Action
Last updated on
Aug 16, 2025
Find essential keyboard shortcuts for navigating tools, task panes, documents, forms, comments, and more in Acrobat on desktop.
You can refer to the categorized tables for a comprehensive list of keyboard shortcuts to help you navigate and work more efficiently in Acrobat on a desktop. Refer to the categorized tables for shortcuts related to tools, task panes, documents, forms, accessibility, and more.
Note
To enable single-key shortcuts, select Menu (Window) or Acrobat (macOS) > Preferences. In the Preferences dialog box, select General and then select the Use single-key accelerators to access tools option.
Keys for navigating tools on the tools pane
|
|
Windows/UNIX |
macOS |
|
Move focus to the next tool in the global toolbar. |
Tab |
tab |
|
Move focus to the previous tool in the global toolbar. |
Shift + Tab |
shift + tab |
|
Expand the tool in focus. |
Spacebar or Enter |
Spacebar or Enter |
|
Close the open tool when the close button is in focus in the opened tool from the global toolbar. |
Spacebar or Enter |
Spacebar or Enter |
|
Move focus to the View more option in the All tools pane. |
Tab |
tab |
|
Navigate to the next touchpoint within the All tools pane. |
Down Arrow |
Down Arrow |
|
Navigate to the previous touchpoint within the All tools pane. |
Up Arrow |
Up Arrow |
|
Open a touchpoint in focus in the open tool. |
Spacebar or Enter |
Spacebar or Enter |
|
Expand or collapse View more when in focus. |
Spacebar or Enter |
Spacebar or Enter |
|
Expand or collapse View less when in focus. |
Spacebar or Enter |
Spacebar or Enter |
|
Close the All tools pane. |
Esc |
esc |
Keys for accessing and switching between tools
|
Tool |
Windows/UNIX |
macOS |
|
Hand tool (temporary selection) |
Spacebar |
Spacebar |
|
Pan (Hand) tool |
H |
H |
|
Select tool |
V |
V |
|
Marquee Zoom tool |
Z |
Z |
|
Cycle through zoom tools: Marquee Zoom, Dynamic Zoom, Loupe |
Shift + Z |
shift + Z |
|
Dynamic Zoom tool (temporary selection when Marquee Zoom tool is selected) |
Shift |
shift |
|
Zoom out (temporary selection when Marquee Zoom tool is selected) |
Ctrl |
Option |
|
Zoom In tool (temporary selection) |
Ctrl + spacebar |
Spacebar + command |
|
Select Object tool |
R |
R |
|
Edit Object tool |
O |
O |
|
Enter/Exit Forms editing |
A |
A |
|
Crop tool |
C |
C |
|
Link tool |
L |
L |
|
Text Field tool |
F |
F |
|
Cycle through tools in forms authoring mode: Text Field, Check Box, Radio Button, List Box, Dropdown Box, Button, Digital Signature, Barcode |
Shift + F |
shift + F |
|
Use 3D tool |
M |
M |
|
Cycle through Multimedia tools: 3D object, SWF, Sound, Video |
Shift + M |
shift + M |
|
Edit text |
T |
T |
|
Redact |
Shift + Y |
shift + Y |
|
Cycle through Touch Up tools: Touch Up Text, Touch Up Reading Order, Touch Up Object |
Shift + T |
shift + T |
|
JavaScript Debugger |
Ctrl + J |
command + J |
|
Insert blank pages tool |
Shift + Ctrl + T |
shift + command + T |
|
Insert files |
Ctrl + Shift + I |
shift + command + I |
|
Delete pages |
Ctrl + Shift + D |
shift + command + D |
|
Open Output Preview |
~ |
~ |
|
Touch Up Reading Order tool (or if already selected, return focus to dialog box) |
Shift + Ctrl + U |
shift + command + U |
Keys for navigating task panes
|
Action |
Windows |
macOS |
|
Move focus to the next item among the Document pane, Task panes, Message bar, and Navigation bar |
F6 |
F6 |
|
Move focus to the previous item among Document pane, Task panes, message bar, and Navigation bar |
Shift + F6 |
shift + F6 |
|
Move focus to the next panel in the Task pane |
Ctrl + Tab |
option + tab |
|
Move focus to the previous panel in the Task pane |
Ctrl + Shift + Tab |
command + shift + tab |
|
Navigate to the next panel and panel control within an open Task pane |
Tab |
Tab |
|
Navigate to the previous panel and panel control within an open Task pane |
Shift + Tab |
shift + tab |
|
Navigate to the next command button within a panel |
Down Arrow |
Down Arrow |
|
Navigate to the previous command button within a panel |
Up Arrow |
Up Arrow |
|
Expand or collapse panel in focus (press F6 to move focus to All tools pane, then tab to desired panel) |
