# Shortcuts The keys that keep your hands on the keyboard. Half an hour to learn, and you win a piece of every day back. Multimedia & Creative Technology · 0.0 General · Self-study · version 1.0.2 · 2026-09-30 Tags: productivity, vs-code Slides: Speaker notes: ## Agenda 1. Why: What that mouse costs you 2. Text: The set that works everywhere 3. VS Code: Six keys you use daily 4. Your system: Switching, tiling, capturing 5. Your browser: Tabs, reloading, devtools 6. Habit: How you remember them ## Self-study: How to work through this *30 minutes, On your own* Count on half an hour, with your hands on the keyboard. The drills catch every key, so nothing in this window can break. 1. Do every combination along in VS Code or your own editor 2. The two drills sit halfway through their chapter 3. Pick three combinations at the end that you will use this week ## 1. Why *Two seconds each time, a hundred times a day.* **Your hands belong on the keyboard.** Every time you reach for your mouse you aim, click, and then find your place in the text again. Your head is doing nothing about your problem meanwhile. ### What a mouse click costs - Your hand leaves the keyboard and returns to it blind - You aim at a menu item twenty pixels tall - You find your spot in the text again - By then you forgot what you were about to type > [!NOTE] > **Do the maths** > > Fifty times a day, two seconds each, two hundred school days. That is over five hours of mouse per year. ### Touch typing first *Shortcuts mean little while you still look down to find a bracket.* - **[keybr.com](https://www.keybr.com)**: Builds words from the letters you still get wrong. Ten minutes a day is enough. - **[monkeytype.com](https://monkeytype.com)**: Speed test with a mode for code and punctuation. - **[typing.io](https://typing.io)**: Typing on real source code, brackets and semicolons included. > [!TIP] > Aim for forty words per minute without looking. Faster is a bonus, but not looking is where the gain sits. ## 2. Text *This set works in your editor, your browser, your mail and your chat. Anywhere you type.* ### The four distances *A character, a word, a line, a document. Same arrows, different key with it.* | Movement | macOS | Windows | | --- | --- | --- | | One character | ← → | ← → | | One word | ⌥ ← | Ctrl ← | | Start or end of the line | ⌘ ← | Home End | | Start or end of the document | ⌘ ↑ | Ctrl Home | ### Selecting is shift on top *Every movement above turns into a selection the moment you hold shift.* | Selection | macOS | Windows | | --- | --- | --- | | A word to the left | ⇧ ⌥ ← | Shift Ctrl ← | | To the end of the line | ⇧ ⌘ → | Shift End | | To the start of the line | ⇧ ⌘ ← | Shift Home | | Everything | ⌘ A | Ctrl A | > [!TIP] > A double click selects a word, a triple click a line. That one is fine with the mouse, your hand is already there. ### Deleting without a backspace marathon *Same logic: a character, a word, or back to the start of the line.* | Delete | macOS | Windows | | --- | --- | --- | | A word to the left | ⌥ ⌫ | Ctrl ⌫ | | Back to the start of the line | ⌘ ⌫ | Shift Home ⌫ | | The character to the right | fn ⌫ | Del | > [!NOTE] > Hitting backspace ten times to remove one word is ten breaks in your rhythm. ### Copy, paste, undo *The four you already know, plus two you could use every day.* | What | macOS | Windows | | --- | --- | --- | | Copy, paste, cut | ⌘ C V X | Ctrl C V X | | Paste without formatting | ⇧ ⌘ V | Ctrl Shift V | | Undo | ⌘ Z | Ctrl Z | | Redo after all | ⇧ ⌘ Z | Ctrl Y | > [!WARNING] > Pasting without formatting saves you every time you move something from Word or a website into your code or your mail. Otherwise you drag fonts and colours along. ### Drill: text *Six movements that work in every text field on your machine.* ## 3. VS Code *Six combinations that separate clicking from working.* ### Two keys that open everything *Anyone who knows these two stops needing the menu bar.* - **Windows Ctrl+P, Mac ⌘+P**: Type part of a file name and jump there. With `@` you jump to a function in that file, with `:` to a line number. - **Windows Ctrl+Shift+P, Mac ⇧+⌘+P**: The command palette. Every command in VS Code and in your extensions, with its shortcut next to it when there is one. > [!TIP] > ⌘ on a Mac is Ctrl on Windows. That pattern holds for nearly everything below. ### Moving lines *Cutting and pasting to move one line is three actions too many.* | What | macOS | Windows | | --- | --- | --- | | Line up or down | ⌥ ↑ ↓ | Alt ↑ ↓ | | Duplicate the line | ⇧ ⌥ ↓ | Shift Alt ↓ | | Delete the line | ⇧ ⌘ K | Ctrl Shift K | | Comment it out | ⌘ / | Ctrl / | > [!NOTE] > You do not have to select anything. As long as your cursor is on the line, VS Code knows which one you mean. ### More than one cursor *Typing the same change five times can also be one change in five places.