Keyboard Shortcuts#

Most features in novelWriter are available as keyboard shortcuts. This is a reference list if these shortcuts. Most of them are also listed in the application.

Note

On macOS, replace Ctrl with Cmd.

Main Window Shortcuts#

Shortcut

Description

F1

Open the online user manual

F5

Open the Build Manuscript tool

F6

Open the Writing Statistics tool

F8

Toggle Focus Mode

F9

Re-build the project index

F11

Toggle full screen mode

Alt1

Switch focus to the project tree (Windows CtrlAlt1)

Alt2

Switch focus to document editor (Windows CtrlAlt2)

Alt3

Switch focus to document viewer (Windows CtrlAlt3)

Alt4

Switch focus to outline view (Windows CtrlAlt4)

Ctrl,

Open the Preferences dialog

CtrlQ

Exit novelWriter

CtrlShift,

Open the Project Settings dialog

CtrlShiftO

Open a project

CtrlShiftS

Save the current project

CtrlShiftW

Close the current project

ShiftF1

Open the local user manual (PDF) if it is available

ShiftF6

Open the Project Details dialog

Project Tree Shortcuts#

Shortcut

Description

F2

Edit the label of the selected item

Return

Open the selected document in the editor

AltUp

Jump or go to the previous item at same level in the tree

AltDown

Jump or go to the next item at same level in the tree

AltLeft

Jump to the parent item in the tree

AltRight

Jump to the first child item in the project tree

Ctrl.

Open the context menu on the selected item

CtrlL

Open the Quick Links menu

CtrlN

Open the Create New Item menu

CtrlO

Open selected document

CtrlR

Open the selected document in the viewer

CtrlUp

Move selected item one step up in the tree

CtrlDown

Move selected item one step down in the tree

CtrlShiftZ

Undo the last move of a project item, if possible

CtrlShiftDel

Move the selected item to Trash

Document Editor Shortcuts#

Text Search Shortcuts#

Shortcut

Description

F3

Find the next occurrence of the search word

CtrlF

Open the search bar and search for the selected word, if any is selected

CtrlG

Find next occurrence of search word in current document

CtrlH

Open the search tool and populate with the selected word (Mac Cmd=)

CtrlShift1

Replace selected occurrence of the search word, and move to the next

CtrlShiftG

Find previous occurrence of the search word

ShiftF3

Find the previous occurrence of the search word

Text Formatting Shortcuts#

Shortcut

Description

Ctrl/

Toggle block format as comment

Ctrl0

Remove block formatting for block under cursor

Ctrl1

Change block format to header level 1

Ctrl2

Change block format to header level 2

Ctrl3

Change block format to header level 3

Ctrl4

Change block format to header level 4

Ctrl5

Change block alignment to left-aligned

Ctrl6

Change block alignment to centred

Ctrl7

Change block alignment to right-aligned

Ctrl8

Add a left margin to the block

Ctrl9

Add a right margin to the block

CtrlB

Format selected text, or word under cursor, with strong emphasis (bold)

CtrlD

Strikethrough selected text, or word under cursor

CtrlI

Format selected text, or word under cursor, with emphasis (italic)

Ctrl'

Wrap selected text, or word under cursor, in single quotes

Ctrl"

Wrap selected text, or word under cursor, in double quotes

CtrlShift/

Remove block formatting for block under cursor

Other Editor Shortcuts#

Shortcut

Description

F7

Re-run the spell checker

Ctrl.

Open the context menu at the current cursor location

CtrlA

Select all text in the document

CtrlC

Copy selected text to clipboard

CtrlK

Activate the insert commands (see list in Insert Shortcuts)

CtrlR

Open or reload the current document in the viewer

CtrlS

Save the current document

CtrlV

Paste text from clipboard to cursor position

CtrlW

Close the current document

CtrlX

Cut selected text to clipboard

CtrlY

Redo latest undo

CtrlZ

Undo latest changes

CtrlDel

Delete the word after the cursor

CtrlBackspace

Delete the word before the cursor

CtrlReturn

Open the tag or reference under the cursor in the viewer

CtrlF7

Toggle spell checking

CtrlShiftA

Select all text in the current paragraph

CtrlShiftI

Import text to the current document from a text file

Insert Shortcuts#

A set of insert features are also available through shortcuts, but they require a double combination of key sequences. The insert feature is activated with CtrlK, followed by a key or key combination for the inserted content.

Shortcut

Description

CtrlK,

Insert a short dash (en dash)

CtrlK, _

Insert a long dash (em dash)

CtrlK, Ctrl_

Insert a horizontal bar (quotation dash)

CtrlK, ~

Insert a figure dash (same width as a number)

CtrlK, 1

Insert a left single quote

CtrlK, 2

Insert a right single quote

CtrlK, 3

Insert a left double quote

CtrlK, 4

Insert a right double quote

CtrlK, '

Insert a modifier apostrophe

CtrlK, .

Insert an ellipsis

CtrlK, Ctrl'

Insert a prime

CtrlK, Ctrl"

Insert a double prime

CtrlK, Space

Insert a non-breaking space

CtrlK, ShiftSpace

Insert a thin space

CtrlK, CtrlSpace

Insert a thin non-breaking space

CtrlK, *

Insert a list bullet

CtrlK, Ctrl

Insert a hyphen bullet (alternative bullet)

CtrlK, Ctrl*

Insert a flower mark (alternative bullet)

CtrlK, %

Insert a per mille symbol

CtrlK, CtrlO

Insert a degree symbol

CtrlK, CtrlX

Insert a times sign

CtrlK, CtrlD

Insert a division sign

CtrlK, G

Insert a @tag keyword

CtrlK, V

Insert a @pov keyword

CtrlK, F

Insert a @focus keyword

CtrlK, C

Insert a @char keyword

CtrlK, P

Insert a @plot keyword

CtrlK, S

Insert a synopsis comment

CtrlK, T

Insert a @time keyword

CtrlK, L

Insert a @location keyword

CtrlK, O

Insert an @object keyword

CtrlK, E

Insert an @entity keyword

CtrlK, X

Insert a @custom keyword

Document Viewer Shortcuts#

Shortcut

Description

AltLeft

Move backward in the view history

AltRight

Move forward in the view history

CtrlC

Copy selected text to clipboard

CtrlShiftA

Select all text in the current paragraph

CtrlShiftR

Close the document viewer