Keyboard shortcuts for Gmail



Turn on keyboard shortcuts

Some keyboard shortcuts only work if you've turned them on.

Note: Keyboard shortcuts aren't supported on all keyboards.

  1. Open Gmail.
  2. In the top right, click Settings Settings.
  3. Click Settings.
  4. Scroll down to the "Keyboard shortcuts" section.
  5. Select Keyboard shortcuts on.
  6. At the bottom of the page, click Save Changes.

Shortcuts you can use

You can use keyboard shortcuts to navigate your inbox and messages, format text, and complete actions like archiving and deleting.

To see a complete list of keyboard shortcuts, including which need to be turned on, type ? when you have Gmail open.

Note: Keyboard shortcuts work differently on PC and Mac computers. On PCs, you'll use Ctrl instead of ⌘.


Compose & chat
Action Shortcut
Previous message in an open conversation p
Next message in an open conversation n
Focus main window Shift + Esc
Focus latest chat or compose Esc
Advance to the next chat or compose Ctrl + .
Advance to previous chat or compose Ctrl + ,
Send Ctrl + Enter
Add cc recipients Ctrl + Shift + c
Add bcc recipients Ctrl + Shift + b
Access custom from Ctrl + Shift + f
Insert a link Ctrl + k
Go to next misspelled word (Mac only) ⌘ + ;
Open spelling suggestions Ctrl + m

Formatting text
Action Shortcut
Previous font Ctrl + Shift + 5
Next font Ctrl + Shift + 6
Decrease text size Ctrl + Shift + -
Increase text size Ctrl + Shift and +
Bold Ctrl + b
Italics Ctrl + i
Underline Ctrl + u
Numbered list Ctrl + Shift + 7
Bulleted list Ctrl + Shift + 8
Quote Ctrl + Shift + 9
Indent less Ctrl + [
Indent more Ctrl + ]
Align left Ctrl + Shift + l
Align center Ctrl + Shift + e
Align right Ctrl + Shift + r
Remove formatting Ctrl + \

Actions

Note: These shortcuts won't work unless keyboard shortcuts are turned on.

Action Shortcut
Move focus to toolbar ,
Select conversation x
Toggle star/rotate among superstars s
Archive e
Mute conversation m
Report as spam !
Delete #
Reply r
Reply in a new window Shift + r
Reply all a
Reply all in a new window Shift + a
Forward f
Forward in a new window Shift + f
Update conversation Shift + n
Archive conversation and go previous/next ] or [
Undo last action z
Mark as read Shift + i
Mark as unread Shift + u
Mark unread from the selected message _
Mark as important + or =
Mark as not important -
Expand entire conversation ;
Collapse entire conversation :
Add conversation to Tasks Shift + t

Hangouts

Note: These keyboard shortcuts won't work unless keyboard shortcuts are turned on.

Action Shortcut
Show menu h + m
Show archived hangouts h + a
Show Hangout requests h + i
Focus on the conversation list h + c
Open phone g + p or h + p

Jumping

Note: These keyboard shortcuts won't work unless keyboard shortcuts are turned on.

Action Shortcut
Go to Inbox g + i
Go to Starred conversations g + s
Go to Sent messages g + t
Go to Drafts g + d
Go to All mail g + a
Go to Contacts g + c
Go to Tasks g + k
Go to label g + l

Threadlist selection

Note: These keyboard shortcuts won't work unless keyboard shortcuts are turned on.

Action Shortcut
Select all conversations * + a
Deselect all conversations * + n
Select read conversations * + r
Select unread conversations * + u
Select starred conversations * + s
Select unstarred conversations * + t

Navigation

Note: These keyboard shortcuts won't work unless keyboard shortcuts are turned on.

Action Shortcut
Back to threadlist u
New conversation k
Older conversation j
Open conversation o or Enter
Go to next Inbox section `
Go to previous Inbox section ~

Application

Note: These keyboard shortcuts won't work unless keyboard shortcuts are turned on.

Action Shortcut
Compose c
Compose in a new tab d
Search mail /
Search chat contacts g
Open "more actions" menu .
Open "move to" menu v
Open "label as" menu l
Open keyboard shortcut help ?


Open a mail in a new tab
Ctrl + Click

Open a mail in a new window
Shift + O