Customize Keyboard Shortcuts in After Effects

Customizing keyboard shortcuts in Adobe After Effects transforms a slow, mouse-heavy editing process into an efficient, professional workflow. This guide explains how to access the visual Keyboard Shortcuts editor, remap commands to fit your personal habits, resolve key conflicts, and export custom shortcut presets to keep your post-production workflow fast and consistent across multiple machines.

Opening the Keyboard Shortcuts Editor

After Effects includes a dedicated visual layout tool to view and remap keys:

  • Windows: Go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts (or press Ctrl + Alt + ').
  • macOS: Go to After Effects > Keyboard Shortcuts (or press Cmd + Option + ').

The editor consists of three primary sections:

  1. The Virtual Keyboard: Displays keys currently assigned to actions. Gray keys are unassigned, while colored keys indicate active shortcuts.
  2. The Command List: Located below the keyboard, this section lists every command available in After Effects, separated into Application commands (global) and Panel commands (active only when a specific panel, such as the Timeline or Composition viewer, is focused).
  3. Modifier Keys: Toggle buttons for Shift, Ctrl/Cmd, and Alt/Option allow you to preview assignments tied to key combinations.

How to Assign or Modify a Shortcut

  1. Locate the Command: Use the search bar in the lower-left corner to search for the specific tool, effect, or command you want to map.
  2. Assign the Key:
    • Click-to-Type Method: Click into the blank space in the Shortcut column next to your chosen command. Press the key combination on your physical keyboard.
    • Drag-and-Drop Method: Click and drag the command from the list directly onto an unassigned key on the virtual keyboard.
  3. Resolve Conflicts: If the key combination is already in use, an alert appears at the bottom of the window showing the conflicting command. You can choose to overwrite the existing shortcut or clear your entry and pick another combination.
  4. Remove an Assignment: To delete a shortcut, click the command in the list and select the small X icon next to the assigned key combination.

High-Impact Shortcuts to Remap for Speed

Certain operations are performed hundreds of times per project. Prioritize mapping these to single keys or comfortable combinations:

  • Toggle Layer Visibility / Solo: Set high-frequency toggle actions to single function keys.
  • Easy Ease / Keyframe Velocity: Remap F9 to a key closer to your resting hand position (such as ~ or a mouse macro button).
  • Fit to Comp: Assign a simple shortcut to scale assets directly to the composition boundaries.
  • Center Anchor Point in Layer Content: By default bound to Ctrl + Alt + Home (Windows) or Cmd + Option + Home (macOS), remapping this to a single-hand combination saves significant setup time.

Saving and Transferring Custom Presets

When you modify the default layout, After Effects automatically switches the preset name to Custom.

  1. Click Save As next to the preset dropdown to name your configuration.
  2. The shortcut file is saved as a .txt file in your user preferences directory:
    • Windows: Users\[Username]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\After Effects\[Version]\aeks\
    • macOS: Users/[Username]/Library/Preferences/Adobe/After Effects/[Version]/aeks/
  3. Copy this file to a cloud drive or USB stick to transfer your personalized shortcuts to other editing workstations. Select your file from the Preset dropdown menu in the editor to apply it instantly.