50 Keyboard Shortcuts That Work Across All Web Browsers

You don’t need to be a Firefox, Chrome or Internet Explorer devotee. You can use whichever browser is currently doing the best job for you, and with these 50 shortcut keys it’s easy to switch between all of them.

Most web browser developers today understand what users expect to see and do when they use a browser. This is true for Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Safari. Nearly every web browser out there shares a common set of keyboard shortcuts, and as a result, it’s easy for users to switch over and between browsers. There are plenty of keyboard shortcuts unique to each browser, but here I’ll show you the shortcuts that can be used in all of them.

note: If you’re using Linux or Mac the modifier keys may be slightly different, though still generally universal. Also,

Basic Navigation Hotkeys

the basics

Keyboard Shortcut           Action

F5           Refresh

Ctrl + F5               Refresh and reset the browser cache for the current page.

Alt + Left Arrow Back

Alt + Right Arrow              Forward

Alt + Home         Return to Homepage

Escape  Stop

F6           Select the address bar (Alt+D and Ctrl+L also works here)

F11         Fullscreen mode, exit fullscreen mode

Home    Scroll to top of page

End        Scroll to bottom of page

Spacebar             Scroll down

Shift+ Spacebar  Scroll up

Page Down / Up               Scroll down / up

Ctrl + C  Copy selected text

Ctrl + X  Cut (copy and delete original) text

Ctrl + V  Paste copied text

Advanced Navigation Shortcut Keys

the next level up in hotkeys

Keyboard Shortcut           Action

Ctrl + D Bookmark current page

F1           Open a mostly useless help page

F3           Perform a text search on the current page, find next text result

Shift + F3             Find previous text search results

Ctrl + F  Perform a text search on the current page

Ctrl + G Find next text result

Ctrl + Shift + G   Find previous text result

Ctrl + H Open browsing history

Ctrl + J   Open the downloads folder and/or history

Ctrl + O Open a local file in the browser

Ctrl + S  Download and save the current page

Ctrl + P  Print current page

Ctrl + E  Select the search box or omnibar. (Ctrl + K also works)

Ctrl + Shift + Del               Opens up the clear browser history dialog or settings

Alt + Enter           Open search in a new tab

Ctrl + Enter         Open search term as a website

F12         Open developer tools or Firebug

Ctrl + U View source

Alt + F   Makes the menu bar appear (if hidden)

All About Tabs

tabular shortcuts

Keyboard Shortcut           Action

Ctrl + N Opens a new window (this works in Windows too)

Ctrl + Tab            Cycle forward to the next tab

Ctrl + Shift + Tab              Cycle backward to the previous tab

Ctrl + F4               Closes the current tab.

Ctrl + T  Opens a new tab.

Ctrl + Shift + T    Opens a recently closed tab.

Alt + F4 Close the entire window (truly universal for every app)

Ctrl + # key (1 to 8)          Changes view to the tab number chosen

Ctrl + 9  Changes view to the last tab

Mouse and Keyboard Combos

keyboard and mouse combo meals

Keyboard Shortcut           Action

Ctrl + Mousewheel           Zoom in our out

Ctrl + 0  Reset to 100% (default) zoom

Mousewheel Press          Closes tabs if clicked on a tab, opens links in a new tab, scroll

Ctrl + Left Click  Open link in a new tab

Shift + Left click Open link in a new window

Shift + Ctrl + Left click     Open link in a new background tab

I hope you find all of these shortcut keys useful, and please let us know if we missed any in the comments below!