How to use Gutenberg keyboard shortcuts to save time?

If you are looking for the keyboard shortcuts to save time for content formatting or other works on your WordPress website – you are in the right place. 

Here, we will discuss some really useful WordPress keyboard shortcuts that can help you speed up your workflow and be more productive by utilizing the saved time.

We will talk about the keyboard shortcodes available for the classic WordPress post editor, Gutenberg and comment moderation section. At the end of the blog, we will also talk about the websites that let you create your own custom keyboard shortcuts.

So, let’s get started and go through the Keyboard shortcuts available on WordPress:

WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts for Post Editor:

WordPress, being a popular website builder and blogging platform comes with a robust content editor to add various types of content including text, images, audio, videos, etc. 

You can customize the formatting of each content type and while doing so you need to use the mouse to access these formatting and styling buttons on the editor.

However, by using the WordPress keyboard shortcuts; you can rest your hand and edit your contents faster. 

Here are some of the keyboard shortcuts available for the post editor. These shortcuts are quite similar to the one that you use in the computer and Microsoft Word in everyday life.

Keyboard Shortcut to Select Text for Windows:

These are the windows shortcuts that can help you select text in the editor without having to use the mouse:

Keyboard Shortcuts	Description
CTRL + A	Select All Text
Shift + Left/Right	Select One Letter to Left or Right
CTRL + Shift + Left/Right	Select One Word to Left or Right
CTRL + Shift + Up/Down	Select One Line Above/Below
Shift +  Home	Select All Text Until the Beginning of the Current Line
Shift + End	Select All Text Until the End of Current Link

WordPress Keyboard Shortcut to Select Text for Mac:

These are the Mac shortcuts to select text in the editor without having to use the mouse:

Keyboard Shortcuts	Description
Cmd + A	Select All Text
Shift + Left/Right	Select One Letter to Left or Right
Cmd + Shift + Left/Right	Select One Word to Left or Right
Cmd + Shift + Up/Down	Select One Line Above/Below
Shift +  Home	Select All Text Until the Beginning of the Current Line
Shift + End	Select All Text Until the End of Current Link

Keyboard Shortcuts to Manipulate Selected Text for Windows:

After you have selected the text, here are the windows shortcuts to format/edit it.

Keyboard Shortcuts	Description
CTRL + C	Copy Selected Text
CTRL + X	Cut Selected Text
CTRL + V	Paste Selected Text
CTRL + Shift + V	Paste Selected Text Without Any Formatting
CTRL + B	Bold Selected Text
CTRL + I	Italic Selected Text
CTRL + U	Underline Selected Text
CTRL + K	Insert a Link on Selected Text
ALT + Shift + L	Left Alignment
ALT + Shift + R	Right Alignment
ALT + Shift + C	Center Alignment
ALT + Shift + J	Justify
ALT + Shift + D	Apply Strikethrough
ALT + Shift + A	Another Way to Insert Link
ALT + Shift + O	Start Ordered List
ALT + Shift + U	Start Unordered List
ALT + Shift + S	Remove Link on Text
ALT + Shift + Q	Create a Quote
ALT + Shift + 2/3/4/5/6	Apply Appropriate Heading Tags to Selected Text
ALT + Shift + X	Add a Code Tag

Keyboard Shortcuts to Manipulate Selected Text for Mac:

Here are the shortcuts to apply to format or edit the selected text.

Keyboard Shortcuts	Descriptions
Cmd + C	Copy Selected Text
Cmd +  X	Cut Selected Text
Cmd +  V	Paste Selected Text
Cmd +  Shift + V	Paste Selected Text Without Any Formatting
Cmd +  B	Bold Selected Text
Cmd +  I	Italic Selected Text
Cmd +  U	Underline Selected Text
Cmd +  K	Insert a Link on Selected Text
Option + CTRL + L	Left Alignment
Option + CTRL +  R	Right Alignment
Option + CTRL + C	Center Alignment
Option + CTRL +  J	Justify
Option + CTRL + D	Apply Strikethrough
Option + CTRL + A	Another Way to Insert Link
Option + CTRL + O	Start Ordered List
Option + CTRL + U	Start Unordered List
Option + CTRL + S	Remove Link on Text
Option + CTRL + Q	Create a Quote
Option + CTRL + 2/3/4/5/6	Apply Appropriate Heading Tags to Selected Text
Option + CTRL + X	Add a Code Tag

Other WordPress Shortcuts for Windows:

Keyboard Shortcuts	Descriptions
CTRL + Z	Undo Action
CTRL + Y	Redo Action
Shift + Enter	Move One Line Down in the Editor Without Inserting a Full Line Break
ALT + Shift + M	Add Media
ALT + Shift + W	Enable Distraction Free Writing Mode
ALT + Shift + T	Add More Tags
ALT + Shift + P	Insert Page Break
ALT + Shift + H	Open Help Screen
ALT + Shift + Z	Expands WordPress Editor Formatting Bar

