You can use keyboard shortcuts to complete some tasks more quickly. To find shortcuts on this page, press Ctrl + f and enter what you want to find.
Important: This article is only for US Chromebook users with a standard English QWERTY keyboard. If you have an international keyboard, go to Settings Device
Keyboard
View keyboard shortcuts to find keyboard shortcuts for your device.
Popular shortcuts
- Take a screenshot: Press Ctrl + Show windows
- Take a partial screenshot: Press Shift + Ctrl + Show windows
, then click and drag.
- Take a screenshot on tablets: Press the power button + volume down button.
- To access more screenshot features: Press Shift + Ctrl + Show windows
, then select a screenshot feature from the toolbar.
- To access more screenshot features on tablets: Press and hold the power button
select 'Screen capture', or select time
select Screen capture. Learn more about screenshot features.
- Turn Caps Lock on or off: Press Search
+ Alt. Or press Launcher
+ Alt.
- Lock your screen: Press Search
+ L. Or press Launcher
+ L.
- Sign out of your Google Account: Press Shift + Ctrl + q (twice).
- See all keyboard shortcuts: Press Ctrl + Alt + / (forward slash).
Shortcuts on external keyboards
If you’re using a Windows or Mac keyboard, press the Windows key or Command key instead of Search key or Launcher key
.
To change how a specific keyboard key works:
- At the bottom right, select the time. Or press Alt + Shift + s.
- Select Settings
.
- Under 'Device', choose Keyboard.
- Change the function of one or more keys.
All other shortcuts
Important: Depending on your keyboard, you can press the Search key or the Launcher key
for some shortcuts. Both keys work the same.
Tabs and windows
Open a new window | Ctrl + n |
Open a new window in Incognito mode | Shift + Ctrl + n |
Open a new tab | Ctrl + t |
Open a file in the browser | Ctrl + o |
Close the current tab | Ctrl + w |
Close the current window | Shift + Ctrl + w |
Reopen the last tab or window that you closed | Shift + Ctrl + t |
Go to tabs 1–8 in the window | Ctrl + 1 to Ctrl + 8 |
Go to the last tab in the window | Ctrl + 9 |
Go to the next tab in the window | Ctrl + Tab |
Go to the previous tab in the window | Shift + Ctrl + Tab |
Switch quickly between windows | Press and hold Alt, tap Tab until you get to the window that you want to open, then release. You can also press and hold Alt, then tap Tab, and select a window with the left or right arrow keys, mouse or touch. |
Open the window least used recently | Press and hold Shift + Alt, tap Tab until you get to the window that you want to open, then release. |
Go to previous page in your browsing history | Alt + Left arrow |
Go to the next page in your browsing history | Alt + 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 Shift + Ctrl 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 web page 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 + [ (left square bracket) |
Maximise window | Alt + = |
Minimise window | Alt + - (minus) |
Dock a window on the right |
Alt + ] (right square bracket) |
Switch windows between screens (when your Chromebook is connected to a monitor) |
Search |
Page and web browser
Page up | Alt + Up arrow |
Page down | Alt + Down arrow |
Scroll down the web page | Space bar |
Go to top of page | Ctrl + Alt + Up arrow |
Go to bottom of page | Ctrl + Alt + 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 | Shift + Ctrl + r |
Zoom in on the page | Ctrl and + |
Zoom out on the page | Ctrl and - (minus) |
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 the link as a bookmark | Drag link to bookmarks bar |
Save your current web page as a bookmark | Ctrl + d |
Save all open pages in your current window as bookmarks in a new folder | Shift + Ctrl + d |
Search the current page | Ctrl + f |
Go to the next match for your search | Ctrl + g or Enter |
Go to the previous match for your search | Shift + Ctrl + g or Shift + Enter |
Go to an inactive information field | Alt + Shift + a |
Perform a Google search | Ctrl + k (or) Ctrl + e |
Add www. and .com to your input in the address bar, then open the page | Ctrl + Enter |
View page source | Ctrl + u |
Show or hide the Developer Tools panel | Shift + Ctrl + i |
Navigate to selected section in the Developer Tools panel | Ctrl + Shift + c |
Open the Console tab in the Developer Tools panel | Shift + Ctrl + j |
Show or hide the bookmarks bar | Shift + Ctrl + b |
Show the toolbar | Alt + Shift + t |
Navigate to selected selection in the Developer Tools panel | Ctrl + Shift + c |
Open the History page | Ctrl + h |
Open the Downloads page | Ctrl + j |
Delete selected Auto-fill suggestion when filling in a form | Shift + Alt + Backspace |
