For most people, keyboard shortcuts are a part of everyday computer life. When was the last time you knowingly pressed Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V to copy and paste something? You probably don’t remember, but chances are you perform this action multiple times a day. If keyboard shortcuts didn’t exist, you’d be in the habit of manually right-clicking your mouse, clicking “Copy”, right-clicking elsewhere, and then clicking “Paste”.
The additional time taken to perform this task manually is only a matter of seconds – but these seconds can add up when you’re performing the action continuously. Perhaps even more importantly, keyboard shortcuts allow you to stay in the flow of the task you’re performing. Sometimes all it can take to interrupt your workflow is to take your hands off the keyboard and move them to the mouse.
What you may not know is that WordPress has its own set of keyboard shortcuts that extend far beyond copying and pasting. The trick with WordPress keyboard shortcuts is to pick and choose the shortcuts that are most likely to benefit you. There is a whole set of shortcuts relating to comment moderation alone, so if this is a task that you spend time on regularly, it could be worth your time to get through that awkward initial stage and become familiar with these shortcuts.
There are three primary areas within WordPress to use shortcuts:
- In the classic post editor
- In the new Gutenberg editor
- Within the comment moderation section.
Below is your exhaustive list of all the keyword shortcuts available within WordPress. Feel free to save this page and use it as a handy reference guide whenever you find yourself performing an action repeatedly in WordPress, and feel that a keyboard shortcut could save you time and preserve your workflow.
Windows vs Mac
WordPress keyboard shortcuts work in the same way on Windows and Mac, with the only differences being:
- The “CTRL” key on a Windows keyboard is equivalent to the “COMMAND” key on a Mac keyboard
- The “Alt” key on a Windows keyboard is equivalent to the “OPTION” key on a Mac keyboard.
We’ll use the Ctrl and Alt notations in the guide, so Mac users will simply need to substitute COMMAND and OPTION in their place.
Classic vs Gutenberg
WordPress 5.0 was released in December 2018 and saw the introduction of Gutenberg as the default WordPress text editor. When it was first released, many WordPress users commented that, while the classic WordPress post editor had a very similar look and feel to a Microsoft Word document, the new Gutenberg editor felt much more like creating a new post on Medium.
Today, WordPress users can choose whether to use the new Gutenberg text editor (which is now the default text editor) or to switch back to the original classic post editor. Below you will find keyboard shortcuts that apply broadly to the classic WordPress post editor, along with a new set of shortcuts specific to the Gutenberg editor.
WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts For The Classic Post Editor
Basic
Copy – Ctrl + C
Cut – Ctrl + X
Highlight Text – Ctrl + Arrow Forward or Arrow Back
Paste – Ctrl + V
Redo – Ctrl + Y
Select All – Ctrl + A
Undo – Ctrl + Z
Text Formatting
Bold – Ctrl + B
Insert/Edit Link – Ctrl + K
Italics – Ctrl + I
Underline – Ctrl + U
Headings
Heading 1 – Ctrl + 1
Heading 2 – Ctrl + 2
Heading 3 – Ctrl + 3
Heading 4 – Ctrl + 4
Heading 5 – Ctrl + 5
Advanced Text Editing
Add/Remove Code Tag – Ctrl + Shift + X
Bulleted List – Ctrl + Shift + U
Center Text – Ctrl + Shift + C
Help – Ctrl + Shift + H
Insert Image – Ctrl + Shift + M
Insert Link – Ctrl + Shift + A
Insert Quote – Ctrl + Shift + Q
Justify Text – Ctrl + Shift + J
Left Align Text – Ctrl + Shift + L
Numbered List – Ctrl + Shift + O
Page Break Tag – Ctrl + Shift + P
Read More Tag – Ctrl + Shift + T
Remove Link – Ctrl + Shift + S
Right Align Text – Ctrl + Shift + R
Spellcheck – Ctrl + Shift + N
Distraction-Free Writing
Toggle Distraction-Free Writing Mode – Alt + Shift + W
Narrow Screen | CTRL + –
Restore To Default Size – Ctrl + 0
Widen Screen | CTRL + +
WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts For The Gutenberg Editor
Change Block Type – /
Clear Selection – Esc
Duplicate Block – Ctrl + Shift + D
Find Nearest Toolbar – Alt + F10
Insert New Block Above – Ctrl + Alt + T
Insert New Block Below – Ctrl + Alt + Y
New Block – Enter
Next Editing Function – Alt + Shift + N
Open Block Navigation – Alt + Shift + O
Previous Editing Function – Alt + Shift + P
Redo Previous Undo – Ctrl + Shift + Z
Remove Block – Alt + Shift + Z
Toggle Code Editor/Visual Editor – Ctrl + Shift + Alt + M
Toggle Display/Hide Settings – Ctrl + Shift + ,
WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts For Comment Moderation
If you’re tasked with comment moderation on a busy blog, you’ll understand just how time-consuming this process can be. Comment moderation is perhaps the area where WordPress keyboard shortcuts can be of most use. Read on to find out the clever keyboard shortcuts you can integrate into your daily comment moderation practices.
First, Turn The Shortcuts On
Unlike other WordPress keyboard shortcuts, before you can use comment moderation shortcuts you need to turn this option on within WordPress. To do so, start in your dashboard then click through to your profile. Within your profile will be a checkbox next to “Keyboard Shortcuts”. Tick this box, save, and then you’re ready to use shortcuts for comment moderation.
Navigating Through Comments
Move Up – K
Move Down – J
Performing Actions On Comments
Approve Current Comment – A
Delete Comment – D
Edit Comment – E
Quick Edit – Q
Reply To Comment – R
Spam – S
Remove Approval – U
Tick Check Box – X
Undo – Z
Performing Bulk Actions On Comments
Approve (Bulk) – Shift + A
Check All Boxes – Shift + X
Delete (Bulk) – Shift + D
Spam (Bulk) – Shift + S
Trash (Bulk) – Shift + T
Remove Approval (Bulk) – Shift + U
Undo (Bulk) – Shift + Z
With so many WordPress keyboard shortcuts available to use, how do you know which ones you should take the time to learn? Everything will come down to the way you use WordPress and the tasks that you spend the most amount of time on each day. If you spend hours moderating comments, it is highly recommended to learn the comment moderation WordPress shortcuts and to integrate them into your workflow as soon as possible. If you leave comments alone but spend most of your time in the Gutenberg editor, concentrate your attention there.
We also highly recommend bookmarking this page so you can come back to it as a handy reference guide the next time you’re ready to add a new WordPress keyboard shortcut to your repertoire.