Illustrator · Free Transform tool
Tools
Windows · Linux
EMac
EBoth systems use the same combination.
Scales, rotates and shears from one bounding box, and the widget beside it adds perspective and free distort. Because it does several jobs at once, it is easy to shear something you only wanted to resize.
- Group
- Tools
- Keys held
- 1
Illustrator gives each tool a single letter, and learning those letters is the biggest win — but while you are editing type they simply get typed, so press Esc first.
Reading the key names
- Keys joined by + are pressed together: Ctrl+Shift+P means hold Ctrl and Shift, then P.
- On a Mac, Cmd is ⌘, Option is ⌥ (labelled Alt on some keyboards), Control is ⌃ and Shift is ⇧.
- Windows Ctrl usually becomes Cmd on a Mac, but not always — this reference lists both combinations separately.
- With a Korean, Japanese or Chinese input method active, shortcuts built on letter keys may not fire. Switch to Latin input and try again.
- When a combination does nothing, another program has often claimed it as a global shortcut first.
Common questions
Q. What is the shortcut for Free Transform tool in Illustrator?
Scales, rotates and shears from one bounding box, and the widget beside it adds perspective and free distort. Because it does several jobs at once, it is easy to shear something you only wanted to resize. It is E on Windows and E on a Mac.
Q. Is it the same on Windows and Mac?
Yes, E on both.
Q. How many keys is that?
1 pressed together. The combination sits under Tools in Illustrator.