Standard Keyboard Shortcuts#

When providing keyboard shortcuts, the following conventions should be adhered to, in order to ensure consistency between apps.

Basic Shortcuts#

Action

Shortcut

Description

Close

Ctrl+W

Closes the current tab or window.

Quit

Ctrl+Q

Closes the app, including all its windows.

Help

F1

Opens the help app on the page for the app.

Side Pane

F9

Toggles utility pane visibility.

Menu

F10

Opens the primary or secondary menu.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Ctrl+?

Opens the keyboard shortcuts dialog.

Preferences

Ctrl+,

Opens the preferences window

Content & Files#

Action

Shortcut

Description

New

Ctrl+N

Creates a new content item, sometimes in a new window or tab.

Open

Ctrl+O

Opens an existing content item, often by presenting the open file dialog.

Save

Ctrl+S

Saves the current content item. In some cases this requires showing the save as dialog.

Save As

Shift+Ctrl+S

Saves the current content item with a new filename. Raises the save as dialog.

Print

Ctrl+P

Prints the current content item, and opens the print dialog.

Print Preview

Shift+Ctrl+P

Shows a print preview of the current content item.

Send

Ctrl+M

Sends or shares the current content item.

Properties

Alt+Return

Shows properties for the current content item.

Editing#

Action

Shortcut

Description

Undo

Ctrl+Z

Reverts the last taken action.

Redo

Shift+Ctrl+Z

Performs the last taken action, if it has been previously reverted.

Cut

Ctrl+X

Removes the selected content and adds it to the clipboard.

Copy

Ctrl+C

Copies the selected content to the clipboard.

Paste

Ctrl+V

Inserts the contents of the clipboard.

Paste Special

Shift+Ctrl+V

Inserts a non-default version of the clipboard content.

Duplicate

Ctrl+U

Creates a duplicate of the selected object.

Select All

Ctrl+A

Selects all content in the focused control or view.

Deselect All

Shift+Ctrl+A

Deselects all content in the focused control or view.

Find

Ctrl+F

Shows and focuses a find/search UI.

Find Next

Ctrl+G

Selects the next find/search result.

Find Previous

Shift+Ctrl+G

Selects the previous find/search result.

Replace

Ctrl+H

Shows and focuses a find and replace UI.

View Options#

Action

Shortcut

Description

Zoom In

Ctrl++

Enlarges the content in the view.

Zoom Out

Ctrl+-

Reduces the content in the view.

Normal Size

Ctrl+0

Resets the zoom level to the default.

Reload

Ctrl+R

Reloads the current view or content item.

Formatting#

Action

Shortcut

Description

Bold

Ctrl+B

Toggles bold formatting for the current text selection.

Italic

Ctrl+I

Toggles italicisation for the current text selection.

Underline

Ctrl+U

Toggles the underlining of the current text selection.

Bookmarking#

Action

Shortcut

Description

Add Bookmark

Ctrl+D

Adds a bookmark for the current location.

Edit Bookmarks

Ctrl+Alt+D

Opens the bookmark list.

Legacy System Reserved Shortcuts#

The following shortcuts should be avoided by apps, since they are used by the system.

Keys

Function

Alt+Tab, Shift+Alt+Tab

Switches to the next/previous window.

Alt+Tab+`, Shift+Alt+Tab+`

Switches to the next/previous window of the focused app.

Alt+F4

Close the focused window.

Alt+F6, Shift+Alt+F6

Switches to the next/previous window of the focused app.

Alt+F7

Moves the focused window.

Alt+F8

Resizes the focused window.

Alt+F5

Unmaximizes the focused window.

Ctrl+Alt+Tab, Shift+Ctrl+Alt+Tab

Switches between system areas

Alt+Space

Opens window menu.

Ctrl+Alt+Delete

System power off.

Sections#

In the keyboard shortcuts dialog, shortcuts should be categorized into sections. Although not present on the GNOME desktop, section titles and categorization should follow menu bar conventions with the exception that more general shortcuts should go in “General” instead of “File”. If a section gets too long, it can be further subdivided using unnamed sections.