LibreOffice Writer Keyboard Shortcuts

Cheat sheet guide

LibreOffice Writer shortcuts worth learning first

This page collects 137 searchable LibreOffice Writer keyboard shortcuts across 5 categories. Start with the shortcuts for File, Editing, Formatting, Navigation, then print the cheat sheet once the important ones are worth keeping nearby.

New documentCtrlN
UndoCtrlZ
BoldCtrlB
Start of documentCtrlHome
FindCtrlF
OpenCtrlO

File

7 shortcuts

New document

CtrlN

Ctrl+N · Cmd+N

Open

CtrlO

Ctrl+O · Cmd+O

Save

CtrlS

Ctrl+S · Cmd+S

Save as

CtrlShiftS

Ctrl+Shift+S · Cmd+Shift+S

CtrlP

Ctrl+P · Cmd+P

Export as PDF

CtrlShiftE

Ctrl+Shift+E · Cmd+Shift+E

Close document

CtrlW

Ctrl+W · Cmd+W

Editing

52 shortcuts

Undo

CtrlZ

Ctrl+Z · Cmd+Z

Redo

CtrlY

Ctrl+Y · Cmd+Y

Cut

CtrlX

Ctrl+X · Cmd+X

Copy

CtrlC

Ctrl+C · Cmd+C

Paste

CtrlV

Ctrl+V · Cmd+V

Paste special

CtrlShiftV

Ctrl+Shift+V · Cmd+Shift+V

Select all

CtrlA

Ctrl+A · Cmd+A

Delete word

CtrlBackspace

Ctrl+Backspace · Opt+Delete

Expand AutoText abbreviation

F3

Edit AutoText entries

CtrlF3

Ctrl+F3 · Cmd+F3

Toggle extended selection mode

F8

Toggle additional selection mode

ShiftF8

Shift+F8

Toggle block selection mode

CtrlShiftF8

Ctrl+Shift+F8

Insert or edit table

CtrlF12

Ctrl+F12 · Cmd+F12

Calculate selected text and copy result

Ctrl+

Ctrl++ · Cmd++

Paste unformatted text

CtrlAltShiftV

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+V · Opt+Shift+Cmd+V

Extend text selection left

Shift←

Shift+←

Extend text selection right

Shift→

Shift+→

Extend selection one word left

CtrlShift←

Ctrl+Shift+← · Opt+Shift+←

Extend selection one word right

CtrlShift→

Ctrl+Shift+→ · Opt+Shift+→

Select to paragraph start

CtrlShift↑

Ctrl+Shift+↑ · Opt+Shift+↑

Select to paragraph end

CtrlShift↓

Ctrl+Shift+↓ · Opt+Shift+↓

Extend selection one line down

Shift↓

Shift+↓

Extend selection one line up

Shift↑

Shift+↑

Select to line start

ShiftHome

Shift+Home · Shift+Cmd+←

Select to document end

CtrlShiftEnd

Ctrl+Shift+End · Shift+Cmd+↓

Select to line end

ShiftEnd

Shift+End · Shift+Cmd+→

Select to document start

CtrlShiftHome

Ctrl+Shift+Home · Shift+Cmd+↑

Extend selection one screen down

ShiftPageDown

Shift+PageDown

Extend selection one screen up

ShiftPageUp

Shift+PageUp

Toggle text overwrite mode

Insert

Insert

Insert optional hyphen

Ctrl-

Ctrl+- · Cmd+-

Insert nonbreaking hyphen

CtrlShift-

Ctrl+Shift+- · Shift+Cmd+-

Insert nonbreaking space

CtrlShiftSpace

Ctrl+Shift+Space · Shift+Cmd+Space

Word completion: next suggestion

CtrlTab

Ctrl+Tab · Cmd+Tab

Word completion: previous suggestion

CtrlShiftTab

Ctrl+Shift+Tab · Shift+Cmd+Tab

Insert line break without new paragraph

ShiftEnter

Shift+Enter

Insert column break

CtrlShiftEnter

Ctrl+Shift+Enter · Shift+Cmd+Enter

Delete to word end

CtrlDelete

Ctrl+Delete · Alt+Fn+Backspace

Delete to sentence end

CtrlShiftDelete

Ctrl+Shift+Delete · Shift+Cmd+Fn+Backspace

Delete to sentence start

CtrlShiftBackspace

Ctrl+Shift+Backspace · Shift+Cmd+Backspace

Table boundary: insert paragraph outside table

AltEnter

Alt+Enter · Opt+Enter

Table: select cell contents or whole table

CtrlA

Ctrl+A · Cmd+A

Table cell: insert tab stop

CtrlTab

Ctrl+Tab · Cmd+Tab

Table selection: delete rows or cell text

CtrlShiftDelete

Ctrl+Shift+Delete · Shift+Cmd+Delete

Section boundary: insert paragraph outside section

AltEnter

Alt+Enter · Opt+Enter

Text frame: select or leave frame

Esc

Esc

Selected frame: edit text

F2Enter

F2 · Enter

Selected object: move with arrow keys

Alt←(arrowkeys)Alt→(arrowkeys)Alt↑(arrowkeys)Alt↓(arrowkeys)

