Sketch tricks and keyboard shortcuts you might not know about

Exponentially boost your productivity in Sketch with these handy tricks and shortcuts.

Published in

UX Collective

10 min readFeb 20, 2020

The featured image for this article that I created in Sketch. It shows a Mac keyboard against an orange background.

Keyboard shortcuts can play a major role to boost your productivity in Sketch. Since you save a couple of seconds for each action, this starts to compound, saving precious time otherwise wasted on mundane tasks.

Inspector

When working with many pixel densities (1x, 2x, 500w, 200h, etc.), designers need to be able to swiftly convert the units.

Sketch allows you to not only edit the position and size values via the Up (↑) and Down (↓) arrow keys but also using arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division within the Inspector.

Consequently, you can easily convert from, say 1x to 2x, by simply multiplying the numbers by 2.

A GIF showcasing the many things you can do in the Sketch Inspector such as math in fields.

You can also use percentages. If you were to set the width as 100%, the shape would resize to the full-width of the parent container, be it the Artboard or the group that shape is a part of.

A GIF demonstrating how setting the width to 100% takes up the width its container.

So, to recap, here are the shortcuts packaged with Sketch’s powerful Inspector:

Math (+, -, *, /) and percentage (%) in fields
Tab (repeated): Focus on the next field

A GIF demonstrating how repeatedly pressing Tab focuses on the next field in the Sketch Inspector.

↑ or ↓: Increase/decrease the value by 1px
Shift + ↑ or ↓: Increase/decrease the value by 10px
Option (⌥) + ↑ or ↓: Increase/decrease the value by 0.1px
Drag Left or Right: Increase/decrease the number respectively by hovering over, then dragging the label

A GIF demonstrating how hovering over, then dragging the label, increases/decreases the values in the Sketch Inspector.

Focus using Tab

Selecting a layer and pressing Tab will focus on the first property. As you continue to press Tab while the layer is selected, it’ll keep switching to the next property.

Scale Tool

The Scale tool is one of my favorite and most utilized tools. The shortcut for the Scale tool is Command (⌘)+ K.

Note: The Scale tool isn’t the same as resizing because it scales each property: size, border, shadows, radius, etc.

Showing two squares, where one is scaled to 150%. The larger square’s border, radius, and other metadata are also resized.

Tip: As a rule of thumb, avoid scaling down since it can lead to decimals in position or size. For example, scaling down a 21 x 21 square will give you a 10.5 x 10.5 square. If you want to retain your pixel perfection, scale-up instead.

Distances

Once you’ve created your elements, you can use the Option (⌥) key to show the distance between these elements.

Select your desired element, and while pressing Option (⌥), hover over elements from which you want to determine the distance.

A GIF demonstrating how to determine the distance relative to other elements by holding the Option key.

This is extremely useful because when designing, distances are essential to determine comfortable spacing and consistency.

For instance, if you use 16px between sections of your design, you should also try to keep the same distance everywhere else.

Inserting Shapes

It’s highly likely that you’ll be playing around with shapes hundreds of times daily. With these shortcuts, your experience will be less frustrating and more seamless. Over time, it’ll become a reflex so that you can focus on being creative.

A: Artboard
R: Rectangle
O: Oval
U: Rounded Rectangle
L: Line
T: Text
V: Vector
P: Pencil
S: Slice
H: Hotspot

A screenshot of Sketch’s Shapes panel, which is present in the Toolbar.

You can do cool things by holding these keys while you’re creating your shapes:

Hold Shift: Maintains the shape’s aspect ratio
Hold Option (⌥): Draws the shape from the center

As a result, you can hold both Shift + Option (⌥) to draw a shape from the center while also maintaining its aspect ratio:

A GIF demonstrating how to use Shift and Option to draw a shape from the center while also maintaining its aspect ratio.

When you’re resizing a shape, holding Shift will allow you to maintain its aspect ratio. Note that when you’re inserting a shape and hold Shift, Sketch attempts to automatically create a perfect circle or square.

A GIF showcasing how holding Shift while inserting a shape will allow you to maintain its aspect ratio.

