Emails are well managed and organized using drag and drop functionality. But if you have a lot of email, learning Gmail's keyboard commands (and some Gmail tricks and tips) can save you time. There are more than two dozen to choose from. Oh, don't be scared. Just pick one and try it out. Then come back to learn more.
The information in this article applies to Gmail on the web. No matter which browser you use, the instructions are the same.
To use Gmail shortcuts, you must first enable them in the Settings menu.
Select the gear in the upper right corner of Gmail, then select Settings from the drop-down menu.
Scroll down to the Keyboard Shortcuts section and select Keyboard Shortcuts .
Scroll to the bottom of the page and select Save Changes .
You can quickly create, send, and forward Gmail messages using Gmail keyboard shortcuts:
- Create new message (C) : Press the C key to create a new message.
- Create new message in new tab (D) : Press the D key to create a new message in a new browser tab.
- Send email (Ctrl + Enter) : Press Ctrl + Enter to send an open message.
- Forward message (F) : Press F to forward the open message.
On Mac, use the Command key instead of the Ctrl key.
By using the R and A keys, you can quickly reply to an email or send to multiple recipients:
- Reply to message (R) : Press R to reply to an open message.
- Reply all (A) : Press A to reply to all recipients of the message.
These shortcuts make it easy to browse messages and long email threads:
- Scroll down the email list (J) : Press the J key to scroll down.
- Scroll up the email list (K) : Press the K key to scroll up.
- Scroll through email threads (N) : Press N to quickly scroll down multiple conversations in a thread.
Need to select a bunch of emails at once? This shortcut will save you from having to click on each email individually:
- Select multiple emails in a row (Shift) : Check the box next to the first email in the series, then hold down the Shift key and check the box next to the last email in the series. Everything between the two boxes will be selected.
Use these commands to apply text formatting when composing messages. Do the same thing to undo formatting:
- Bold text (Ctrl + B) : Highlight the text you want to bold and press Ctrl + B.
- Italicize text (Ctrl + I) : Highlight the text you want to italicize, and then press Ctrl + I.
- Underline text (Ctrl + U) : Highlight the text you want to underline and press Ctrl + U.
- Undo the previous operation (Ctrl + Z) : Press Ctrl + Z to undo the previous operation.
On Mac computers, use the Command key instead of the Ctrl key.
You can also use keyboard shortcuts to add links, numbered lists, and bullet points to emails:
- Insert a hyperlink (Ctrl + K) : To insert a URL link, highlight the desired text and press Ctrl + K.
- Insert a numbered list (Ctrl + Shift + 7) : Insert the cursor where you want the numbered list to appear, and then press Ctrl + Shift + 7 .
- Insert bullet point (Ctrl + Shift + 8) : Insert the cursor where you want the bulleted list to appear, and then press Ctrl + Shift + 8 .
On Mac computers, use the Command key instead of the Ctrl key.
Use these shortcuts to help manage your inbox:
- Find an email (/) : Press / to place your cursor in the search bar.
- Archive Email (E) : Open an email or select it by clicking the box next to the sender's name, then press E to archive it.
- Delete an email (Shift + 3) : Open an email or select it by clicking the box next to the sender's name, then press Shift + 3 to send the email to Trash.
- Mark an email as unread (Shift + U) : Open an email or select it by clicking the box next to the sender's name, then press Shift + U to mark it as unread.
- Mark a message as important (Shift + =) : Open the email or select it by clicking the box next to the sender's name, then press Shift + = to mark it as important.
The following shortcuts can be used to navigate Gmail. Unlike the shortcut keys above, each key must be pressed individually, not simultaneously
- Go to Tasks (G, then K) : Press the G key, then K to open Google Tasks.
- Go to Contacts (G, then C) : Press the G key, then C to open the contact list.
- Go to a starred conversation (G, then S) : Press the G key, then S to view starred Gmail messages.
- Go to Sent Messages (G then T) : Press the G key then T to view sent messages.
- Go to Draft (G, then D) : Press the G key, then D to view your draft message.
- Go to All Mail (G, then A) : Press the G key, then A to view all mail.
- Move from different fields (Tab): Press the Tab key to jump down to a different field in the email composition screen. To move in the opposite direction, press Shift + Tab .
Need help remembering shortcuts? You can use keyboard shortcuts to quickly bring up the entire list:
- Open keyboard shortcut help (Shift + ?) : Press Shift + ? to get a complete list of Gmail keyboard shortcuts.