Alt+← · Alt+→ · Alt+↑ · Alt+↓ · Opt+← · Opt+→ · Opt+↑ · Opt+↓

Selected object: resize lower-right corner

CtrlAlt←(arrowkeys)CtrlAlt→(arrowkeys)CtrlAlt↑(arrowkeys)CtrlAlt↓(arrowkeys)

Ctrl+Alt+← · Ctrl+Alt+→ · Ctrl+Alt+↑ · Ctrl+Alt+↓ · Opt+Cmd+← · Opt+Cmd+→ · Opt+Cmd+↑ · Opt+Cmd+↓

Selected object: resize upper-left corner

CtrlAltShift←(arrowkeys)CtrlAltShift→(arrowkeys)CtrlAltShift↑(arrowkeys)CtrlAltShift↓(arrowkeys)

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+← · Ctrl+Alt+Shift+→ · Ctrl+Alt+Shift+↑ · Ctrl+Alt+Shift+↓ · Opt+Shift+Cmd+← · Opt+Shift+Cmd+→ · Opt+Shift+Cmd+↑ · Opt+Shift+Cmd+↓

Edit Points mode: select object anchor

CtrlTab

Ctrl+Tab · Cmd+Tab

Formatting

35 shortcuts

Bold

CtrlB

Ctrl+B · Cmd+B

Italic

CtrlI

Ctrl+I · Cmd+I

Underline

CtrlU

Ctrl+U · Cmd+U

Subscript

CtrlShiftB

Ctrl+Shift+B · Cmd+Shift+B

Superscript

CtrlShiftP

Ctrl+Shift+P · Cmd+Shift+P

Align left

CtrlL

Ctrl+L · Cmd+L

Align center

CtrlE

Ctrl+E · Cmd+E

Align right

CtrlR

Ctrl+R · Cmd+R

Justify

CtrlJ

Ctrl+J · Cmd+J

Clear direct formatting

CtrlM

Ctrl+M · Cmd+M

Apply Heading 1

Ctrl1

Ctrl+1 · Cmd+1

Apply Default style

Ctrl0

Ctrl+0 · Cmd+0

Toggle Styles deck

F11

F11 · Cmd+T

Create style

ShiftF11

Shift+F11

Focus Apply Style box

CtrlF11

Ctrl+F11 · Cmd+F11

Update selected style

CtrlShiftF11

Ctrl+Shift+F11 · Shift+Cmd+F11

Toggle numbered list

F12

F12

Toggle bulleted list

ShiftF12

Shift+F12

Remove numbering or bullets

CtrlShiftF12

Ctrl+Shift+F12 · Shift+Cmd+F12

Toggle double underline

CtrlD

Ctrl+D · Cmd+D

Apply Heading 2

Ctrl2

Ctrl+2 · Cmd+2

Apply Heading 3

Ctrl3

Ctrl+3 · Cmd+3

Apply Heading 4

Ctrl4

Ctrl+4 · Cmd+4

Apply Heading 5

Ctrl5

Ctrl+5 · Cmd+5

List paragraph after text: insert unnumbered paragraph

AltEnter

Alt+Enter · Opt+Enter

Move paragraph up

CtrlAlt↑

Ctrl+Alt+↑ · Opt+Cmd+↑

Move paragraph down

CtrlAlt↓

Ctrl+Alt+↓ · Opt+Cmd+↓

Heading or list start: demote level

Tab

Tab

Heading or list start: promote level

ShiftTab

Shift+Tab

Heading or list paragraph: increase alignment

CtrlTab

Ctrl+Tab · Cmd+Tab

Heading or list paragraph: decrease alignment

CtrlShiftTab

Ctrl+Shift+Tab · Shift+Cmd+Tab

Table: resize trailing row or column edge

Alt←(arrowkeys)Alt→(arrowkeys)Alt↑(arrowkeys)Alt↓(arrowkeys)

Alt+← · Alt+→ · Alt+↑ · Alt+↓ · Opt+← · Opt+→ · Opt+↑ · Opt+↓

Table: resize leading row or column edge

AltShift←(arrowkeys)AltShift→(arrowkeys)AltShift↑(arrowkeys)AltShift↓(arrowkeys)

