Adobe PageMaker Shortcut Keys – Complete Practical Guide

Adobe PageMaker is a desktop publishing (DTP) software used for creating brochures, books, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, visiting cards, invitations, advertisements, and other printed documents.

Keyboard shortcuts make PageMaker work faster by helping you create pages, format text, manage objects, zoom the document, and perform common DTP tasks without repeatedly using the mouse.

Note: Adobe PageMaker is discontinued software, so some shortcuts can behave differently depending on the PageMaker version and operating system. The following list focuses on commonly used Adobe PageMaker 6.x/7.0 shortcuts.

Basic Adobe PageMaker Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + N	New Publication	Creates a new PageMaker publication.
Ctrl + O	Open	Opens an existing publication.
Ctrl + S	Save	Saves the current publication.
Ctrl + Shift + S	Save As	Saves the publication with a new name.
Ctrl + P	Print	Opens the Print dialog box.
Ctrl + W	Close	Closes the current publication.
Alt + F4	Exit	Closes PageMaker.
Ctrl + Z	Undo	Reverses the last action.
Ctrl + Shift + Z	Redo	Redoes an action where supported.

Text Editing Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + C	Copy	Copies selected text or objects.
Ctrl + X	Cut	Cuts selected text or objects.
Ctrl + V	Paste	Pastes copied or cut content.
Ctrl + A	Select All	Selects all text in the active text block or all objects in the current context.
Ctrl + F	Find	Searches for specific text.
Ctrl + H	Find and Replace	Finds text and replaces it with another text.
Backspace	Delete Previous Character	Removes the character before the cursor.
Delete	Delete	Removes the selected character or object.
Enter	New Paragraph	Starts a new paragraph.
Shift + Enter	Line Break	Creates a line break without starting a new paragraph.

Text Formatting Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + B	Bold	Makes selected text bold.
Ctrl + I	Italic	Makes selected text italic.
Ctrl + U	Underline	Underlines selected text.
Ctrl + Shift + U	Underline	Applies underline in supported text contexts.
Ctrl + Shift + >	Increase Font Size	Makes selected text larger.
Ctrl + Shift + <	Decrease Font Size	Makes selected text smaller.
Ctrl + Shift + C	Copy Character Formatting	Copies character formatting where supported.
Ctrl + Shift + V	Paste Formatting	Applies copied formatting where supported.

Paragraph Formatting Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + L	Align Left	Aligns text to the left.
Ctrl + E	Center	Centers the paragraph.
Ctrl + R	Align Right	Aligns text to the right.
Ctrl + J	Justify	Aligns text evenly on both sides.
Ctrl + Shift + L	Bullets	Applies bullet formatting where supported.
Tab	Indent	Moves text to the next tab position.
Shift + Tab	Previous Tab Position	Moves back to the previous tab position.

Page Navigation Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Page Up	Previous Page	Moves toward the previous page.
Page Down	Next Page	Moves toward the next page.
Ctrl + Page Up	Previous Page	Moves to the previous page in supported contexts.
Ctrl + Page Down	Next Page	Moves to the next page in supported contexts.
Home	Start of Line	Moves the cursor to the beginning of the line.
End	End of Line	Moves the cursor to the end of the line.
Ctrl + Home	Start	Moves toward the beginning of the text/document.
Ctrl + End	End	Moves toward the end of the text/document.

PageMaker Tool Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Tool	Simple Explanation
Esc	Pointer Tool	Returns to the Pointer tool or exits the current operation.
T	Text Tool	Selects the Text tool for entering or editing text.
Ctrl + Spacebar	Temporary Zoom	Temporarily activates zoom in supported contexts.
Z	Zoom Tool	Selects the Zoom tool in supported versions.
H	Hand Tool	Helps move around the page/work area where supported.
R	Rectangle Tool	Selects the rectangle drawing tool where supported.
L	Line Tool	Selects the line tool where supported.

Object Selection and Movement

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + A	Select Objects	Selects objects in the current context.
Ctrl + C	Copy Object	Copies the selected object.
Ctrl + X	Cut Object	Cuts the selected object.
Ctrl + V	Paste Object	Pastes the object.
Arrow Keys	Move Object	Moves the selected object.
Shift + Arrow	Move Faster	Moves an object by a larger increment where supported.
Ctrl + Drag	Duplicate	Creates a copy while dragging in supported contexts.

