Productivity Reference

Keyboard Shortcuts

A keyboard shortcut is a combination of keys that performs a specific action. The shortcuts typically involve one or more modifier keys such as Ctrl, Alt, or Command combined with another key usually a letter, number, or punctuation symbol. By using keyboard shortcuts, you can bypass navigating through menus and dialog boxes in software applications. Tasks that would normally require multiple clicks with a mouse can be accomplished swiftly using shortcuts, and you will be less relying on mouse movements. Professionals who use keyboard shortcuts efficiently perform repetitive actions more quickly. Most software allows customization of keyboard shortcuts. Users can assign their preferred shortcuts for specific functions. Additionally, each application often has its own unique set of shortcuts. We have crafted shortcuts for most commonly used applications across multiple platforms.

Practical Notes

Shortcut Learning Strategy

Keyboard shortcuts are easiest to adopt when you focus on repeated actions instead of trying to memorize an entire application at once.

Start with frequent tasks

Learn the commands you use every hour: search, save, switch tabs, copy, paste, undo, and open command menus.

Mind the platform

The same action may use Ctrl on Windows or Linux and Command on macOS.

Practice in context

Shortcuts stick faster when you use them during real work instead of reading a list once.

Shortcut	Application	Action
`Ctrl`and`+`	Google Chrome	Make everything on the page bigger
`Ctrl`and`-`	Google Chrome	Make everything on the page smaller
`Ctrl`+Scroll your mousewheel down	Google Chrome	Make everything on the page smaller
`Alt`+`Space`then`X`	Google Chrome	Maximize the current window
`Alt`+`Space`then`N`	Google Chrome	Minimize the current window
Drag the tab into an existing window	Google Chrome	Move a tab to a current window (mouse only)
`Ctrl`+`F5`	Google Chrome	Move cursor to the address bar
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`PgUp`or`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`PgDn`	Google Chrome	Move tabs right or left
`Ctrl`+`←`	Google Chrome	Move your cursor to the beginning of the previous word in a text field
`Ctrl`+`→`	Google Chrome	Move your cursor to the next word
`Alt`+`Shift`+`I`	Google Chrome	Open a feedback form
`Ctrl`+`O`+Select a file	Google Chrome	Open a file from your computer in Chrome
Drag a link to a tab	Google Chrome	Open a link in a current tab (mouse only)
`Shift`+Click a link	Google Chrome	Open a link in a new window
`Ctrl`+Click a link	Google Chrome	Open a link in new background tab
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+Click a link	Google Chrome	Open a link, and jump to it
Drag a link to a blank area of the tab strip	Google Chrome	Open a link, and jump to it (mouse only)
Type a search term+`Alt`+`Enter`	Google Chrome	Open a new tab and perform a Google search
`Ctrl`+`T`	Google Chrome	Open a new tab, and jump to it
`Ctrl`+`N`	Google Chrome	Open a new window
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`N`	Google Chrome	Open a new window in Incognito mode
Drag the tab out of the tab strip	Google Chrome	Open a tab in a new window (mouse only)
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`J`or`F12`	Google Chrome	Open Developer Tools
`Ctrl`+`P`	Google Chrome	Open options to print the current page
`Ctrl`+`S`	Google Chrome	Open options to save the current page
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`O`	Google Chrome	Open the Bookmarks Manager
`F1`	Google Chrome	Open the Chrome Help Center in a new tab
`Alt`+`F`or`Alt`+`E`	Google Chrome	Open the Chrome menu
`Shift`+`Esc`	Google Chrome	Open the Chrome Task Manager
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Del`	Google Chrome	Open the Clear Browsing Data options
`Ctrl`+`J`	Google Chrome	Open the Downloads page in a new tab
`Ctrl`+`F`or`F3`	Google Chrome	Open the Find Bar to search the current page
`Ctrl`+`H`	Google Chrome	Open the History page in a new tab
`Alt`+`Home`	Google Chrome	Open the Home page in the current tab
`Alt`+`→`	Google Chrome	Open the next page from your browsing history in the current tab
`Alt`+`←`	Google Chrome	Open the previous page from your browsing history in the current tab
`Alt`+`Home`	Google Chrome	Open your home page in the current tab
`Alt`+`F`then`X`	Google Chrome	Quit Google Chrome
`F5`or`Ctrl`+`R`	Google Chrome	Reload the current page
`Shift`+`F5`or`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`R`	Google Chrome	Reload the current page, ignoring cached content
`↓`+`Shift`+`Del`	Google Chrome	Remove predictions from your address bar
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`T`	Google Chrome	Reopen previously closed tabs in the order they were closed
Press Esc while dragging	Google Chrome	Return a tab to its original position
`Ctrl`+`O`	Google Chrome	Return everything on the page to default size
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`D`	Google Chrome	Save all open tabs as bookmarks in a new folder
Drag the web address to the Bookmarks Bar	Google Chrome	Save the current webpage as a bookmark
`Ctrl`+`D`	Google Chrome	Save your current webpage as a bookmark
`Space`or`PgDn`	Google Chrome	Scroll down a webpage, a screen at a time
`Shift`+Scroll your mousewheel	Google Chrome	Scroll horizontally on the page
`Shift`+`Space`or`PgUp`	Google Chrome	Scroll up a webpage, a screen at a time

Shortcut Learning Strategy

Start with frequent tasks

Mind the platform

Practice in context

Related References