Aperture tutorial: Learn and master keyboard shortcuts

Aperture - Master Keyboard Shortcuts - Featured

The fast-paced world we live in means that, more often than not, we have to get things done quickly and on-demand. It’s important that you know how to be an efficient Mac user when you need to be, but we don’t mean in terms of energy. Being efficient also applies to your workflow, and if you’re a professional photographer, or just need to get something edited or created in a hurry, having to continually click buttons can be time-consuming and a bit ponderous. This keyboard shortcuts tutorial will explain the techniques that will save you precious time. Keyboard shortcuts are small groups of keys – usually two or three – which when pressed in particular combinations tell the computer to carry out a specific task or command. You may be used to doing this already in the form of Cmd+C for Copy or Cmd+V for Paste. So sit back, fire up Aperture and get ready to give your fingers a good workout!

Step 1: A perfect view

When you’re working on and edit or project, the right view mode is important. Tap the V key to cycle through the Browser, Split and Viewer modes.

Step 2: Open a project

Double-click to open an existing project, or hold Cmd+N to create a new project, Cmd+Shift+N to create a new folder or Cmd+L to create an album.

Step3: Quick Import

If you want to import images into a new or existing project, press Cmd+I to open the Import Browser, and navigate to where the images are. It’s that easy.

Step 4: Change it up

There are some more keyboard shortcuts which will help you view your images in different ways. Press Ctrl+G to view your photos in a grid.

Step 5: Size it up

When viewing your photos in a grid, you can press Cmd+[ to increase the size of the thumbnails on your screen, or Cmd+] to decrease a thumbnail’s size.

Step 6: Make a list

If your Aperture Library is really organised, you can view your project images in a list format to see ratings, flags, and other details. Simply press Ctrl+L.

Step 7: Show the Inspector

Editing your photos can be a much quicker process using shortcuts. Press the I key to show the Inspector. The I key will also hide the Inspector.

Step 8: Make some adjustments

Click the Adjustments tab. Press Ctrl+C to adjust colour or Ctrl+M to transform to black and white. Press Cmd+’+’ to zoom in and Cmd+’-’ to zoom out.

Step 9: Export your images

Want to share your images? There’s an even quicker way to export. Select an image and press Cmd+Shift+E to export the edited image.

(Click on the image below to zoom in and view the annotations)