The Gmail keyboard shortcuts you should know

Most of us can get away without keyboard shortcuts in Gmail — but if you spend hours handling email every day, a few seconds saved here and there can begin to add up. Here’s a selection of the better Gmail keyboard shortcuts Google has on offer.

How to turn on Gmail keyboard shortcuts

Before we get started in earnest, you’ll have to enable keyboard shortcuts. They’re disabled by default, presumably to prevent accidental triggers. Follow these steps:

1. At Gmail.com, click on Settings (the gear icon) in the upper-right corner.
2. Click See all settings.
3. Scroll down to the Keyboard shortcuts section, then select Keyboard shortcuts on.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes.

The Gmail shortcuts you should know

Basic compose and chat shortcuts

• C starts composing a new message, D composes in a new tab.
• R replies to a message, Shift + R replies in a new window.
• A does reply-all, Shift + A does reply-all in a new window.
• # deletes.
• ! reports a message as spam.
• E archives.
• Z undoes your last action.
• Shift + I marks as read, Shift + U marks as unread.
• + marks as important, and – as unimportant.
• ; expands a conversation and : collapses it.
• Shift + T adds a conversation to Tasks.
• F forwards a message, Shift + F forwards in a new window.
• P and N cycle back and forth through messages in a selected conversation.
• K selects a newer conversation, J selects an older one.
• Esc focuses on the latest chat or compose, while Shift + Esc focuses the main window.
• Ctrl + . and Ctrl + , advance to the next or previous chat or compose.
• Ctrl + Enter sends a message. On a Mac, you can use Cmd + Enter.
• Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + C adds cc recipients. Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + B adds bcc recipients.
• Cmd/Ctrl + K inserts a link.
• Cmd/Ctrl + M opens spelling suggestions. On Macs only, you can use Cmd + ; to jump to the next misspelled word.
• / searches mail, Q searches chat contacts.
• ? opens keyboard shortcut help if you need to remember options.

Fonts and formatting

• Cmd/Ctrl + B bolds text, Cmd/Ctrl + I italicizes it, and Cmd/Ctrl + U underlines.
• Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + 5 and Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + 6 cycle through different fonts.
• Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + – and Cmd/Ctrl + Shift and + shrink and increase font size.
• Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + 7 creates a numbered list, while Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + 8 creates a bulleted list.
• Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + 9 converts text into a quote.
• Cmd/Ctrl + [ and Cmd/Ctrl + ] indent less or more.
• Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + L aligns text to the left. Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + E aligns in the center, and Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + R aligns to the right.
• Cmd/Ctrl + \ strips all formatting from selected text.

Jumping between sections

• G + I jumps to the Inbox.
• G + S jumps to Starred conversations.
• G + T jumps to Sent messages.
• G + D jumps to Drafts.
• G + A jumps to All Mail.
• G + K jumps to Tasks.