Keyboard ShortcutsHow to use this site
Search by the action. The box above searches all 734 shortcuts at once. Type the thing you want to do in ordinary words. You can also type a key, such as "F2" or "Ctrl Shift", to see what uses it.
Browse by program. Each program or system has its own page. Shortcuts are grouped by what you are doing, and each page begins with "the ones to learn first", so that you are not faced with a wall of two hundred.
Print a page. The Print button on each program page gives a compact sheet for the desk. The explanations are left out and only the tables are printed.
Read a guide. The guides cover what the lists cannot: which shortcuts work everywhere, how to move and select text from the keyboard, how Windows and Mac keys correspond, and how to make shortcuts a habit.
Where to start
If you are new to shortcuts, read the 20 essential shortcuts first. They work in almost every program, so they repay the effort many times over. Then moving and selecting text, which covers the keys people most often wish they had known years ago.
After that, open the page for the program you spend most of your day in and learn its first ten.
How the shortcuts are written
- Ctrl + C means hold the Ctrl key, tap C, and let go.
- Ctrl + Shift + T means hold both Ctrl and Shift, then tap T.
- g then i means press g, release it, then press i.
- Win is the key with the Windows logo. Cmd is the Command key on a Mac, marked ⌘.
- Where a table has two key columns, the first is for Windows, Linux and Chromebooks, and the second for the Mac.
On laptops, the keys F1 to F12, Home, End and PrtScn may need the Fn key held as well. The guide to function keys explains this.
Are these shortcuts the same on every computer?
Mostly, but not always. A program can change its shortcuts in a new version. Shortcuts can differ between languages and keyboard layouts, and many programs let you set your own. Other software on the computer can also take over a key combination. If a shortcut on this site does nothing for you, the program's own Help menu has its current list.
The Windows page follows Microsoft's published list. The other pages list long-standing shortcuts from our own use of each program.
Questions people ask
What is a keyboard shortcut?
A key, or a few keys pressed together, that does something you would otherwise do with the mouse and a menu. Ctrl + S, for example, saves the document.
Do I have to press the keys at the same moment?
No. Hold the first keys down, such as Ctrl or Shift, then tap the last key, then release everything.
Why does a shortcut work in one program and not another?
Each program chooses its own. Many follow the same conventions, which is why Ctrl + C copies nearly everywhere, but none is obliged to.
Can I make my own shortcuts?
Often, yes. Word, VS Code, Gmail and many other programs let you assign keys. In Windows, the Properties of a desktop shortcut has a "Shortcut key" box for starting a program.
This is an independent reference site. It is not connected with Microsoft, Apple, Google or any other maker of the programs named here. Product names belong to their owners and are used only to say where a shortcut works. Programs change; if a shortcut does not work for you, check the program's own help.