The spacebar on a keyboard is used to insert a space between words or characters when typing. It can also be used in certain applications to scroll down a page or pause/play media.
How to use the Spacebar keyboard shortcut?
Table of Contents
Press the long horizontal bar at the bottom of your keyboard.
Most popular programs use the Spacebar shortcut
What does this Shortcut do in different programs?
⇒ Opera – Move one screen-full down
⇒ Brave – Scroll down a webpage, a screen at a time
⇒ rTorrent – Rotate Trackers in a group
⇒ Google Chrome – Scroll down a webpage, a screen at a time
⇒ Microsoft Edge – Scroll down a webpage, one screen at a time
⇒ Audacity – Play/ Stop
⇒ Firefox – Toggle Play/Pause
⇒ Camtasia – Play/Pause
⇒ Adobe Audition – Start and stop playback
⇒ Safari – Scroll down a screen
⇒ PDF-Xchange Editor – Go to the selected bookmark
⇒ Zathura – Scroll a full-page
⇒ Microsoft Word – Activate a selected command
⇒ Blender – Search/Toolbox
⇒ Clip Studio Paint – Hand
⇒ Adobe Illustrator – Switch to Hand Tool
⇒ Adobe After Effects – Start or Stop Preview
⇒ Adobe Premiere Pro – Play/Stop Toggle
⇒ SketchUp – Select tool
⇒ Autodesk Maya – Show the hotbox
⇒ 3ds Max – Lock
⇒ ZBrush – Show QuickMenu
⇒ Adobe Photoshop – Switch to Hand Tool
⇒ Apple iMovie – Play Video
⇒ DaVinci Resolve – Pause/start playback
⇒ 3D Coat – Show tools panel
⇒ Adobe XD – Pan
⇒ VisualBoyAdvance-M – Speed up
⇒ tmux – Start selection
⇒ Jupyter Notebook – Scroll down
⇒ Unreal Engine – Next transform
⇒ Unity – Play Animation
What to do when Spacebar doesn’t work?
If your Spacebar isn’t working, try these troubleshooting steps:
-
- Clean the keyboard: Debris under the key can cause issues.
- Restart your computer: This can resolve temporary software glitches.
- Check keyboard settings: Ensure no conflicting shortcuts are assigned.
- Update or reinstall keyboard drivers:
- Windows: Device Manager > Keyboards
- Mac: System Update
- Try an external keyboard to isolate hardware vs. software issues.
- Use the on-screen keyboard temporarily:
- Windows: Search for “On-Screen Keyboard”
- Mac: System Preferences > Accessibility > Keyboard > Enable Accessibility Keyboard
- Check for stuck keys or physical damage.
- Run a keyboard diagnostic test if available on your system.
If problems persist, consider professional repair or keyboard replacement.
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