Learn the shortcuts

Notion is fully equipped with keyboard and Markdown shortcuts so you can do everything you need without ever touching your mouse 🐭

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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!

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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 use cmd/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).

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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 create inline code. (That's the symbol to the left of your 1 key.)

Type ~ on either side of your text to ~~strikethrough~~.

At the beginning of any new line or existing block of content, try these:

Type *, -, or + followed by space to create a bulleted list.

Type [] to create a to-do checkbox. (There's no space in between.)

Type 1. followed by space to create a numbered list.

Type # followed by space to create an H1 heading.

Type ## followed by space to create an H2 sub-heading.

Type ### followed by space to create an H3 sub-heading.

Type > followed by space to create a toggle list.

Type " followed by space 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 for ~~strikethrough~~.

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 using cmd/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:

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

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:

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, and alt + 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 or delete 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:

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.

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.

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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

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 press enter).

/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:

Notion - The all-in-one workspace for your notes, tasks, wikis, and databases.

A new tool that blends your everyday work apps into one. It's the all-in-one workspace for you and your team

http://notion.so

Notion - The all-in-one workspace for your notes, tasks, wikis, and databases.

/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.

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