Other WordPress Shortcuts for Mac:

Keyboard Shortcuts	Descriptions
Cmd + Z	Undo Action
Cmd + Y	Redo Action
Shift + Enter	Move One Line Down in the Editor Without Inserting a Full Line Break
Option + CTRL + M	Add Media
Option + CTRL + W	Enable Distraction Free Writing Mode
Option + CTRL +  T	Add More Tags
Option + CTRL + P	Insert Page Break
Option + CTRL + H	Open Help Screen
Option + CTRL + Z	Expands WordPress Editor Formatting Bar

WordPress Keyboard Shortcut for Gutenberg:

Since the release of WordPress 5.0 – a new editor called Gutenberg was released. It enables you to add different elements like text, images, headings etc through blocks. This gives you more flexibility and customization options on how your post will look at the end. 

If you want to learn the usage of Gutenberg on your website then, check out the article: How to use Gutenberg block editor in WordPress?

Since Gutenberg is gaining popularity day by day, here are some of the shortcuts that can be applied to Gutenberg editor.

If you want to switch between the code editor and block editor just use the shortcuts keys given below:

For Windows: CTRL + Shift + ALT + M

For Mac: Cmd + Shift + ALT + M

Once you are in the block editor, you can use the command below:

/: It helps you insert block quickly and start typing the name of the block. Then, select it once you see it.

Enter: After you create a block, press Enter. You will then be able to add another block right away. Start typing the name of the new block and select the block once you see it.

Shift + ALT + H: To view the keyboard shortcuts available on Gutenberg.

Keyboard Shortcuts of Gutenberg Editor for Windows:

Keyboard Shortcuts	Descriptions
CTRL + Shift + D	Duplicate the Selected Block
CTRL + ALT + T	Insert New Block Before Selected Block
CTRL + ALT + Y	Insert New Block After Selected Block
ALT + Shift + Z	Remove Selected Block
CTRL + Shift + ,	Show or Hide Settings Bar
CTRL + Shift + Z	Redo Your Last Undo
ALT + Shift + N	Navigate Next Part of Editor
ALT + Shift + P	Navigate Previous Part of Editor
ALT + Shift + O	Open Block Navigation Menu
ALT + F10	Navigate to Nearest Toolbar

Keyboard Shortcuts of Gutenberg Editor for Mac:

Keyboard Shortcuts	Descriptions
Cmd + Shift + D	Duplicate the Selected Block
Cmd + Option + T	Insert New Block Before Selected Block
Cmd + Option + Y	Insert New Block After Selected Block
CTRL + Option + Z	Remove Selected Block
Cmd + Shift + ,	Show or Hide Settings Bar
Cmd + Shift + Z	Redo Your Last Undo
Option + CTRL + N	Navigate Next Part of Editor
Option + CTRL + P	Navigate Previous Part of Editor
Option + CTRL + O	Open Block Navigation Menu
Fn + Option + F10	Navigate to Nearest Toolbar

WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts for Comment Section:

Beyond editing contents, WordPress also includes keyboard shortcuts to help you moderate comments. 

By default, these shortcuts are disabled. But you can enable them in the following steps:

Step 1: 

Go to User >> Your Profile on your WordPress dashboard.

Step 2: 

Check the box next to Keyboard Shortcuts to Enable Keyboard Shortcuts for Comment Moderation.

Step 3:

Save your Changes.

The available shortcuts to manage comments are:

Keyboard Shortcuts	Descriptions
J	Move to Next Comment
K	Move to the Previous Comment
D	Delete the Comment
A	Approve the Comment and Publish It
U	Unapprove the Comment
R	Reply to the Comment
Q	Quick Edit a Comment
E	Open Full-Screen Editor to Edit Comments
S	Marks Comment as Spam
Z	Restore a Comment from Trash or Undo your Action for Deleting a Comment
X	Add Check Mark

These are the basic commands applied for a single comment. 

If you have selected multiple comments, you can perform these keyboard shortcuts to perform bulk actions:

Keyboard Shortcuts	Descriptions
Shift + X	Toggle the Check Mark for All Comments
Shift + A	Approve Check Comments
Shift + D	Delete Checked Comments
Shift + U	Unapprove Selected Comments
Shift + T	Move Selected Comment to Trash
Shift + Z	Restore Selected Comment from Trash

How to Create Own WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts?

If the keyboard shortcuts mentioned above are not enough for you, you can create your own workflow specific keyboard shortcuts by using the program like AutoHotkey and ShortKeeper.

If you are good at coding and find it easier to set up scripts and macros to boost your productivity, then you can go for AutoHotkey.

Otherwise, you can use Shortkeeper to easily create your keyboard shortcuts without using any codes.

Conclusion:

It might be overwhelming at first to memorize all these shortcuts. But, in the long run, they will definitely help you to save time and speed up your workflow. 

We hope the article is helpful for you to know some useful WordPress keyboard shortcuts available. If you have any other helpful shortcuts that are not included above, let us know in the comment box below.