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May 5, 2011
Open for Voting

P: Allow for keyboard shortcut customization

  • May 5, 2011
  • 272 replies
  • 15731 views

Customizable keyboard shortcuts in Lightroom would be great. I just find it so confusing that crop and brush tools and things like that have such odd keyboard shortcuts in Lightroom. I understand that changing that all now would be awful for many existing users, but being able to override them like I can in Photoshop would be helpful. Doesn't anyone else out there find they use to wrong keyboard shortcuts in the wrong program?

272 replies

Known Participant
March 3, 2018
How is this still not implemented??
Participating Frequently
December 24, 2017


It seems to me that Adobe thinks every professional photographer LOVES the mouse.
Clicking , dragging , moving is easy and visually but also very primitive and slow.
Keyboard shortcuts are not just quicker, they prevent RSI. If you do suffer from RSI you realize how terrible the mouse can be. 

As paying subcribers of professional software we should be able to map our keyboard shortcuts if we want to,
Dear Adobe, Stop thinking that you know what is best for your professional users. You don't.

If you call something Quick Develop but then all you can do is use a mouse only to add exposure or contrast then you are missing insight. 

You want me to double click the word EFFECT all day to reset my adjustment brush? 
Yes you can create a preset, so then i would have to click and drag all day to get simple behaviour you should be able todo with 1 keystroke on your keyboard.
The time it takes to use a mouse action vs a keyboard command times 1000 images.
Go calculate that.

I should be able to set a default size radial, and have a shortcut to add this radial to my image.
Yes you can create a develop preset for that, but i can't map a keyboard shortcut.
Command Option drag your mouse to duplicate a radial is NOT a shortcut. 

Obviously the people that are designing this product are not professional photographers that have long editing sessions.

And i don't need any tips about Better Touch Tool, Pfixer, Midi2lr etc which are all fantastic tools that make Lightroom actually usable. But these are all created because Adobe fails its paying professionals on a very basic level. 
Known Participant
December 24, 2017
Just when are Adobe going to give us the vastly superior and more rapid to use customisable keyboard shortcuts in Lightroom.  It would make so much difference to so many photographers - speeding up workflow immeasurably
Participating Frequently
December 24, 2017
It seems to me that Adobe thinks every professional photographer LOVES the mouse.
Clicking , dragging , moving is easy and visually but also very primitive and slow.
Keyboard shortcuts are not just quicker, they prevent RSI. If you do suffer from RSI you realize how terrible the mouse can be. 

As paying subcribers of professional software we should be able to map our keyboard shortcuts if we want to,
Dear Adobe, Stop thinking that you know what is best for your professional users. You don't.

If you call something Quick Develop but then all you can do is use a mouse only to add exposure or contrast then you are missing insight. 

You want me to double click the word EFFECT all day to reset my adjustment brush? 
Yes you can create a preset, so then i would have to click and drag all day to get simple behaviour you should be able todo with 1 keystroke on your keyboard.
The time it takes to use a mouse action vs a keyboard command times 1000 images.
Go calculate that.

I should be able to set a default size radial, and have a shortcut to add this radial to my image.
Yes you can create a develop preset for that, but i can't map a keyboard shortcut.
Command Option drag your mouse to duplicate a radial is NOT a shortcut. 

Obviously the people that are designing this product are not professional photographers that have long editing sessions.

And i don't need any tips about Better Touch Tool, Pfixer, Midi2lr etc which are all fantastic tools that make Lightroom actually usable. But these are all created because Adobe fails its paying professionals on a very basic level. 
Inspiring
November 5, 2017
Besides, maybe it's not a change so complicated to implement in the software code! Pls Adobe consider that this customisation is important! Many functions need some shortcuts too!
Inspiring
November 5, 2017
There SO MUCH this kind of things that prove us Adobe has focus on consumers, not professionals. STILL no way to customize keyboard shortcuts for non-US keyboards after YEARS. But they had time for a totally new, consumer focused LR. I don’t like their business decisions.
Inspiring
November 4, 2017
Yup. TWO new versions of LR and still no keyboard customisability. This is what you call listening to your customers, Adobe?
Participating Frequently
November 4, 2017
Please Adobe, do this. My Wacom is unusable because your shortcuts are designed ONLY for QWERTY, and unusable on non-US keyboard. What a shame...
Inspiring
June 3, 2017
Hear, hear. Programmable/customisable keyboard shortcuts would be even better. Why let Adobe's code monkeys tell you which shortcuts you have to use? Define your own. Work YOUR way. 
I can't believe this thread is now six years old and STILL we wait for Adobe to respond to user requests for shortcuts
Participating Frequently
June 2, 2017


Can we get a keyboard shortcut to quickly apply a level (with option click availability to constrain crop) an image in the develop module. I cannot find a keyboard shortcut to level and it's time consuming to mouse click every time for an image.

Also, when will there be customizable keyboard shortcuts for lightroom?