Arrange and Object Management

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + G	Group	Groups selected objects.
Ctrl + Shift + G	Ungroup	Separates grouped objects.
Ctrl + ]	Bring Forward	Moves an object forward in the stacking order where supported.
Ctrl + [	Send Backward	Moves an object backward in the stacking order where supported.
Ctrl + Shift + ]	Bring to Front	Moves an object to the front where supported.
Ctrl + Shift + [	Send to Back	Moves an object to the back where supported.

Zoom Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + +	Zoom In	Makes the page appear larger.
Ctrl + –	Zoom Out	Makes the page appear smaller.
Ctrl + 0	Fit Page	Fits the page in the workspace where supported.
Ctrl + 1	100% Zoom	Displays the document at actual size where supported.

Guides, Rulers and Layout

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + R	Show/Hide Rulers	Displays or hides rulers where supported.
Ctrl + ;	Show/Hide Guides	Displays or hides guides where supported.
Ctrl + Shift + ;	Snap	Toggles snapping where supported.

Guides are useful for keeping text, images, columns, borders, and other objects properly aligned on the page.

Master Page and Layout Work

Master Pages are commonly used in PageMaker for repeated elements such as:

Page numbers
Headers
Footers
Logos
Repeated borders
Common page layouts

Some Master Page operations are better performed through the Master Pages palette and PageMaker menus, because keyboard shortcuts can vary by version.

Page Number Shortcut

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + Shift + 3	Insert Page Number Marker	Inserts the automatic page-number marker in supported PageMaker versions.

When a page-number marker is placed on a master page, PageMaker automatically displays the appropriate page number on document pages using that master.

Find and Replace

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + F	Find	Searches for specific text.
Ctrl + H	Find and Replace	Finds existing text and replaces it with new text.

Example: If a publication contains the name “SN Computer Center” many times and you want to replace it with “SNCEC”, Find and Replace can save considerable time.

Print and Publication Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + S	Save	Saves your publication.
Ctrl + Shift + S	Save As	Saves another copy or uses a different name.
Ctrl + P	Print	Opens printing settings.
Ctrl + W	Close Publication	Closes the current publication.
Alt + F4	Exit	Closes PageMaker.

Practical PageMaker Shortcut Example

Suppose you are creating a school invitation card in Adobe PageMaker.

Press Ctrl + N to create a new publication.
Set the required page size and margins.
Select the Text tool and type the invitation text.
Select the heading and use Ctrl + B to make it bold.
Use Ctrl + E to center the heading.
Insert or place an image.
Use the Pointer tool to position the image.
Use guides to align text and graphics.
Press Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V when you need to duplicate content.
Press Ctrl + S to save the publication.
Use Ctrl + P to print the final design.

Practical DTP Projects for Learning PageMaker

To learn Adobe PageMaker properly, practice creating real DTP projects such as:

Visiting Card
Wedding Invitation Card
School Notice
Certificate
Letterhead
Brochure
Newsletter
Magazine Page
Newspaper Page
Advertisement
Book Cover
Office Report
Pamphlet
Business Card
Event Invitation

Most Important Adobe PageMaker Shortcut Keys

Ctrl + N – New Publication
Ctrl + O – Open
Ctrl + S – Save
Ctrl + Shift + S – Save As
Ctrl + P – Print
Ctrl + W – Close Publication
Ctrl + Z – Undo
Ctrl + C – Copy
Ctrl + X – Cut
Ctrl + V – Paste
Ctrl + A – Select All
Ctrl + F – Find
Ctrl + H – Find and Replace
Ctrl + B – Bold
Ctrl + I – Italic
Ctrl + U – Underline
Ctrl + L – Align Left
Ctrl + E – Center
Ctrl + R – Align Right
Ctrl + J – Justify
Ctrl + G – Group
Ctrl + Shift + G – Ungroup
Ctrl + + – Zoom In
Ctrl + – – Zoom Out
Ctrl + Shift + 3 – Page Number Marker
Esc – Return/Cancel Current Tool or Operation
T – Text Tool
Z – Zoom Tool

Important Note

Adobe PageMaker is legacy DTP software and has been discontinued by Adobe. Therefore, students may encounter differences between shortcut keys documented for PageMaker 6.5, PageMaker 7.0, Windows versions, and different keyboard configurations. For practical training, it is better to focus on the commonly used shortcuts and learn the remaining commands through the PageMaker menus.

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