Helpful Chromebook Shortcuts

Chris Jewell

Oct 08, 2021

1087

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 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 you closed	Shift + Ctrl + 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	Shift + Ctrl + Tab
Switch quickly between windows	Press & hold Alt, tap Tab until you get to the window you want to open, then release. You can also press & hold Alt, then tap Tab, and select a window with the left or right arrow keys, mouse, or touch.
Open the window you used least recently	Press & hold Shift + Alt, tap Tab until you get to the window 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 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)	Search + Alt + m (or) Launcher + Alt + m

Page & 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 webpage 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 Autofill suggestion when filling out a form	Shift + Alt + Backspace

System & 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 + . (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 + 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 + . (period)
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 you've set Learn how to choose your keyboard language.	Shift + Ctrl + Space
Switch to the previous keyboard language 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

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 fullscreen-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 webpage 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	Search + Shift + =
Switch to a different desk	Search + [ or ] (left or right square bracket)
Move a window to a different desk	Shift + Search + [ or ] (left or right square bracket)
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 desk