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This guide covers Ubuntu Desktop’s default GNOME-based interface. Shortcuts can differ by Ubuntu release, keyboard layout, desktop environment and personal or organization-managed settings, so check Settings → Keyboard → View and Customize Shortcuts if a binding does not work. On most PC keyboards, Super is the Windows-logo key; on Apple keyboards it is generally Command. Ubuntu explains the Super key and other keyboard conventions.
Quick reference: the most useful Ubuntu shortcuts
| Task | Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Open Activities | Super | Show the Activities overview. |
| Show applications | Super + A | Open the application grid. |
| Switch applications | Super + Tab | Move through open applications. |
| Close window | Alt + F4 | Close the active window. |
| Maximize or restore | Alt + F10 | Toggle maximization. |
| Tile left or right | Super + ← / → | Place the window on the corresponding side. |
| Switch workspace | Super + Page Up / Page Down | Move to an adjacent workspace. |
| Lock screen | Super + L | Lock the session. |
| Open notifications | Super + V | Show the notification list. |
| Open system menu | Super + S | Open the system menu. |
| Launch Terminal | Ctrl + Alt + T | Open the configured terminal, if this binding is enabled. |
| Open screenshot tool | Open the screenshot interface. | |
| Capture active window | Alt + Print | Take a window screenshot. |
| Capture entire screen | Shift + Print | Take a full-screen screenshot. |
| Copy in Terminal | Ctrl + Shift + C | Copy selected terminal text. |
| Paste in Terminal | Ctrl + Shift + V | Paste into Terminal. |
These are common defaults, not guarantees for every Ubuntu installation. Ubuntu’s shortcut reference and the shortcut list on your own system are the best guides when a binding differs.
Desktop navigation and application switching
Super opens Activities, where you can search for applications and files and see open windows. Super + A displays installed applications. Super + Tab cycles through applications; while holding Super, use Tab to advance and Shift + Tab to go back.
- Super + ` switches between windows belonging to the same application on a US keyboard. On other layouts, use the key above Tab; it may not print a backtick.
- Alt + Esc cycles through windows on the current workspace.
- Ctrl + Alt + Tab cycles focus among major desktop areas such as the top bar, Dash, windows overview and search.
- Alt + F2 opens GNOME’s command dialog. It is not a terminal window.
On compact keyboards, Page Up, Page Down and Print may be shared with other keys and require Fn. For the physical key used by a binding, consult the installed shortcut list. Ubuntu’s Ubuntu 24.04 keyboard-navigation reference also documents layout-sensitive bindings.
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Window controls
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt + F4 | Close the active window. |
| Alt + F10 | Toggle maximized state. |
| Super + ↑ | Maximize the window. |
| Super + ↓ | Restore a maximized window. |
| Super + H | Hide or minimize the current window. |
| Super + ← / → | Tile the window to the left or right. |
| Alt + F7 | Start moving the window with arrow keys. |
| Alt + F8 | Start resizing the window with arrow keys. |
| Alt + Space | Open the window menu. |
After Alt + F7 or Alt + F8, use the arrow keys to reposition or resize, press Enter to confirm, or press Esc to cancel and restore the original position or size. Tiling and snap behavior can vary by GNOME release and configuration; these arrow-key bindings are window-placement controls, not text-navigation commands. See the Ubuntu 24.04 navigation shortcuts for the documented actions.
Workspaces and multiple monitors
| Shortcut | Action | Availability note |
|---|---|---|
| Super + Page Up / Page Down | Move to the workspace on the left or right. | Behavior follows the configured workspace arrangement. |
| Shift + Super + Page Up / Page Down | Move the current window to the workspace on the left or right. | Binding may be disabled or customized. |
| Super + Home / End | Switch to the first or last workspace. | May be disabled; do not assume fixed numbered workspaces. |
| Shift + Super + Home / End | Move the current window to the first or last workspace. | May be disabled. |
| Shift + Super + ← / → | Move the current window to the monitor on the left or right. | Requires a second display arranged in that direction in Settings → Displays. |
| Shift + Super + ↑ / ↓ | Move the current window to a monitor above or below. | Actions appear in the shortcut list, but enabled state varies. |
Workspace-number and monitor actions can be disabled or reassigned. The Ubuntu shortcut settings guide lists the available bindings and their states.