* | What | macOS | Windows | | --- | --- | --- | | Add the next hit of this word | ⌘ D | Ctrl D | | Every hit of this word | ⇧ ⌘ L | Ctrl Shift L | | A cursor on another line | ⌥ + click | Alt + click | | A cursor straight below | ⌥ ⌘ ↓ | Ctrl Alt ↓ | > [!TIP] > Esc puts you back on one cursor. Without it you keep typing in ten places at once. ### Find, replace, rename *Three ways to find something back, and one to change it everywhere at once.* | What | macOS | Windows | | --- | --- | --- | | Find in this file | ⌘ F | Ctrl F | | Find in the whole project | ⇧ ⌘ F | Ctrl Shift F | | Rename a name everywhere | F2 | F2 | | Back to where you were | ⌃ - | Alt ← | > [!WARNING] > F2 renames a variable everywhere it is used, without touching a piece of text inside a string. Find and replace does touch it. ### The window itself *Panels open and closed, without aiming at the edge of your screen.* | What | macOS | Windows | | --- | --- | --- | | Sidebar open or closed | ⌘ B | Ctrl B | | Terminal open or closed | ⌃ ` | Ctrl ` | | Save the file | ⌘ S | Ctrl S | | Close the tab | ⌘ W | Ctrl W | ### Drill: VS Code *Six combinations from your editor. They also work in Cursor, Windsurf and most other editors.* ## 4. Your system *Switching, tiling and capturing, without aiming once.* ### Switching between what is open *Everybody half knows alt tab. These three make it usable.* | What | macOS | Windows | | --- | --- | --- | | To another app | ⌘ Tab | Alt Tab | | Between windows of the same app | ⌘ ` | Ctrl Alt Tab | | To another desktop | ⌃ ← → | Win Ctrl ← | > [!TIP] > Hold the first key and tap the second one repeatedly to walk further down the row. Letting go picks. ### Tiling windows *Your editor left, your browser right, without dragging.* - **Windows**: Win ← and Win → snap your window to a half. Win ↑ makes it full screen. - **[macOS](https://rectangleapp.com)**: Sequoia added tiling, but Rectangle is faster and free. ⌃ ⌥ ← for the left half. > [!NOTE] > Two windows next to each other save you the alt tabbing altogether. Certainly while following a tutorial or comparing two files. ### Screen captures *Grabbing part of your screen is one combination, not a detour through an app.* | What | macOS | Windows | | --- | --- | --- | | Part of your screen | ⇧ ⌘ 4 | Win Shift S | | The whole screen | ⇧ ⌘ 3 | PrtSc | | One window | ⇧ ⌘ 4 then Space | Alt PrtSc | | Record it as video | ⇧ ⌘ 5 | Win G | > [!TIP] > On a Mac, holding ⌃ as well puts the image on your clipboard instead of on your desktop. Exactly what you want when you paste it straight away. ### Opening and searching *Starting an app by typing its name beats finding it back in a folder.* - **[Spotlight and Raycast](https://www.raycast.com)**: ⌘ Space, type the first letters, enter. Raycast does the same and adds clipboard history, window management and snippets. - **[Start and PowerToys](https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/powertoys/)**: Win and typing already works. PowerToys Run on Alt Space is the faster version. - **Clipboard history**: Win V on Windows shows everything you copied recently. On a Mac that lives in Raycast or Maccy. - **Emoji and characters**: Windows Win+., Mac ⌃+⌘+Space ### Why is pasting without formatting so useful? - A. Otherwise you drag font, colour and size along from the source - B. It pastes faster - C. It works without internet - D. It translates your text automatically **Answer:** A. Otherwise you drag font, colour and size along from the source Copy from Word or a website and your clipboard holds formatting. In a mail, a form or a code block you only want the text. On a Mac that is Shift Cmd V, on Windows Ctrl Shift V. ## 5. Your browser *You spend half your day in there, so those ten seconds count double.* ### Tabs and address bar *Four combinations that keep your mouse out of your browser.* | What | macOS | Windows | | --- | --- | --- | | To the address bar | ⌘ L | Ctrl L | | New tab, close tab | ⌘ T W | Ctrl T W | | Closed tab back | ⇧ ⌘ T | Ctrl Shift T | | To tab 1 through 8 | ⌘ 1 | Ctrl 1 | ### Reloading and developer tools *The two things you do all day while building for the web.* | What | macOS | Windows | | --- | --- | --- | | Reload the page | ⌘ R | F5 | | Reload without cache | ⇧ ⌘ R | Ctrl F5 | | Developer tools | ⌥ ⌘ I | F12 | | Inspect an element | ⇧ ⌘ C | Ctrl Shift C | > [!WARNING] > Not seeing your css change? Reload without cache before you start doubting your code. ## 6. Habit *Knowing them is not the same as using them.