Keyboard shortcuts that make writing and editing faster

Most people know copy, paste and undo. But the shortcuts that save the most time are the ones for moving around and selecting text: jumping by whole words, selecting to the end of a line, deleting a word at once. They work in nearly every app because they are provided by the operating system, not by individual programs.

In the tables below, Ctrl applies to Windows and Linux, and Cmd (⌘) and Option (⌥) apply to macOS. A few shortcuts differ by app, and they are noted where relevant.

The essentials

Moving the cursor without the mouse

These are the shortcuts that change how editing feels. Instead of tapping an arrow key twenty times, you jump straight to where you need to be.

Selecting text: add Shift

Here is the key insight: every movement shortcut becomes a selection shortcut when you add Shift. If Ctrl + → jumps one word, Ctrl + Shift + → selects one word. Learn the movements and you get the selections for free.

A handy mouse combination: click at the start of a passage, then hold Shift and click at the end. Everything in between is selected, even across several screens of text.

Deleting faster

Deleting by word is the habit that most speeds up editing. When you mistype a word, one keystroke removes the whole thing instead of eight presses of Backspace.

Formatting in rich text editors

Bold, italic and underline work in rich text editors almost everywhere, including browser-based ones. In a plain text editor they do nothing, because plain text has no formatting.

Paste as plain text

When you copy from a web page and paste into a document, fonts and colors often come along. Pasting as plain text strips them:

• Most browsers and Windows apps: Ctrl + Shift + V
• Mac: Cmd + Shift + Option + V in many apps ("Paste and Match Style")

Support varies between programs, but in browsers and most modern editors these shortcuts work reliably. Alternatively, paste into a plain text note first and copy from there — the formatting is guaranteed to disappear.

Browser shortcuts writers use often

Reopening a closed tab is a lifesaver when you close the wrong one. And zooming the page is the quickest way to make small text comfortable during a long writing session.

Typing special characters

• Emoji panel: Win + . on Windows, Ctrl + Cmd + Space on Mac.
• Accented letters on Mac: hold a letter key, such as e, to see variants like é, è and ê.
• Accented letters on Windows: switching to the "US International" keyboard layout lets you type ' then e for é, ~ then a for ã, and so on.
• Mobile: long-press a letter on the on-screen keyboard to see accented versions.

How to actually learn them

Do not try to memorize everything at once. Pick two shortcuts this week — moving by word and deleting by word are the best starting pair — and use them deliberately until they are automatic. Next week add selection with Shift. Within a month you will notice that the mouse has become optional for editing, and that writing feels noticeably smoother.