Keyboard shortcuts
The most used ones are Ctrl+B and Ctrl+I for bold and italic, Ctrl+/ to comment lines out, Ctrl+F to find, Ctrl+Space for suggestions and Ctrl+S to save. On a Mac, use Cmd instead of Ctrl.
Writing
On a Mac, press Cmd where the tables say Ctrl, and Option where they say Alt.
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+B | Bold: wraps the selection in \textbf{...} |
| Ctrl+I | Italic: wraps the selection in \textit{...} |
| Ctrl+U | Underline: wraps the selection in \underline{...} |
| Ctrl+/ | Comments the selected lines out with %, or back in |
| Tab | Indents the selected lines (with no selection: inserts an indent) |
| Shift+Tab | Removes one indent from the selected lines |
| Enter | New line with the same indent; on an empty \item line, ends the list |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Shift+Z (Ctrl+Y on Windows) | Redo |
Press Ctrl+B again on bold text to take the \textbf off. Without a selection, the shortcut inserts the command with a placeholder selected, so you can type straight away.
The result of Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I and Ctrl+U
The deadline is \textbf{Friday}, the room is
\textit{B 44}, and \underline{bring your notes}.Brackets and math
The editor closes what you open:
| You type | You get |
|---|---|
{ | {} with the cursor inside |
[ | [] |
$ | $$ (inline math) |
\[ | \[ \] |
\( | \( \) |
Typing the closing character steps over the one the editor added, and Backspace right after an opening bracket removes the pair. With text selected, typing {, [ or $ puts the brackets around the selection.
Comments in the source
Ctrl+/ toggles a % at the start of every selected line, at the same indent. Commented lines are left out of the document, so it is a quick way to try a version without a paragraph or a package.
Lines commented out with Ctrl+/ do not appear
First draft of the summary.
% A sentence we are not sure about yet.
% Another one.
Final sentence of the summary.Suggestions
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Space (also on a Mac) | Shows suggestions at the cursor |
| Up, Down (or Ctrl+P, Ctrl+N) | Moves through the suggestions |
| Page Up, Page Down | Moves eight suggestions at a time |
| Enter or Tab | Takes the suggestion |
| Escape | Closes the list |
Suggestions also appear by themselves: after \ for commands, inside \begin{ for environments (with the matching \end{...} added), inside \cite{ for keys from your .bib files, inside \ref{, \eqref{ and \cref{ for your labels, and inside \includegraphics{ and \input{ for files of the project.
Find and replace
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+F | Opens the find bar, or selects its text |
| Ctrl+H (Windows, Linux), Cmd+Option+F (Mac) | Opens find and replace |
| Ctrl+G, or Enter in the find field | Next match |
| Ctrl+Shift+G, or Shift+Enter in the find field | Previous match |
| Enter in the replace field | Replaces the current match |
| Ctrl+Enter in the replace field | Replaces every match |
| Escape | Closes the bar |
The whole editor
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+S | Saves on this device, and to Google Drive when the project is in Drive |
| Ctrl+Enter | Typesets now, without waiting for the pause after typing |
| Ctrl+Shift+C | Adds a comment to the selected text |
| Alt+F10 | Moves focus to the formatting bar above the selection |
| Escape | Closes the formatting bar, a dialog, or the side panel on small screens |
The toolbars and tab rows are one Tab stop each: use the arrow keys to move inside them, and Home and End to jump to the first or last item. The divider between the source and the pages can be moved with the arrow keys too (hold Shift for bigger steps); a double click puts it back where it started.
The PDF viewer
Click into the pages first, so the viewer has the keyboard focus.
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Plus, Ctrl+Minus | Zoom in and out |
| Ctrl+0 | Fit the page width |
| Ctrl+mouse wheel or pinch | Zoom at the pointer |
| N or Right, P or Left | Next and previous page |
| Home, End | First and last page |
See also Your first document, Projects and files and Export.
Questions and answers
How do I comment out several lines in LaTeX?
Select the lines and press Ctrl+/ (Cmd+/ on a Mac). Each line gets a % at the start. Press it again to remove them.
Is there a shortcut to compile?
The editor typesets by itself as you type. Ctrl+Enter (Cmd+Enter on a Mac) typesets at once.
Why does Ctrl+I write \textit and not \emph?
The shortcut writes \textit, which is always italic. If you prefer \emph, type it yourself; both look the same in normal text.
Every example on this page is typeset by Scissor LaTeX when the site is built. Last updated 2026-11-06.