Amazingly enough it’s when I switched my pc for a Macbook that I really started using shortcuts. Like everyone, I knew about the ctrl+c (copy), ctrl + v (paste) and ctrl + x (to cut) but I didn’t know there was a whole world of shortcuts out there.  Shortcuts are a must, they’re handy and save a lot of time. At first, it doesn’t look easy, but believe you me, once you’ve got the hang of them, you are going to speed up your work. Here are the ones, I used the most: (Those are for Illustrator CS3 and Mac, this need to be confirm but for PC try to replace Cmd by Ctrl, not sure it works but it worth a try)

1.    Selection

Direct selection: A  

Selecting all objects (not locked) = Cmd + A

2.   Tools

Pen= P

Pencil=N

Brush= B

Rotate=R

Eyedropper: I

Ellipse= L

Rectangle=M

 

3.   Copy and Paste

Copy= Cmd + C

Paste = Cmd + V

Paste in front of the object= Cmd +F

Paste in in the back of the object= Cmd + B

4.   Action

Join anchor point= Cmd+J

Undo an action= Cmd+Z

Save = Cmd+S

New layer= Cmd+L

 

Those shorcuts are basics ones, so if you’re proficient in Illustrator you probably already know them, but I think for the beginners, this little tutorial could be helpful.