Chromebook keyboard shortcuts
To complete tasks quickly, you can use keyboard shortcuts. To find shortcuts on this page, press Ctrl + f and type what you want. To find all keyboard shortcuts, press Ctrl + Search 👁 Image
+ s.
Important: This article is only for US Chromebook customers with a standard English QWERTY keyboard. If you have an international keyboard, you can also follow the steps below.
To find keyboard shortcuts:
- On your Chromebook, at the bottom right, select the time.
- Select Settings 👁 Image
. - Under “Device,” select Keyboard and inputs 👁 and then
View keyboard shortcuts.
Shortcuts on external keyboards
or Launcher key 👁 Image
.
To change how a specific keyboard key works:
- On your chromebook, at the bottom right, select the time.
- Or press Alt + Shift + s.
- Select Settings 👁 Image
. - Under "Device," select Keyboard and inputs.
- Change the function of one or more keys.
Popular shortcuts
- Take a screenshot: Press Ctrl + Show Windows 👁 Image
. - Take a partial screenshot: Press Shift + Ctrl + Show windows 👁 Image
, then select and drag. - Take a screenshot on tablets: Press Power button + Volume down button.
- To access more screenshot features: Press Ctrl + Shift + Show windows 👁 Image
, 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 👁 and then
Screen capture. Learn more about screenshot features. - Turn Caps Lock on or off: Press Search 👁 Image
+ Alt.- Or press Launcher 👁 Image
+ Alt.
- Or press Launcher 👁 Image
- Lock your screen: Press Search 👁 Image
+ l.- Or press Launcher 👁 Image
+ l.
- Or press Launcher 👁 Image
- Sign out of your Google Account: Press Shift + Ctrl + q (twice).
- Check all keyboard shortcuts: Press Ctrl + Search 👁 Image
+ s.
All other shortcuts
Important: Depending on your keyboard, you can press the Search key 👁 Image
or the Launcher key 👁 Image
for some shortcuts. Both keys work the same.
| 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 |
| Close the current tab | Ctrl + w |
| Close the current window | Ctrl + Shift + w |
| Reopen the last tab or window you closed | Ctrl + Shift + t |
| Go to tabs 1-8 in the window | Ctrl + 1 through 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 | Ctrl + Shift + Tab |
| Switch quickly between windows | Press and hold Alt, press Tab until you get to the window you want to open, then release. You can also press and hold Alt, then press Tab, and select a window with the left or right arrow keys, mouse, or touch. |
| Open the window you used least recently | Press and hold Shift + Alt, press Tab until you get to the window you want to open, then release. |
| Go to previous page in your browsing history | Alt + Left arrow 👁 Image |
| Go to the next page in your browsing history | Alt + Right arrow 👁 Image |
| 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 + [ (left square bracket) |
| Maximize window | Alt + = |
| Minimize 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) |
| Page up | Alt + Up arrow 👁 Image |
| Page down | Alt + Down arrow 👁 Image |
| Scroll down the web page | Space bar |
| Go to top of page | Ctrl + Alt + Up arrow 👁 Image |
| Go to bottom of page | Ctrl + Alt + Down arrow 👁 Image |
| 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 - (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 webpage as a bookmark | Ctrl + d |
| Save all open pages in your current window as bookmarks in a new folder | Ctrl + Shift + 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 | Ctrl + Shift + 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 |
| Check page source | Ctrl + u |
| Show or hide the Developer Tools panel | Ctrl + Shift + i |
| Navigate to selected section in the Developer Tools panel | Ctrl + Shift + c |
| Open the Console tab in the Developer Tools panel | Ctrl + Shift + j |
| Show or hide the bookmarks bar | Ctrl + Shift + b |
| Show the toolbar | Alt + Shift + t |
| Open the History page | Ctrl + h |
| Open the Downloads page | Ctrl + j |
| Delete selected Autofill suggestion when filling out a form | Shift + Alt + Backspace |
| 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 + . (period) |
| Open the status area (where the time appears) | Shift + Alt + s |
| Click icons 1-8 on your shelf | Alt + 1 through Alt + 8 |
| Click the last icon on your shelf | Alt + 9 |
| Use function keys | Search 👁 Image + your preferred function key (or) Launcher 👁 Image + your preferred function key |
| Check your notifications | Shift + Alt + n |
| Change screen resolution | Ctrl + Shift and + or - (minus) |
| Reset screen resolution to default | Ctrl + Shift + 0 |
| Rotate screen 90 degrees | Ctrl + Shift + Rotate 👁 Image |
| Switch to the next user | Ctrl + Alt + . (period) |
| Switch to the previous user | Ctrl + Alt + , (comma) |
| Turn Caps Lock on or off | Search 👁 Image + Alt (or) Launcher 👁 Image + 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 | Ctrl + Shift + Right arrow 👁 Image |
