Essential Keyboard Shortcuts Everyone Should Know
Keyboard shortcuts are faster than using the mouse because you can quickly perform tasks without moving your hand away from the keyboard. This saves time and increases productivity. With just a few keystrokes, you can open programs, switch between windows, copy and paste text, and perform other tasks much faster than you would be able to with the mouse.
Read on for a list of the most universal and powerful keyboard shortcuts everyone can learn.
Cross platform keys
Shortcuts that work on both Windows & Mac
These are the most common keyboard shortcuts for controlling most apps on both Microsoft Windows PCs and Apple computers.
| Description | Windows keys | Mac keys |
|---|---|---|
| Copy | Ctrl + C | Cmd + C |
| Paste | Ctrl + V | Cmd + V |
| Cut | Ctrl + X | Cmd + X |
| Switch Window | Alt + Tab | Cmd + Tab |
| Ctrl + P | Cmd + P | |
| New document | Ctrl + N | Cmd + N |
| Select all | Ctrl + A | Cmd + A |
| Open | Ctrl + O | Cmd + O |
| Quit | Ctrl + Q | Cmd + Q |
| Close window | Ctrl + W | Cmd + W |
| Save | Ctrl + S | Cmd + S |
| Find | Ctrl + F | Cmd + F |
| Undo | Ctrl + Z | Cmd + Z |
| Search | Windows key + S | Cmd + Space |
| Zoom in | Ctrl + + | Cmd + + |
| Zoom out | Ctrl + - | Cmd + - |
| Reset zoom | Ctrl + 0 | Cmd + 0 |
Common text navigation keys
Shortcuts for controlling the cursor & text selection
You can jump the cursor around, highlight text, and cut & paste much quicker using these shortcuts, versus wasting time moving your hand to the mouse and dragging the pointer across text.
These aren’t universal shortcuts for all programs, but they’re consistent across word processors and text editors such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Apple Notes.
| Description | Windows keys | Mac keys |
|---|---|---|
| Jump forward | Alt + → | Alt + → |
Send the cursor to the end of the word. | ||
| Jump back | Alt + ← | Alt + ← |
Send the cursor to the beginning of the word. | ||
| Highlight right | Shift + Alt + → | Shift + Alt + → |
Highlight text from the cursor to the end of the word. Keep pressing Right Arrow to highlight more words. | ||
| Highlight up | Shift + Alt + ↑ | Shift + Alt + ↑ |
Highlight to the next line/paragraph. | ||
| Highlight down | Shift + Alt + ↓ | Shift + Alt + ↓ |
Highlight to the previous line/paragraph. | ||
| Highlight left | Shift + Alt + ← | Shift + Alt + ← |
Highlight text from the cursor to the beginning of the word. Keep pressing Left Arrow to highlight more words. | ||
| Highlight to end of line | Shift + Ctrl + → | Shift + Cmd + → |
Highlight all text from the cursor to the end of the line. | ||
| Highlight to beginning of line | Shift + Ctrl + ← | Shift + Cmd + ← |
Highlight all text from the cursor to the beginning of the line. | ||
Build muscle memory with practice
Did you know there are computer programmers who almost never touch the mouse? They write millions of lines of code during their career and have dozens of keyboard shortcuts “programmed” into their subconscious. They know all those skipped mouse movements compound into days of time saved over the years.
Don’t worry if using these shortcuts feels slow at first. You don’t have to memorize every key combination right away. Just practice a few at a time, be consistent, and you’ll build up the muscle memory to bang out shortcuts without thinking.