Some Gmail Shortcuts you might not Know
A. Composing Mail:
- To compose a mail press C. It will redirect you to the Gmail mail composer panel.
- If you want to compose a mail staying at where you are at present, press Shift + C. It will open a new pop-up window with the composing panel.
B. Message management:
- Go to Inbox: Press g then i.
- Open starred conversations: Press g then s.
- Go to Drafts: Press g then d.
- Go to sent messages: Press g then t.
- Go to all mails: Press g then a.
C. Contact management:
- Go to Contacts: Tap g then c.
- Select all the contacts: Tap * then a.
- Deselect all the contacts: Tap * then n.
- Delete contact: Tap #.
D. Contact navigation:
- Go to next contact: Press k.
- Go to previous contact: Press j.
- Select or deselect an individual contact: Press x.
- Open a contact: Press O or <Enter>.
- Return to contact list: Press u.
E. Applications:
- Search: Pressing “/” will take you to the Gmail search box and the cursor will blink there.
- To focus chat contact search press q.
- The ? will open the help window in Gmail.
F. Some Actions:
- Escape from the input field: Press Esc.
- More actions menu: Press .(Full-stop).
- Move from the current group: Press e.
- Undo the recently completed action: Press z.
- Change group membership: Press l.
There are more Keyboard Shortcuts for Gmail by which you can completely control the Gmail in your web browser just from the keyboard. Refer to the following lists.
The Complete List of Keyboard Shortcuts for Gmail
Compose & Chat
Use the the following Gmail shortcuts when composing email messages or chatting into Gmail.
| [Shift] + [Esc] : | Gmail Shortcut to focus the main window in Gmail |
| [Esc] : | Shortcut to focus the latest chat or compose in Gmail |
| [Ctrl] + . : | Shortcut for advance to next chat or compose in Gmail |
| [Ctrl] + , : | Shortcut for advance to previous chat or compose in Gmail |
| [Ctrl] + [Enter] : | Shortcut to Send button in Gmail |
| [Ctrl] + [Shift] + c : | Shortcut to Add cc recipients in Gmail messages |
| [Ctrl] + [Shift] + b : | Shortcut to Add bcc recipients in Gmail messages |
| [Ctrl] + [Shift] + f : | Shortcut to access custom from in Gmail |
| [Ctrl] + k : | Shortcut to Insert a link in Gmail message |
| [Ctrl] + ; : | Shortcut to Go to previous misspelled word in the message body |
| [Ctrl] + ‘ : | Shortcut to Go to next misspelled word in the message body |
| [Ctrl] + m : | Shortcut to Open the spelling suggestions in Gmail |
Formatting
| [Ctrl] + [Shift] + 5 : | Gmail Shortcut to Previous font |
| [Ctrl] + [Shift] + 6 : | Shortcut to Next font |
| [Ctrl] + [Shift] + – : | Shortcut to Decrease text size |
| [Ctrl] + [Shift] + + : | Shortcut to Increase text size |
| [Ctrl] + b : | Shortcut to make text Bold |
| [Ctrl] + i : | Shortcut to make text Italics |
| [Ctrl] + u : | Shortcut to make text Underline |
| [Ctrl] + [Shift] + 7 : | Shortcut for Numbered listing |
| [Ctrl] + [Shift] + 8 : | Shortcut for Bulleted listing |
| [Ctrl] + [Shift] + 9 : | Shortcut to create a Quote |
| [Ctrl] + [ : | Shortcut to Indent less |
| [Ctrl] + ] : | Shortcut to Indent more |
Jumping
| Press g then i : | Gmail Shortcut to Go to Inbox |
| Pres g then s : | Shortcut to Go to Starred conversations |
| Pres g then t : | Shortcut to Go to Sent messages |
| Pres g then d : | Shortcut to Go to Drafts |
| Pres g then a : | Shortcut to Go to All mail |
| Pres g then c : | Shortcut to Go to Contacts |
| Pres g then k : | Shortcut to Go to Tasks |
| Pres g then l : | Shortcut to Go to Label |
Threadlist selection
| Press * then a : | Gmail Shortcut to Select all conversations |
| Press * then n : | Shortcut to Deselect all conversations |
| Press * then r : | Shortcut to Select read conversations |
| Press * then u : | Shortcut to Select unread conversations |
| Press * then s : | Shortcut to Select starred conversations |
| Press * then t : | Shortcut to Select unstarred conversations |
Navigation
| Press u : | Gmail Shortcut to Back to threadlist |
| Press k / j : | Shortcut to Newer/older conversation |
| Press o or <Enter> : | Shortcut to Open conversation; collapse/expand conversation |
| Press p / n : | Shortcut to Read previous/next message |
| Press ` : | Shortcut to Go to next inbox section |
| Press ~ : | Shortcut to Go to previous inbox section |
Application
| Press c : | Gmail Shortcut to Compose |
| Press d : | Shortcut to Compose in a tab (new compose only) |
| Press / : | Shortcut to Search mail |
| Press q : | Shortcut to Search chat contacts |
| Press . : | Shortcut to Open “more actions” menu |
| Press v : | Shortcut to Open “move to” menu |
| Press l : | Shortcut to Open “label as” menu |
| Press ? : | Shortcut to Open keyboard shortcut help |
Actions
| Press , : | Gmail Shortcut to Move focus to toolbar |
| Press x : | Shortcut to Select conversation |
| Press s : | Shortcut to Rotate superstar |
| Press y : | Shortcut to Remove label |
| Press e : | Shortcut to Archive |
| Press m : | Shortcut to Mute conversation |
| Press ! : | Shortcut to Report as spam |
| Press # : | Shortcut to Delete |
| Press r : | Shortcut to Reply |
| Press [Shift] + r : | Shortcut to Reply in a new window |
| Press a : | Shortcut to Reply all |
| Press [Shift] + a : | Shortcut to Reply all in a new window |
| Press f : | Shortcut to Forward |
| Press [Shift] + f : | Shortcut to Forward in a new window |
| Press [Shift] + n : | Shortcut to Update conversation |
| Press ] / [ : | Shortcut to Remove conversation from current view and go previous/next |
| Press } / { : | Shortcut to Archive conversation and go previous/next |
| Press z : | Shortcut to Undo last action |
| Press [Shift] + i : | Shortcut to Mark as read |
| Press [Shift] + u : | Shortcut to Mark as unread |
| Press _ : | Shortcut to Mark unread from the selected message |
| Press + or = : | Shortcut to Mark as important |
| Press – : | Shortcut to Mark as not important |
| Press [Shift] + t : | Shortcut to Add conversation to Tasks |
You can learn more about the Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts from here.
Enabling Gmail Custom Keyboard Shortcuts
Gmail has introduced a lab feature called as Custom keyboard shortcuts to customize the Keyboard Shortcuts for Gmail. If you use some shortcuts frequently but do not feel comfortable with the combination, you can create your own shortcut combination by using this lab feature. It is not enabled by default. To enable it, sign-in to your Gmail account, click on the “Lab” sign
and enable the lab feature “Custom keyboard shortcut” from the list and save the changes by clicking the proper button.
This will add an additional “Keyboard shortcuts” tab.
You can only change the shortcuts assigned under “Action” list. Head to the “Keyboard Shortcut” tab which opens the “Current keyboard shortcut mapping” window.
Put your preferred key(s) at the white boxes and save the changes – you’re done!
How do you access your Gmail account – by mouse or by the Gmail keyboard shortcuts?
