Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts

One of the most popular email interfaces, Gmail is an intuitive and easy program designed for even the most computer illiterate. Users who want to save time by never taking their hands off the keyboard may not know that Gmail is actually equipped with dozens of keyboard shortcuts. This list will help you become a more efficient user. You can also press "?" when logged into Gmail to see a list of keyboard shortcuts.

Shortcuts that are always enabled

These shortcuts will work whether or not the keyboard shortcuts setting have been turned on.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Arrow keysView messages and begin composing, using Enter to select
N and PWhen viewing conversations, N and P can be used to move to the next and previous messages in a conversation thread
EnterOpen or collapse a message
PC: Ctrl + Enter
Mac:
+ Enter
Send message after it is composed
PC: Ctrl + .
Mac:
+ .
Move the cursor to the next chat or compose window, or to the main window
PC: Ctrl + ,
Mac:
+ ,
Move the cursor to the previous chat or compose window, or to the main window
PC: Ctrl + Shift + c
Mac:
+ Shift + c
Add new recipients to the Cc field
PC: Ctrl + Shift + b
Mac:
+ Shift + b
Add new recipients to the Bcc field
PC: Ctrl + Shift + f
Mac:
+ Shift + f
Change your sending address (This only works if additional sending addresses have been configured)
PC: Ctrl + b
Mac: + b
Bold all or some of the text
PC: Ctrl + i
Mac: + i
Italicize all or some the text
PC: Ctrl + u
Mac: + u
Underline all or some of the text
PC: Ctrl + Shift + 7
Mac: + Shift + 7
Create a numbered list in the message
PC: Ctrl + Shift + 8
Mac: + Shift + 8
Create a bulleted list in the message
PC: Ctrl + Shift + L
Mac: + Shift + L
Align text along the left. Click the Align icon to find this option.
PC: Ctrl + Shift + E
Mac: + Shift + E
Align text in the center. Click the Align icon to find this option.
PC: Ctrl + Shift + R
Mac: + Shift + R
Align text along the right. Click the Align icon to find this option.
PC: Ctrl + Shift + [
Mac: + Shift + [
Move text closer to the left of the page, indenting less. Click the Align icon to find this option.
PC: Ctrl + Shift + ]
Mac: + Shift + ]
Move text further to the right of the page, indenting ore. Click the Align icon to find this option.
PC: Ctrl + Shift + 9
Mac: + Shift + 9
Format a block of text as a quote. Click the Align icon to find this option.
PC: Ctrl + k
Mac: + k
Insert link into the selected text

Shortcuts that must be enabled

Other shortcuts will need to be turned on. To do so, click the gear in the top right of the page, selecting Settings. Find the "Keyboard shortcuts" section and turn the shortcuts on. Make sure to save changes at the bottom of the page.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
cCompose a new message. Shift + c opens a new window to compose a message
dOpens a compose window in a new tab
/Puts your cursor in the search box
kOpens or moves the cursor to a more recent conversation.
jOpens or moves the cursor to the next oldest conversation.
nIn "Conversation view," moves the cursor to the newer message
pIn "Conversation view," moves the cursor to the older message
o or EnterOpens your conversation, or expands or collapses a message in "Conversation View"
uRefreshes the page and returns you to the inbox, or list of conversations
eArchive your conversation from any view
mArchives the conversation, and all future messages skip the Inbox unless sent or cc'd directly to you
xAutomatically checks and selects a conversation so that you can choose an action from the drop-down menu to apply to that conversation
sAdds or removes a star to a message or conversation
!Marks a message as spam
rReplies to the message sender
aReplies to all message recipients
fForwards a message
EscRemoves the cursor from your current input field
PC: Ctrl + s
Mac: + s
Saves the current text as a draft when composing a message. Hold the Ctrl or ⌘ key while pressing s and make sure your cursor is in one of the text fields when using this shortcut.
#Moves the conversation to Trash
lOpens the Labels menu to label a conversation
vMoves the conversation from the inbox to a different label, Spam or Trash
Shift + iMarks your message as "read" and skip to a newer message
Shift + uMarks your message as "unread" so you can go back to it later
{Archives the current conversation and moves to the older one
}Archives the current conversation and moves to the next one
zUndoes your previous action, if possible (works for actions with an "undo" link)
Shift + nUpdates your current conversation when there are new messages
qMoves your cursor directly to the chat search box
yAutomatically removes the message or conversation from current view.From Inbox, y means ArchiveFrom Starred, y means UnstarFrom Trash, y means Move to inboxFrom any label, y means Remove the label* y has no effect in Spam, Sent or All Mail
. or ,Displays the More Actions drop-down menu
kMoves cursor up in your contact list
jMoves cursor down in your contact list
o or EnterOpens the contact with the cursor next to it
uRefreshes page and returns you to the contact list
eRemoves selected contacts from the group currently being displayed
xChecks and selects a contact
EscRemoves the cursor from the current input
#Deletes a contact permanently
lOpens the groups button to group contacts
zReverses previous action, if possible

Combo-keys

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Tab then EnterSend message
y then oArchives conversation and moves to the next one
g then aTakes you to All Mail
g then sTakes you to all starred conversations
g then cTakes you to Contacts list
g then dTakes you to all drafts
g then lTakes you to the search box with the "label:"
g then iReturns you to the inbox
g then tTakes you to all sent mail
* then aSelects all mail
* then nDeselects all mail
* then rSelects all mail that has been read
* then uSelects all unread mail
* then sSelects all starred mail
* then tSelects all unstarred mail