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Keyboard shortcuts ​

Notebooks

This reference notebook covers nearly every command available in Observable! It’s a big list, but many should be familiar to you, being provided by your operating system. If you have trouble with any of these shortcuts, please let us know in the Observable GitHub feedback repository.

Use the keyboard to focus cells for editing.

Alt-Shift-Down
Focus next cell
Alt-Shift-Up
Focus previous cell
Mod-J
At cell reference, jump to definition
Shift-Ctrl-J
Jump to previously-focused cell
Ctrl-Shift-Down
Move cell down
Ctrl-Shift-Up
Move cell up
Escape
Blur cell

Inserting and deleting cells ​

With a cell focused, add cells by inserting or splitting. Remove cells by merging them.

Mod-Enter
Insert cell below
Shift-Ctrl-Enter
Insert cell above
Alt-Enter
Split cell, then focus below
Alt-Shift-Enter
Split cell, then focus above
Alt-Backspace
At cell start, merge with cell above
Ctrl-Alt-D
At cell end, merge with cell below
Alt-Shift-Cmd-Down
Copy cell and insert it below
Alt-Shift-Cmd-Up
Copy cell and insert it above

Editing text ​

Write text or code with contextual suggestions, indenting, commenting, and more.

Shift-Enter
Mod-S
Run cell
Shift-Mod-U
Upload a file
Ctrl-Space
Show code suggestions
Tab
Accept code suggestion
Ctrl-Shift-P
Mod-.
Pin or unpin editor
Mod-,
Show or hide output
Alt-Shift-F
Format code automatically
Shift-Tab
Indent automatically
Mod-]
Indent more
Mod-[
Indent less
Mod-/
Comment lines
Backspace
(macOS/iOS only)
Delete character before cursor
Delete
(macOS/iOS only)
Delete character after cursor
Ctrl-Backspace
Delete to start of word before cursor
Ctrl-Delete
(macOS/iOS only)
Delete to start of word after cursor
(macOS/iOS only)
Delete to start of line.
(macOS/iOS only)
Delete to end of current line.
Enter
Insert a new line, and indent

Editing prose ​

In Markdown cells, use additional shortcuts for formatting rich text.

Mod-B
Bold
Mod-I
Italic
Alt-Shift-5
Strikethrough
Mod-K
Link
Shift-Mod-7
Numbered list
Shift-Mod-8
Bulleted list
Alt-Mod-1…6
Heading 1 (or 2, 3, etc.)
Alt-Mod-0
Clear heading
Shift-Mod-F
Monospaced font (code)

Navigating text ​

Text is inserted at the caret, or cursor. You can have multiple carets at the same time.

Left
(macOS/iOS only)
Move the caret one character backward.
Right
(macOS/iOS only)
Move the caret one character forward.
Up
(macOS/iOS only)
Move the caret up one line.
Down
(macOS/iOS only)
Move the caret down one line.
Ctrl-Right
Start of next word
Ctrl-Left
Start of previous word
Home
Alt-Left
Start of line
End
Alt-Right
End of line
Cmd-Left
Start of line, without wrapping
Cmd-Right
End of current line, without wrapping
Ctrl-Home
Start of cell
Ctrl-End
End of cell
PageUp
Previous screen
PageDown
(macOS/iOS only)
Next screen

Multiple carets ​

Mod-Click
Add caret
Escape
Clear additional carets

Selecting text ​

Add the Shift key to the shortcuts above to turn a caret into a text selection. You can have multiple selections at the same time.

Shift-Left
(macOS/iOS only)
Extend the selection one character backwards.
Shift-Right
(macOS/iOS only)
Extend the selection one character forwards.
Shift-Up
Extend the selection up one line.
Shift-Down
(macOS/iOS only)
Extend the selection down one line.
Shift-Ctrl-Left
Start of previous word
Shift-Ctrl-Right
End of next word
Shift-Home
Shift-Alt-Left
Start of current line
Shift-End
Shift-Alt-Right
Extend the selection to the end of the current line.
Shift-Cmd-Left
Start of current line without wrapping
Shift-Cmd-Right
End of the current line without wrapping
Shift-Ctrl-Home
Start of current cell
Shift-Ctrl-End
End of current cell
Shift-PageUp
Previous screen
Shift-PageDown
(macOS/iOS only)
Next screen
Mod-A
Select all
Escape
Clear selection

Multiple selections ​

Mod-Drag
Add range selection
Alt-Mod-Drag
Add box selection
Alt-Drag
Replace selection with box selection
Escape
Clear additional selections

Selecting cells ​

Select cells with these page-level shortcuts to perform bulk actions on multiple cells.

J
Select next cell
K
Select previous cell
Shift-J
Select next and current cell
Shift-K
Select previous and current cell
X
Select or unselect current cell
Shift-Enter
Run cells
Alt-Up
Move cells up
Alt-Down
Move cells down
Alt-Shift-Up
Copy cells up
Alt-Shift-Down
Copy cells down
.
Pin or unpin cells
,
Show or hide outputs
D
Alt-Backspace
Delete cells
C
Add comment
O
Mod-Enter
Insert cell below
Shift-O
Shift-Mod-Enter
Insert cell above
Alt-Enter
Insert cell of same type below
Shift-Alt-Enter
Insert cell of same type above
Shift-A
Select all
Escape
Clear selection

Find and Replace ​

Use the Find and Replace pane (magnifying glass icon) to find and replace text or code on the page.

Shift-Mod-F
Open the Find pane
Mod-G
Find next occurrence
Shift-Mod-G
Find previous occurrence
Enter
In Find input, find next occurrence
Shift-Enter
In Find input, find previous occurrence
Enter
In Replace input, replace current occurrence

Clipboard ​

You can copy-and-paste code either within or across cells.

Mod-C
Copy the selected text. If there is no selection, copy the current line.
Mod-X
Cut the selected text. If there is no selection, cut the current line.
Mod-V
Paste the current clipboard contents. If the previous cut or copy was done without selecting (see the previous Clipboard key definitions), paste at the start of the next line rather than at the caret.
Ctrl-K
Kill (cut) the selected text. If there is no selection, kill the text between the caret and the end of the current line.
Ctrl-Y
Yank (paste) the previously killed text.

History ​

You can undo and redo changes to code; each cell maintains a separate history. (Observable doesn’t yet support undo and redo to cell-level commands, but you can revert unwanted changes in the notebook menu.)

Mod-Z
Undo the last change.
Ctrl-Y
Redo the last undone change.

Other ​

?
If a cell is not focused, show keyboard shortcuts. Be sure text is not selected and the Search form is not in use.
/
If a cell is not focused, display the Search form.
F
Enter full screen.
T
Enter Tinker mode.