Most After Effects shortcut guides list every shortcut in the application. This is not that guide. These are the shortcuts that change how fast you actually work — the ones worth building into muscle memory.
Navigation and Preview
Spacebar — play/stop preview. You already know this one.
0 (numpad) — RAM preview. Renders the work area into RAM for smooth playback. On newer AE versions this is less necessary since the preview engine is faster, but still useful.
Page Up / Page Down — move one frame back or forward. Faster than dragging the playhead.
J / K — jump to previous / next keyframe. Essential for navigating between keyframes without hunting with the mouse.
Home / End — jump to start or end of composition.
B / N — set work area start / end to current time. Use these to quickly define the range you want to preview or render.
Layer Management
Cmd/Ctrl + D — duplicate layer. Used constantly.
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + D — split layer at current time. Underused but powerful — splits a layer into two at the playhead position.
[ and ] — move layer in point or out point to current time. Snaps the start or end of a layer to where the playhead is without changing its duration.
Alt + [ and Alt + ] — trim layer in point or out point to current time. Cuts the layer at the playhead.
Cmd/Ctrl + Alt + Home — centre anchor point in layer. Fixes the common problem of misplaced anchor points before animation.
U — reveal all keyframed properties for selected layers. Extremely useful for reviewing what is animated without scrolling through every property.
UU (double U) — reveal all modified properties. Shows everything that has been changed from default, even without keyframes.
Transform Properties
P — position S — scale R — rotation T — opacity (think "T" for transparency) A — anchor point M — mask path
Hold Shift while pressing any of these to add that property to the current view without hiding others.
Keyframe Shortcuts
Alt + Shift + property key — add a keyframe at current time for that property. For example, Alt + Shift + P adds a position keyframe.
F9 — convert selected keyframes to Easy Ease.
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + K — keyframe velocity dialog. Opens the fine-tuning controls for keyframe speed — more precise than the graph editor for simple adjustments.
Composition and Views
Cmd/Ctrl + K — composition settings. Jump straight to resolution, frame rate, duration.
, and . (comma and period) — zoom composition view out and in.
/ (forward slash) — fit composition to viewer. Instantly fits the comp to the viewer window — faster than hunting for the dropdown.
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + H — show/hide layer controls (guides, anchor points, masks). Clean up the view when you need to see the final result.
Shift + / — fit selected layers to view in timeline. Not well-known but useful on complex timelines.
The Most Underused Shortcut
Cmd/Ctrl + G — this does nothing by default. But if you go to Edit → Keyboard Shortcuts, you can assign it to any action. I have mine set to "Pre-compose" — the action I perform most often in any complex project.
Custom shortcuts are one of the easiest workflow upgrades in After Effects and almost nobody sets them up.
One More Thing
If you want to stop manually building effects every time — the Liquid Glass Script automates the entire glass morphism setup with one click. Fewer repetitive actions, more time for the creative work.