System and display settings
Open the Files app | Shift + Alt + m |
Preview a file in the Files app | Select the file, then press Space |
Display hidden files in the Files app | Ctrl + . (full stop) |
Open the status area (where the time appears) | Shift + Alt + s |
Click icons 1–8 on your shelf | Alt + 1 to Alt + 8 |
Click the last icon on your shelf | Alt + 9 |
Use function keys | Search Launcher |
See your notifications | Shift + Alt + n |
Change screen resolution | Shift + Ctrl and + or - (minus) |
Reset screen resolution to default | Shift + Ctrl + 0 |
Rotate screen 90 degrees | Shift + Ctrl + Rotate |
Switch to the next user | Ctrl + Alt + . (full stop) |
Switch to the previous user | Ctrl + Alt + , (comma) |
Text editing
Turn Caps Lock on or off | Search Launcher |
Select everything on the page | Ctrl + a |
Select the content in the address bar | Ctrl + L or Alt + d |
Select the next word or letter | Shift + Ctrl + Right arrow |
Select text to the end of the line | Search Launcher |
Select text to the beginning of the line | Search Launcher |
Select previous word or letter | Shift + Ctrl + Left arrow |
Move to the end of the next word | Ctrl + Right arrow |
Move to the start of the previous word | Ctrl + Left arrow |
Move to beginning of the line | Search Launcher |
Move to end of the line | Search Launcher |
Go to end of document | Search Launcher |
Go to beginning of document | Search Launcher |
Open clipboard menu | Launcher Search Tip: You can navigate the clipboard menu with the tab or arrow keys. |
Copy selected content to the clipboard | Ctrl + c Tip: You can select up to five items to copy to your clipboard. |
Paste content from the clipboard | Ctrl + v |
Paste content when clipboard menu is open | Enter |
Paste content from the clipboard as plain text | Shift + Ctrl + v |
Cut | Ctrl + x |
Delete the previous word | Ctrl + Backspace |
Delete the next letter (forward delete) | Alt + Backspace |
Undo your last action | Ctrl + z |
Redo your last action | Shift + Ctrl + z |
Switch between the keyboard languages that you've set |
Shift + Ctrl + Space |
Switch to the previous keyboard language that you were using. |
Ctrl + Space |
Dim keyboard (for backlit keyboards only) | Alt + |
Make keyboard brighter (for backlit keyboards only) | Alt + |
Insert an emoji | Search |
Text app
New file in a new tab | Ctrl + n |
New file in a new window | Ctrl + Shift + n |
Find in current file | Ctrl + f |
Open file dialogue | Ctrl + o |
Delete line | Ctrl + d |
Indent the current line by one indent unit | Ctrl + ] |
Dedent the current line by one indent unit | Ctrl + [ |
Save current file | Ctrl + s |
Save current file as dialogue | Ctrl + Shift + s |
Print current file | Ctrl + p |
Jump to next file | Ctrl + Tab |
Jump to previous file | Ctrl + Shift + Tab |
Close current file | Ctrl + w |
Close window | Ctrl + Shift + w |
Show or hide sidebar | Alt + Space |
Focus the sidebar | Ctrl + e |
Zoom in | Ctrl + = |
Zoom out | Ctrl + - |
Reset zoom scale | Ctrl + 0 |
Accessibility
Learn how to make your Chromebook accessible.
Turn ChromeVox (spoken feedback) on or off | Ctrl + Alt + z |
Turn on high contrast mode | Search Launcher |
Magnify your whole screen | Ctrl + Search Ctrl + Launcher |
Magnify part of your screen | Ctrl + Search Ctrl + Launcher |
Move around in full-screen magnifier mode | Ctrl + Alt + Up |
Highlight the Launcher button on your shelf | Shift + Alt + L |
Highlight the next item on your shelf | Shift + Alt + L, then Tab (or) Shift + Alt + L, then Right arrow |
Highlight the previous item on your shelf | Shift + Alt + L, then Shift + Tab (or) Shift + Alt + L, then Left arrow |
Open the highlighted button on your shelf | Shift + Alt + L, then Space (or) Shift + Alt + L, then Enter |
Remove the highlight from a button on your shelf | Shift + Alt + L, then Esc |
Switch focus between:
|
Ctrl + Back |
Highlight the bookmarks bar (if shown) | Shift + Alt + b |
Highlight the row with the address bar | Shift + Alt + t |
Open right-click menu for highlighted item | Search Launcher |
Move an app icon up, down or to the side in the launcher | Ctrl + Up |
Move an app in or out of a folder in the launcher | Ctrl + Shift + Up |
Use shortcuts on a braille keyboard | See braille keyboard shortcuts |
Desks
Create a new desk | Shift + Search |
Switch to a desk on the left or right | Search |
Switch to a specific desk | Shift + Search |
Move a window to a different desk | Shift + Search |
Move a window to all desks | Shift + Search |
View all windows in your desk | Alt + Tab |
View a different window in your desk | Hold Alt and press Tab |
View a different window in your current desk | Select Current desk |
View windows across all desks | Select All desks |