Panel

Control paragraph alignment, indentation, and spacing. Located in Studio panels.

Convert to Curves

Layer > Convert to Curves. Useful for creating custom shapes from text.

Glyph Browser

View and insert special characters and glyphs from your fonts. Accessed via Text > Show Glyphs.

Working with Text

Importing Text

Import text from external files (e.g., .txt, .rtf) into frame text boxes.

Text on a Path

Create text that follows a vector path. Draw a path, then use the Text tool near the path until the cursor changes.

Spell Check

Edit > Spelling > Check Spelling to find and correct errors.

Find and Replace

Edit > Find and Replace to locate and modify specific text throughout your document.

Dynamic Fields

Insert dynamic fields (e.g. Date, Page Number) into text frames via Text > Insert > Fields.
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