Learn the shortcuts
Notion is fully equipped with keyboard and Markdown shortcuts so you can do everything you need without ever touching your mouse 🐭
Note: You'll see
cmd/ctrl
used a lot below. This indicates command
on Mac and control
on Windows and Linux. These instructions are for English/QWERTY keyboards, but internationalization is on the roadmap!Most popularMarkdown styleCreate & style your contentEdit & move blocks@ commands[[ commands+ commandsSlash commandsBasicInlineDatabaseMediaAdvanced
Most popular
If you're not a born shortcutter, we get it. You can still work like a Notion power user if you remember these few commands:
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+n
to create a new page (desktop apps only).
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+shift
+n
or usecmd/ctrl
+click
to open a new Notion window.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+p
to open search or jump to a recently viewed page.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+[
to go back a page.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+]
to go forward a page.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+shift
+l
to switch to Dark Mode (That's an L not a 1).
Tip: You can add any emoji in-line on a Notion page by typing
:
followed by the name of the emoji, like :apple
for 🍎 or :clapping
for 👏
You can also bring up your computer's emoji picker with the shortcut ctrl
+ cmd
+ space
on Mac and windows key
+ .
or windows key
+ ;
on Windows.Markdown style
While typing:
- Type
**
on either side of your text to bold.
- Type
*
on either side of your text to italicize.
- Type
`
on either side of your text to createinline code
. (That's the symbol to the left of your 1 key.)
- Type
~
on either side of your text tostrikethrough.
At the beginning of any new line or existing block of content, try these:
- Type
*
,-
, or+
followed byspace
to create a bulleted list.
- Type
[]
to create a to-do checkbox. (There's nospace
in between.)
- Type
1.
followed byspace
to create a numbered list.
- Type
#
followed byspace
to create an H1 heading.
- Type
##
followed byspace
to create an H2 sub-heading.
- Type
###
followed byspace
to create an H3 sub-heading.
- Type
>
followed byspace
to create a toggle list.
- Type
"
followed byspace
to create a quote block.
Create & style your content
- Press
enter
to insert a line of text.
- Press
shift
+enter
to create a line break within a block of text.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+shift
+m
to create a comment.
- Type
---
to create a divider. (Three dashes in a row.)
- With text selected, press
cmd/ctrl
+b
to bold text.
- With text selected, press
cmd/ctrl
+i
to italicize text.
- With text selected, press
cmd/ctrl
+u
to underline text.
- With text selected, press
cmd/ctrl
+shift
+s
forstrikethrough.
- With text selected, press
cmd/ctrl
+k
to add a link. You can also paste a URL over selected text to turn it into a link usingcmd/ctrl
+v
.
- With text selected, press
cmd/ctrl
+e
for inline code.
- Press
tab
to indent and nest content. Note: Whenever you indent, you're nesting that block inside the block above it. If you select the parent, everything under it will also be selected. For example: - Block 1 ← Parent block
- Block 2 ← Nested block inside block 1
- Press
shift
+tab
to un-nest content.
- Type
/turn
at the beginning or end of a block to turn it into a different type of block. You'll see a list of choices pop up. For example, here's how you'd turn a line of text into a heading and then into a to-do:
![notion image](https://cdn.feather.blog?src=https%3A%2F%2Fusenotioncms.com%2Fproxy%2Fblock%2Ff173d9a6-82ab-45a3-9c6b-ad86769a4a91%252Fb6f84989-3ee1-4505-84a6-be3ac4f434cf%252Fslash_turn_into.gif&optimizer=image&quality=80&width=280)
- Type
/color
at the beginning or end of any text block to change its color or highlight color. (To remove a color or highlight, just type/default
.) Example:/blue
,/blue background
![notion image](https://cdn.feather.blog?src=https%3A%2F%2Fusenotioncms.com%2Fproxy%2Fblock%2F6dd9045b-3e8b-490e-82e0-62182426e116%252Fb575985b-d5f7-4f4b-9499-ccea219d3f85%252Fslash_color.gif&optimizer=image&quality=80&width=280)
For all of these content creation shortcuts,
cmd
+ option
is the combination for Mac, and ctrl
+ shift
is the combination for Windows and Linux:- Press
cmd/ctrl
+option/shift
+0
to create text.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+option/shift
+1
to create an H1 heading.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+option/shift
+2
to create an H2 heading.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+option/shift
+3
to create an H3 heading.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+option/shift
+4
to create a to-do checkbox.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+option/shift
+5
to create a bulleted list.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+option/shift
+6
to create a numbered list.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+option/shift
+7
to create a toggle list.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+option/shift
+8
to create a code block - which looks like this:
<b>Any kind of code can go here and be copied to your clipboard!</b>
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+option/shift
+9
to create a new page, or turn whatever you have on a line into a page.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
++
to zoom in.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+-
to zoom out.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+shift
+u
to go up one level in the page hierarchy.
