WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts Guide
The amount of time taken per task is an essential metric in measuring your work productivity.
Going from your keyboard to the mouse and back again doesn’t seem that counterproductive from the outset. With time, however, the time adds up and can harm productivity without you even knowing it.
Similar to how spreadsheet users speed up their data entry process by using keyboard shortcuts, WordPress users can also benefit from keyboard shortcuts to significantly speed up their workflows.
These shortcuts help you avoid the extra hassle of going over to your mouse to switch tabs, copy/paste text, or any other activity. In this article, we will be going through some of the most common WordPress keyboard shortcuts.
By the end of this article, you will know the most widely used keyboard shortcuts for WordPress. To stay with the times, we’ve also compiled a list of shortcuts for the Gutenberg Editor as well.
So, without further introductions, let’s begin with the very first list of keyboard shortcuts.
WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts on Windows
Ctrl + A – Selects all the text within a given field
Ctrl + C – Copies the selected te
xt to clipboard
Ctrl + V – Pastes the selected text into a field within the browser or in a separate text file
Ctrl + B – Emboldens the text
Ctrl + I – Italicizes text
Ctrl + U – Underlines selected text
Ctrl + K – Creates a link of the text
Ctrl + X – Cuts text from the field
Ctrl + Z – Undo
Ctrl + S – Save changes
Ctrl + P – Prompts the printer to print text
Alt +Shift + X – Displays selected text in monospace font
Alt +Shift + H – Displays the keyboard shortcuts
WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts on Mac
The shortcuts are essentially the same for Mac users with the only exception being the use of Mac’s Command button instead of the Ctrl button on Windows.
Command + C – Copies the selected text to clipboard
Command + V – Pastes the selected text into a field within the browser or in a separate text file
Command + B – Emboldens the text
Command + I – Italicizes text
Command + X – Cuts text from the field
Command + A – Selects all the text within a given field
Command + Z – Undo
Command + S – Save changes
Command + P – Prompts the printer to print text
Command + U – Underlines selected text
Command + K – Creates a link of the selected text
Option + Control + X – Displays selected text in monospace font
Option + Control + H – Displays the keyboard shortcuts
You can apply these shortcuts when you’re working on the page editor or post editor on WordPress. Again, it will take some time getting used to but in the long run, they will pay off dividends in saving your time.
Time Saving Gutenberg Keyboard Shortcuts for WordPress Block Editor
Coming pre-packaged with your basic WordPress installation, the Gutenberg Block Editor delivers simplicity on your WordPress site.
While Gutenberg does support all the basic keyboard functions we’ve talked about before, it has its own specific set of shortcuts that help you speed up the publishing process.
Let’s look at some of them:
Enter – Block Addition
Ctrl + Shift + D – Creates duplicates of selected block(s).
Alt + Shift + Z – Removes selected block(s).
Ctrl + Alt + T – Prompts a new block to open before selected block(s).
Ctrl + Alt + Y – Prompts a new block to open after selected block(s).
/ – This helps you change the block type once you’ve added a new paragraph.
Esc – Clear selection.
Ctrl + Shift + Z – Allows you to redo the previous undo.
Ctrl + Shift + , – Allows you to shows or hide the settings menu.
Alt + Shift + O – Prompts open the block navigation menu
Alt + Shift + N – Helps you navigate to the next part of the block editor.
Alt + Shift + P – Helps you navigate to the previous part of the block editor.
Alt + F10 – Allows you to navigate to the nearest toolbar.
Ctrl + Shift + Alt + M – Allows you to switch between the Block Editor and the Code Editor.
Gutenberg Keyboard Shortcut for Mac users:
Enter – Block Addition
/ – This helps you change the block type once you’ve added a new paragraph.
Command + Shift + D – Creates duplicates of selected block(s).
Control + Option + Z – Removes selected block(s).
Command + Option + T – Prompts a new block to open before selected block(s).
Command + Option + Y – Prompts a new block to open after selected block(s).
Esc – Clear selection.
Command + Shift + Z – Allows you to redo the previous undo.
Command + Shift + , – Allows you to shows or hide the settings menu.
Option + Control+ O – Prompts open the block navigation menu
Option + Control+ N – Helps you navigate to the next part of the block editor.
Option + Control+ P – Helps you navigate to the previous part of the block editor.
fn + Option + F10 – Allows you to navigate to the nearest toolbar.
Command + Option + Shift + M – Allows you to switch between the Block Editor and the Code Editor.
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WordPress Formatting Shortcuts
In addition to the shortcuts we’ve discussed above, WordPress has a few formatting shortcuts that make your content writing easier. While not exactly keyboard shortcuts, all of these are a handy alternative when you’re writing.
In this section of the article, we will explain which shortcuts work for:
- Ordered and unordered lists
- Blockquotes
- Horizontal lines
When you’re in the WordPress Editor, typing the following keys will perform several different functions. Here are some of them:
* – Begins an unordered list
1. – Begins an ordered list
Alt + Shift + 2 – Creates a H2 heading
Alt + Shift + 3 – Creates a H3 heading
Shift + Alt + Q – Makes a selected paragraph in blockquotes
Conclusion
While all of these shortcuts might require some work getting used to. That said, they will definitely help you gain traction in your workday by boosting your productivity. In the long, when you’re saving time, it means you’re getting more work done.
We hope this article provided you with the essential knowledge of WordPress keyboard shortcuts. Additionally, we would recommend you our guide on changing the footer credits of a WordPress site.
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