71 of the Most Essential Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts

Drop that mouse! These Chrome keyboard commands offer a much faster and more efficient way to browse the Web.

The secret to easy web browsing is right at your fingertips—literally. By learning a few keyboard shortcuts on Google Chrome, you can speed up your online searches without ever taking your hands off the keyboard. There’s no need to enable anything, either. Using these Chrome shortcuts really is as simple as pressing the right combination of keys.

So, what will you be able to do? For starters, open new tabs, save bookmarks, scroll through web pages, and find exactly what you’re looking for. And whether you’ve got a Mac or a PC, we’ve got you covered. Just print out these cheat sheets and you’ll be good to go! If you happen to be logging on to check your email, learn these Gmail shortcuts, too.

Chrome keyboard shortcuts for Mac

Perhaps you found an amazing article to save, or maybe you want to keep your online search away from prying eyes. No matter what you’re hoping to do, there’s a good chance your Mac has a key (or two) for that. Instead of using a mouse to browse the web, Mac users can rely on the Command key to help them do everything from opening a hyperlink to switching between tabs. These iPad and iPhone keyboard shortcuts will also come in handy if you have multiple Apple devices.

Tabs

COMMAND ACTION
Command + T New tab shortcut: Open new tab
Command + W Close tab shortcut: Close current tab
Command + Shift + T Reopen the last tab you closed
Command + Option + Right arrow key Switch to the tab to the right
Command + Option + Left arrow key Switch to the tab to the left
Command + Number of the tab you need Jump to a specific tab
Command + Clicking on a link Open hyperlink in new tab

Windows

COMMAND ACTION
Command + N Open new window
Shift + Clicking on a link Open hyperlink in new window
Command + Shift + W Close window shortcut: Close current window
Command + Ctrl + F Turn on (or off) full-screen mode
Command + M Minimize current window

Features

COMMAND ACTION
Command + D Bookmark web page
Command + Shift + D Save all open tabs as bookmarks
Command + Shift + B Open the bookmarks bar
Command + F Find a word or phrase on the current web page
Command + G Jump to the next mention of the word or phrase you searched for
Command + Shift + G Jump to the previous mention of the word or phrase you searched for

If you’re an Apple aficionado, you’ll also want to memorize these other Mac keyboard shortcuts.

Address bar

COMMAND ACTION
Command + L Move cursor to address bar
Search term + Enter Search with default search engine (when cursor is in the address bar)
Search engine name + Tab Search with a different search engine (when cursor is in the address bar)
Website name + Ctrl + Enter Add “www.” and “.com” to a website name, and open the website in the current tab
Website name + Ctrl + Shift + Enter Open the website in a new tab

Browsing

COMMAND ACTION
Command + [ Chrome back shortcut: Go back to last web page
Command + ] Move forward a web page
Command + “+” key Zoom in
Command + “-” key Zoom out
Command + 0 Return everything on the page to the default size
Shift + Space bar Scroll up
Space bar Scroll down
Command + O + Select a file Open file
Command + P Print current web page
Command + S Save current web page
Command + Shift + H Go to home page
Command + Shift + R Refresh page

Chrome keyboard shortcuts for PC

If you own a PC, you can substitute the Control key for the Command key in many of the tricks listed above. PCs don’t offer all of the same Chrome shortcut features that Macs do, but there are still plenty of effortless, mouse-free ways to speed up your web browsing. This cheat sheet of Windows keyboard shortcuts can help you get more mileage out of your searches, too.

Tabs

COMMAND ACTION
Ctrl + T New tab shortcut: Open new tab
Ctrl + W Close tab shortcut: Close current tab
Ctrl + Shift + T Reopen the last tab you closed
Ctrl + Tab Switch to the tab to the right
Ctrl + 9 Switch to the tab to the left
Ctrl + Number of the tab you need Jump to a specific tab
Ctrl + Clicking on a link Open hyperlink in new tab

Windows

COMMAND ACTION
Ctrl + N Open new window
Shift + Clicking on a link Open hyperlink in new window
Ctrl + Shift + W Close window shortcut: Close current window
F11 Turn on (or off) full-screen mode

Ever wondered what those F1–F12 keys do? We’ve got the answers!

Features

COMMAND ACTION
Ctrl + D Bookmark web page
Ctrl + Shift + D Save all open tabs as bookmarks
Ctrl + Shift + B Open the bookmarks bar
Ctrl + F Find a word or phrase on the current web page
Ctrl + G Jump to the next mention of the word or phrase you searched for
Ctrl + Shift + G Jump to the previous mention of the word or phrase you searched for

Address bar

COMMAND ACTION
Ctrl + L Move cursor to address bar
Search term + Enter Search with default search engine (when cursor is in the address bar)
Search engine name + Tab Search with a different search engine (when cursor is in the address bar)
Website name + Ctrl + Enter Add “www.” and “.com” to a site name, and open the website in the current tab

Browsing

COMMAND ACTION
Alt + Left arrow Chrome back shortcut: Go back to last web page
Alt + Right arrow Go to the next web page
Ctrl + “+” key Zoom in
Ctrl + “-” key Zoom out
Ctrl + 0 Return everything on the page to the default size
Space bar Scroll down
PgDn Scroll down
Shift + Space Scroll up
PgUp Scroll up
Ctrl + O + Select a file Open file
Ctrl + P Print current web page
Ctrl + S Save current web page
Alt + Home Go to home page
F5 Refresh page

Now that you’re up to speed on your Chrome shortcuts, learn these Zoom shortcuts to make your next video call go a whole lot smoother.

Source:

Brooke Nelson Alexander
Brooke is a tech and consumer products writer covering the latest in digital trends, product reviews, security and privacy, and other news and features for Reader's Digest. She's a two-time Emmy-nominated reporter with nearly 10 years of publishing experience, and her work has been recognized by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.