Category: GNOME deskop environment keybindings

This page was last edited on March 16, 2026

This section documents the keybindings that I find most useful to navigate the GNOME deskop environment.

Accessibility

Press this key: To do this:
Alt+Super+s Turn screen reader on or off

Launchers

Press this key: To do this:
Super+F1 Launch help browser
Ctrl+Alt+t Launch terminal

Navigation

Press this key: To do this:
Ctrl+Super+d Hide all normal windows 1
Shift+Super+Page Up Move window one workspace to the left
Shift+Super+Page Down Move window one workspace to the right
Shift+Super+End Move window to last workspace
Shift+Super+Home Move window to workspace 1
Super+Tab Switch applications
Ctrl+Alt+Tab Switch systems controls
Ctrl+Alt+Escape Switch systems contronls directly
Super+End Switch to last workspace
Super+Home Switch to workspace 1
Super+Page Up Switch to workspace on the left
Super+Page Down Switch to workspace on the right
Alt+Tab Switch windows
Alt+Shift+Tab Switch windowsin reverse
Alt+Escape Switch windows directly
Alt+Shift+Escape Switch windows directly in reverse
Alt+F6 Switch windows of an app directly
Super+` Switch window of an application
  1. An alternative keybinding to show desktop is Super+d ↩︎

Screenshots

Press this key: To do this:
Shift+Print Take a screenshot
Alt+Print Take a screenshot of a window

System

Press this key: To do this:
Super Show the activities overview
Super+n Focus the active notification
Super+l Lock screen
Ctrl+Alt+Delete Log out
Super+s Open the quick settings menu
Super+Escape Restore the keyboard shortcuts
Super+a Show all apps
Super+v Show the notification list
Super+m Show the message tray
Alt+F2 Show the run command prompt
Super+F10 Open the application menu

Text editing

Press this key: To do this:
Ctrl+a Select all text
Ctrl+c Copy text to clipboard
Ctrl+x Cut selected text
Ctrl+v Paste text from clipboard
Ctrl+z Undo last action
Ctrl+Shift+u Toggle Unicode entry mode

Typing

Press this key: To do this:
Super+Space Switch to next input source
Shift+Super+Space Switch to previous input source

Windows

Press this key: To do this:
Alt+Space Activate the window menu
Alt+F4 Close window
Super+h Hide window
Alt+F7 Move window
Alt+F8 Resize window
Alt+F10 Toggle m aximisation state
Super+Up arrow Maximise window
Super+Down arrow Restore window
Super+Left arrow View split on left
Super+Right arrow View split on right

Dock (Dash)

Press this key: To do this:
Super+1 Launch first app from dock
Super+2 Launch second app from dock
Super+3 Launch third app from dock
Super+4 Launch fourth app from dock
Super+5 Launch fifth app from dock
Super+6 Launch sixth app from dock
Super+7 Launch seventh app from dock
Super+8 Launch eighth app from dock
Super+9 Launch ninth app from dock
Super+0 Launch tenth app from dock

NOTE: Alternatively I can access the dock (dash) with the keybinding:

Ctrl+Alt+Tab

This opens the systems controls: Windows, Top Bar, Dask, Desktop. To enter the systems control press Ctrl+Alt+Tab, then to move the focus to the next item release Tab, while continuing to hold Ctrl+Alt, then press Tab again to cycle to the next item. When Orca speaks "Dash" release all the keys. The focus is on the first pinned icon on the dock. My dock has been placed at the bottom of the screen to help me visualise it better in my mind's eye. To cycle through the pinned icons I use the left and right arrow key, and press Enter on the app I want to open.