Pixelmator Pro tools

Pixelmator Pro has more than 40 image editing tools for retouching, reshaping, painting, drawing, adding shapes, text, styles, and effects, adjusting colors, selecting image areas, moving and arranging elements.

To start using a tool, click to select it in the Tools sidebar or the toolbar at the top.

Some of the tools in the Tools sidebar are grouped. To select a different tool from a group, click the currently selected tool again, force click, or Control ⌃ – click a tool group. You can also move tools out of their assigned groups onto the Tools sidebar as standalone tools. See Customize the Tools sidebar to learn more.

Basic Tools

Tool	Shortcut	Description
Style	S	The Style tool can be used to customize the look of layers by adding fills, strokes, shadows, and inner shadows. You can also adjust layer transparency or the way layers blend with other layers.
Arrange	V	Use the Arrange tool to move, rotate, resize, or change the position of layers in a document. With the Arrange tool selected, you can also click Transform at the bottom of the Tool Options pane to transform layers in other ways — for example, stretch, skew, adjust perspective or resize using special algorithms.
Zoom	Z	The Zoom tool lets you easily zoom and navigate an image.
Hand	H	Use the Hand tool to scroll and pan an image when zoomed in.
Crop	C	Use the Crop tool to crop and straighten images.
Export for Web	K	The Export for Web tool lets you create individual images from layers or layer groups in your design and prepare each slice for export separately, using its own optimization settings.
Color Picker	I	Use the Color Picker tool to sample colors from images, save them as swatches, create and manage your color palettes.

Type Tools

Use the Type tools to add and customize text in images. You can add circular text, make text wrap around shapes or the paths you draw, and more. Once you've added a text, you can customize it by changing its font, color, size, alignment, or spacing. Press Shift ⇧ + T on your keyboard to cycle through the different type tools.

Tool	Shortcut	Description
Type	T	Add a free or draw a bounded text box.
Circular Type		Add a curved or circular text.
Path Type		Add text to a path or shape drawn using the Pen tool.
Freeform Type		Add text to a path or shape drawn using the Freeform Pen tool.

Selection Tools

Selection tools let you define and work on a specific area of an image without changing anything outside the bounds of the selection. You can work with shape-based selection tools, draw selections by hand, or use smart selection tools to select entire objects or specific colors in images.

Tool	Shortcut	Description
Group 1
Rectangular Selection	M	Makes square and rectangular selections.
Elliptical Selection	Y	Makes round and elliptical selections.
Row Selection		Makes horizontal selections of a custom height.
Column Selection		Makes vertical selections of a custom width.
Group 2
Free Selection	L	Allows to draw freehand selections.
Polygonal Selection		Allows to draw polygonal, jagged selections.
Magnetic Selection		Makes selections that snap to object edges.
Group 3
Color Selection	W	Selects similarly-colored areas in an image.
Quick Selection	Q	Selects object in an image as you draw over them.

Painting Tools

There are three different groups of painting tools in Pixelmator Pro — brushes, erasers, and fill tools. Use brushes to create digital, traditional, or pixel art. Fill layers and selections with a solid color or gradient using the Fill tools. Touch up the drawings you've made using the painting tools or erase any other pixel-based layers using the Erase tools.

Tool	Shortcut	Description
Group 1
Paint	B	The Paint tool lets you choose from a range of different brushes, including pencils, crayons, sprays, markers, paintbrushes, basic brushes, and more. You can use these default brushes or add some custom ones to create digital or traditional paintings, sketches, illustrations, and more.
Pixel Paint		The Pixel Paint tool lets you paint or erase using square, pixel-shaped blocks.
Group 2
Color Fill	N	Fill an entire layer, selection or just the specific area in an image with your chosen solid color.
Gradient Fill	G	Fill a layer or a selection with a gradual transition between two or more colors.
Group 3
Erase	E	The Erase tool lets you erase image areas using any brush in your collection.
Smart Erase		The Smart Erase tool erases similarly colored areas of an image.

Retouching and Reshaping Tools

There are five types of retouching and reshaping tools in Pixelmator Pro. Sharpening, softening, and smudging tools emphasize or tone down certain details in an image. Saturation tools make your image less or more vibrant. Reshaping tools distort areas in an image as you paint over them. The final group — clone and repair tools — lets you paint using image textures. You can use these tools to remove unnecessary objects or duplicate them.

Tool	Shortcut	Description
Group 1
Sharpen		Use Sharpen to make a specific area of an image sharper.
Soften		The Soften tool makes a specific area of an image softer.
Smudge		The Smudge tool smudges a specific area of an image, similarly to dragging wet paint.
Group 2
Lighten		Use Lighten to make a specific area of an image lighter.
Darken		Use the Darken tool to darken a specific area of an image.
Group 3
Saturate		Make the colors in a specific area of an image more saturated, vivid and vibrant.
Desaturate		Make the colors in a specific area of an image less vivid and vibrant.
Group 4
Warp		The Warp tool lets you push and pull a specific area of an image in any direction.
Bump		The Bump tool moves pixels away from the center of the brush towards the edges, creating a bloated look.
Pinch		The Pinch tool pulls pixels inward, creating a squeezed look.
Twirl		The Twirl tool rotates pixels right or left as you drag, creating a whirlwind look.
Group 5
Repair	R	Use Repair to remove small imperfections or entire objects from images.
Clone	O	Use the Clone tool to seamlesly copy parts of an image from one area to another.

Vector Tools

Vector tools can be used to add, transform, combine, and change the look of shapes to create unique vector designs and illustrations. The vector tools are split into two groups — pre-made shapes and tools for drawing new shapes or paths by hand.

Tool	Shortcut	Description
Group 1
Pen	P	Using the Pen tool, you can create your own shapes by adding and connecting individual anchor points.
Freeform Pen		Use the Freeform Pen to freehand draw custom vector paths.
Group 2
Shape tool	U	Use the Shape tool to add or customize existing shapes, save any of the shapes you create yourself as presets.
Rounded Rectangle		Adds a rounded rectangle shape with an adjustable corner roundness.
Rectangle		Adds a rectangular shape.
Ellipse		Adds an elliptical shape.
Polygon		Adds a polygonal shape with an adjustable number of corners.
Star		Adds a five-pointed star shape with an adjustable number of points and radius.
Line		Adds a line path.

Color Adjustments and Effects

Tools	Shortcuts	Description
Color Adjustments	A	Use color adjustments to edit the colors of an image in any way you want to. Also, try out the amazing, machine-learning powered tools to remove noise, automatically enhance, or match image colors with the colors of another image.
Effects	F	Choose from over 70 nondestructive effects and create unique combinations to make your own special effects.

See also

Pixelmator Pro keyboard shortcuts

Automatically edit images

Interface overview