Spacebar or Enter |
Spacebar or Enter |
|
Open or close the Task pane |
Shift + F4 |
shift + F4 |
|
Close the pane that lists the tasks of an action |
Ctrl + Shift + F4 |
contrl + shift + F4 |
|
Open the menu and move the focus to the first menu option when focus is on a command with a submenu or submenu element with a flyout |
Spacebar or Enter |
Spacebar or Enter |
|
Move the focus back to the parent command button with a submenu or submenu element with a flyout |
Esc |
esc |
|
Run the command in focus |
Spacebar or Enter |
Spacebar or Enter |
|
Navigate to the next item in the active panel in the Create New Action, Edit Action, Create Custom Tool, or the Edit Custom Tool dialog boxes |
Tab |
tab |
|
Navigate to the previous item in the active panel in the Create New Action, Edit Action, Create Custom Tool, or the Edit Custom Tool dialog boxes |
Shift + Tab |
shift + tab |
Keys for adding, selecting, and navigating comments
|
Action |
Windows/UNIX |
macOS |
|
Select Add a comment tool |
S |
S |
|
Use Add a stamp tool |
K or J |
K or J |
|
Select current highlighting tool |
U |
U |
|
Cycle through Highlight, Underline, and Strikethrough text tools |
Shift + U |
shift + U |
|
Current drawing markup tool |
D |
D |
|
Cycle through the drawing markup tools |
Shift + D |
shift + D |
|
Select Cloud tool |
Q |
Q |
|
Select Add text comment tool |
X |
X |
|
Cycle through Add a stamp, Attach file, and Sound Recorder |
Shift + J |
shift + J |
|
Move focus to the next comment or form field |
Tab |
tab |
|
Move focus to the previous comment or form field |
Shift + Tab |
shift + tab |
|
Add a checkmark in the Comments list for the selected comment |
Shift + K |
shift + K |
|
Open pop-up note (or text field in the Comments list) for comments in focus |
Enter |
return |
|
Reply to the comment in focus in the Comments list |
R |
R |
|
Close or exit pop-up (or text field in the Comments list) for comment that has the focus |
Esc |
esc |
Keys for scrolling, zooming and jumping between PDF pages
|
Action |
Windows/UNIX |
macOS |
|
Go to previous screen |
Page Up or Shift + Enter |
Page Up or shift + return |
|
Go to next screen |
Page Down or Enter |
Page Down or return |
|
Go to first page |
Home or Shift + Ctrl + Page Up or Shift + Ctrl + Up Arrow |
Home or shift + command + Up Arrow |
|
Go to last page |
End or Shift + Ctrl + Page Down or Shift + Ctrl + Down Arrow |
End or shift + command + Down Arrow |
|
Go to previous page |
Left Arrow or Ctrl + Page Up |
Left Arrow or command + Page Up |
|
Go to next page |
Right Arrow or Ctrl + Page Down |
Right Arrow or command + Page Down |
|
Go to page |
Ctrl + Shift + N |
command + shift + N |
|
Previous open document |
Ctrl + F6 (UNIX) |
command + F6 |
|
Next open document |
Shift + Ctrl + F6 (UNIX) |
shift + command + F6 |
|
Scroll up |
Up Arrow |
Up Arrow |
|
Scroll down |
Down Arrow |
Down Arrow |
|
Scroll (when Hand tool is selected) |
Spacebar |
Spacebar |
|
Zoom in |
Ctrl + equal sign |
command + equal sign |
|
Zoom out |
Ctrl + hyphen |
command + hyphen |
Keys for filling out and navigating forms
|
Action |
Windows/UNIX |
macOS |
|
Toggle between editing and previewing your form |
P |
P |
|
Toggle guides On and Off |
G |
G |
|
Align selected fields left |
L |
L |
|
Align selected fields right |
R |
R |
|
Align selected fields top |
T |
T |
|
Align selected fields bottom |
B |
B |
|
Align selected fields horizontal |
H |
H |
|
Align selected fields vertical |
V |
V |
|
Center fields horizontally |
Shift + H |
shift + H |
|
Center fields vertically |
Shift + V |
shift + V |
|
Highlight fields |
Shift + L |
shift + L |
|
Show Tab Order |
Shift + N |
shift + N |
|
Document JavaScripts |
Shift + D |
shift + D |
Keys for managing and navigating PDF portfolios
|
Action |
Windows |
macOS |
|
Move focus to the next or previous row when in the body of the file list on the left |
Up Arrow or Down Arrow |
Up Arrow or Down Arrow |
|
If pressed in the body of the file list, navigate one level up from within a folder |
Backspace |
delete |
|
Press the Go Back button in a folder if focus is on the button. |
