Chromebook keyboard shortcuts

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:

1. At the bottom right, select the time. Or press Alt + Shift + s.
2. Select Settings .
3. Under 'Device', choose Keyboard.
4. 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 + Alt + m (or) Launcher  + Alt + m

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 + your preferred function key (or) Launcher  + your preferred function key
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 + Alt (or) Launcher + Alt
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 + Shift + Right arrow (or) Launcher + Shift + Right arrow
Select text to the beginning of the line	Search + Shift + Left arrow (or) Launcher + Shift + Left arrow
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 + Left arrow (or) Launcher + Left arrow
Move to end of the line	Search + Right arrow (or) Launcher + Right Arrow
Go to end of document	Search + Ctrl + Right arrow (or) Launcher + Ctrl + Right arrow
Go to beginning of document	Search + Ctrl + Left arrow (or) Launcher + Ctrl + Left arrow
Open clipboard menu	Launcher + v (or) Search + v 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 Learn how to choose your keyboard language.	Shift + Ctrl + Space
Switch to the previous keyboard language that you were using. Learn how to choose your keyboard language.	Ctrl + Space
Dim keyboard (for backlit keyboards only)	Alt +
Make keyboard brighter (for backlit keyboards only)	Alt +
Insert an emoji	Search + Shift + Space (or) Launcher + Shift + Space

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 + Ctrl + h (or) Launcher  + Ctrl + h
Magnify your whole screen	Ctrl + Search + m (or) Ctrl + Launcher  + m
Magnify part of your screen	Ctrl + Search + d (or) Ctrl + Launcher  + d
Move around in full-screen magnifier mode	Ctrl + Alt + Up , Down , Left or Right
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: Status area (where the time appears) Launcher Address bar Bookmarks bar (if visible) The web page that's open Downloads bar (if visible)	Ctrl + Back or Ctrl + Forward
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 + Shift + Increase volume  (or) Launcher  + Shift + Increase volume
Move an app icon up, down or to the side in the launcher	Ctrl + Up , Down , Left or Right
Move an app in or out of a folder in the launcher	Ctrl + Shift + Up , Down , Left or Right
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 + [ or ] (left or right square bracket)
Switch to a specific desk	Shift + Search + [desk position number]
Move a window to a different desk	Shift + Search + [ or ] (left or right square bracket)
Move a window to all desks	Shift + Search  + a
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