Here’s a list of commonly used Adobe Photoshop tools, their names, uses, and shortcut keys (based on the default Photoshop setup as of 2024). These tools are found in the toolbar on the left side of the Photoshop interface.
🖱️ Selection Tools
| Tool Name |
Use |
Shortcut |
| Move Tool |
Move selections, layers, and guides |
V |
| Rectangular Marquee Tool |
Make rectangular selections |
M |
| Elliptical Marquee Tool |
Make elliptical (circular) selections |
M (Cycle with Shift) |
| Lasso Tool |
Freehand selections |
L |
| Polygonal Lasso Tool |
Straight-edged selections |
L (Cycle with Shift) |
| Magnetic Lasso Tool |
Snap-to-edge selections |
L (Cycle with Shift) |
| Quick Selection Tool |
Quickly “paint” selections using a brush |
W |
| Magic Wand Tool |
Select similar pixels with one click |
W (Cycle with Shift) |
🖌️ Painting and Drawing Tools
| Tool Name |
Use |
Shortcut |
| Brush Tool |
Paint soft or hard brush strokes |
B |
| Pencil Tool |
Paint hard-edged lines |
B (Cycle with Shift) |
| Color Replacement Tool |
Replace specific colors in an image |
B (Cycle with Shift) |
| Mixer Brush Tool |
Simulate real paint mixing |
B (Cycle with Shift) |
| Clone Stamp Tool |
Duplicate part of an image |
S |
| Pattern Stamp Tool |
Paint with a pattern |
S (Cycle with Shift) |
| Eraser Tool |
Erase pixels to transparency or background color |
E |
| Background Eraser Tool |
Remove background pixels |
E (Cycle with Shift) |
| Magic Eraser Tool |
Erase areas of similar color with one click |
E (Cycle with Shift) |
✍️ Retouching and Adjustment Tools
| Tool Name |
Use |
Shortcut |
| Spot Healing Brush Tool |
Remove blemishes and imperfections |
J |
| Healing Brush Tool |
Repair imperfections using a sample |
J (Cycle with Shift) |
| Patch Tool |
Repair larger areas with patterns or textures |
J (Cycle with Shift) |
| Content-Aware Move Tool |
Move part of an image and auto-fill the gap |
J (Cycle with Shift) |
| Red Eye Tool |
Remove red-eye effect |
J (Cycle with Shift) |
| Blur Tool |
Blur parts of an image |
None |
| Sharpen Tool |
Sharpen details |
None |
| Smudge Tool |
Smear pixels |
None |
| Dodge Tool |
Lighten areas |
O |
| Burn Tool |
Darken areas |
O (Cycle with Shift) |
| Sponge Tool |
Saturate or desaturate color |
O (Cycle with Shift) |
🧰 Other Essential Tools
| Tool Name |
Use |
Shortcut |
| Crop Tool |
Crop or trim images |
C |
| Perspective Crop Tool |
Crop with perspective correction |
C (Cycle with Shift) |
| Slice Tool |
Create web slices |
C (Cycle with Shift) |
| Eyedropper Tool |
Sample color from image |
I |
| Ruler Tool |
Measure distances and angles |
I (Cycle with Shift) |
| Color Sampler Tool |
View color values |
I (Cycle with Shift) |
| Gradient Tool |
Fill with gradient colors |
G |
| Paint Bucket Tool |
Fill area with solid color |
G (Cycle with Shift) |
| Blur/Sharpen/Smudge Tools |
Edit image quality locally |
None |
🔠 Text and Shape Tools
| Tool Name |
Use |
Shortcut |
| Horizontal Type Tool |
Add horizontal text |
T |
| Vertical Type Tool |
Add vertical text |
T (Cycle with Shift) |
| Pen Tool |
Draw paths and shapes |
P |
| Freeform Pen Tool |
Draw freehand paths |
P (Cycle with Shift) |
| Rectangle Tool |
Draw rectangles |
U |
| Ellipse Tool |
Draw ellipses |
U (Cycle with Shift) |
| Polygon Tool |
Draw polygons |
U (Cycle with Shift) |
| Custom Shape Tool |
Draw predefined shapes |
U (Cycle with Shift) |
🔍 Navigation Tools
| Tool Name |
Use |
Shortcut |
| Hand Tool |
Pan around the canvas |
H |
| Zoom Tool |
Zoom in or out |
Z |