Enter or Spacebar |
Enter or Spacebar |
|
If pressed when focus is on a row in the file list representing a subfolder, navigate to a subfolder, or open an attachment in Preview mode. |
Enter |
Enter |
|
If in the body of the file list, move to the first or last row |
Home or End |
Home or End |
|
If in the body of the file list, move to the next or last set of rows to fit the screen |
Page Down or Page Up |
Page Down or Page Up |
|
Select or deselect all files |
Ctrl + A or Shift + Ctrl + A |
command + A or shift + command + A |
|
If in the body of the file list, extend the selection by adding the next row above or below the selected row |
Shift + Up Arrow or Shift + Down Arrow |
shift + Up Arrow or shift + Down Arrow |
|
Change whether the row with focus is in the selection |
Ctrl + Spacebar |
command + Spacebar |
|
Move focus up or down one row without changing the selection |
Ctrl + Up Arrow or Ctrl + Down Arrow |
command + Up Arrow or command + Down Arrow |
Keys for general navigation
|
Action |
Windows/UNIX |
macOS |
|
Invoke the Menu (press F6 to move focus to the hamburger menu) |
Spacebar or Enter |
|
|
Execute the Acrobat > Hide Others option |
Not applicable |
option + command + T |
|
Move focus to the toolbar in the browser and Home view in the application |
Shift + F8 |
shift + F8 |
|
Navigate through other controls in the top bar - Home, Tools, Document |
Right or Left Arrow or Tab or Shift Tab |
Right or Left Arrow or tab or shift tab |
|
Select a highlighted control in the top bar |
Enter or Spacebar |
return or Spacebar |
|
Move to the next open document tab |
Ctrl + Tab |
control + tab |
|
Move to the previous open document tab |
Ctrl + Shift + Tab |
control + shift + tab |
|
Move to next open document window (when focus is on document pane) |
Ctrl + F6 |
command + F6 |
|
Move to the previous open document window (when focus is on document pane) |
Ctrl + Shift + F6 |
command + shift + F6 |
|
Close current document |
Ctrl + F4 |
command + F4 |
|
Close all open documents |
Not available |
command + option + W |
|
Move focus to the next comment, link, or form field in the document pane |
Tab |
tab |
|
Move focus to the document pane |
F5 |
F5 |
|
Move focus to the previous comment, link, or form field in the document pane |
Shift + Tab |
shift + tab |
|
Activate selected tool, item (such as a movie clip or bookmark), or command |
Spacebar or Enter |
Spacebar or return |
|
Open context menu (press F6 to move focus to the desired menu) |
Tab followed by |
control + click |
|
Close context menu |
F10 |
esc |
|
Return to Hand tool or Select tool |
Esc |
esc |
|
Move focus to next tab in a tabbed dialog box |
Ctrl + Tab |
Not available |
|
Find in document |
Ctrl + F |
command + F |
|
Move to the next search result and highlight it in the document |
F3 or Ctrl + G |
command + G |
|
Search the previous document (with Search results displaying multiple files) |
Alt + Shift + Left Arrow (Windows only) |
command + shift + Left Arrow |
|
Search the next document (with Search results displaying multiple files) |
Alt + Shift + Right Arrow (Windows only) |
command + shift + Right Arrow |
|
Select text (with Select tool selected) |
Shift + arrow keys |
shift + arrow keys |
|
Select the next word or deselect the previous word (with Select tool selected) |
Shift + Ctrl + Right Arrow or Left Arrow |
Not available |
|
Increase or decrease the value of a slider |
Right Arrow or Left Arrow |
control + option + Right Arrow or Left Arrow |
Keys for working with navigation panels
|
Action |
Windows/UNIX |
macOS |
|
Open and move focus to navigation pane |
Ctrl + Shift + F5 |
command + shift + F5 |
|
Move focus among the document, message bar, and navigation panels |
F6 |
F6 |
|
Move focus to previous pane or panel |
Shift + F6 |
shift + F6 |
|
Move among the elements of the active navigation panel |
Tab |
tab |
|
Move to the previous or next navigation panel and make it active (when the focus is on the panel button) |
Up Arrow or Down Arrow |
Up Arrow or Down Arrow |
|
Move to next navigation panel and make it active (when the focus is anywhere in the navigation pane) |