Screenshots and screencasts
| Shortcut | Result |
|---|---|
| Opens the screenshot tool so you can choose a capture action. | |
| Alt + Print | Captures the active window. |
| Shift + Print | Captures the entire screen. |
| Shift + Ctrl + Alt + R | Starts or stops a short screencast. |
The first binding opens an interface; the next two take immediate screenshots; the last records screen activity. Tutorials for older releases may describe different behavior, so check the shortcut list for your installed Ubuntu version rather than assuming an older command-line screenshot utility is present. The current documented actions are in Ubuntu’s desktop shortcut reference.
System, session and notification controls
- Super + L locks the screen.
- Ctrl + Alt + Delete opens the Power Off dialog.
- Super + V opens the notification list; Super + N focuses the active notification.
- Super + S opens the system menu.
- Super + Esc restores keyboard shortcuts.
The entries are documented in Ubuntu’s keyboard shortcuts settings reference; an installation may have customized or disabled bindings.
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Text editing and Terminal shortcuts
Common editing keys
Many desktop applications use these familiar editing shortcuts, but they are application conventions rather than universal Ubuntu-wide commands. An application can assign different behavior.
| Shortcut | Common action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + A | Select all. |
| Ctrl + X | Cut selection. |
| Ctrl + C | Copy selection. |
| Ctrl + V | Paste. |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo. |
Terminal launch and copy/paste
Ctrl + Alt + T is commonly assigned to launch the default terminal, but the terminal application and configuration are release-dependent. Canonical documents a change beginning with Ubuntu 25.04 in how the default terminal is configured; do not assume that every system uses GNOME Terminal. See Canonical’s terminal configuration guidance.
Use Ctrl + Shift + C to copy selected text and Ctrl + Shift + V to paste in Terminal. Plain Ctrl + C commonly sends an interrupt signal to a running process, which is why terminal copy adds Shift. These terminal bindings are included in the Ubuntu shortcut list.
Keyboard-only navigation and accessibility
Focus-navigation keys let you use controls without pointing at them. Exact behavior depends on the application and the control currently focused.
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- Tab and Ctrl + Tab move focus among controls or groups; Shift + Tab moves backward.
- Arrow keys move through lists, grids, toolbars and related controls.
- Space activates the focused item. Esc closes a menu, popup, switcher or dialog.
- F10 opens the first menu on a window’s menu bar.
- Shift + F10 or the Menu key opens a context menu.
- Ctrl + Page Up / Page Down switches tabs in a tabbed interface.
- Alt plus an underlined menu letter activates that menu command.
Ubuntu’s keyboard-navigation guide describes moving focus among interface controls. Mouse-pointer control via the numeric keypad is another accessibility feature, not simply a desktop shortcut; consult the Ubuntu accessibility and navigation reference for the relevant controls.
Use Sticky Keys for multi-key combinations
Sticky Keys lets you enter modifier combinations one key at a time instead of holding all keys simultaneously—for example, Super + Tab. This can help when holding several keys is physically difficult. Ubuntu documents the feature in its Sticky Keys guide.
View, change or create a shortcut
Inspect or change an existing binding
- Open Settings and select Keyboard.
- Choose View and Customize Shortcuts.
- Open the relevant category and select the shortcut row.
- Press the replacement key combination when prompted, then confirm or close the dialog.
The displayed list shows whether a shortcut is disabled, reassigned or available on your installation. Hardware, desktop session, Ubuntu release and installed applications can all affect what appears. Follow the official shortcut customization instructions rather than relying solely on a list from another release.
Create a custom command shortcut
- Open Settings → Keyboard → View and Customize Shortcuts.
