Printable Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet
63 shortcuts on one page, starting with the 16 that work in almost every app on both platforms. Pick Windows or Mac for the rest, then hit Print or Download PDF — no signup. App-specific sheets for Excel, Google Sheets and VS Code are linked below.
Prints on one US Letter page. Set margins to "None" for the sharpest result.
Keyboard Shortcuts — Windows
16 that work everywhere, plus 47 Windows keys · printablepolly.com/keyboard-shortcuts
Universal — the same in almost every app, Windows and Mac
System & Windows
Browser
Text Editing
Files & Folders
Screenshots
Ctrl / Cmd means Ctrl on Windows, Cmd on a Mac. * Ctrl+Tab is Ctrl on both platforms. † Window tiling needs macOS Sequoia or later. ‡ Firefox uses Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+P for a private window. § Safari opens downloads with Cmd+Option+L. ¶ Works in browsers, Google Docs and most editors; Office uses Paste Special instead. ** On a Mac, copy the file with Cmd+C first — Cmd+Option+V then moves it rather than leaving a copy. †† Cmd+N opens a Finder window only while Finder is the front app. ‡‡ On Windows, PrtSc and Alt+PrtSc copy to the clipboard instead of saving a file, and Windows 11 opens the Snipping Tool on PrtSc unless you switch that off in Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard. On Windows, Backspace is the key Mac keyboards call Delete. On a Mac where the top row runs brightness and volume, hold Fn as well.
Shortcuts by platform and app
The sheet above covers the operating system. Each app below has its own printable page with the full set.
Windows shortcuts
The Windows key is where most of the time goes. Beyond the sheet above, Win+V opens the clipboard history — the last 25 things you copied, pinnable — once you switch it on the first time you press it.
Mac shortcuts
Cmd does the job Ctrl does on Windows, but macOS keeps Control for system-level keys — Ctrl+↑ for Mission Control, Ctrl+Cmd+Q to lock. The dedicated sheet has 74 of them, including Finder, Spotlight and Spaces.
Browser shortcuts
Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari share almost all of these — swap Ctrl for Cmd on a Mac. The one worth learning today is Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+T, which brings back the tab you closed by mistake, and keeps going back through the ones before it.
Excel shortcuts
Ctrl+Arrow jumps to the edge of the data and Ctrl+Shift+Arrow selects everything it passes, which is how a thousand-row column gets selected without scrolling. The Excel sheet carries 66 shortcuts with the Windows and Mac keys side by side.
Google Sheets shortcuts
Sheets borrows most of Excel's keys but adds browser-native ones of its own — Ctrl+/ pops Google's own full list over the spreadsheet, and Ctrl+~ swaps every result for the formula behind it. 74 of them on the dedicated sheet.
VS Code shortcuts
The Command Palette makes the rest optional: Ctrl+Shift+P finds any command by name and shows the key bound to it, so you learn the keybinding while using it. The VS Code sheet lists 59, with the Windows, Mac and Linux defaults in every row.
Printable PDF
The chart above is the whole thing — one US Letter page, black-and-white friendly. Print as many copies as you need for a class, a team or a computer lab. No signup, no watermark.
Keyboards that suit both halves of this chart
As an Amazon Associate, Printable Polly earns from qualifying purchases. Prices are approximate and set by Amazon.
- Best all-round
Keychron K8 Pro wireless mechanical keyboard
A tenkeyless board with a physical Windows/Mac switch and both sets of keycaps in the box, so the modifier row matches whichever half of this chart you are using. Hot-swap sockets let you change switches without soldering, and it pairs to three devices over Bluetooth or runs wired over USB-C.
- Budget pick
Keychron C3 Pro wired mechanical keyboard
The cheapest way to find out whether you actually like mechanical switches. Wired-only tenkeyless layout, full function row and arrow keys — which the shortcuts on this sheet need — and Mac keycaps included. Remappable in VIA if you want Caps Lock to become something useful.
