Switching from a Mac or PC to one of the top Chromebooks can be a bit scary. After all, you're moving to a cloud-based computing platform and probably implementing a new workflow. Keyboard shortcuts are also a little different on ChromeOS. If you use an external keyboard designed for Windows or macOS, you'll also need to learn how specific keys behave in ChromeOS.

The good news is that we've written a comprehensive guide to ChromeOS keyboard shortcuts. Whether you use your device for school or work, this guide will help you improve your efficiency using your Chromebook for daily tasks. We'll start with a quick look at the most popular shortcuts, then move on to some specific categories.

Popular Chrome keyboard shortcuts

Everybody needs to take the occasional screenshot or turn on Caps Lock for some good old-fashioned digital yelling. So these are the shortcuts you'll likely use on ChromeOS. It's important to note that depending on your keyboard, you can press the Search key or the Launcher key for some shortcuts. Both keys work the same. The Show Windows key is the button on the top row of your keyboard with a square and two lines next to it. Usually, it's the fifth from the left.

Here are some shortcuts for system and display settings.

And these are some shortcuts that you might want to use if you depend on desks, which is a multitasking feature in ChromeOS:

Using an accessibility feature in ChromeOS? There are a ton of keyboard shortcuts you can trigger.

Using external keyboards and remapping keys

Many users migrating to a new Chromebook come from a computer running Windows or macOS. Perhaps you still enjoy using your trusty mechanical keyboard with a Windows or Mac layout? If you’re using a Windows or Mac keyboard, press the Windows key or Command key instead of the Search key or Launcher key. To change how a specific keyboard key works, do the following.

1. At the bottom right, select the time. Alternatively, press Alt + Shift + S.
2. Select Settings.
3. Under Device, choose Keyboard.
4. Change the function of one or more keys.

Note that you'll only be able to change the function of certain keys like Ctrl, Alt, Escape, Backspace, Caps Lock, and the External Meta key (search key.)

Chrome keyboard shortcuts for text editing

For those using a Chromebook for work or school, you probably edit a fair amount of text. Luckily, a few of the text editing shortcuts you know from Windows or macOS carry over nicely to ChromeOS. Whether you use Google Docs, Microsoft Office, or another option, these general keyboard shortcuts will come in handy. We've also included a specific set of shortcuts relevant to use in Google Drive/Google Docs.

General shortcuts for all apps

Shortcuts for creating documents

Chrome keyboard tab and window shortcuts

Navigating tabs and organizing windows is essential to any operating system. This is especially important on ChromeOS since most of your work will be completed in a browser. Many of these shortcuts are familiar as they're similar to both Internet Explorer and Safari in many ways.

Chrome keyboard browser page shortcuts

When working inside a browser page, you'll also need to navigate the page itself. Moving up or down on a page is familiar, and searching a page is also the same command found on Windows. Google functionality is at the heart of your Chromebook, so of course, you can perform a quick Google search. Advanced users may also want to check a page source code.

Check out the list below for the full list of shortcuts to use on a browser page.

Specific tips for Mac and Windows users

The tips below remedy some of the issues encountered by users migrating to ChromeOS from a Mac or Windows machine. You might want to get the missing Caps Lock key back or switch the Ctrl and Alt key functionality for reachability. These suggestions should ease the burden of moving to ChromeOS.

Caps Lock key replacement

You may have noticed that Chromebooks do not have a Caps Lock key. You can capitalize letters using the Shift key as usual, but you can also press Launcher + Alt to enable Caps Lock. You might also consider remapping the Launcher key to become a Caps Lock key. The process for remapping is outlined at the beginning of this article.

To do this, click the time in the bottom right-hand corner, and click the Settings icon. Scroll down to Keyboard, and remap the Search key, choosing Caps Lock from the list. Keep in mind that if you replace the Launcher key with Caps Lock, you will lose out on some of the shortcuts above that use the Launcher/Search key.

Change scrolling direction

You may prefer to swipe down to scroll. This is very natural since it's how smartphones and tablets behave with touch. It's easy to change the scroll direction on your Chromebook. To do this, click the time in the bottom right-hand corner, and click the Settings icon. Scroll down and select Touchpad. Under the scrolling option, select Enable reverse scrolling.

Enabling right-click

Right-click works a little differently on a Chromebook than on a PC (where you typically hit Shift + F10). You can either press the touchpad with two fingers to open the right-click menu (as you might on a Mac), or you can click Alt and use just one finger on the touchpad. Once you do, you can scroll, moving left and right to move horizontally, or up and down to move vertically.

Function key replacement

One thing PC users will notice right away is the lack of function keys. Indeed, Chromebooks also don't have a Print Screen key. Luckily, it's incredibly easy to take a screenshot in ChromeOS, as we've seen. On your Chromebook you'll notice several new shortcut keys at the top of your keyboard — these adjust volume, brightness, and control window operation for apps. The good news is Windows shortcuts for copy, cut, and paste still work the same on your Chromebook.

Command key replacement

The Command key is an integral part of keyboard shortcuts on macOS. In ChromeOS, the Ctrl key is equivalent to the Command key. Perhaps the most annoying thing is that the Ctrl key is a bit further to the left, making it a little more difficult to reach. If you want to remedy this situation, use Chrome's remapping function to swap the Ctrl and Alt key functionality.

To do this, click the time in the bottom right-hand corner, and click the Settings icon. Scroll down to Keyboard, and remap the keys, setting Alt to Ctrl and Ctrl to Alt.

These are our top keyboard shortcuts for ChromeOS, along with some tips to help you get acclimated with your new machine. Remember if you want to see the entire list of available shortcuts, you can always press Ctrl + Alt + / (forward slash) on your Chromebook to view the entire list.