- Select Custom Shortcuts, then click Add Shortcut or the + button.
- Enter a descriptive name and the command to run, then add the shortcut.
- Select the new entry and press the key combination you want to assign.
- Test it, and change the binding if it conflicts with an application shortcut.
Examples below are commands you might assign, not Ubuntu defaults. Use an example only if the program is installed and that command is available:
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For a script, use its absolute path, for example /home/username/bin/my-script. Make it executable with chmod +x /home/username/bin/my-script. The shortcut runs as the logged-in user; it does not automatically run with root privileges.
Test commands and scripts first
Ubuntu recommends testing a command in Terminal before assigning it. Use command -v application-name to check whether a command can be found in the current shell’s path. For a script, check its path and permissions with ls -l /home/username/bin/my-script. If the command works in a terminal but not as a shortcut, a wrapper script with an absolute path is often more reliable than a shell expression.
Troubleshooting shortcuts that fail
A shortcut does nothing
Start at Settings → Keyboard → View and Customize Shortcuts. Confirm the binding exists, is enabled and matches the keys you are pressing. The shortcut may be claimed by another application, intercepted by firmware, a laptop function layer, remote desktop or virtualization software, or different on another desktop environment. A non-US layout may also use a different physical key. If a custom command is involved, verify that it is installed, executable if it is a script, and available in the shortcut’s environment.
Terminal copy does not work
Select text, then use Ctrl + Shift + C; use Ctrl + Shift + V to paste. In many terminals, plain Ctrl + C interrupts the running process instead of copying.
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- Check the terminal-launch binding in Settings → Keyboard → View and Customize Shortcuts.
- Check which terminal is configured as the default for your release.
- Try launching the installed terminal from Activities or another terminal window.
- If needed, assign a custom shortcut using the installed terminal’s supported launch command.
Ubuntu’s terminal configuration guidance discusses release-specific behavior, including changes beginning with Ubuntu 25.04: default terminal documentation.
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Super does not work
Check whether the keyboard has a Windows-logo key, whether your keyboard uses another key convention, and whether the key has been remapped or intercepted by firmware, a remote session or a different window manager. Most PC keyboards use the Windows-logo key; Apple keyboards generally use Command. Ubuntu’s Super-key explanation covers alternatives.
A custom command works in Terminal but not as a shortcut
The shortcut field does not necessarily run the command inside the same shell setup as your interactive terminal. Shell aliases, startup-file variables, pipes, redirection, relative paths and environment-manager setup may not be available. Check that the executable is installed, use an absolute path, quote paths containing spaces, and make scripts executable. For a complex operation, put the logic in a small executable wrapper script and point the shortcut to it.
A shortcut conflicts with an application
Editors, terminals, remote-desktop clients, virtual machines, games and screen recorders may use the same combination. Identify which application receives it, then change either the application binding or the Ubuntu binding. Avoid changing both without checking the result, and choose a combination that is not already common in the application you use.
Screenshot behavior differs from a tutorial
Screenshot behavior has changed across Ubuntu and GNOME releases. Check the installed shortcut list for whether Print opens the screenshot interface or a different action is configured; older instructions may describe obsolete direct-capture bindings or utilities. The official current list is at Ubuntu keyboard shortcut settings.
Custom settings revert
Changes may be reset by organizational policy, configuration management, a temporary session, editing a different user account or switching desktop sessions. Canonical’s ADSys documentation describes policies that can manage terminal-launch and overlay-key bindings: terminal shortcut policy and overlay-key policy.
Which Ubuntu installations does this guide cover?
These shortcuts describe Ubuntu Desktop’s default GNOME-based interface, not Ubuntu Server or every Linux desktop. Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu MATE and other Ubuntu flavors use different desktop environments and may provide different defaults. The detailed Canonical navigation reference cited here is labeled for Ubuntu 24.04; newer releases can change defaults and terminal configuration, and organization policy can manage selected settings across releases. Check the settings panel on the actual machine for its enabled bindings.
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