Block Editor Keystroke Reference
Block Editor Keystroke Reference
The keystrokes we have documented here were not easy to find. Most are not documented within the editor, and there is no link to any outside documentation to find further information. We made an educated guess that “richtext” implied that the new WordPress editor is supposed to be something like Microsoft’s WordPad. We looked up the keystrokes for that editor, tested them with the new WordPress editor, and our educated guess turned out to be correct.
We went with Wordpad and not Microsoft Word because while Wordpad is a richtext application in the technical sense, Microsoft Word is not. Furthermore, it is an unattainable goal if the new WordPress editor lives in the browser. Not all the Wordpad keystrokes work, so we have documented the ones that do.
Individuals using assistive technology that depend strictly on keyboards or keyboard simulation will need to experiment to understand fully what is available to them.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks go to the following contributors:
- Amanda Carson for co-authoring and proof reading parts of this tutorial.
- David Edick for setting Up and hosting the Zoom conference for us to demonstrate the concepts detailed in this series as well as recording and editing the user zoom sessions.
- Jason Castonguay for assisting in researching and testing of the Mac Keystrokes so this information can be Updated.
Tools used for Keystroke Reference
- WordPress 6.8using the twenty twenty-five (2025) theme
- Browsers: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari and Microsoft Edge; all browsers kept up to date.
- Screen readers: JAWS 2025, NVDA 2024 and Microsoft Narrator (Windows 11) as well as VoiceOver (MacOS Sequoia 15)
Frequently used keyboard shortcuts
Notes:
- If a shortcut requires two or more keys at the same time, the keys are separated by a plus sign (+).
- The shortcuts in this article refer to the U.S. keyboard layout. Keys for other layouts might not correspond exactly to the keys on a U.S. keyboard.
Editing Shortcuts
| Action | Windows Keystroke | Mac Keystroke | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cut | CTRL + X | Command + X | Blocks & Text |
| Copy | CTRL + C | Command + C | Blocks & Text |
| Paste | CTRL + V | Command + V | Blocks & Text |
| Make selected text Bold | CTRL + B | Command + B | text only |
| Make selected text underline | CTRL + U | Command + U | text only |
| Make selected text italics | CTRL + I | Command + I | text only |
| Undo last edit | CTRL + Z | Command + Z | Blocks & text |
| Insert a hyperlink | CTRL + K | Command + K | Text Only |
| Remove a hyperlink | CTRL + SHIFT + K | Command + SHIFT + K | Text Only |
| Cancel | ESC | ESC | Blocks & Text |
Move around in a document/block editor using the keyboard
| Action | Windows Keystroke | Mac Keystroke | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| One character to the LEFT | LEFT ARROW | LEFT ARROW | Blocks & Text |
| One character to the RIGHT | RIGHT ARROW | RIGHT ARROW | Blocks & Text |
| One word to the LEFT | CTRL + LEFT ARROW | Option + LEFT ARROW | Blocks & Text |
| One word to the RIGHT | CTRL + RIGHT ARROW | Option + RIGHT ARROW | Blocks & Text |
| UP one-line | UP ARROW | UP ARROW | Blocks & Text |
| DOWN one-line | DOWN ARROW | DOWN ARROW | Blocks & Text |
| To the END of a line | END | Command + RIGHT ARROW | Text only |
| To the beginning of a line | HOME | Command + LEFT ARROW | Text only |
Edit and move text and graphics
| Action | Windows Keystroke | Mac Keystroke | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extend a selection one character to the RIGHT | SHIFT + RIGHT ARROW | SHIFT + RIGHT ARROW | Blocks & Text |
| Extend a selection one character to the LEFT | SHIFT + LEFT ARROW | SHIFT + LEFT ARROW | Blocks & Text |
| Extend a selection to the END of a word | CTRL + SHIFT + RIGHT ARROW | Option + SHIFT + RIGHT ARROW | Blocks & Text |
| Extend a selection to the beginning of a word | CTRL + SHIFT + LEFT ARROW | Option + SHIFT + LEFT ARROW | Blocks & Text |
| Extend a selection to the END of a line | SHIFT + END | Command + SHIFT + RIGHT ARROW | Text only |
| Extend a selection to the beginning of a line | SHIFT + HOME | Command + SHIFT + LEFT ARROW | Text only |
| Extend a selection one line DOWN | SHIFT + DOWN ARROW | SHIFT + DOWN ARROW | Text only |
| Extend a selection one line UP | SHIFT + UP ARROW | SHIFT + UP ARROW | Text only |
Delete text and graphics
| Action | Windows Keystroke | Mac Keystroke | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delete one character to the LEFT | BACKSPACE | BACKSPACE | Text only |
| Delete one word to the LEFT | CTRL + BACKSPACE | Option + BACKSPACE | Text only |
| DELETE one character to the RIGHT | DELETE | DELETE | text only |
| DELETE one word to the RIGHT | CTRL + DELETE | Option + DELETE | text only |
Specific key strokes for the block editor
| Action | Windows Keystroke | Mac Keystroke |
|---|---|---|
| Switch between Visual editor and text editor | ALT + CTRL + SHIFT + M | Command + Option + SHIFT+ M |
| Select a block type | use the slash (/) key | Use the slash (/) key |
| Show the block editing menu bar | ALT + F10 | Option + F10 |
| Hide or show the settings bar | CTRL + SHIFT + comma (,) | Option + SHIFT + comma (,) |
| Select all text in a block | CTRL + A | Command + A |
| Select all blocks | CTRL + A twice quicly | Command + A twice quickly |
| Open the block navigation menu | ALT + SHIFT + O | CTRL + Option + SHIFT + O |
| Toggle the full screen mode | ALT + CTRL + SHIFT + F | Command + Option + SHIFT + F |
| Duplicate a block | CTRL + SHIFT + D | Command + SHIFT + D |
| Remove multiple selected blocks | BACKSPACE or DELETE | BACKSPACE or DELETE |
| Insert block before | ALT + CTRL + T | Command + Option + T |
| Move block UP one position | ALT + CTRL + SHIFT + T | Command + Option + SHIFT + T |
| Insert block after | ALT + CTRL + Y | Command + Option + Y |
| Move block DOWN one position | ALT + CTRL + SHIFT + Y | Command + Option + SHIFT + Y |
| Remove block | ALT + SHIFT + Z | CTRL +Option + SHIFT + Z |
| Navigate to the previous part of the editor | ALT + SHIFT + P or CTRL + SHIFT + ` | CTRL + Option P OR ctrl + shift + ` |
| Navigate to the next part of the editor | ALT + SHIFT + N or CTRL + ` | CTRL + Option N OR CTRL + ` |
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