LibreOffice Writer Keyboard Shortcuts: The Complete List
The most-used LibreOffice Writer shortcuts are Ctrl+C (copy), Ctrl+V (paste), Ctrl+S (save), Ctrl+Z (undo), Ctrl+H (Find & Replace), and Ctrl+E (center text). For navigation, Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End jump to the start or end of a document, and F5 toggles the Navigator. The full list of LibreOffice Writer keyboard shortcuts for formatting, navigation, function keys, and tables is below, with a free PDF cheat sheet you can download without signing up.
What are LibreOffice Writer keyboard shortcuts?
LibreOffice Writer keyboard shortcuts are key combinations that let you perform actions such as formatting text, navigating a document, or inserting elements without using the mouse. They work in LibreOffice Writer across Windows, macOS, and Linux, though Mac users press ⌘ (Command) in place of Ctrl for most shortcuts.
LibreOffice Writer is the free, open-source word processor from The Document Foundation, and learning its keyboard shortcuts is the fastest way to speed up your writing. Below you’ll find every shortcut organized by task verified in the latest LibreOffice release plus a free downloadable PDF.
Most-Used Shortcuts
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| New document | Ctrl + N | ⌘ + N |
| Open document | Ctrl + O | ⌘ + O |
| Save | Ctrl + S | ⌘ + S |
| Save As | Ctrl + Shift + S | ⌘ + Shift + S |
| Ctrl + P | ⌘ + P | |
| Close document | Ctrl + W | ⌘ + W |
| Undo | Ctrl + Z | ⌘ + Z |
| Redo | Ctrl + Y | ⌘ + Y |
| Cut | Ctrl + X | ⌘ + X |
| Copy | Ctrl + C | ⌘ + C |
| Paste | Ctrl + V | ⌘ + V |
| Paste unformatted | Ctrl + Shift + V | ⌘ + Shift + V |
| Select all | Ctrl + A | ⌘ + A |
| Find | Ctrl + F | ⌘ + F |
| Find & Replace | Ctrl + H | ⌘ + Shift + H |
| Bold | Ctrl + B | ⌘ + B |
| Italic | Ctrl + I | ⌘ + I |
| Underline | Ctrl + U | ⌘ + U |
Formatting
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Justify | Ctrl + J | ⌘ + J |
| Align left | Ctrl + L | ⌘ + L |
| Align right | Ctrl + R | ⌘ + R |
| Align centered | Ctrl + E | ⌘ + E |
| Double underline | Ctrl + D | ⌘ + D |
| Superscript | Ctrl + Shift + P | ⌘ + Shift + P |
| Subscript | Ctrl + Shift + B | ⌘ + Shift + B |
| Apply Body Text style | Ctrl + 0 | ⌘ + 0 |
| Apply Heading 1 | Ctrl + 1 | ⌘ + 1 |
| Apply Heading 2 | Ctrl + 2 | ⌘ + 2 |
| Apply Heading 3 | Ctrl + 3 | ⌘ + 3 |
| Apply Heading 4 | Ctrl + 4 | ⌘ + 4 |
| Apply Heading 5 | Ctrl + 5 | ⌘ + 5 |
Cursor Movement (Navigation)
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Move cursor left / right | Left / Right Arrow | Left / Right Arrow |
| Move cursor up / down one line | Up / Down Arrow | Up / Down Arrow |
| Go to beginning of word | Ctrl + Left Arrow | ⌥ + Left Arrow |
| Go to start of next word | Ctrl + Right Arrow | ⌥ + Right Arrow |
| Move to beginning of paragraph | Ctrl + Up Arrow | ⌘ + Up Arrow |
| Move to beginning of next paragraph | Ctrl + Down Arrow | ⌘ + Down Arrow |
| Go to beginning of line | Home | ⌘ + Left Arrow |
| Go to end of line | End | ⌘ + Right Arrow |
| Go to start of document | Ctrl + Home | ⌘ + Up Arrow |
| Go to end of document | Ctrl + End | ⌘ + Down Arrow |
| Screen page up / down | Page Up / Page Down | fn + Up / fn + Down |
| Beginning of previous / next page | Ctrl + Page Up / Page Down | ⌘ + Page Up / Page Down |
| Switch between text and header | Ctrl + Page Up | ⌘ + Page Up |
| Switch between text and footer | Ctrl + Page Down | ⌘ + Page Down |
Text Selection
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Select all | Ctrl + A | ⌘ + A |
| Extend selection left / right | Shift + Left / Right | Shift + Left / Right |
| Select word by word (left / right) | Ctrl + Shift + Left / Right | ⌥ + Shift + Left / Right |
| Select to beginning of paragraph | Ctrl + Shift + Up | ⌘ + Shift + Up |
| Select to end of paragraph | Ctrl + Shift + Down | ⌘ + Shift + Down |
| Select lines upward / downward | Shift + Up / Down | Shift + Up / Down |
| Select to beginning of line | Shift + Home | ⌘ + Shift + Left |
| Select to end of line | Shift + End | ⌘ + Shift + Right |
| Select to start of document | Ctrl + Shift + Home | ⌘ + Shift + Up |
| Select to end of document | Ctrl + Shift + End | ⌘ + Shift + Down |
| Move screen page up / down + select | Shift + Page Up / Down | Shift + fn + Up / Down |
Inserting Text
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Insert mode on/off | Insert | fn + Enter |
| Soft hyphen | Ctrl + Hyphen (-) | ⌘ + Hyphen (-) |
| Non-breaking hyphen | Ctrl + Shift + minus | ⌘ + Shift + minus |
| Non-breaking space | Ctrl + Shift + Space | ⌘ + Shift + Space |
| Next Word Completion suggestion | Ctrl + Tab | ⌘ + Tab |
| Previous Word Completion suggestion | Ctrl + Shift + Tab | ⌘ + Shift + Tab |
Breaks
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Line break (no new paragraph) | Shift + Enter | Shift + Enter |
| Manual page break | Ctrl + Enter | ⌘ + Enter |
| Column break | Ctrl + Shift + Enter | ⌘ + Shift + Enter |
Deleting Text
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Delete to end of word | Ctrl + Del | ⌘ + fn + Backspace |
| Delete to beginning of word | Ctrl + Backspace | ⌘ + Backspace |
| Delete to end of sentence | Ctrl + Shift + Del | ⌘ + Shift + fn + Backspace |
| Delete to beginning of sentence | Ctrl + Shift + Backspace | ⌘ + Shift + Backspace |
Function Keys (F1–F12)
On most Mac laptops, press fn + F-key unless you’ve set “Use F1, F2 as standard function keys” in System Settings.