Editing Shapes

If you’ve selected a layer, you can use the following shortcuts to suit your needs:

0–1: 0 represents 100% opacity while 1 represents 10%
F: Toggle Fill
Control (⌃) + C: Pick a color from anywhere on the page. Sketch’s Eyedropper tool even allows you to pick colors outside the app!
Double-click or Return (Not grouped): Edit mode
Double-click (Grouped): Select one level deeper
Command (⌘) + Click: Select any layer; group agnostic.
Command (⌘) + Shift + T: Transform
Command (⌘) + Shift + R: Rotate
Command (⌘) + Shift + L: Lock/unlock layer
Command (⌘) + Shift + H: Hide/show layer
Command (⌘) + Shift + E: Export layer
Esc: Select parent Artboard or group
Space + Drag: Move around the canvas

Multiple Shapes

With multiple shapes selected, these shortcuts often come in handy:

Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + U: Union
Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + I: Intersect
Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + S: Subtract
Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + D: Difference
Command (⌘) + Control (⌃) + M: Use as Mask
Command (⌘) + G: Group
Command (⌘) + Shift + G: Ungroup

Editing Points

Once in Edit mode, you can leverage several shortcuts to manipulate shapes.

A screenshot of Sketch’s Toolbar, which shows the Edit option enabled while in Edit mode.

To switch to Edit mode, all you need to do is Double-click the shape or press the Return key with the shape selected.

How to toggle Edit mode by either Double-clicking the shape or pressing the Return key with the shape selected.

So, once you’re in Edit mode, here are the shortcuts you can apply:

1: Straight
2: Mirrored
3: Disconnected
4: Asymmetric
Tab: Select the next point (clockwise)

Move and Resize

Distances and Smart Guides in Sketch automatically appear when you drag or resize shapes.

Option (⌥) + Drag: Duplicate layer
Command (⌘) + D: If this shortcut is used immediately after Option (⌥) + Drag, the duplicate layers will be spaced consistently

Visually demonstrating how to duplicate layers that are spaced consistently by using Command + D.

Shift + Drag: Maintain aspect ratio
Option (⌥)+ Drag: Resize from center
Shift + Option (⌥) + Drag: Resize from the center while maintaining aspect ratio
Command (⌘) + Hover over borders: Rotate
Option (⌥) + ↑, →, ↓, or ←: Move by 1px
Shift + ↑, →, ↓, or ←: Move by 10px
Option (⌥) + Shift + ↑, →, ↓, or ←: Move by 10px while seeing the relative positioning (hover over the target element) of the element
Command (⌘) + ↓ or →: Expand by 1px
Command (⌘) + Shift + ↓ or →: Expand by 10px
Command (⌘) + ↑ or ←: Contract by 1px
Command (⌘) + Shift + ↑ or ←: Contract by 10px

Text Layers

The following shortcuts apply to text layers.

Command (⌘) + B: Bold text
Command (⌘) + I: Italic text
Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + “+”: Increase font size by 1px
Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + “-”: Decrease font size by 1px
Command (⌘) + T: Change the typeface
Command (⌘) + Shift + O: Convert to Outlines
Command (⌘) + Shift + {: Align text to the left
Command (⌘) + Shift + |: Align text to the center
Command (⌘) + Shift + }: Align text to the right
Command (⌘) + Control (⌃) + Space: Emojis and Symbols

Arrange

You can arrange groups and layers within a parent group or Artboard. Use these handy shortcuts to organize your layers.

Command (⌘) + ]: Bring forward (this incrementally brings the layer forward)
Command (⌘) + [: Send backward (this incrementally sends the layer backward)
Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + ]: Bring to front (this completely brings the layer to the front)
Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + [: Send to back (this completely sends the layer to the back)

Focus and Zoom

You can focus on a particular Artboard or layer using these handy. shortcuts. These bypasses have saved me from a ton of aimless scrolling in Sketch.

