There are plenty of ways to use the tools in Hexels, including some fancy features you may have not known about. We’ve put together a helpful list of keys and shortcuts to help you push all the right buttons.
Note: On Mac, use Command instead of Ctrl.
Tools
| Item | Key | Notes |
| Brush | B | Selects the Brush tool |
| Brush Size + | ] | Increase brush size by one |
| Brush Size – | [ | Decrease brush size by one |
| Brush Hardness + | Shift+} | Increase pixel brush hardness by one |
| Brush Hardness – | Shift+{ | Decrease pixel brush hardness by one |
| Cycle Brush Type | Shift+B | Cycles pixel brush between paintbrush, pencil, and airbrush modes |
| Color Dropper Tool | I | Switch to the eyedropper tool |
| Screen Dropper | Shift+C | Switch to the anywhere-on-screen color picker for one click only |
| Color Picker | C | Show the Color Picker window |
| Floating Color Picker | Alt+RMB | Show/hide the floating color picker |
| Invert Color | Ctrl+I | Invert colors in selection/cel |
| Color Swap | X | Swap selected foreground and background colors |
| Current Fill Tool | G | Switch to the current fill tool (Flood fill, Gradient, or Noise) |
| Cycle Fill Tools | Shift+G | Cycle through the fill tools (Flood fill, Gradient, Noise) |
| Current Shape Tool | L | Switch to the current shape tool (Line, Shape, Super Shape) |
| Cycle Shape Tools | Shift+L | Cycle through the shape tools (Line, Shape, Super Shape) |
| Outline | O | Select the Outline tool for drawing outlines on a Vector layer |
| Erase | E | Select the Erase tool |
| Quick Erase | Q | Hold key to temporarily switch to the eraser tool |
| Current Selection Tool | S | Switch to the current selection tool |
| Cycle Selection Tools | Shift+S | Cycle through Selection tools |
| Zoom Tool | Z | Switch to the Zoom tool |
| Zoom In | Ctrl+= | |
| Zoom Out | Ctrl+- | |
| Zoom Canvas | Ctrl+0 | Zoom to show the entire canvas |
| Pixel Zoom (Hold) | R | Zoom to pixel resolution until button is released |
| Frame Tool | F | Switch to the Frame tool |
| Free Transform | Ctrl+T | Switch to the Free Transform tool (requires a selection) |
| Layer Transform | T | Switch to the Layer Transform Tool for animating layer motion |
| Pan (Hold) | Space | Switch to the pan tool while the button is held |
| Brush Opacity % | 0-9 |
File
| Item | Key | Notes |
| New File | Ctrl+N | |
| Open | Ctrl+O | |
| Save | Ctrl+S | |
| Save As | Ctrl+Shift+S | |
| Import Image | Ctrl+Alt+I | Import and convert an image file to a vector layer |
| Export Image | Ctrl+E | Export current frame as an image file |
| Export Again | Ctrl+Shift+E | Repeat the previous export to the same file with the same settings |
| Exit | Ctrl+Q |
Edit
| Item | Key | Notes |
| Cut | Ctrl+X | |
| Copy | Ctrl+C | |
| Paste | Ctrl+V | |
| Undo | Ctrl+Z | |
| Redo | Ctrl+Shift+Z | |
| Invert Color | Ctrl+I | |
| Free Transform | Ctrl+T |
Select
| Item | Key | Notes |
| Select None | Ctrl+D Esc |
Cancel selection |
| Select All | Ctrl+A | Select everything on the current layer, corner to corner |
| Select All Wrapped | Ctrl+Shift+A | Select everything on the current layer that isn’t empty space |
| Invert Selection | Ctrl+Shift+I | |
| Fill Selection | Ctrl+F | Flood-fill selected area with color. If using outline tool, creates outline around selection borders. |
View
| Item | Key | Notes |
| Zoom In | Ctrl+= | |
| Zoom Out | Ctrl+- | |
| Zoom to Fit | Ctrl+0 | View the whole canvas |
| Toggle Vector Grid | Ctrl+G | |
| Toggle Pixel Grid | Ctrl+P | |
| Toggle Trixel Sub-Grid | Alt+1-9 | Trixel mode only |
| Toggle Glow | Ctrl+Shift+G | |
| Toggle Fullscreen | Ctrl+Return | |
| Flip Horizontal | H (Hold) | View and paint on a horizontally flipped canvas |
| Flip Vertical | V (Hold) | View and paint on a vertically flipped canvas |
| Tool Tabs | Ctrl+1-9 | |
| Floating Color Picker | Alt+C, Alt+RMB |
Layers
| Item | Key | Notes |
| Layer Quick Select | W | Hover tool over layer content to pick layer |
| Isolate Layer | ` (Hold) | Isolate current layer while button is held |
| New Vector Layer | Ctrl+Shift+N | Create a new Vector layer |
| New Pixel Layer | Ctrl+Shift+P | Create a new Pixel layer |
| Merge Layer | Ctrl+Shift+M | Merge current layer with the one below it. Vector layers merged with pixel layers will be rasterized to pixels first. |
| Layer Settings | Ctrl+L | Open layer properties window for editing settings and post-effects for the current layer |
Animation
| Item | Key | Notes |
| Previous Frame | , | Move to the previous animation frame |
| Play/Pause | P | Play/pause the document’s animation |
| Next Frame | . | Move to the next animation frame |
| Insert Frame | = | Insert new animation frame |
[tabby title=”Modifiers”]
Selection
| Action/Key | Description |
| Hold Shift (new selection) | Constrain selection to square |
| Hold Shift (existing selection) | Add to selection |
| Hold Alt | Remove from selection |
| Hold Ctrl | Move selection area |
| Drag | Move selected content |
Color/Paint
| Action/Key | Description |
| Hold Shift | Lock paintbrush along axis |
| Hold Alt | Temporary switch to Color Drop tool |
| Hold Alt + Shift | Blend between current and picked color |
| X | Swap between foreground and background color |
Free Transform
| Action/Key | Description |
| Hold Alt | Scale from center |
| Hold Shift | Constrain scale to 1:1 aspect ratio |
Layer Transform
| Action/Key | Description |
| Hold Ctrl | Snap to grid when moving layer contents |
| Hold Shift | Constrain transform along specific direction |
| Hold Alt | Precise transform when moving layer contents |
Super Shape Tool
| Action/Key | Description |
| Hold Shift | Snap to grid |
| Hold Ctrl + Drag | Create duplicate of shape |
| Drag exterior control points | Scale and skew |
| Drag interior control points | Move shape |
Timeline
| Action/Key | Description |
| Hold Shift + tap arrow keys | Cycle Layers/Frames |
| Hold Shift + Double click cel | Turn cel into an empty key cel |
Navigation
| Action/Key | Description |
| Hold Alt + Scroll forward/backward | Zoom in/out |
| Hold Spacebar + Hold rmb | Pan canvas |
| Hold H | View and paint on a horizontally flipped canvas |
| Hold V | View and paint on a vertically flipped canvas |