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Formula Bar | F2 | F2 |
| Insert Fields | Ctrl + F2 | ⌘ + F2 |
| Complete AutoText | F3 | F3 |
| Edit AutoText | Ctrl + F3 | ⌘ + F3 |
| Select next frame | Shift + F4 | Shift + F4 |
| Open Data Source View | Ctrl + Shift + F4 | ⌘ + Shift + F4 |
| Navigator on/off | F5 | F5 |
| Return cursor to last-save position | Shift + F5 | Shift + F5 |
| Navigator, go to page number | Ctrl + Shift + F5 | ⌘ + Shift + F5 |
| Spelling | F7 | F7 |
| Thesaurus | Ctrl + F7 | ⌘ + F7 |
| Extension (selection) mode | F8 | F8 |
| Field shadings on/off | Ctrl + F8 | ⌘ + F8 |
| Additional selection mode | Shift + F8 | Shift + F8 |
| Block selection mode | Ctrl + Shift + F8 | ⌘ + Shift + F8 |
| Update fields | F9 | F9 |
| Show fields | Ctrl + F9 | ⌘ + F9 |
| Calculate table | Shift + F9 | Shift + F9 |
| Update input fields/lists | Ctrl + Shift + F9 | ⌘ + Shift + F9 |
| Nonprinting characters on/off | Ctrl + F10 | ⌘ + F10 |
| Styles deck on/off | F11 | F11 |
| Create style | Shift + F11 | Shift + F11 |
| Focus Apply Style box | Ctrl + F11 | ⌘ + F11 |
| Update style | Ctrl + Shift + F11 | ⌘ + Shift + F11 |
| Toggle Ordered List | F12 | F12 |
| Insert or edit table | Ctrl + F12 | ⌘ + F12 |
| Toggle Unordered List | Shift + F12 | Shift + F12 |
| Ordered/Unordered list off | Ctrl + Shift + F12 | ⌘ + Shift + F12 |
Advanced Editing
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Find & Replace | Ctrl + H | ⌘ + Shift + H |
| Redo last action | Ctrl + Y | ⌘ + Y |
| Calculate selected text → clipboard | Ctrl + Plus (+) | ⌘ + Plus (+) |
| Run macro field | Ctrl + * (numpad) | ⌘ + * (numpad) |
| Paste as unformatted text | Ctrl + Shift + V | ⌘ + Shift + V |
| Dock/undock Navigator, Styles deck | Ctrl + Shift + F10 | ⌘ + Shift + F10 |
Paragraphs, Lists & Outline Levels
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| New paragraph in list (no bullet) | Alt + Enter | ⌥ + Enter |
| Move paragraph(s) up | Ctrl + Up Arrow | ⌘ + Up Arrow |
| Move paragraph(s) down | Ctrl + Down Arrow | ⌘ + Down Arrow |
| Move outline/list level down | Tab | Tab |
| Move outline/list level up | Shift + Tab | Shift + Tab |
| Increase list/heading alignment | Ctrl + Tab | ⌘ + Tab |
| Decrease list/heading alignment | Ctrl + Shift + Tab | ⌘ + Shift + Tab |
Tables in Writer
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Insert paragraph before/after table | Alt + Enter | ⌥ + Enter |
| Select cell / whole table | Ctrl + A | ⌘ + A |
| Go to beginning of cell/table | Ctrl + Home | ⌘ + Up Arrow |
| Go to end of cell/table | Ctrl + End | ⌘ + Down Arrow |
| Insert tab stop inside cell | Ctrl + Tab | ⌘ + Tab |
| Resize column/row (end edge) | Alt + Arrow Keys | ⌥ + Arrow Keys |
| Resize column/row (start edge) | Alt + Shift + Arrow Keys | ⌥ + Shift + Arrow Keys |
| Resize active cell only | Ctrl + Alt + Arrow Keys | ⌘ + ⌥ + Arrow Keys |
| Remove cell protection | Ctrl + Shift + T | ⌘ + Shift + T |
| Delete cell contents / rows / table | Ctrl + Shift + Del | ⌘ + Shift + fn + Backspace |
Frames, Graphics & Objects
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Select frame / clear cursor from frame | Esc | Esc |
| Enter text edit mode in frame | F2 or Enter | F2 or Enter |
| Move object | Arrow Keys | Arrow Keys |
| Resize (lower-right corner) | Ctrl + Arrow Keys | ⌘ + Arrow Keys |
| Resize (top-left corner) | Ctrl + Shift + Arrow Keys | ⌘ + Shift + Arrow Keys |
| Select anchor of object | Ctrl + Tab | ⌘ + Tab |
Download the Free PDF Cheat Sheet
Get all LibreOffice Writer shortcuts in a printable one-page PDF free, no email or signup required.