Ctrl + Tab |
Not available |
|
Select or deselect a file in file list (open/close Context pane with file selection) |
Space |
Space |
|
Select or deselect a To Do card (open/close Context pane with To Do card selection) |
Space |
Space |
|
Open selected file in file list |
Enter |
Enter |
|
Open selected To Do card |
Enter |
Enter |
|
Move focus to the next/previous file row in file list for selecting single file row |
Arrow keys |
Arrow keys |
|
Extend the selection by adding the next row above or below the selected row |
Shift + Arrow keys |
shift + Arrow keys |
|
Move focus up or down one row without changing the selection |
Ctrl + Arrow keys |
command + Arrow keys |
|
Expand the current bookmark (focus on Bookmarks panel) |
Right Arrow or Shift + plus sign |
Right Arrow or shift + plus sign |
|
Collapse the current bookmark (focus on Bookmarks panel) |
Left Arrow or Minus sign |
Left Arrow or minus sign |
|
Expand all bookmarks |
Shift + * |
shift + * |
|
Collapse selected bookmark |
Forward Slash (/) |
Forward Slash (/) |
|
Move focus to the next item in the navigation panel |
Down Arrow |
Down Arrow |
|
Move focus to the previous item in a navigation panel |
Up Arrow |
Up Arrow |
Keys for searching and browsing the Help window
|
Action |
Windows/UNIX |
macOS |
|
Open Acrobat user guide |
F1 |
F1 or command + ? |
|
Close Acrobat user guide |
Ctrl + W (Windows only) or Alt + F4 |
command + W |
|
Move back to the previously opened topic |
Alt + Left Arrow |
command + Left Arrow |
|
Move forward to the next topic |
Alt + Right Arrow |
command + Right Arrow |
|
Move to the next pane |
Ctrl + Tab |
See Help for your default browser |
|
Move to the previous pane |
Shift + Ctrl + Tab |
See Help for your default browser |
|
Move focus to the next link within a pane |
Tab |
Not available |
|
Move focus to the previous link within a pane |
Shift + Tab |
Not available |
|
Activate highlighted link |
Enter |
Not available |
|
Print Help topic |
Ctrl + P |
command + P |
Keys for improving accessibility and screen reader navigation
|
Action |
Windows |
macOS |
|
Edit Tag |
F2 |
F2 |
|
Change reading settings for the current document |
Shift + Ctrl + 5 |
shift + command + 5 |
|
Reflow a tagged PDF, and return to normal view |
Ctrl + 4 |
command + 4 |
|
Activate and deactivate Read out loud |
Shift + Ctrl + Y |
shift + command + Y |
|
Read only the current page out loud |
Shift + Ctrl + V |
shift + command + V |
|
Read out loud the whole document |
Shift + Ctrl + B |
shift + command + B |
|
Pause reading out loud |
Shift + Ctrl + C |
shift + command + C |
|
Stop reading out loud |
Shift + Ctrl + E |
shift + command + E |
Keys for working with forms
|
Action |
Key |
|
Enter typing and move to next field |
tab or shift + tab |
|
Select previous Radio button in a group |
Up or Left Arrow |
|
Select next Radio button |
Down or Right Arrow |
|
Reject and deselect form field |
Esc |
|
Exit the full screen mode |
Esc (press twice) |
|
Accept typing and deselect field |
Enter or return (single-line Text field) |
|
Create paragraph return in same form field |
Enter or return (multiline Text field) |
|
Turn the Checkbox on or off |
Enter or return (Checkbox) |
|
Enter typing and deselect current form field |
Enter (keypad) |
|
Insert tab into Text field |
(Windows) Ctrl + Tab |
|
Insert tab into Text field |
(macOS) command + tab |
Acrobat functions similarly on both Windows and macOS, with some exceptions noted throughout Help. Additionally, note the following differences.
Common keyboard functions on Windows and macOS
|
Windows |
macOS |
|
Right-click |
control-click |
|
Alt |
option |
|
Ctrl + [character] |
command + [character] |
|
Ctrl – click |
option - click |
|
Ctrl – drag |
option - drag |
|
This PC |
[disk name] |
|
File Explorer |
Finder |
Expand a nested list
Items such as Bookmarks sometimes appear in nested lists that can be expanded or collapsed. To expand a list in macOS, select the right-pointing triangle to the left of the icon. Select the down-pointing triangle to collapse the list. To expand or collapse all items in a multilevel list, option - click the triangle.