Alt+Shift+← · Alt+Shift+→ · Alt+Shift+↑ · Alt+Shift+↓ · Opt+Shift+← · Opt+Shift+→ · Opt+Shift+↑ · Opt+Shift+↓

Table: resize active cell trailing edge

CtrlAlt←(arrowkeys)CtrlAlt→(arrowkeys)CtrlAlt↑(arrowkeys)CtrlAlt↓(arrowkeys)

Ctrl+Alt+← · Ctrl+Alt+→ · Ctrl+Alt+↑ · Ctrl+Alt+↓ · Opt+Cmd+← · Opt+Cmd+→ · Opt+Cmd+↑ · Opt+Cmd+↓

Table: resize active cell leading edge

CtrlAltShift←(arrowkeys)CtrlAltShift→(arrowkeys)CtrlAltShift↑(arrowkeys)CtrlAltShift↓(arrowkeys)

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+← · Ctrl+Alt+Shift+→ · Ctrl+Alt+Shift+↑ · Ctrl+Alt+Shift+↓ · Opt+Shift+Cmd+← · Opt+Shift+Cmd+→ · Opt+Shift+Cmd+↑ · Opt+Shift+Cmd+↓

Navigation

24 shortcuts

Start of document

CtrlHome

Ctrl+Home · Cmd+Home

End of document

CtrlEnd

Ctrl+End · Cmd+End

Next word

CtrlRight

Ctrl+Right · Opt+Right

Previous word

CtrlLeft

Ctrl+Left · Opt+Left

Navigator

F5

Select next text frame

ShiftF4

Shift+F4

Return to last saved cursor position

ShiftF5

Shift+F5

Focus page number in Navigator

CtrlShiftF5

Ctrl+Shift+F5 · Shift+Cmd+F5

Move cursor one character left

←

Move cursor one character right

→

Move cursor one line up

↑

Move to paragraph start

Ctrl↑

Ctrl+↑

Move cursor one line down

↓

Move to next paragraph

Ctrl↓

Ctrl+↓ · Opt+↓

Move to line start

Home

Home · Cmd+←

Move to line end

End

End · Cmd+→

Move one screen up

PageUp

PageUp

Move one screen down

PageDown

PageDown

Move to previous page start

AltPageUp

Alt+PageUp · Opt+PageUp

Move to next page start

AltPageDown

Alt+PageDown · Opt+PageDown

Switch between body text and header

CtrlPageUp

Ctrl+PageUp · Cmd+PageUp

Switch between body text and footer

CtrlPageDown

Ctrl+PageDown · Cmd+PageDown

Table: move to cell or table start

CtrlHome

Ctrl+Home · Cmd+Home

Table: move to cell or table end

CtrlEnd

Ctrl+End · Cmd+End

Search & Tools

19 shortcuts

Find

CtrlF

Ctrl+F · Cmd+F

Find & Replace

CtrlH

Ctrl+H · Cmd+Opt+F

Find next

CtrlShiftF

Ctrl+Shift+F · Cmd+Shift+F

Spelling & grammar

F7

F7 · Cmd+:

Insert hyperlink

CtrlK

Ctrl+K · Cmd+K

Insert page break

CtrlEnter

Ctrl+Enter · Cmd+Enter

Toggle formula bar

F2

Open Fields dialog

CtrlF2

Ctrl+F2 · Cmd+F2

Open data source view

CtrlShiftF4

Ctrl+Shift+F4

Open thesaurus

CtrlF7

Ctrl+F7 · Cmd+F7

Toggle field shading

CtrlF8

Ctrl+F8 · Cmd+F8

Update document fields

F9

Toggle field names and values

CtrlF9

Ctrl+F9 · Cmd+F9

Calculate table

ShiftF9

Shift+F9

Update input fields and input lists

CtrlShiftF9

Ctrl+Shift+F9 · Shift+Cmd+F9

Toggle nonprinting characters

CtrlF10

Ctrl+F10 · Cmd+F10

Run macro field with numeric keypad

Ctrl*(numerickeypad)

Ctrl+* · Cmd+*

Dock or undock focused tool window

CtrlShiftF10

Ctrl+Shift+F10 · Shift+Cmd+F10

Remove protection from selected tables

CtrlShiftT

Ctrl+Shift+T · Shift+Cmd+T

Documentation check for this addition

99 additional actions were checked against the official documentation on 2026-11-05. Existing actions were retained. These are documentary checks, not tests in installed applications. A dash means this batch does not provide a verified binding for that system. Context such as PDF viewer, text field or address bar is part of the action.

LibreOffice Writer