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`+`K`or`Ctrl`+`E`	Google Chrome	Search from anywhere on the page
Type a search engine nameandpress Tab	Google Chrome	Search using a different search engine
Type a search term+`Enter`	Google Chrome	Search with your default search engine
`Shift`+`Alt`+`T`	Google Chrome	Set focus on the first item in the Chrome toolbar
`F10`	Google Chrome	Set focus on the rightmost item in the Chrome toolbar
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`B`	Google Chrome	Show or hide the Bookmarks bar
`Ctrl`+`F6`	Google Chrome	Skip to web contents
`Esc`	Google Chrome	Stop the page loading
Double-click a blank area of the tab strip	Google Chrome	Switch between maximized and windowed modes
`F6`	Google Chrome	Switch focus to unfocused dialog (if showing) and all toolbars
`F11`	Google Chrome	Turn full-screen mode on or off
`F7`	Google Chrome	Turn on caret browsing
`Enter`	Firefox	(When a node is selected) move inside the node so you can start stepping through attributes
`Enter`	Firefox	(When an attribute is selected) start editing the attribute
`Shift`+`Enter`	Firefox	Add a new line, for entering multiline expressions
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`I`or`F12`	Firefox	Bring Toolbox to foreground (if the Toolbox is in a separate window and not in foreground)
`Esc`	Firefox	Cancel the autocomplete popup
`Enter`or`Tab`	Firefox	Choose current auto-complete suggestion (Rules view only, when a property or value is being edited)
`Tab`	Firefox	Choose the current autocomplete suggestion
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`L`	Firefox	Clear output
`Esc`	Firefox	Clear search box content (only when the search box is focused, and content has been entered)
`Esc`	Firefox	Clear the object inspector pane
`Ctrl`+`W`	Firefox	Close current file
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`I`or`F12`	Firefox	Close Toolbox (if the Toolbox is in a separate window and in foreground)
`←`	Firefox	Collapse currently selected node
`Ctrl`+`/`	Firefox	Comment/uncomment line(s)
`Ctrl`+`C`	Firefox	Copy
`Ctrl`+`C`	Firefox	Copy the selected node’s outer HTML
`Ctrl`+`X`	Firefox	Cut
`Ctrl`+`]`	Firefox	Cycle through tools left to right
`Ctrl`+`[`	Firefox	Cycle through tools right to left
`↑`then`↓`	Firefox	Cycle up and down through auto-complete suggestions (Rules view only, when a property or value is being edited)
`Ctrl`+`-`	Firefox	Decrease font size
`Alt`+Arrow Down (Ctrl+Arrow Down from Firefox 60 onwards.)	Firefox	Decrement selected value by 0.1
`↓`	Firefox	Decrement selected value by 1
`Shift`+`↓`	Firefox	Decrement selected value by 10
`Shift`+`PgDn`	Firefox	Decrement selected value by 100
`Del`	Firefox	Delete the selected node
`Esc`	Firefox	Dismiss the Eyedropper
`F2`	Firefox	Edit as HTML
`Enter`	Firefox	Execute the current expression
`→`	Firefox	Expand currently selected node
`Ctrl`+`F`	Firefox	Find in file
`Ctrl`+`G`	Firefox	Find Next
`Ctrl`+`G`	Firefox	Find next in the current file
`Shift`+`Ctrl`+`G`	Firefox	Find Previous
`Enter`	Firefox	Find the next match in the markup, when searching is active
`Shift`+`Enter`	Firefox	Find the previous match in the markup, when searching is active
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`K`	Firefox	Focus on the command line
`Ctrl`+`F`	Firefox	Focus on the search box in the CSS pane

Shortcut Learning Strategy

Start with frequent tasks

Mind the platform

Practice in context

Related References