| Select text to the end of the line | Search 👁 Image + Shift + Right arrow 👁 Image (or) Launcher 👁 Image + Shift + Right arrow 👁 Image |
| Select text to the beginning of the line | Search 👁 Image + Shift + Left arrow 👁 Image (or) Launcher 👁 Image + Shift + Left arrow 👁 Image |
| Select previous word or letter | Ctrl + Shift + Left arrow 👁 Image |
| Move to the end of the next word | Ctrl + Right arrow 👁 Image |
| Move to the start of the previous word | Ctrl + Left arrow 👁 Image |
| Move to beginning of the line | Search 👁 Image + Left arrow 👁 Image (or) Launcher 👁 Image + Left arrow 👁 Image |
| Move to end of the line | Search 👁 Image + Right arrow 👁 Image (or) Launcher 👁 Image + Right Arrow 👁 Image |
| Go to end of document | Search 👁 Image + Ctrl + Right arrow 👁 Image (or) Launcher 👁 Image + Ctrl + Right arrow 👁 Image |
| Go to beginning of document | Search 👁 Image + Ctrl + Left arrow 👁 Image (or) Launcher 👁 Image + Ctrl + Left arrow 👁 Image |
| Open clipboard menu | Search 👁 Image + v (or) Launcher 👁 Image + 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 5 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 | Ctrl + Shift + 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 | Ctrl + Shift + z |
|
Switch between the keyboard languages you've set |
Ctrl + Shift + Space |
|
Switch to the previous keyboard language you were using. |
Ctrl + Space |
| Dim keyboard (for backlit keyboards only) | Alt + 👁 Image |
| Make keyboard brighter (for backlit keyboards only) | Alt + 👁 Image |
| Insert an emoji | Search 👁 Image + Shift + Space (or) Launcher 👁 Image + Shift + Space |
| 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 dialog | 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 dialog | 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 |
Learn how to make your Chromebook accessible.
| Turn ChromeVox (spoken feedback) on or off | Ctrl + Alt + z |
| Turn on high contrast mode | Search 👁 Image + Ctrl + h (or) Launcher 👁 Image + Ctrl + h |
| Magnify your whole screen | Ctrl + Search 👁 Image + m (or) Ctrl + Launcher 👁 Image + m |
| Magnify part of your screen | Ctrl + Search 👁 Image + d (or) Ctrl + Launcher 👁 Image + d |
| Move around in fullscreen-magnifier mode | Ctrl + Alt + Up 👁 Image , Down 👁 Image , Left 👁 Image , or Right 👁 Image |
| 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 👁 Image |
| Highlight the previous item on your shelf | Shift + Alt + L, then Shift + Tab (or) Shift + Alt + L, then Left arrow 👁 Image |
| 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 👁 Image or Ctrl + Forward 👁 Image |
| 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 👁 Image + Shift + Increase volume 👁 Image (or) Launcher 👁 Image + Shift + Increase volume 👁 Image |
| Move an app icon up, down or to the side in the launcher | Ctrl + Up 👁 Image , Down 👁 Image , Left 👁 Image , or Right 👁 Image |
| Move an app in or out of a folder in the launcher | Ctrl + Shift + Up 👁 Image , Down 👁 Image , Left 👁 Image , or Right 👁 Image |
| Use shortcuts on a braille keyboard | Check braille keyboard shortcuts |
| Create a new desk | Shift + Search 👁 Image + = |
| Switch to a desk on the left or right | Search 👁 Image + [ or ] (left or right square bracket) |
| Switch to a specific desk | Shift + Search 👁 Image + [desk position number] |
| Move a window to a different desk | Shift + Search 👁 Image + [ or ] (left or right square bracket) |
| Move a window to all desks | Shift + Search 👁 Image + a |
| Display all windows in your desk | Alt + Tab |
| Display a different window in your desk | Hold Alt and press Tab |
| Display a different window in your current desk | Select Current desk |
| Display windows across all desks | Select All desks |
You can remap the F11 and F12 keys.
Important: These key options assume that the keyboard has Back in F1 position and Refresh in F2 position.
- On your Chromebook, at the bottom right, select the time.
- Go to Settings 👁 Image
. - Select Device 👁 and then
Keyboard and inputs. - Under “Built-in Keyboard,” select Customize keyboard keys.
- Next to "F11" or "F12," select the shortcut you want from the dropdown menu.
For Chromebook keyboards with less than 12 top row keys:
- The key options for F11 if top-row keys as function keys are on:
- Disabled
- Shift + Back
- Alt + Back
- Ctrl + Shift + Back
- The key options for F11 if top-row keys as function keys are off:
- Disabled
- Search + Shift + Back
- Search + Alt + Back
- Search + Ctrl + Shift + Back
- The key options for F12 if top-row keys as function keys are on:
- Disabled
- Shift + Refresh
- Alt + Refresh
- Ctrl + Shift + Refresh
- The key options for F12 if top-row keys as function keys are off:
- Turned off
- Search + Shift + Refresh
- Search + Alt + Refresh
- Search + Ctrl + Shift + Refresh
Tip: This setting is disabled by default.
Related resources
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