Text Cursor & Selection Shortcuts

Compare Text Cursor & Selection keyboard shortcuts across Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, with actions, key combinations, and usage notes.

How to use this reference

Use this category reference to compare the same kind of task across your devices. Start with the section for your operating system, read the action and description, and try the shortcut in an appropriate application. Keys joined with a plus sign are held together; alternatives let you choose the combination that works on your keyboard. A gesture requires a compatible touchpad or touch screen rather than a physical keyboard.

Before practicing, check which window has focus. Text fields, browser tabs, terminal sessions, and system dialogs can interpret the same keys differently. Save any open work before testing commands that close a window, delete content, or change system settings. Accessibility commands may need to be enabled in settings first, and a laptop may require the Fn key for function keys. If a combination is intercepted by an application or a custom keymap, consult its built-in help and your operating system settings. Follow the full platform guide for related commands and additional context.

Windows 11

View full Windows 11 guide

Action	Shortcut	Description
Move Word Left	`Ctrl` + `Left`	Move the cursor one word to the left
Move Word Right	`Ctrl` + `Right`	Move the cursor one word to the right
Move to Line Start	`Home`	Move the cursor to the beginning of the current line
Move to Line End	`End`	Move the cursor to the end of the current line
Move to Document Start	`Ctrl` + `Home`	Move the cursor to the very beginning of the document
Move to Document End	`Ctrl` + `End`	Move the cursor to the very end of the document
Select Word Left	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `Left`	Extend selection one word to the left
Select Word Right	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `Right`	Extend selection one word to the right
Select to Line Start	`Shift` + `Home`	Extend selection to the beginning of the line
Select to Line End	`Shift` + `End`	Extend selection to the end of the line
Select to Document Start	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `Home`	Extend selection to the very beginning of the document
Select to Document End	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `End`	Extend selection to the very end of the document
Select Line Up	`Shift` + `Up`	Extend the selection one line up
Select Line Down	`Shift` + `Down`	Extend the selection one line down

macOS

View full macOS guide

Action	Shortcut	Description
Move Word Left	`Option` + `Left`	Move the cursor one word to the left
Move Word Right	`Option` + `Right`	Move the cursor one word to the right
Move to Line Start	`Cmd` + `Left`	Move the cursor to the beginning of the current line
Move to Line End	`Cmd` + `Right`	Move the cursor to the end of the current line
Move to Document Start	`Cmd` + `Up`	Move the cursor to the very beginning of the document
Move to Document End	`Cmd` + `Down`	Move the cursor to the very end of the document
Select Word Left	`Option` + `Shift` + `Left`	Extend selection one word to the left
Select Word Right	`Option` + `Shift` + `Right`	Extend selection one word to the right
Select to Line Start	`Cmd` + `Shift` + `Left`	Extend selection to the beginning of the line
Select to Line End	`Cmd` + `Shift` + `Right`	Extend selection to the end of the line
Select to Document Start	`Cmd` + `Shift` + `Up`	Extend selection to the top of the document
Select to Document End	`Cmd` + `Shift` + `Down`	Extend selection to the bottom of the document
Select Paragraph Up	`Option` + `Shift` + `Up`	Extend selection to the start of the paragraph
Select Paragraph Down	`Option` + `Shift` + `Down`	Extend selection to the end of the paragraph

Ubuntu Linux

View full Ubuntu Linux guide

Action	Shortcut	Description
Move Word Left	`Ctrl` + `Left`	Move the cursor one word to the left
Move Word Right	`Ctrl` + `Right`	Move the cursor one word to the right
Move to Line Start	`Home`	Move the cursor to the beginning of the current line
Move to Line End	`End`	Move the cursor to the end of the current line
Move to Document Start	`Ctrl` + `Home`	Move the cursor to the very beginning of the document
Move to Document End	`Ctrl` + `End`	Move the cursor to the very end of the document
Select Word Left	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `Left`	Extend selection one word to the left
Select Word Right	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `Right`	Extend selection one word to the right
Select to Line Start	`Shift` + `Home`	Extend selection to the beginning of the line
Select to Line End	`Shift` + `End`	Extend selection to the end of the line
Select All Up	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `Home`	Extend selection to the top of the document
Select All Down	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `End`	Extend selection to the bottom of the document

ChromeOS

View full ChromeOS guide

Action	Shortcut	Description
Move Word Left	`Ctrl` + `Left`	Move the cursor one word to the left
Move Word Right	`Ctrl` + `Right`	Move the cursor one word to the right
Move to Line Start	`Search` + `Left`	Move cursor to the beginning of the line (ChromeOS has no Home key)
Move to Line End	`Search` + `Right`	Move cursor to the end of the line (ChromeOS has no End key)
Move to Document Start	`Ctrl` + `Search` + `Left`	Move cursor to the very beginning of the document
Move to Document End	`Ctrl` + `Search` + `Right`	Move cursor to the very end of the document
Select Word Left	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `Left`	Extend selection one word to the left
Select Word Right	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `Right`	Extend selection one word to the right
Select to Line Start	`Search` + `Shift` + `Left`	Extend selection to the beginning of the line
Select to Line End	`Search` + `Shift` + `Right`	Extend selection to the end of the line
Select to Document Start	`Ctrl` + `Search` + `Shift` + `Left`	Extend selection to the top of the document
Select to Document End	`Ctrl` + `Search` + `Shift` + `Right`	Extend selection to the bottom of the document

Windows 10

View full Windows 10 guide

Action	Shortcut	Description
Move Word Left	`Ctrl` + `Left`	Move the cursor one word to the left
Move Word Right	`Ctrl` + `Right`	Move the cursor one word to the right
Move to Line Start	`Home`	Move the cursor to the beginning of the current line
Move to Line End	`End`	Move the cursor to the end of the current line
Move to Document Start	`Ctrl` + `Home`	Move the cursor to the very beginning of the document
Move to Document End	`Ctrl` + `End`	Move the cursor to the very end of the document
Select Word Left	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `Left`	Extend selection one word to the left
Select Word Right	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `Right`	Extend selection one word to the right
Select to Line Start	`Shift` + `Home`	Extend selection to the beginning of the line
Select to Line End	`Shift` + `End`	Extend selection to the end of the line
Select to Document Start	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `Home`	Extend selection to the very beginning of the document
Select to Document End	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `End`	Extend selection to the very end of the document