* ### How they end up in your fingers *Learning them all at once does not work. One a week does.* 1. **Pick one**: Take the action you do with your mouse most often. Write the combination on a note stuck to your screen. 2. **Force yourself**: That week you only do it with the keyboard, even when it is slower. After four days it sticks. 3. **Read the menu**: Every combination sits to the right of its menu item. Every time you open a menu, you read one. > [!TIP] > Forgot a combination? The command palette in VS Code shows them next to every command, and ⌘ K ⌘ S opens the full list. ### Two kinds of shortcuts *One kind you learn once for everywhere, the other only for the program you are in.* #### The same everywhere - Copy, paste, undo - Moving and selecting word by word - Find with ctrl or cmd and F - Save, close, switch app #### Per program - The command palette of your editor - Multiple cursors and moving lines - Tools in Figma, Photoshop or Blender - Your own combinations in Raycast or PowerToys ### Cheat sheet - **Word by word** Windows Ctrl+←, Mac ⌥+← Add ⇧ to select. - **Paste without formatting**: Windows Ctrl+Shift+V, Mac ⇧+⌘+V - **Open a file** Windows Ctrl+P, Mac ⌘+P In VS Code, type part of the name. - **Comment** Windows Ctrl+/, Mac ⌘+/ Toggles the line you are on. - **Terminal**: ⌃ ` in your editor, on both systems. - **Screenshot**: Windows Win+Shift+S, Mac ⇧+⌘+4 ### Task: Three for this week *10 minutes, On your own* Pick three combinations from this deck that you need today. No more, or nothing sticks. 1. Write them on a note and stick it to the edge of your screen 2. Use them with the keyboard only this week, even when it is slower 3. Pick three new ones next week and leave the old ones up 4. Set up one combination of your own in Raycast or PowerToys ### Further *Two tools and two lists worth the trouble.* - **[Raycast](https://www.raycast.com)**: For macOS. Launching, searching, clipboard, windows and your own scripts behind one key. - **[PowerToys](https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/powertoys/)**: For Windows. Run, FancyZones and a keyboard manager to remap keys. - **[VS Code keyboard shortcuts](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/configure/keybindings)**: The official list, with a pdf per system. - **[ShortcutFoo](https://www.shortcutfoo.com/app/dojos/vscode-mac)**: Drills the VS Code shortcuts until you type them without thinking. ## Glossary - **Shortcut**: A key combination that does something without the mouse. Some work the same everywhere (copy, moving word by word), the rest belong to one program, like the command palette of your editor. (slide 32) - **Touch typing**: Typing without looking at your keys. Aim for forty words a minute, because as long as you look down for a bracket, shortcuts make little difference. (slide 7) - **Paste without formatting**: Pasting only the text, without dragging along the font and colours from Word or a website. Shift Cmd V on a Mac, Ctrl Shift V on Windows. (slide 12) - **Command palette**: The search box with every command of VS Code and your extensions, with the shortcut next to it when there is one. Shift Cmd P on a Mac, Ctrl Shift P on Windows. (slide 15) - **Multiple cursors**: Typing in several places at once in VS Code, for example with Cmd D (Ctrl D) to add the next occurrence of the same word. Esc takes you back to one cursor. (slide 17) - **Rename with F2**: Renaming a variable or function everywhere it is used. Unlike find and replace, it leaves text in a string alone when it happens to match. (slide 18) - **Tiling windows**: Snapping a window to one half of your screen without dragging, so your editor and your browser sit side by side. Win plus an arrow on Windows, Rectangle on macOS. (slide 23) - **Clipboard history**: A list of everything you copied recently, not only the last thing. Win V on Windows, on a Mac through Raycast or Maccy. (slide 25) - **Reload without cache**: Reloading the page and fetching everything again instead of showing the stored copy. Shift Cmd R or Ctrl F5, the first thing you do when your css change does not show up. (slide 29) ## Links and sources ### In the deck - [keybr.com](https://www.keybr.com) (slide 7) - [monkeytype.com](https://monkeytype.com) (slide 7) - [typing.io](https://typing.io) (slide 7) - [macOS](https://rectangleapp.com) (slide 23) - [Spotlight and Raycast](https://www.raycast.com) (slide 25, slide 35) - [Start and PowerToys](https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/powertoys/) (slide 25, slide 35) - [VS Code keyboard shortcuts](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/configure/keybindings) (slide 35) - [ShortcutFoo](https://www.shortcutfoo.com/app/dojos/vscode-mac) (slide 35)