The keyboard on Chromebooks are a bit different than you see on a Windows or macOS laptop. And, knowing all the common yet important keyboard shortcuts do help you do things faster than if you try to do the same thing by using the touchpad or mouse.
All the keyboard shortcuts here are taken from MakeUseOf.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + P | Open Print dialog |
| Ctrl + S | Save the current webpage |
| Ctrl + R | Refresh the page |
| Ctrl + Shift + I | Open the Developer Tools panel |
| Ctrl + U | View page source |
| Search + Esc | Open Task Manager |
| Alt + E | Open Chrome’s menu |
| Ctrl + Shift + B | Toggle bookmarks bar |
| Ctrl + Shift + D | Bookmark all open tabs |
| Ctrl + D | Bookmark current page |
| Ctrl + J | Open Downloads |
| Ctrl + H | View History |
| Ctrl + O | Open a file |
| Ctrl + Shift + R | Refresh the page without loading cache |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + N | Open new window |
| Ctrl + Shift + N | Open new incognito window |
| Ctrl + T | Open new tab |
| Shift + Click | Open link in a new window |
| Ctrl + Shift + Click | Open link in a new tab and switch to it immediately |
| Ctrl + Click | Open link in a new tab |
| Ctrl + Shift + Tab | Move to prior tab |
| Ctrl +Tab | Move to next tab |
| Ctrl + 9 | Switch to last tab |
| Ctrl + 1 — Ctrl + 8 | Switch to tab 1-8 |
| Ctrl + Shift + T | Reopen last closed tab |
| Ctrl + Shift + W | Close current window |
| Ctrl + W | Close current tab |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt + 1 — Alt + 8 | Open shelf apps 1-8 |
| Alt + 9 | Open last app on the shelf |
| Alt + Tab | Switch to last-opened app; keep pressing to cycle through apps |
| Search + Alt + M | Move window between screens (when using multiple monitors) |
| Alt + Minus (-) | Minimize current window |
| Alt + Equals (=) | Maximize current window |
| Alt + ] | Pin current app to the right side of the screen |
| Alt + [ | Pin current app to the left side of the screen |
| Alt + Shift + Tab | Switch to least recently opened app; keep pressing to cycle through apps |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Plus (+) | Zoom in |
| Ctrl + Minus (-) | Zoom out |
| Ctrl + 0 (Zero) | Reset zoom to 100% |
| Ctrl + F | Search the current page |
| Alt + Left | Go back one page |
| Alt + Right | Go forward one page |
| Alt + Up | Scroll up page. Equivalent to Page Up key in Windows |
| Alt + Down | Scroll down page. Equivalent to Page Down key in Windows |
| Ctrl + Alt + Up | Jump to top of page. Equivalent to Home key in Windows |
| Ctrl + Alt + Down | Jump to bottom of page. Equivalent to End key in Windows |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Shift + Alt + N | Show notifications |
| Ctrl + Forward Slash (/) | Open Help |
| Ctrl + Alt + Forward Slash (/) | Show Chrome OS shortcuts reference window |
| Search + L | Lock screen |
| Ctrl + Shift + Q (twice) | Sign out of Google account |
| Ctrl + Shift + Plus (+) | Increase screen resolution |
| Ctrl + Shift + Minus (-) | Decrease screen resolution |
| Ctrl + Shift + Zero (0) | Reset screen resolution |
| Alt + Brightness Up/Down | Increase/decrease keyboard backlight (if applicable) |
| Ctrl + Window Switcher | Take screenshot of the entire screen |
| Ctrl + Shift + Window Switcher | Take screenshot of selected region |
| Ctrl + Full Screen | Toggle external monitor modes (if applicable) |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt + Search | Toggle Caps Lock |
| Alt + Backspace | Delete next character. Equivalent to Delete key on Windows |
| Ctrl + Backspace | Delete previous word |
| Ctrl + Alt + Backspace | Delete next word |
| Ctrl + A | Select all |
| Ctrl + L | Select all text in the address bar |
| Ctrl + Right/Left | Move the cursor to the next/previous word |
| Ctrl + Shift + Right/Left | Select next/previous word |
| Shift + Search + Right/Left | Select all text to the end/beginning of the current line |
| Ctrl + Search + Right/Left | Jump to the end/beginnning of a text field/document |
| Ctrl + C | Copy |
| Ctrl + X | Cut |
| Ctrl + V | Paste |
| Ctrl + Shift + V | Paste without formatting |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo |
| Ctrl + Y | Redo |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt + Click | Equivalent to a right-click |
| Click with three fingers | Equivalent to a middle-click |
| Swipe up or down with two fingers | Scroll up or down on the page |
| Swipe right/left with two fingers | Go forward/back one page |
| Swipe down with three fingers | Equivalent to the Window Switcher key |
| Swipe right/left with three fingers | Move between open Chrome tabs |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Shift + Alt + B | Highlight bookmarks bar; use arrows to navigate |
| Shift + Alt + T | Highlight the icons in the address bar row |
| Shift + Alt + S | Highlight the status area at the bottom-right |
| Shift + Alt+ L | Highlight the first shelf icon |
| Ctrl + Back | Move to previous keyboard-accessible area on screen |
| Ctrl + Forward | Move to next keyboard-accessible area on screen |
| Shift + Search + Volume Up | Opens right-click menu for highlighted element |
| Search + Ctrl + H | Toggle high contrast mode |
| Search + Ctrl + M | Magnify the entire screen |
| Search + Ctrl + D | Magnify part of the screen |
| Ctrl + Alt + Z | Toggle ChromeVox, the built-in screen reader |