CR-48 Keyboard Shortcuts

(4 minute read)

The trackpad on the CR-48 is quite useful with its (somewhat limited and quirky) multitouch capabilities, and a USB mouse can be a God-send for long sessions, but there are many keyboard shortcuts that can simplify or speed up your interaction with Chrome OS. Here is a pretty much exhaustive keyboard shortcut list:

Tab and window navigation
Ctrl+NOpen a new window
Ctrl+Shift+NOpen a new window in incognito mode
Ctrl+TOpen a new tab
Ctrl+OOpen a file in the browser
Ctrl+Shift+QSign out of your Google Account on Chrome OS
Ctrl+WClose the current tab
Ctrl+Shift+WClose the current window
Ctrl+Shift+TReopen the last tab you’ve closed. Google Chrome remembers the last 10 tabs you’ve closed.
Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+8Go to the tab at the specified position in the window
Ctrl+9Go to the last tab in the window
Alt+1 through Alt+9Go to the window at the specified position
Alt+9Go to the last window open
Ctrl+TabGo to the next tab in the window
Ctrl+Shift+TabGo to the previous tab in the window
Alt+TabGo to the next window you have open
Alt+Shift+TabGo to the previous window you have open
Click and hold the Back or Forward arrow in the browser toolbarSee your browsing history for the tab
Backspace, or press Alt and the left arrowGo to previous page in your browsing history.
Shift+Backspace, or press Alt and the right arrowGo to the next page in your browsing history.
Press Ctrl and click a linkOpen the link in a new tab in the background
Press Ctrl+Shift and click a linkOpen the link in a new tab and switch to the newly opened tab
Press Shift and click a linkOpen the link in a new window
Drag a link to a tabOpen the link in the tab
Drag a link to a blank area on the tab stripOpen the link in a new tab
Type a URL in the address bar, then press Alt+EnterOpen the URL in a new tab
Press Esc while dragging a tabReturn the tab to its original position
Ctrl+HOpen the History page
Ctrl+JOpen the Downloads page
Shift+EscOpen the Task Manager
Ctrl+Alt+/Toggle the display of the keyboard viewer
Ctrl+?Go to the Help Center
Browser interface navigation
Ctrl+Shift+BToggle the display of the bookmarks bar. Bookmarks appear on the New Tab page if the bar is hidden.
Shift+Alt+SPlace focus on the status area in the top-right corner of the screen. Use the actions listed for Shift+Alt+T to move the focus.
Shift+Alt+TPlace focus on the browser toolbar
Press Tab or the right arrow to focus on the next item in the toolbar
Press Shift+Tab or the left arrow to focus on the previous item in the toolbar
Press Ctrl+Alt and the up arrow to focus on the first item in the toolbar
Press Ctrl+Alt and the down arrow to focus on the last item in the toolbar
Press Space or Enter to activate buttons, including page actions and browser actions
Press Esc to return focus to the page
Alt+Shift+BPlace focus on the bookmarks bar. Use the actions listed for Shift+Alt+T to move the focus.
Alt+E or Alt+FOpen the wrench menu on the browser toolbar
Text editing shortcuts
Ctrl+ASelect everything on the page
Ctrl+L or Alt+DSelect the content in the address bar
Press Ctrl+Shift and right arrowSelect next word or letter
Press Ctrl+Shift and left arrowSelect previous word or letter
Press Ctrl and right arrowMove to the start of the next word
Press Ctrl and left arrowMove to the start of the previous word
Press Alt and up arrowPage up
Press Alt and down arrowPage down
Press Ctrl+Alt and up arrowHome
Press Ctrl+Alt and down arrowEnd
Ctrl+CCopy selected content to the clipboard
Ctrl+VPaste content from the clipboard
Ctrl+Shift+VPaste content from the clipboard as plain text
Ctrl+XCut
Ctrl+BackspaceDelete the previous word
Alt+BackspaceDelete the next letter (forward delete)
Ctrl+ZUndo your last action

(Note: This list comes from Google’s Chrome OS help pages. I highly recommend you browse around there as it has a wealth of useful information.)