Essential keyboard shortcuts everyone should know

Touch typing keeps your hands on the keyboard — and keyboard shortcuts let them stay there for far more than just typing text. Learning a handful of shortcuts is one of the easiest productivity wins available. Here are the ones worth committing to memory. On Windows and most Linux systems use Ctrl; on Mac use Cmd (⌘).

The universal essentials

• Copy: Ctrl/Cmd + C
• Paste: Ctrl/Cmd + V
• Cut: Ctrl/Cmd + X
• Undo: Ctrl/Cmd + Z
• Redo: Ctrl/Cmd + Y (or Shift + Ctrl/Cmd + Z)
• Select all: Ctrl/Cmd + A
• Save: Ctrl/Cmd + S
• Find: Ctrl/Cmd + F
• Print: Ctrl/Cmd + P

These work in almost every program — documents, browsers, email, design tools — so they pay off constantly.

Text-editing shortcuts

These make writing and editing dramatically faster and keep your hands off the mouse:

• Jump one word: Ctrl + Left/Right arrow (Option + arrow on Mac)
• Select a word at a time: add Shift to the above
• Jump to line start/end: Home / End (Cmd + Left/Right on Mac)
• Select to line start/end: add Shift
• Delete previous word: Ctrl + Backspace (Option + Delete on Mac)

Window and app shortcuts

• Switch apps: Alt + Tab (Cmd + Tab on Mac)
• Close a window/tab: Ctrl/Cmd + W
• Open a new tab: Ctrl/Cmd + T
• Reopen closed tab: Shift + Ctrl/Cmd + T
• Lock your screen: Win + L (Ctrl + Cmd + Q on Mac)

How to actually remember them

Do not try to learn all of these at once. Pick three you would use most often today, and force yourself to use them instead of the mouse for a week. Once they become automatic, add three more. Because you already keep your hands on the keyboard when you touch type, shortcuts slot in naturally.

Build the foundation first

Shortcuts are most powerful when your typing itself is fluent. If you still look at the keyboard, learning to touch type first will multiply the benefit — your hands will know where everything is, shortcuts included. Then practise keeping them on the keys with our lessons and speed test.

Frequently asked questions