Command (⌘) + 1: Focus on all the elements in the current page
Command (⌘) + 2: Focus on the selected element
Command (⌘) + 3: Center focus on the selected element
Command (⌘) + “+”: Zoom in
Command (⌘) + “-”: Zoom out
Command (⌘) + 0: Zoom to actual size (i.e. 100%)

Grids and Rulers

When designing pixel-perfect designs for developer handoff, grids and rulers will become your biggest asset.

Make sure to enable Pixel Fitting in Preferences (⌘ + “,”) > Layers so that your shapes land accurately in the grid.

A screenshot of the Pixel Fitting option in Sketch’s Preferences panel.

If you’re working on a design where it’s important to be able to see individual pixels, select View > Canvas > Show Pixels on Zoom (⌃ + P) to enable Pixel Zoom.

You can then view individual pixels when you zoom in past 100% (the Pixels Grid is only visible at 1000% zoom). This can help determine if your shapes are sharp.

A GIF illustrating the differences between a layer that has pixel fitting enabled versus one that doesn’t.

Control (⌃) + G: Toggle grid.

A screenshot of an Artboard with the grid enabled.

You can only apply grids to Artboards, or to the Canvas if there aren’t any Artboards on it.

Control (⌃) + G: Toggle rulers

A screenshot of an Artboard with the ruler enabled.

Tip: If you want to create a guide, click in the ruler zone. Then, use Shift to move by 10px. You can drag outside (i.e. toward the Layer List or Inspector) to completely remove the marker.

Click anywhere on a ruler to create a guide. Guides will be visible when your rulers are, and if you move a layer on your Canvas, it’ll snap to the nearest guide.

Visually demonstrating how to create a guide using rulers in Sketch.

Control (⌃) + L: Toggle layout

A screenshot of an Artboard with the grid layout enabled.

When you have a layout grid set up, layers will snap to it and ignore Sketch’s Smart Guides.

Control (⌃) + P: Toggle pixels
Control (⌃) + X: Toggle pixels grid; only visible at 1000% zoom

Window

Command (⌘) + “~”: Switch to the next window
Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + 1: Toggle the Layer List
Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + 2: Toggle the Inspector
Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + T: Toggle the Toolbar
Command (⌘) + “.”: Show/hide Interface; this is useful when you want to go into presentation mode
Command (⌘) + Control (⌃) + F: Toggle fullscreen

Layers List

The following shortcuts apply to the Layer List:

Option (⌥): Switch to lock layers instead of hiding; when you hover over a layer while pressing the Option (⌥) key, you have the option of locking it

A GIF demonstrating how to lock layers in Sketch by hovering over a layer while pressing the Option key.

Command (⌘) + R or Double-click: Rename a layer
Command (⌘) + F: Find a layer by its name
Command (⌘) + Click: Select multiple layers
Shift + Click: Select multiple grouped layers
Tab: Select the next layer
Shift + Tab: Select the previous layer
Fn + ↓: Next page
Fn + ↑: Previous page
Drag and drop outside Sketch: Export 1x PNG asset for your layer, group, or Artboard. You can override the option of exporting bitmaps to a higher resolution by using the Make Exportable option

A GIF demonstrating how to drag and drop assets in Sketch.

Custom Shortcuts

Sketch provides its users the option of customizing their shortcuts in the System Preferences pane. To customize your shortcuts, go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts.

Then, click on the add (+) button. In the pop-up, select Sketch from the Application drop-down and set up your custom shortcut.

A screenshot of what a custom shortcut looks like. Here, I’m creating a shortcut to easily create a Symbol in Sketch.

Note: Since Sketch does not recognize those commands, you’ll need to specify verbatim what actions you want to perform with custom shortcuts. For instance, to create a symbol in Sketch, the exact name of the menu command is “Create Symbol” that we inputted above.

Here are some custom shortcuts I’ve created and use on a day-to-day basis:

Command (⌘) + Shift + C: Create Symbol
Command (⌘) + Shift + M: Make Grid…
Command (⌘) + Shift + P: Round to Nearest Pixel Edge
Command (⌘) + “/”: Collapse Artboards and groups

I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. Sketch is packed with many awesome features that can supercharge your productivity.

If you’re more interested in becoming a power user, here are a few resources I’d highly recommend: