Whether you’re a casual user or a power user, keyboard shortcuts can save you time and make using your Chromebook more efficient. Here are ten of the most useful Chromebook keyboard shortcuts that every Chromebook user should know.
Table of Contents
10 Useful Chromebook Keyboard Shortcuts You Should Know
- Control + l: This shortcut will take you to the URL bar in your browser, where you can enter a web address or search query.
- Control + shift + q: This shortcut will log you out of your Chromebook.
- Control + shift + n: This shortcut will open a new window in Incognito Mode, which is ideal for private browsing.
- Control + t: This shortcut will open a new tab in your current window.
- Control + w: This shortcut will close your current tab.
- Alt + tab: This shortcut lets you quickly switch between open tabs. Simply press Alt + tab to cycle through the tabs in your current window, and release the keys when you’ve reached the tab you want to switch to.
- Alt + backspace: This shortcut will delete the last word typed in the current text field, which can be handy if you make a typo or change your mind about what you want to say.
- Control + spacebar: This shortcut activates Voice Search, which allows you to search the web using your voice instead of typing out queries.
- Ctrl + d: Pressing this combination of keys on your Chromebook’s login screen will bring up Developer Mode options, which are options typically used by developers and not everyday users. Unless you know what you’re doing, it’s best to avoid these options altogether and just log in normally by entering your password and hitting Enter/Return.
- Shift + escape: This shortcut opens Chrome’s Task Manager, which shows you information about all the open tabs and windows in your browser as well as any Chrome-related processes that may be running in the background of your Chromebook. From here, you can end any processes that may be causing problems or eating up too much battery life by selecting them and clicking “End Process.”
All Chromebook Shortcuts
Below is a list of all shortcuts available for use in Chrome OS. You can press Ctrl + Alt + ? to see a list of these shortcuts on your screen.
Tabs and windows
| Open a new window | Ctrl + N |
| Open a new window in incognito mode | Ctrl + Shift + N |
| Open a new tab | Ctrl + T |
| Open a file in the browser | Ctrl + O |
| Sign out of your Google Account on Chrome OS | Ctrl + Shift + Q (twice) |
| Close the current tab | Ctrl + W |
| Close the current window | Ctrl + Shift + W |
| Reopen the last tab you’ve closed. Chrome remembers the last 10 tabs you’ve closed. | Ctrl + Shift + T |
| Go to the tab at the specified position in the window | Ctrl + 1 through Ctrl + 8 |
| Go to the last tab in the window | Ctrl + 9 |
| Activate items 1-8 on your shelf | Alt + 1 through Alt + 8 |
| Use F keys (F1 to F12) | Search + 1 through Search + = |
| Open the last item on your shelf | Alt + 9 |
| Go to the next tab in the window | Ctrl + Tab |
| Go to the previous tab in the window | Ctrl + Shift + Tab |
| Go to the previous window you had open | Alt + Tab |
| Go to the next window you have open | Alt + Shift + Tab |
| Go to previous page in your browsing history | Backspace, or press Alt and the left arrow |
| Go to the next page in your browsing history | Shift + Backspace, or press Alt and the right arrow |
| Open the link in a new tab in the background | Press Ctrl and click a link |
| Open the link in a new tab and switch to the new tab | Press Ctrl + Shift and click a link |
| Open the link in a new window | Press Shift and click a link |
| Open the link in the tab | Drag the link to the tab’s address bar |
| Open the link in a new tab | Drag the link to a blank area on the tab strip |
| Open the webpage in a new tab | Type a web address (URL) in the address bar, then press Alt + Enter |
| Return the tab to its original position | While dragging the tab, press Esc |
| Dock a window on the left | Alt + [ |
| Dock a window on the right | Alt + ] |
| Lock your screen | Search + L |
Page shortcuts
| Page up | Alt or Search and up arrow |
| Page down | Alt or Search and down arrow |
| Scroll down the web page | Space bar |
| Go to top of page | Ctrl + Alt and up arrow |
| Go to bottom of page | Ctrl + Alt and down arrow |
| Print your current page | Ctrl + P |
| Save your current page | Ctrl + S |
| Reload your current page | Ctrl + R |
| Reload your current page without using cached content | Ctrl + Shift + R |
| Zoom in on the page | Ctrl and + |
| Zoom out on the page | Ctrl and – |
| Reset zoom level | Ctrl + 0 |
| Stop the loading of your current page | Esc |
| Right-click a link | Press Alt and click a link |
| Open the link in a new tab in the background | Press Ctrl and click a link |
| Save your current webpage as a bookmark | Ctrl + D |
| Save all open pages in your current window as bookmarks in a new folder | Ctrl + Shift + D |
| Save the link as a bookmark | Drag a link to bookmarks bar |
| Open the find bar to search your current page | Ctrl + F |
| Go to the next match for your input in the find bar | Ctrl + G or Enter |
| Go to the previous match for your input in the find bar | Ctrl + Shift + G or Shift + Enter |
| Perform a search | Ctrl + K or Ctrl + E, then type a search term after the question mark in the address bar and press Enter. |
| Add www. and .com to your input in the address bar and open the resulting web address | Ctrl + Enter |
| Take a screenshot of your current page | Ctrl +  For non-Chrome OS keyboards: Ctrl + F5 |
| Take a partial screenshot | Ctrl + Shift + , then click and drag. For non-Chrome OS keyboards: Ctrl + Shift + F5 |
| View page source | Ctrl + U |
| Show or hide the Developer Tools panel | Ctrl + Shift + I |
| Show or hide the DOM Inspector | Ctrl + Shift + J |
Browser settings
| Show or hide the bookmarks bar. If the bar is hidden, you can see your bookmarks in the Chrome menu. | Ctrl + Shift + B |
| Open the Files app | Alt + Shift + M |
| Display hidden files in the Files app | Ctrl + . |
| Open the History page | Ctrl + H |
| Open the Downloads page | Ctrl + J |
| Open the Task Manager | Search + Esc |
| Open or hide the list of available keyboard shortcuts | Ctrl + Alt + / |
| Get help with your Chromebook | Ctrl + ? |
| Configure monitor display | Ctrl +  |
| Open the status area in the bottom-right corner of the screen | Shift + Alt + S |
| Highlight the launcher button on your shelf | Shift + Alt + L |
| Highlight the next item on your shelf | Shift + Alt + L, then Tab or right arrow |
| Highlight the previous item on your shelf | Shift + Alt + L, then Shift + Tab or left arrow |
| Open the highlighted button on your shelf | Shift + Alt + L, then Space or Enter |
| Remove the highlight from a button on your shelf | Shift + Alt + L, then Esc |
| Switch focus to the next keyboard-accessible pane. Panes include: Status area containing the time, network icon, and battery iconLauncherAddress barBookmarks bar (if visible)The main web content (including any infobars)Downloads bar (if visible) | Ctrl +  or Ctrl +  |
| Highlight the bookmarks bar (if shown) | Alt + Shift + B |
| Highlight the row with the address bar | Shift + Alt + T |
| Open the Chrome menu on the browser toolbar | Alt + E or Alt + F |
| Open right-click menus for highlighted items | Shift + Search + Volume Up |
| Turn ChromeVox (spoken feedback) on or off | Ctrl + Alt + Z |
| Change screen resolution | Ctrl + Shift and + or – |
| Reset screen resolution to default | Ctrl + Shift and 0 |
| Rotate screen 90 degrees | Ctrl + Shift and Reload |
Google Sheets
| Select column | Ctrl + Space |
| Select row | Shift + Space |
| Select all | Ctrl + A |
| Undo | Ctrl + Z |
| Redo | Ctrl + Y Ctrl + Shift + Z |
| Find | Ctrl + F |
| Find and replace | Ctrl + H |
| Fill range | Ctrl + Enter |
| Fill down | Ctrl + D |
| Fill right | Ctrl + R |
| Save Every change is saved automatically in Drive | Ctrl + S |
| Open | Ctrl + O |
| Ctrl + P | |
| Copy | Ctrl + C |
| Cut | Ctrl + X |
| Paste | Ctrl + V |
| Paste values only | Ctrl + Shift + V |
| Show common keyboard shortcuts | Ctrl + / |
| Compact controls | Ctrl + Shift + F |
| Input tools on/off (available in spreadsheets in non-Latin languages) | Ctrl + Shift + K |
| Select input tools | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + K |
| Cell formatting | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Ctrl + B |
| Underline | Ctrl + U |
| Italic | Ctrl + I |
| Strikethrough | Alt + Shift + 5 |
| Center align | Ctrl + Shift + E |
| Right align | Ctrl + Shift + R |
| Apply top border | Alt + Shift + 1 |
| Apply right border | Alt + Shift + 2 |
| Apply bottom border | Alt + Shift + 3 |
| Apply left border | Alt + Shift + 4 |
| Remove borders | Alt + Shift + 6 |
| Apply outer border | Alt + Shift + 7 |
| Insert link | Ctrl + K |
| Insert time | Ctrl + Shift + ; |
| Insert date | Ctrl + ; |
| Format as decimal | Ctrl + Shift + 1 |
| Format as time | Ctrl + Shift + 2 |
| Format as date | Ctrl + Shift + 3 |
| Format as currency | Ctrl + Shift + 4 |
| Format as percentage | Ctrl + Shift + 5 |
| Format as exponent | Ctrl + Shift + 6 |
| Clear formatting | Ctrl + |
| Spreadsheet navigation | |
| Move to beginning of row | Ctrl + Left arrow |
| Move to beginning of sheet | Ctrl + Search + Left arrow |
| Move to end of row | Ctrl + Right arrow |
| Move to end of sheet | Ctrl + Search + Right arrow |
| Scroll to active cell | Ctrl + Backspace |
| Display list of sheets | Alt + Shift + K |
| Open hyperlink | Alt + Enter |
| Open Explore | Alt + Shift + X |
| Move focus out of spreadsheet | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + M |
| Move to quicksum (when a range of cells is selected) | Alt + Shift + Q |
| Move focus to popup (for links, bookmarks, and images) | holding Ctrl + Alt, press E then P |
| Open drop-down menu on filtered cell | Ctrl + Alt + R |
| Open revision history | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + G |
| Open chat inside the spreadsheet | Shift + Esc |
| Close drawing editor | Ctrl + Esc Shift + Esc |
| Notes and comments | |
| Insert/edit note | Shift + Search + 2 |
| Insert/edit comment | Ctrl + Alt + M |
| Open comment discussion thread | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + A |
| Enter current comment | holding Ctrl + Alt, press E then C |
| Menus | |
| File menu | Alt + F |
| Edit menu | Alt + E |
| View menu | Alt + V |
| Insert menu | Alt + I |
| Format menu | Alt + O |
| Data menu | Alt + D |
| Tools menu | Alt + T |
| Form menu (present when the spreadsheet is connected to a form) | Alt + M |
| Add-ons menu (present in the new Google Sheets) | Alt + N |
| Help menu | Alt + H |
| Accessibility menu (present when screen reader support is enabled) | Alt + A |
| Sheet menu (copy, delete, and other sheet actions) | Ctrl + Shift + S |
| Context menu | Ctrl + Shift + |
| Insert or delete rows or columns | |
| Insert row above | Alt + I, then R |
| Insert row below | Alt + I, then W |
| Insert column to the left | Alt + I, then C |
| Insert column to the right | Alt + I, then G |
| Delete row | Alt + E, then D |
| Delete column | Alt + E, then E |
| Formulas | |
| Show all formulas | Ctrl + ~ |
| Insert array formula | Ctrl + Shift + Enter |
| Collapse an expanded array formula | Ctrl + E |
| Show/hide formula help (when entering a formula) | Shift + Search + 1 |
| Screen reader support | |
| Enable screen reader support | Ctrl + Alt + Z |
| Read column | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + C |
| Read row | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R |
Google Docs
| Copy | Ctrl + C |
| Cut | Ctrl + X |
| Paste | Ctrl + V |
| Paste without formatting | Ctrl + Shift + V |
| Undo | Ctrl + Z |
| Redo | Ctrl + Shift + Z |
| Insert or edit link | Ctrl + K |
| Open link | Alt + Enter |
| Show common keyboard shortcuts | Ctrl + / |
| Save Every change is automatically saved in Drive | Ctrl + S |
| Ctrl + P | |
| Open | Ctrl + O |
| Find | Ctrl + F |
| Find and replace | Ctrl + H |
| Find again | Ctrl + G |
| Find previous | Ctrl + Shift + G |
| Hide the menus (compact mode) | Ctrl + Shift + F |
| Insert page break | Ctrl + Enter |
| Search the menus | Alt + Z Alt + / |
| Text formatting | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Ctrl + B |
| Italicize | Ctrl + I |
| Underline | Ctrl + U |
| Strikethrough | Alt + Shift + 5 |
| Superscript | Ctrl + . |
| Subscript | Ctrl + , |
| Copy text formatting | Ctrl + Alt + C |
| Paste text formatting | Ctrl + Alt + V |
| Clear text formatting | Ctrl + |
| Increase font size | Ctrl + Shift + > |
| Decrease font size | Ctrl + Shift + < |
| Paragraph formatting | |
| Increase paragraph indentation | Ctrl + ] |
| Decrease paragraph indentation | Ctrl + [ |
| Apply normal text style | Ctrl + Alt + 0 |
| Apply heading style [1-6] | Ctrl + Alt + [1-6] |
| Center align | Ctrl + Shift + E |
| Right align | Ctrl + Shift + R |
| Justify | Ctrl + Shift + J |
| Numbered list | Ctrl + Shift + 7 |
| Bulleted list | Ctrl + Shift + 8 |
| Images and drawings | |
| Resize larger | Ctrl + Alt + K |
| Resize larger horizontally | Ctrl + Alt + B |
| Resize larger vertically | Ctrl + Alt + I |
| Resize smaller | Ctrl + Alt + J |
| Resize smaller horizontally | Ctrl + Alt + W |
| Resize smaller vertically | Ctrl + Alt + Q |
| Nudge up, down, left, or right | Arrow keys |
| Nudge by a pixel | Shift + Arrow keys |
| Rotate clockwise by 15° | Alt + Right arrow |
| Rotate counterclockwise by 15° | Alt + Left arrow |
| Rotate counterclockwise by 1° | Alt + Shift + Left arrow |
| Rotate clockwise by 1° | Alt + Shift + Right arrow |
| Close drawing editor | Ctrl + Esc Shift + Esc |
| Comments | |
| Insert comment | Ctrl + Alt + M |
| Open discussion thread | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + A |
| Enter current comment | holding Ctrl + Alt, press E then C |
| Move to next comment | holding Ctrl + Alt, press N then C |
| Move to previous comment | holding Ctrl + Alt, press P then C |
| Insert footnote | Ctrl + Alt + F |
| Enter current footnote | holding Ctrl + Alt, press E then F |
| Move to next footnote | holding Ctrl + Alt, press N then F |
| Move to previous footnote | holding Ctrl + Alt, press P then F |
| Menus | |
| Context (right-click) menu | Ctrl + Shift + X |
| File menu | Alt + F |
| Edit menu | Alt + E |
| View menu | Alt + V |
| Insert menu | Alt + I |
| Format menu | Alt + O |
| Tools menu | Alt + T |
| Table menu | Alt + B |
| Help menu | Alt + H |
| Accessibility menu (present when screen reader support is enabled) | Alt + A |
| Input Tools menu (available in documents in non-Latin languages) | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + K |
| Toggle input controls (available in documents in non-Latin languages) | Ctrl + Shift + K |
| Text selection with keyboard | |
| Select all | Ctrl + A |
| Extend selection one character | Shift + Left/right arrow |
| Extend selection one line | Shift + Up/down arrow |
| Extend selection one word | Ctrl + Shift + Left/right arrow |
| Extend selection to the beginning of the paragraph | Ctrl + Shift + Up arrow |
| Extend selection to the end of the paragraph | Ctrl + Shift + Down arrow |
| Select current list item | holding Ctrl + Alt + Shift, press E then I |
| Select all list items at current level | holding Ctrl + Alt + Shift, press E then O |
| Text selection with mouse | |
| Select word | Double-click |
| Extend selection one word at a time | Double-click + drag |
| Select paragraph | Triple-click |
| Extend selection one paragraph at a time | Triple-click + drag |
| Screen reader support | |
| Enable screen reader support | Ctrl + Alt + Z Alt + Shift + ~ |
| Speak selection | Ctrl + Alt + X |
| Speak from cursor location | Ctrl + Alt + R |
| Announce cursor location | holding Ctrl + Alt, press A then L |
| Announce formatting at cursor location | holding Ctrl + Alt, press A then F |
| Speak the table column and row header | holding Ctrl + Alt + Shift, press T then H |
| Speak the table cell location | holding Ctrl + Alt + Shift, press T then N |
| Speak the table row header | holding Ctrl + Alt + Shift, press T then R |
| Speak the table column header | holding Ctrl + Alt + Shift, press T then C |
Learning keyboard shortcuts is one of the best ways to improve your efficiency when using any computer platform – Chromebook included. By taking the time to learn some of the most useful shortcuts available for ChromeOS, you’ll be able to breeze through tasks both big and small on your Chromebook with ease!
