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GNOME

The Most Important Shortcuts:

  • Open the Activities Overview (Super): The single most important key. Pressing it shows your open windows, workspaces, the dash, and a search bar. Press it again to return to your active window. (The Super key is usually the Windows or Command ⌘ key).
  • Launch Command Runner (Alt+F2): Opens a small dialog to run a single command. Useful for quickly launching apps (e.g., type firefox and press Enter).
  • Switch Between Applications (Alt+Tab): Cycles through your open applications.
  • **Switch Between Windows of the Same App (Alt+):** If you have multiple windows of the same application open (e.g., two Files windows), this switches between them. The (grave) key is usually above the Tab key.
  • Lock Screen (Super+L): Immediately locks your session.

Window Management:

  • Close Window (Alt+F4): Closes the currently focused window.
  • Maximize Window (Super+Up Arrow): Maximizes the window to fill the screen.
  • Restore / Unmaximize Window (Super+Down Arrow): Restores a maximized window to its previous size. If the window is not maximized, this will minimize it (hide it in the Activities Overview).
  • Tile Window to the Left (Super+Left Arrow): Snaps the window to the left half of the screen.
  • Tile Window to the Right (Super+Right Arrow): Snaps the window to the right half of the screen.
  • Toggle Fullscreen Mode (F11): Switches the application to fullscreen, hiding the top bar and window decorations.
  • Move Window (Alt+F7): Allows you to move the window using the arrow keys. Press Enter to drop it.
  • Resize Window (Alt+F8): Allows you to resize the window using the arrow keys. Press Enter to confirm.
  • View Split on Screen (Super+Alt+Arrow Keys): Snaps windows into corners.

Workspace Management:

  • Switch to Workspace Above (Super+Page Up): Moves to the workspace directly above the current one.
  • Switch to Workspace Below (Super+Page Down): Moves to the workspace directly below the current one.
  • Move Window to Workspace Above (Shift+Super+Page Up): Takes the current window with you to the workspace above.
  • Move Window to Workspace Below (Shift+Super+Page Down): Takes the current window with you to the workspace below.

The GNOME Shell & Activities:

  • Show All Applications (Super+A): Opens the application grid directly.
  • Open Quick Settings (Super+S): Opens the system menu in the top-right corner (for Wi-Fi, Sound, Power, etc.).
  • Show Notification List (Super+V): Displays the list of recent notifications.
  • Focus the Top Bar (Ctrl+Alt+Tab): Allows you to navigate the top bar (Activities button, app menus, system status area) with the arrow keys.

System Controls & Screenshots:

  • Take a Screenshot (PrtSc): Saves a picture of your entire screen to the Pictures folder.
  • Take a Screenshot of a Window (Alt+PrtSc): Saves a picture of the active window.
  • Take a Screenshot of an Area (Shift+PrtSc): Lets you select a rectangular area to capture.
  • Record a Screencast (Shift+Ctrl+Alt+R): Starts and stops recording a video of your desktop. The video is saved to your Videos folder.
  • Log Out (Ctrl+Alt+Delete): Brings up the log out / restart / shut down dialog.

Accessibility:

  • Toggle High Contrast (Alt+Shift+PrtSc): Switches between the default and a high-contrast theme.
  • Toggle Zoom (Super+Alt+8): Turns the screen magnifier on or off.
  • Zoom In (Super+Alt+=): Zooms in when the magnifier is active.
  • Zoom Out (Super+Alt+-): Zooms out when the magnifier is active.
  • Toggle Screen Reader (Super+Alt+S): Turns the Orca screen reader on or off.

Customization:

  • GNOME Settings: Almost all of these shortcuts can be viewed and reconfigured. Go to Settings → Keyboard → View and Customize Shortcuts. Here you can browse by category and set your own custom key combinations for many actions.