Keyboard Shortcuts

Search 300+ shortcuts across all major platforms

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Action	Shortcut	Platform

Why Keyboard Shortcuts Matter

Keyboard shortcuts are one of the simplest ways to dramatically increase your productivity. Studies show that switching between mouse and keyboard wastes an average of 2 seconds per action. Over a full workday, that adds up to 30-60 minutes of lost time. Power users who master keyboard shortcuts can complete tasks 25-50% faster than mouse-dependent users.

Most Essential Shortcuts to Learn First

Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V / Ctrl+X: Copy, Paste, Cut - the holy trinity of shortcuts
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y: Undo and Redo - your safety net for mistakes
Ctrl+S: Save - develop the habit of saving frequently
Alt+Tab: Switch between open windows quickly
Ctrl+F: Find text in any document or webpage
Ctrl+Shift+T: Reopen closed browser tab - a lifesaver!
Win+L: Lock your computer instantly when stepping away

Tips for Learning Shortcuts

Start with 3-5 shortcuts you will use daily. Write them on a sticky note near your monitor. Force yourself to use them instead of the mouse for two weeks until they become muscle memory. Then add 3-5 more. Within a month, you will notice a significant speed improvement in your daily workflow.

Platform Differences

The main difference between Windows and Mac shortcuts is the modifier key: Windows uses Ctrl while Mac uses Cmd. Most shortcuts are otherwise identical. For example, Ctrl+C on Windows becomes Cmd+C on Mac. Mac also has the Option key which serves similar functions to Alt on Windows.

The keyboard shortcuts worth memorising

Ctrl on Windows is Cmd on Mac for almost every shortcut below — Ctrl+C becomes Cmd+C, Ctrl+Z becomes Cmd+Z. The handful that genuinely differ are the window and screenshot commands, which are listed separately.

Universal editing — works in almost every app

Windows / Linux	Mac	Does
Ctrl + C	Cmd + C	Copy
Ctrl + X	Cmd + X	Cut
Ctrl + V	Cmd + V	Paste
Ctrl + Shift + V	Cmd + Shift + Option + V	Paste without formatting
Ctrl + Z	Cmd + Z	Undo
Ctrl + Y / Ctrl + Shift + Z	Cmd + Shift + Z	Redo
Ctrl + A	Cmd + A	Select all
Ctrl + F	Cmd + F	Find on this page
Ctrl + S	Cmd + S	Save
Ctrl + P	Cmd + P	Print
Ctrl + ← / →	Option + ← / →	Jump one word
Ctrl + Backspace	Option + Delete	Delete the previous word

Browser

Windows / Linux	Mac	Does
Ctrl + T	Cmd + T	New tab
Ctrl + W	Cmd + W	Close tab
Ctrl + Shift + T	Cmd + Shift + T	Reopen the tab you just closed
Ctrl + Tab	Ctrl + Tab	Next tab
Ctrl + 1 … 8	Cmd + 1 … 8	Jump to that tab
Ctrl + 9	Cmd + 9	Jump to the last tab
Ctrl + L / F6	Cmd + L	Focus the address bar
Ctrl + Shift + N	Cmd + Shift + N	Incognito / private window
Ctrl + Shift + I / F12	Cmd + Option + I	Developer tools
Ctrl + Shift + R	Cmd + Shift + R	Hard reload, ignoring cache
Ctrl + 0	Cmd + 0	Reset zoom to 100 %

Windows-only

Shortcut	Does
Win + V	Clipboard history — the last 25 things you copied
Win + Shift + S	Snip a region to the clipboard
Win + ← / →	Snap the window to half the screen
Win + D	Show desktop
Win + L	Lock the machine
Win + .	Emoji and symbol picker
Alt + Tab	Switch windows
Ctrl + Shift + Esc	Task Manager directly

Mac-only

Shortcut	Does
Cmd + Space	Spotlight search
Cmd + Shift + 4	Screenshot a selected region
Cmd + Shift + 5	Screenshot and screen-recording panel
Cmd + Tab	Switch apps
Cmd + `	Switch windows inside the current app
Cmd + Option + Esc	Force Quit
Ctrl + Cmd + Q	Lock the screen
Cmd + Ctrl + Space	Emoji picker

Excel and Google Sheets

Windows	Mac	Does
Ctrl + Shift + ↓	Cmd + Shift + ↓	Select to the end of the column
Ctrl + ;	Cmd + ;	Insert today’s date as a value
Alt + =	Cmd + Shift + T	AutoSum
Ctrl + Shift + L	Cmd + Shift + F	Toggle filters
F4	Cmd + T	Cycle absolute / relative references
Ctrl + Shift + 1	Ctrl + Shift + 1	Format as number, 2 decimals
Ctrl + D	Cmd + D	Fill down from the cell above

More questions people ask

What is Ctrl+Shift+T for?

It reopens the browser tab you most recently closed, and pressing it repeatedly walks back through your closed-tab history for the session. On Mac it is Cmd+Shift+T.

How do I paste without formatting?

Ctrl+Shift+V on Windows and Linux. On Mac it is Cmd+Shift+Option+V in most apps, though Word and Google Docs also offer Cmd+Shift+V.

How do I take a screenshot of just part of the screen?

Windows: Win+Shift+S, which dims the screen and lets you drag a region to the clipboard. Mac: Cmd+Shift+4, then drag.

What is the Windows clipboard history shortcut?

Win+V. You have to enable it once in Settings → System → Clipboard, after which it keeps your last 25 copied items and lets you pin the ones you reuse.

Does Ctrl+Z work everywhere?

Almost. It is undo in nearly every text field, editor and file manager — in Windows File Explorer it even undoes a delete or a rename. It does not work in terminal shells, where Ctrl+Z suspends the running process instead.

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