- Duplicate any content on a Notion page by holding down
option/alt
as you drag and drop:
![notion image](https://cdn.feather.blog?src=https%3A%2F%2Fusenotioncms.com%2Fproxy%2Fblock%2F3cb35427-11f9-413e-a9cc-7980619b82e9%252Fef71cdc1-639c-477b-949a-76af2a53ca17%252FDuplicate_Drag.gif&optimizer=image&quality=80&width=280)
Edit & move blocks
Everything in Notion is a block — from a line of type (or paragraph) to an image or embed. These shortcuts let you edit whole blocks once they're selected.
- Press
esc
to select the block you're currently in. Or to clear selected blocks.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+a
once to select the block your cursor is in.
- Press
space
to open a selected image in full-screen. Or to exit full-screen.
- Press
arrow keys
to select a different block.
- Hold down
shift
+up/down arrow keys
to expand your selection up or down.
- Use
cmd
+shift
+click
on Mac, andalt + shift + click
on Windows/Linux to select or de-select an entire block.
- Use
shift
+click
to select another block and all blocks in between.
- Press
backspace
ordelete
to delete selected blocks.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+d
to duplicate the blocks you've selected.
- Press
enter
to edit any text inside a selected block (or open a page inside a page).
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+/
to edit or change one or more selected blocks. - Use this shortcut to change the type of block, the color, or to edit, duplicate, or move the block. You'll see a text box at the top of the menu that pops up. Just type the action, block or color you want:
![notion image](https://cdn.feather.blog?src=https%3A%2F%2Fusenotioncms.com%2Fproxy%2Fblock%2F0927bcce-3bfb-4625-b266-fb20dbd2587e%252Fe044d8b3-1e55-441c-bc74-83d0e3f46818%252FCommand-slash.gif&optimizer=image&quality=80&width=280)
- In board view, select multiple cards then use
cmd/ctrl
+/
to edit them all at once. Example: Here's how you'd change the status of several tasks at a time.
![notion image](https://cdn.feather.blog?src=https%3A%2F%2Fusenotioncms.com%2Fproxy%2Fblock%2F7b5fbe39-f5cf-4840-b0fa-7261ac356c0a%252Fa29169f5-745b-407d-9fe3-5679eac2d283%252Fkanban_slash_command.gif&optimizer=image&quality=80&width=280)
- Hold
cmd/ctrl
+shift
+arrow keys
to move a selected block around.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+option/alt
+t
to expand or close all toggles in a toggle list.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+shift
+h
to apply the last text or highlight color you used.
- Press
cmd/ctrl
+enter
to modify the current block you're in. Modify means: - Open a page
- Check or uncheck a to-do checkbox
- Open or close a toggle list item
- Make embeds or images full-screen
@ commands
- Mention a person - Type
@
and another workspace member's name to get their attention on something. They'll be notified. Useful in comments and discussions.
- Mention a page - Type
@
and the name of another page in your workspace to create a link to it. If you change the name of the page, this link will automatically change too.
- Mention a date - Type
@
and a date in any format (or "yesterday," "today" or "tomorrow," or even "next Wednesday"). Helpful for giving yourself due dates.
- Add a reminder - Type
@remind
followed by a date in any format (including "yesterday," "today," "tomorrow," etc.). You can click on the link that appears to adjust the date and exact time you want to be reminded. You'll receive a notification at that time. More on reminders here →
- Hit
esc
to dismiss the @-command menu if you simply want to type @.