- Quiet office pick
Logitech MX Mechanical Mini
Low-profile switches that sound closer to a laptop keyboard than a mechanical one, which matters in a shared office. Easy-Switch buttons hop between three machines, and the same board drives a Windows PC and a Mac with the modifier legends printed for both.
Make this cheat sheet last
A shortcut sheet taped beside a monitor gets read every day. Our guide to the best printing supplies for charts and worksheets covers the cardstock, ink, laminating pouches, and sheet protectors worth buying.
Related Templates
Photoshop Shortcuts
⌘Mac Shortcuts
74 macOS shortcuts on one page
▤Excel Shortcuts
66 shortcuts, Windows & Mac keys
WWord Shortcuts
83 keys for tracking, styles & tables
PPowerPoint Shortcuts
72 keys for the show, slides & builds
▦Google Sheets Shortcuts
The same job, in a browser
💻VS Code Shortcuts
Windows, Mac & Linux keybindings
⚙️Chrome DevTools Shortcuts
62 keys for panels, Console & debugger
🔀Git Cheat Sheet
🔍Regex Cheat Sheet
🌐HTML & CSS Reference
🎓Cornell Notes
FAQ
What are the most important keyboard shortcuts?
The sixteen in the Universal block at the top of this sheet, because they behave the same in nearly every program on both platforms: copy, cut and paste (Ctrl/Cmd+C, X, V), undo (Z), select all (A), find (F), save and Save As (S and Shift+S), print (P), new (N), open (O), close the window (W), bold, italic and underline (B, I, U), and zoom (+, −, 0). Ctrl is the modifier on Windows, Cmd on a Mac. If you learn four of them first, make it copy, paste, undo and save — those four cover most of what a mouse is used for.
Where can I get a printable keyboard shortcut cheat sheet?
This page is one. The chart above is a single US Letter page with 63 shortcuts on it — the universal block plus system, browser, text editing, file and screenshot keys for whichever platform you pick. Press Print, or Download PDF for a file you can email round. There is no signup, no watermark and no limit on how many copies you make for a class, an office or a computer lab.
Are keyboard shortcuts the same on Mac and Windows?
For the everyday ones, yes — swap Ctrl for Cmd and Ctrl+C becomes Cmd+C. It stops being true as soon as the shortcut touches the operating system. Screenshots (Win+Shift+S vs Cmd+Shift+4), window management (Win+← vs Fn+Ctrl+←), quitting an app (Alt+F4 vs Cmd+Q) and redo (Ctrl+Y vs Cmd+Shift+Z) are all genuinely different keys, which is why the chart above switches between the two rather than merging them.
How do I take a screenshot on Windows?
Win+Shift+S is the one to learn: the screen dims, you drag out a rectangle, and the image goes to the clipboard ready for Ctrl+V. Win+PrtSc saves the whole screen straight to Pictures\Screenshots as a PNG file instead, and Alt+PrtSc copies just the window you are in. On a Mac the equivalents are Cmd+Shift+4, Cmd+Shift+3, and Cmd+Shift+4 then Space.
How can I memorize keyboard shortcuts faster?
Print the sheet and tape it beside the monitor, then pick two or three shortcuts a week rather than trying to absorb the whole page. The trick is to force the issue: when you catch yourself reaching for the mouse to do something on the list, undo it and use the keys instead. Muscle memory takes a few days of that per shortcut, and it sticks because the hand learns it, not the head.
Do these shortcuts work on a Chromebook or Linux?
Mostly. The universal Ctrl combos are the same on ChromeOS and on Linux desktops, and the browser section applies as written since Chrome and Firefox use identical keys everywhere. The differences are at the system level: a Chromebook uses the Search key instead of a Windows key and Ctrl+Shift+Q to sign out, while GNOME and KDE claim several Windows combos for their own window management — which is also why the VS Code sheet lists separate Linux defaults.