⬇ Download LibreOffice Writer Shortcuts PDF
LibreOffice Writer vs Microsoft Word Shortcuts
Most LibreOffice Writer shortcuts are identical to Microsoft Word Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+S, Ctrl+Z, and Ctrl+B all work the same way. The main differences are in alignment, styles, and a few formatting commands.
How to Create or Change Keyboard Shortcuts in LibreOffice Writer
To customize a keyboard shortcut in LibreOffice Writer, go to Tools → Customize → Keyboard, select the function you want, choose your key combination, and click Modify. You can reassign any shortcut or create new ones for commands that don’t have a default key.
Step 1: Open the Customize dialog.
From the menu bar, click Tools → Customize, then select the Keyboard tab.
Step 2: Choose Writer or LibreOffice scope.
In the top-right, select LibreOffice Writer to make the shortcut apply only in Writer, or LibreOffice to apply it across all modules.
Step 3: Pick the command.
In the Category list, browse to the function group (for example, Format or Insert), then select the specific command in the Function list.
Step 4: Select your key combination.
In the Shortcut Keys box at the top, click the key combination you want to assign. If it’s already in use, the current assignment shows below pick a free combination to avoid conflicts.
Step 5: Assign it.
Click Modify. The shortcut now appears next to the command.
Step 6: Save (optional).
To reuse your setup, click Save to export the shortcut configuration as a file, or Load to import one on another computer.
To reset shortcuts to default: open the same dialog and click Reset in the bottom-right.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the shortcut for Find and Replace in LibreOffice Writer?
The shortcut for Find and Replace in LibreOffice Writer is Ctrl + H on Windows and Linux, and ⌘ + Shift + H on Mac. To open the simple Find toolbar instead, press Ctrl + F.
How do I select all text in LibreOffice Writer?
Press Ctrl + A (⌘ + A on Mac) to select all text in the document. Inside a table, the first press selects the cell contents and a second press selects the entire table.
What are the AutoText shortcuts in LibreOffice Writer?
Press F3 to complete (insert) an AutoText entry, and Ctrl + F3 to edit AutoText. Type the AutoText shortcut name, then press F3 to expand it.
Do LibreOffice Writer shortcuts work on Mac?
Yes. On macOS, ⌘ (Command) replaces Ctrl and ⌥ (Option) replaces Alt for most shortcuts. A few commands that conflict with macOS system shortcuts differ — for example, Find & Replace is ⌘ + Shift + H instead of Ctrl + H.
Can I customize keyboard shortcuts in LibreOffice Writer?
Yes. Go to Tools → Customize → Keyboard, select a function, choose the key combination you want, and click Modify. You can also reset shortcuts to their defaults from the same dialog.
Are LibreOffice Writer shortcuts the same as Microsoft Word?
Most are identical Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V, Ctrl + S, Ctrl + Z, and Ctrl + B work the same in both. The main differences are in heading styles and a few formatting commands; for example, Ctrl + 1 applies Heading 1 in Writer but single line spacing in Word.
How do I download the LibreOffice Writer shortcuts PDF?
You can download the full LibreOffice Writer keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet as a free PDF from the download button near the top of this page no email or signup required.
Do LibreOffice shortcuts work on Ubuntu and Linux?
Yes. LibreOffice Writer shortcuts on Ubuntu and other Linux distributions match the Windows shortcuts. If a shortcut is intercepted by your desktop environment, reassign it under Tools → Customize → Keyboard.
Master LibreOffice Writer With These Shortcuts
Learning even ten of these LibreOffice Writer keyboard shortcuts will noticeably speed up your writing and once they become muscle memory, you’ll rarely reach for the mouse again. Start with the most-used shortcuts (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+S, Ctrl+Z), then add formatting and navigation keys as you go. Keep the free PDF cheat sheet open beside you while they sink in, and remember you can reassign any shortcut under Tools → Customize → Keyboard to match how you work.
LibreOffice Writer is just one part of the suite the same shortcut habits carry over to Calc and Impress, so it’s worth learning the keys for those too.
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