Default Shortcuts (macOS & Windows)
Every shortcut below is rebindable in Settings → Shortcuts — see Shortcuts & Rebinding for how. This page is the complete default table for both platforms, so you don't have to translate glyphs in your head if you're on Windows, or hunt through a settings list to see everything at once.
macOS defaults
Every default lives in the ⌃⌘ (Control+Command) family — chosen because it's the modifier pairing After Effects' own bindings use the least.
| Action | Default chord |
|---|---|
| Toggle Library / Editor | ⌃⌘L |
| Audition current expression (pin-first) | ⌃⌘E |
| Insert Property Reference (pickwhip) | ⌃⌘R |
| Insert Library Pattern (compact popover) | ⌃⌘B |
| Open the Evaluator | ⌃⇧⌘E |
| Open the Variables panel | ⌃⌘T |
| Command palette | ⌃⌘P |
| Find | ⌃⌘F |
| Find & Replace | ⌃⇧⌘F |
| Next problem / Previous problem | F8 / Alt+F8 |
| Authoring Undo / Redo (Variables panel open) | ⌃⌘Z / ⌃⇧⌘Z |
| Cycle editor tabs | ⌃⌘← / ⌃⌘→ |
| Toggle Notifications | (unassigned by default — bindable) |
Windows defaults
Windows only has three modifiers to macOS's four, and Alt+letter is off the table — on Windows, Alt drives menu mnemonics (Alt+F for File, Alt+E for Edit, and so on), which don't show up in a keyboard-shortcut file at all and would silently collide with a menu if used. The chosen family is Ctrl+Alt, with Ctrl+Alt+Shift as its ⇧-partner tier — the closest Windows analogue to macOS's two-tier ⌃⌘ / ⌃⇧⌘ shape.
| Action | macOS default | Windows default | Why that key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Command palette | ⌃⌘P |
Ctrl+Alt+Q |
Q = Quick command — the Monaco action this opens. P is taken in both Windows tiers. |
| Toggle Library / Editor | ⌃⌘L |
Ctrl+Alt+X |
X = eXLib, the surface this toggles into. L is taken in both tiers. |
| Audition current expression | ⌃⌘E |
Ctrl+Alt+8 |
E is occupied in every usable Windows family; the displaced pair moved to digit 8. |
| Open the Evaluator | ⌃⇧⌘E |
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+8 |
⇧-partner of Audition, same key — the macOS pairing preserved. |
| Insert Property Reference (pickwhip) | ⌃⌘R |
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+I |
I = Insert (a property reference). R is taken in both tiers. |
| Insert Library Pattern | ⌃⌘B |
Ctrl+Alt+D |
No mnemonic available — B and every QWERTY neighbor of it are taken. D was free. |
| Open the Variables panel | ⌃⌘T |
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+W |
No mnemonic available — T is taken in both tiers. W was free. |
| Find | ⌃⌘F |
Ctrl+Alt+9 |
F is occupied in every Windows family (including AE's own Find); the displaced pair moved to digit 9. |
| Find & Replace | ⌃⇧⌘F |
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+9 |
⇧-partner of Find, same key. |
| Authoring Undo | ⌃⌘Z |
Ctrl+Alt+Z |
The one macOS mnemonic Windows leaves free — Z stays Z. |
| Authoring Redo | ⌃⇧⌘Z |
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Z |
⇧-partner; letter and pairing both survive for this one pair. |
| Cycle to previous tab | ⌃⌘← |
Ctrl+Alt+PageUp |
Arrows are occupied in every Windows family; PageUp/PageDown is the platform's own tab-cycling idiom. |
| Cycle to next tab | ⌃⌘→ |
Ctrl+Alt+PageDown |
Same reasoning as above. |
Every eXLib default was checked against After Effects' own keyboard shortcuts on both platforms, so nothing lands on a chord AE is already using.
Why the two families differ
macOS has four modifiers (⌃ ⌥ ⇧ ⌘) and After Effects leaves the ⌃⌘ pair almost entirely unused, so eXLib got a nearly-clean family to itself there. Windows only has three (Ctrl, Alt, Shift), and every usable family maps onto a macOS family AE already fills — there's no equivalent clean lane.
Gestures and non-rebindable keys
A few actions are mouse gestures rather than keyboard chords, so they don't appear in the Shortcuts list at all:
| Gesture | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl/Cmd+Click, or Shift+F12 | Peek References |
| ⌘⇧-click a leaf in the pickwhip | Pin an Apply target to the active tab |
| IDE → Library Window in the workspace toolbar | Open the Compact panel |
| ⌘/Ctrl+A | Select All |
Authoring Undo/Redo (⌃⌘Z / ⌃⇧⌘Z) intentionally fire only while the
Variables panel is open and focus is outside a real text field. Plain ⌘Z/Ctrl+Z
inside a text input always runs that field's own native undo; the authoring chord only
takes over when you're not typing.
On most non-US Windows keyboard layouts, the right Alt key sends
Ctrl+Alt (AltGr) — so a Ctrl+Alt+<key> chord can collide with typing an accented or
special character (AltGr+Q types @ on a German layout, for example). After Effects
itself binds 42 Ctrl+Alt chords and already lives with this trade-off. If you're on
an international layout and one of these chords fights your typing, rebind it in
Settings → Shortcuts.
On macOS, ⌃⌘Space is left alone: macOS reserves it system-wide for Emoji & Symbols.
Rebinding
Every chord in the macOS and Windows tables above is rebindable — see Shortcuts & Rebinding for Rebind, Clear, and Reset. The gestures just above aren't registry commands, so there's nothing for those in the Shortcuts list to change: ⌘/Ctrl+A, in particular, is deliberately left as-is because it's the near-universal convention for "select all text," not an eXLib command with an id of its own.