[[ commands
- Link a page - Type
[[
and the name of another page in your workspace to create a link to it. If you change the name of the page, this link will automatically change too.
- Create a sub-page - Type
[[
and the name of the sub-page you want to nest within your current page. Use your cursor or arrow keys to select+ Add new sub-page
in the dropdown that appears.
- Create a new page somewhere else - Type
[[
and the name of the page you want to create. Use your cursor or arrow keys to select↗ Add new page in...
in the dropdown that appears, then select the page or database where you'd like that page to be added.
+ commands
- Create a sub-page - Type
+
and the name of the sub-page you want to nest within your current page. Use your cursor or arrow keys to select+ Add new sub-page
in the dropdown that appears.
- Create a new page somewhere else - Type
+
and the name of the page you want to create. Use your cursor or arrow keys to select↗ Add new page in...
in the dropdown that appears, then select the page or database where you'd like that page to be added.
- Link a page - Type
+
and the name of another page in your workspace to create a link to it. If you change the name of the page, this link will automatically change too.
Tip: When you use [[, the dropdown menu will show page linking options first. When you use +, the dropdown menu will show page creation options first.
Slash commands
![Video preview](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cBdyHp_XVFQ/hqdefault.jpg)
Pressing
/
in Notion brings up a full menu of content blocks you can choose to insert. You can shortcut this further by pressing /
and then typing what you want. Here are your choices:Basic
/text
or/plain
creates a new text block.
/page
creates a new page (and will open it automatically when you pressenter
).
/bullet
creates a bulleted list.
/num
creates a numbered list.
/todo
creates a to-do list with checkboxes.
/toggle
creates a toggle list.
/div
creates a light gray divider.
/quote
creates a quote block of larger text.
/h1
or/#
creates a large heading.
/h2
or/##
creates a medium-sized heading.
/h3
or/###
creates a small heading.
/link
creates a link to another page in your workspace.
esc
clears the/
menu. Handy if you're just trying to use a / in your writing.
Inline
/mention
lets you mention a page or a person in your workspace
/date
or/reminder
lets you add a timestamp or reminder to your page
/equation
lets you add a TeX formula in line with your text
/emoji
brings up the emoji picker
Database
/table-inline
creates a database table inside a current page.
/board-inline
creates a Kanban board inside a current page.
/calendar-inline
creates a calendar inside a current page.
/list-inline
creates a list-style database inside a current page.
/gallery-inline
creates a gallery inside a current page.
/timeline-inline
creates a timeline inside a current page.
- Any of the above can also be created with
-full
instead of-inline
to open that type of database view in its own page automatically. For example:/table-full
,/board-full
/linked
creates a linked database — a copy of an existing database that you can insert into any page in-line and filter or view however you want. Helpful for creating multiple excerpts from the same database on the same page.
Media
/image
will bring up the option to upload or embed an image, or add one from Unsplash.
/pdf
lets you paste in a URL to any PDF so it will display in-line on your page.
/book
lets you paste in a URL to any website to create a web bookmark. Like this:
/video
lets you upload a video file or embed a video from YouTube, Vimeo, etc.
/audio
lets you upload an audio file or embed a recording from SoundCloud, Spotify, etc.
/code
creates a code block where you can write and copy any snippet of code.
/file
lets you upload any file from your computer or create an embed.
/embed
lets you add any one of the 500+ embeds that work with Notion. Learn more about embeds here.
Advanced
/comment
lets you create a comment on any block.
/duplicate
creates an exact copy of the current block.
/moveto
lets you move that block to a different page.
/delete
deletes the current block.
/toc
creates a Table of Contents block.
/button
or/template
gives you a template button that duplicates any combination of blocks you define. Here's a guide on template buttons →
/bread
inserts a breadcrumb menu that shows where your current page is in your workspace.
/math
or/latex
lets you write mathematical equations and symbols using TeX.
Read next:
Something we didn't cover?
Message us in the app by clicking
?
at the bottom right on desktop (or in your sidebar on mobile). Or email us at team@makenotion.com ✌️