Keyboard Shortcut Reference

The Ultimate Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet

Every shortcut you actually use — for Windows, Mac, Chrome, Excel, Word, and VS Code. Printable, scannable, and free.

📅 Updated June 2026⏱ 8 min read🖨 Print with Ctrl+P

Keyboard shortcuts are the single highest-ROI skill you can develop as a computer user. Research from Brainscape found that switching from mouse to keyboard for common actions saves the average employee over 64 hours per year — that's a week and a half of your life, returned, just from muscle memory.

This cheat sheet covers the shortcuts that actually appear in your daily workflow — organized by platform and app so you can jump to exactly what you need. Bookmark it, print it, or pin it to your second monitor.

Why keyboard shortcuts save hours every week

The average knowledge worker toggles between keyboard and mouse hundreds of times per day. Each switch costs 0.5–2 seconds — which sounds small until you multiply it by 400 daily switches. That's 3–13 minutes lost every day just to hand movement.

But the real cost isn't time — it's cognitive load. Every time your hand leaves the keyboard, your brain has to reorient. Staying on the keys keeps you in flow state longer, and flow state is where actual work happens.

The 80/20 rule for shortcuts: 20% of shortcuts cover 80% of everything you'll ever do at a keyboard. Learn those first. The section below is exactly that 20%.

The 10 shortcuts everyone should know

These work in virtually every app on every platform. If you're only going to memorize 10 shortcuts, make it these.

Edit

CopyCtrl+C

PasteCtrl+V

CutCtrl+X

UndoCtrl+Z

RedoCtrl+Y

Select & find

Select AllCtrl+A

FindCtrl+F

SaveCtrl+S

NewCtrl+N

PrintCtrl+P

Mac equivalents

Copy⌘+C

Paste⌘+V

Cut⌘+X

Undo⌘+Z

Redo⌘+Shift+Z

Windows keyboard shortcuts

Windows 10 & 11

System & navigation

Shortcut	Action	When to use it
`Win`	Open Start Menu	Quick app search
`Win`+`D`	Show/hide desktop	Instant clutter clear
`Win`+`L`	Lock PC	Stepping away from your desk
`Win`+`E`	Open File Explorer	Jump straight to your files
`Win`+`I`	Open Settings	Faster than right-clicking Start
`Win`+`R`	Open Run dialog	Launch apps by name
`Alt`+`Tab`	Switch between open apps	Multi-app workflows
`Win`+`Tab`	Task View / virtual desktops	When you have many windows open
`Win`+`← / →`	Snap window left/right	Side-by-side multitasking
`Win`+`↑`	Maximize window	No mouse needed

Screenshots & clipboard

Shortcut	Action	When to use it
`Win`+`Shift`+`S`	Snip a region to clipboard	Share part of your screen instantly
`PrtScn`	Copy full screen to clipboard	Quick full-screen capture
`Win`+`PrtScn`	Save screenshot to Pictures	When you want a file, not clipboard
`Win`+`V`	Clipboard history	Paste from previous copies
`Win`+`.`	Emoji & symbol picker	No mouse needed

Mac keyboard shortcuts

macOS Ventura & Sequoia

System & navigation

Shortcut	Action	When to use it
`⌘`+`Space`	Spotlight Search	Launch anything instantly
`⌘`+`Tab`	Switch apps	Move between open applications
`⌘`+`	Switch windows in same app	Multiple Finder/Safari windows
`⌘`+`Q`	Quit app	Fully close, not just the window
`⌘`+`W`	Close window/tab	Close without quitting
`⌘`+`H`	Hide app	Clear screen without quitting
`⌘`+`M`	Minimize to Dock	Tuck away a window
`Ctrl`+`⌘`+`F`	Toggle full screen	One key to maximize
`⌘`+`Ctrl`+`Q`	Lock screen	Step away securely

Screenshots

Shortcut	Action	When to use it
`⌘`+`Shift`+`3`	Full screen to Desktop	Capture everything
`⌘`+`Shift`+`4`	Drag to select region	Precise capture
`⌘`+`Shift`+`4`+`Space`	Capture a specific window	Clean screenshot with shadow
`⌘`+`Shift`+`5`	Screenshot & video toolbar	Record your screen

Pro tip: Add Ctrl to any Mac screenshot shortcut to copy to clipboard instead of saving a file. For example, ⌘+Ctrl+Shift+4 captures a region directly to your clipboard.

Chrome & browser shortcuts

Chrome · Firefox · Edge · Safari

Shortcut	Action	When to use it
`Ctrl`+`T`	New tab	⌘+T on Mac
`Ctrl`+`W`	Close current tab	Works in all browsers
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`T`	Reopen last closed tab	Lifesaver when you close too fast
`Ctrl`+`Tab`	Next tab	Cycle through open tabs
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Tab`	Previous tab	Go backwards
`Ctrl`+`1–8`	Jump to tab by position	Ctrl+1 = first tab
`Ctrl`+`9`	Jump to last tab	Useful with many tabs
`Ctrl`+`L`	Focus address bar	Start typing a URL immediately
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`R`	Hard reload (no cache)	Force-fetch latest files
`Ctrl`+`+/-`	Zoom in / out	Adjust text size on the fly
`Ctrl`+`D`	Bookmark page	Save for later

Excel keyboard shortcuts

Microsoft Excel & Google Sheets

Shortcut	Action	When to use it
`Ctrl`+`Home`	Go to cell A1	Jump to start of sheet
`Ctrl`+`End`	Go to last used cell	Find bounds of your data
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`↓`	Select to last filled cell	Select a whole column
`Ctrl`+`1`	Open Format Cells dialog	Fastest way to format
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`$`	Currency format	One-key number formatting
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`%`	Percentage format	Convert decimals to percent
`Alt`+`=`	AutoSum	Instantly sum selected cells
`F4`	Toggle reference type	Switch $A$1 / A1 / $A1
`Ctrl`+`D`	Fill Down	Copy formula from cell above
`Ctrl`+`;`	Insert today's date	Faster than typing it

Microsoft Word shortcuts

Word & Google Docs

Shortcut	Action	When to use it
`Ctrl`+`B`	Bold	Toggle on selection
`Ctrl`+`I`	Italic	Toggle on selection
`Ctrl`+`U`	Underline	Toggle on selection
`Ctrl`+`E`	Center align	Center a paragraph
`Ctrl`+`L`	Left align	Reset to default
`Ctrl`+`H`	Find & Replace	Bulk text replacement
`Ctrl`+`Home`	Jump to top	One key to start
`Ctrl`+`End`	Jump to bottom	One key to end
`Ctrl`+`Backspace`	Delete word left	Faster than holding backspace
`F7`	Spell check	Run immediately

VS Code shortcuts

Visual Studio Code

Shortcut	Action	When to use it
`Ctrl`+`P`	Quick open file	⌘+P on Mac
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`P`	Command Palette	⌘+Shift+P on Mac
`Ctrl`+`	Toggle terminal	⌘+` on Mac
`Alt`+`↑/↓`	Move line up/down	Option+↑/↓ on Mac
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`K`	Delete line	⌘+Shift+K on Mac
`Alt`+`Click`	Multi-cursor	Option+Click on Mac
`Ctrl`+`D`	Select next match	⌘+D on Mac
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`L`	Select all matches	Rename across whole file
`Ctrl`+`/`	Toggle comment	⌘+/ on Mac
`F2`	Rename symbol	Works on both platforms

VS Code power move: Ctrl+Shift+L selects every occurrence of the highlighted word simultaneously — rename variables across an entire file in one keystroke.

Looking for a specific app?

KeyShortcuts.net has dedicated cheat sheets for 40+ apps — all organized, searchable, and free.

Browse all shortcuts →

Frequently asked questions

What is the most useful keyboard shortcut?

Ctrl+Z (Windows) or ⌘+Z (Mac) — undo — is arguably the most universally useful. It works in almost every app. Close second: Ctrl+Shift+T in your browser to reopen a closed tab.

How do I print this keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet?

Press Ctrl+P (Windows) or ⌘+P (Mac) on this page and choose Save as PDF. The page is print-optimized.

Are keyboard shortcuts the same on Windows and Mac?

Same logic, different modifier keys. Wherever you see Ctrl on Windows, substitute ⌘ on Mac — it works about 90% of the time.

What shortcuts should a beginner learn first?

The core five: Copy (Ctrl+C), Paste (Ctrl+V), Undo (Ctrl+Z), Save (Ctrl+S), Select All (Ctrl+A). These work everywhere and will speed up your workflow immediately.

Can I create custom keyboard shortcuts?

Yes. On Windows: right-click a shortcut → Properties → Shortcut key. On Mac: System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts. VS Code also has fully remappable keybindings built in.

Windows shortcuts · Mac shortcuts · Excel shortcuts · Chrome shortcuts · VS Code shortcuts