Teachers and students can complete tasks quickly and be more productive by using keyboard shortcuts. And just like Windows and Mac computers, Chrome OS-powered laptops have a lot of helpful keyboard shortcuts. Some of these keyboard shortcuts are familiar, and some are unique to Chromebooks. From navigating tabs to taking screenshots to editing text, here are the most useful Chromebook keyboard shortcuts that can help you do more in less time, regardless of whether you are a teacher or a student.
Google Chrome - Navigating tabs
Navigating tabs and organizing windows is especially important when using any internet browser, including Google Chrome. And you can easily navigate between tabs by using keyboard shortcuts.
• To open a new window, press Ctrl + n.
• To open a new tab, press Ctrl + t.
• To close the current tab, press Ctrl + w.
• To close the current window, press Shift + Ctrl + w.
• To reopen the last tab or window you closed, press Shift + Ctrl + t.
• To move to next open tab, press Ctrl + Tab.
• To move to previous open tab, press Ctrl + Shift + Tab.
Arranging windows
The quickest way to split the screen on your Chromebook and to view two different windows at the same time is to use keyboard shortcuts.
• To dock a window on the left side of the screen, press Alt + [ (left square bracket).
• To dock a window on the right side of the screen, press Alt + ] (right square bracket).
You can use keyboard shortcuts to maximize or minimize a window.
• To maximize a window, press Alt + =.
• To minimize a window, press Alt + - (minus).
You can also switch windows easily with just your keyboard.
• To view all windows in your desk, press Alt + Tab.
Taking screenshots
Taking screenshots on a Chromebook is different than on laptops or PCs with operating systems like Windows or MacOS. And although your Chromebook doesn’t have a dedicated screenshot key, you can still easily take screenshots, so long as you know the right keyboard shortcuts.
• To take a full-screen screenshot, press Ctrl + Show Windows.
• To take a partial screenshot, press Shift + Ctrl + Show Windows, and then click and drag the cursor to select the area you want to capture.
• To access more screenshot features, press Shift + Ctrl + Show Windows, and then select a screenshot feature from the toolbar.
Zooming in and out
You can use keyboard shortcuts to zoom in and out of pages, keeping other parts of your screen the same size.
• To zoom in on the page, press Ctrl and + (plus sign).
• To zoom out on the page, press Ctrl and - (minus sign).
• To reset zoom level, press Ctrl + 0.
In addition to zooming in and out on a single page, you can make everything on your screen bigger or smaller by changing the screen resolution.
• To zoom in on your screen, press Ctrl + Shift and + (plus sign).
• To zoom out on your screen, press Ctrl + Shift and - (minus sign).
• To reset zoom level, press Ctrl + Shift + 0.
Moving through the pages
Chromebooks don’t have Page Up, Page Down, Home, or End keys, but they do have keyboard shortcuts you can use to move through the pages.
• For page up, press Alt + ↑ (up arrow).
• For page down, press Alt + ↓ (down arrow).
• To go to the top of the page, press Ctrl + Alt + ↑ (up arrow).
• To go to the bottom of the page, press Ctrl + Alt + ↓ (down arrow).
If you want to save your current page, press Ctrl + s, while if you want to print your current page, press Ctrl + p.
Text editing
The standard keyboard shortcuts for text editing like Select All, Copy, Cut, and Paste are on Chrome OS too. Select All is Ctrl + a, Copy is Ctrl + c, Cut is Ctrl + x, and Paste is Ctrl + v. Chromebooks do not have a dedicated Caps Lock key or Delete key, but there are keyboard shortcuts you can use for these actions. So, besides the well-known shortcuts for text editing, here are some that might come in handy:
• To turn Caps Lock on or off, press Search + Alt or Launcher + Alt.
• To delete the previous word, press Ctrl + Backspace.
• To delete the next letter (forward delete), press Alt + Backspace.
• To forward delete one word at a time, press Ctrl + Alt + Backspace.
• To paste text without any formatting, press Ctrl + Shift + v.
• To view the current word count, press Ctrl + Shift + c.
• To activate voice typing, press Ctrl + Shift + s.
Additional Chromebook-Specific Shortcuts
When you're done using your Chromebook, you might want to lock your screen or sign out of your Google account. And there are keyboard shortcuts for that too.
• To lock your screen, press Search + l or Launcher + l.
• To sign out of your Google Account, press Shift + Ctrl + q twice.
Finally, if you forget a shortcut or want to explore even more keyboard shortcuts on your Chromebook, there’s a shortcut you can use it to see all available keyboard shortcuts on your device.
• To see all keyboard shortcuts, press Ctrl + Alt + / (forward slash).
Keep in mind: The easiest way to remember these keyboard shortcuts is to practice them. And if you are a teacher and your students are using Chromebooks, help them to learn these keyboard shortcuts so they can use them too.
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