Motion Graphics Keyboard Shortcuts for Premiere Pro 2020

The Complete List of Motion Graphics Keyboard Shortcuts

Adobe graphics engineer James Strawn recently compiled an amazing chart. It shows the COMPLETE list of available keyboard shortcuts for mogrts or any graphics in Premiere. And I’ve tested these specifically with the “mogrts” used from or created by the Essential Graphics Panel. This is a major jump in mogrt/graphics productivity!

Very few shortcuts seemed to work with the Essential Graphics Panel when it first appeared a couple versions back. While the old Titler still had a lot of keyboard shortcuts listed, at least seemingly, only for it. That was a chief complaint from many experienced graphics editors way back then about the Essential Graphics Panel and mogrts in general. Why was this such a big thing?

Fiddly Fidgety!

Graphics work requires a very precise, very picky control of placement, sizing, and all other details such as kerning and leading. Quick font changes. Aligning a text and graphic element. Moving things on-screen to precise locations.

Using a mouse to make multiple clicks in various spots of the User Interface (UI) is dramatically slower than tapping a couple quick keys. Any experienced editor uses keyboard shortcuts for most regular editing functions. Many of us also use “button boxes” … tools like the X-keys XK-60, the Streamdeck XL, or a gamer’s device like the Razer Orbweaver Chroma that I use. These can add macro capabilities (sequential actions in one tap!) and organization to your shortcut use.

Tapping is SO much faster than slide-click, slide – right-click … slide … yuck.

Tap Away!

But over time, the Adobe graphics engineers have made nearly all the graphics keyboard shortcuts work with any graphic element, or created ones specifically for the EGP and mogrts. I hadn’t even noticed the changes, to tell the truth!

But this new list shows the depth and breadth of actions that are already set to a keyboard shortcut, or are available for the user to create their own keyboard shortcuts for. And if it doesn’t include everything I’d like a keyboard shortcut for, it’s pretty close.

What Can Keyboard Shortcuts Do?

Oh my … to start with, you can add a new rectangle or ellipse shape from a quick tap … add fonts from Adobe fonts … upgrade a graphic on the timeline to a Master Graphic … replace fonts … add layers … align or distribute text … move layers forward or back … show or add rulers and guides … nudge selected items by one or five pixels … select text styles from Regular, Faux bold/italic/caps or sub/superscipt … and now even … underline!

Increase or decrease leading, font size, or kerning by one or five pixels … left/right/center alignment of text within a box … set intro end and outro start … highlight a word or a line … and of course clear the selection.

There are more … but to see them, look through the list. Add them into your workflow, and you will soon be working both faster and more precisely!

Neil