ChromeOS

Chromebook Hotkeys and Keyboard Shortcuts

January 1, 2020

Using keystroke combinations to perform actions on computers have been a massive time saver, since the days when Douglas Engelbart basically invented the macro keypad at the same time that he invented the mouse. They were always meant to be used together.

I find that when I’m navigating my Pixelbook and my Surface I tend to use the screen to tap, more and more – similar to how they used light pens introduced in the MIT Whirlwind in the 50s. But those keystrokes still save three or 4 taps at times and not only are they great time savers, but they kinda’ make you look wizardly to those watching over your shoulder. So let’s look at some, and I’ll sort them by frequency of use.

Note: If I don’t include something, use the built in search with the Ctrl + Alt + ? keystroke.

Standard Text Manipulation Keystroke Combinations

ChromeOS supports the standard keyboard shortcuts that have been used since the 80s for text manipulation. This is basically the same on all operating systems:

  • Ctrl + C: Copy the contents into the clipboard.
  • Ctrl + X: Cut the contents and store them in the clipboard.
  • Ctrl + V: Paste the contents in the clipboard.
  • Ctrl + Z: Undo the previous action.
  • Ctrl + Backspace: Delete the previous word.
  • Ctrl + O: Open a file.

Standard Browser Shortcuts

Chrome is basically a browser-based operating system. Therefore, you do a lot of work swapping between apps and browser windows. The Pixelbook and Chromebook variants through the OS end up supporting all the typical web browser keyboard shortcuts you would find in Safari, Firefox, or other browsers – and on other operating systems. This includes:

  • Ctrl + Tab: Switch to the next tab.
  • Ctrl + Shift + Tab: Switch back to the previous tab.
  • Ctrl + T: Opens a new tab.
  • Ctrl + W: Close the current tab (and if it’s the last tab, closes the app).
  • Ctrl + R: Reload the web page.
  • Ctrl + F: Find information in the current tab.
  • Ctrl + 1: Bring the first tab in the current window to the foreground.
  • Ctrl + 2: Activates the second tab (and so on).
  • Ctrl + L: Brings the location bar into focus for search and static address entry.
  • Alt + E: Opens the menu.
  • Ctrl + Shift + N: Opens an Incognito window.
  • Ctrl + P: Print the current tab.
  • Alt + E: Open the menu for the Chrome browser when it’s open and the foreground app.
  • Ctrl + Shift + Click: Click a link to open in a new tab and set that tab to the foreground.
  • Ctrl + Click: Open a link in a new window.
  • Alt + Enter: Opens a web page in a tab.
  • Alt + <: Go to the previous web page.
  • Alt + >: Go to the next item in the browser history (if you’ve gone to a previous page).
  • Ctrl + Shift + Backspace: Clear the browser cache.
  • Ctrl + Shift + D: Save all open pages as bookmarks.

Logging Out

  • Ctrl + Shift + L – Lock your Chromebook’s screen.
  • Ctrl + Shift + Q (twice): Log out of your session on the Chromebook.

Opening and Using Applications

  • Alt + Tab: Switch the next app to the foreground.
  • Alt + =: Maximize the Window.
  • Alt + -: Minimize the window.
  • Alt + 1 (through 8): Launch applications that you’ve put in the shelf in Chrome OS. Alt+1 will open the first, Alt+4 will open the fourth, etc.
  • Alt + [: Dock the active window to the left side of the screen.
  • Alt + ]: Dock the active window to the right side of the screen.
  • Shift + Esc: Open the Task Manager for quitting and force quitting apps.
  • Alt + Search: Toggles Caps Lock. The Search key is either a circle that’s below the tab key or has a magnifying glass and sits where the caps lock would be on a non-Chrome keyboard.

Taking Screenshots

  • Ctrl + F5: The F5 key is also known as the switcher key. Takes a screenshot and saves it to the Downloads folder.
  • Ctrl + Shift + F5: Takes a screenshot of part of the screen that you select.

Managing the Display Settings

  • Ctrl + Shift and +: Zoom in.
  • Ctrl + Shift and –: Zoom out.
  • Ctrl + =: Zoom in on a web page.
  • Ctrl + -: Zoom out on a web page.
  • Ctrl + 0: Reset zoom on a web page.
  • Ctrl + Shift and ): After all that zooming in and out, resets the screen to the default.
  • Ctrl + Shift + F3: Rotates the screen 90 degrees. This key usually has a circle with an arrow on it.

Chrome development

  • Ctrl + Shift + J: Toggle the show/hide for the Developer Tools console.
  • Ctrl + Shift + C: Toggle the show/hide for the Developer Tools inspector.
  • Ctrl + Shift + I: Toggle the show/hide for the Developer Tools panel.
  • Ctrl + Alt + T: Open the Crosh Command Line Interface. For more on those commands, see https://krypted.com/commands/crosh-commands/.
  • You can also run Linux tools like IDEs on Chromebook. To do this, fire up the settings, click Linux and then click on Turn On.