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Slack is an extremely useful tool to manage and communicate with teams. If you use this tool, it’s a good idea to learn some of its keyboard shortcuts. You can use these shortcuts to get a lot of tasks done with a few keystrokes.
Some of the Slack shortcuts include quickly opening your direct messages, accessing certain channels, marking messages as read or unread, formatting text, and even switching between multiple workspaces.
To get started, here’s a list of some of the common Slack keyboard shortcuts.
| Windows | Linux | macOS | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navigation | |||
| Ctrl + K | Ctrl + K | Command + K | Go to a conversation |
| Ctrl + J | Ctrl + J | Command + J | Go to the most recent unread message in a conversation |
| F6 | F6 | F6 | Focus on the next section |
| Shift + F6 | Shift + F6 | Shift + F6 | Focus on the previous section |
| Ctrl + Shift + K | Ctrl + Shift + K | Command + Shift + K | Access direct messages |
| Ctrl + Shift + L | Ctrl + Shift + L | Command + Shift + L | Access channels |
| Ctrl + N | Ctrl + N | Command + N | Write a new message |
| Alt + Shift + Up Arrow | Alt + Shift + Up Arrow | Option + Shift + Up Arrow | Go to the previous unread channel or DM |
| Alt + Shift + Down Arrow | Alt + Shift + Down Arrow | Option + Shift + Down Arrow | Go to the next unread channel or DM |
| Alt + Left Arrow | Alt + Left Arrow | Command + [ | Go to the previous channel or DM visited |
| Alt + Right Arrow | Alt + Right Arrow | Command + ] | Go to the next channel or DM visited |
| Ctrl + Shift + I | Ctrl + Shift + I | Command + Shift + I | Open channel’s details pane |
| Ctrl + Shift + E | Ctrl + Shift + E | Command + Shift + E | View people |
| Ctrl + Shift + S | Ctrl + Shift + S | Command + Shift + S | Access saved items |
| Ctrl + Shift + Y | Ctrl + Shift + Y | Command + Shift + Y | Add a status |
| Ctrl + F | Ctrl + F | Command + F | Find in current channel or conversation |
| Ctrl + G | Ctrl + G | Command + G | Access previous search |
| Ctrl + Shift + F | Ctrl + Shift + F | Control + Command + F | Open/close full-screen view |
| Ctrl + . (dot) | Ctrl + . (dot) | Command + . (dot) | Hide/unhide the right sidebar |
| Ctrl + Shift + D | Ctrl + Shift + D | Command + Shift + D | Hide/unhide the left sidebar |
| All unreads Navigation | |||
| Ctrl + Shift + A | Ctrl + Shift + A | Command + Shift + A | Access All unreads |
| Alt + select a message | Alt + select a message | Option + select a message | Mark a message as unread |
| Up Arrow | Up Arrow | Up Arrow | Go up in messages |
| Down Arrow | Down Arrow | Down Arrow | Go down in messages |
| Left Arrow | Left Arrow | Left Arrow | Close a channel |
| Right Arrow | Right Arrow | Right Arrow | Open a channel |
| Workspace Navigation | |||
| Ctrl + Shift + Tab | Ctrl + Shift + [ | Command + Shift + [ | Go to previous workspace |
| Ctrl + Tab | Ctrl + ] | Command + Shift + ] | Go to next workspace |
| Ctrl + number | Ctrl + number | Command + number | Go to a specific workspace |
| Mark Message as Read or Unread | |||
| Esc | Esc | Esc | Mark all messages in current DM or channel as read |
| Shift + Esc | Shift + Esc | Shift + Esc | Mark all messages as read |
| Alt + select a message | Ctrl + Alt + select a message | Option + select a message | Mark a message as your oldest unread message |
| Message Actions | |||
| E | E | E | Edit a message |
| R | R | R | Use an emoji reaction |
| T or Right Arrow | T or Right Arrow | T or Right Arrow | Access or reply to a thread |
| P | P | P | Pin/unpin a message |
| S | S | S | Share a message |
| A | A | A | Add and remove messages from Saved items |
| U | U | U | Mark a message as unread from starting |
| Delete | Delete | Delete | Delete a message |
| M | M | M | Make a reminder about a message |
| Messages Formatting | |||
| Ctrl + Up Arrow | Ctrl + Up Arrow | Command + Up Arrow | Edit your previous message |
| Shift + Up Arrow | Shift + Up Arrow | Shift + Up Arrow | Select text up to the beginning of the line |
| Shift + Down Arrow | Shift + Down Arrow | Shift + Down Arrow | Select text up to the end of the line |
| Shift + Enter | Shift + Enter | Shift + Enter | Add a blank line in messages |
| Ctrl + B | Ctrl + B | Command + B | Bold text |
| Ctrl + I | Ctrl + I | Command + I | Italicize text |
| Ctrl + Shift + X | Ctrl + Shift + X | Command + Shift + X | Strikethrough text |
| Ctrl + Shift + 9 | Ctrl + Shift + 9 | Command + Shift + 9 | Quote text |
| Ctrl + Shift + C | Ctrl + Shift + C | Command + Shift + C | Code text |
| Ctrl + Alt + Shift + C | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + C | Command + Alt + Shift + C | Code block text |
| Ctrl + Shift + 7 | Ctrl + Shift + 7 | Command + Shift + 7 | Turn text into numbered list |
| Ctrl + Shift + 8 | Ctrl + Shift + 8 | Command + Shift + 8 | Turn text into bullet list |
| Ctrl + Shift + F | Ctrl + Shift + F | Command + Shift + F | Apply formatting when you paste text from another source into Slack |
| Ctrl + Z | Ctrl + Z | Command + Z | Undo formatting |
| Files and Snippets | |||
| Ctrl + U | Ctrl + U | Command + U | Upload a file |
| Ctrl + Shift + J | Ctrl + Shift + J | Command + Shift + J | Access downloaded files |
| Ctrl + Shift + Enter | Ctrl + Shift + Enter | Command + Shift + Enter | Make a new snippet |
| Calls | |||
| M | M | M | Mute/unmute |
| V | V | V | Enable/disable video |
| + or A | + or A | + or A | View invitation list |
| E + 1 to 9 | E + 1 to 9 | E + 1 to 9 | Add an emoji reaction |
| Desktop App Shortcuts (these shortcuts only work in Slack’s desktop app) | |||
| Ctrl + T | Ctrl + T | Command + T | Go to a conversation |
| Ctrl + Shift + T | Ctrl + Shift + T | Command + Shift + T | Access the Threads view |
| Ctrl + , (comma) | Ctrl + , (comma) | Command + , (comma) | View preferences |
| Ctrl + Shift + M | Ctrl + Shift + M | Command + Shift + M | Mentions and reactions |
Credit: Mahesh Makvana
Happy learning!