Comprehensive Raspberry Keyboard Shortcuts list

Before we dive into the Raspberry Keyboard Shortcuts, it’s important to note that some of them may not work if you’re using a different keyboard layout than the default. The default layout for Raspbian is UK English, so if you’re using a different layout, you may need to adjust some of the shortcuts accordingly.

Raspbian is a popular operating system for the Raspberry Pi, a small single-board computer. It is based on Debian and is optimized for the Raspberry Pi’s hardware. Raspbian comes with a range of keyboard shortcuts that can make using the system faster and more efficient. In this guide, we will cover some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts in Raspbian.

Default Raspberry Keyboard Shortcuts

Default keyboard shortcuts are the pre-defined shortcuts in Raspbian that allow you to perform common tasks quickly and efficiently. Here is a table of the most commonly used default keyboard shortcuts in Raspbian:

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl + Alt + T	Opens the terminal
Ctrl + Alt + F4	Closes the current window
Alt + Tab	Switches between open windows
Ctrl + Alt + Left/Right	Switches between virtual desktops
Ctrl + Alt + Up/Down	Maximizes or restores the current window
Alt + F2	Opens the Run Application dialog
Alt + F1	Opens the Raspbian menu
Alt + F10	Maximizes or restores the current window
Alt + F4	Closes the current window
Ctrl + Q	Closes the current application
Ctrl + W	Closes the current tab in the web browser
Ctrl + Alt + Del	Opens the Task Manager
Ctrl + Alt + L	Locks the screen

Raspberry Desktop Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Super/Windows Key + A	Opens the applications menu
Super/Windows Key + D	Shows the desktop
Super/Windows Key + E	Opens the file manager
Super/Windows Key + F	Opens the search bar
Super/Windows Key + L	Locks the screen
Super/Windows Key + P	Selects display mode
Super/Windows Key + S	Opens the screen settings
Super/Windows Key + T	Cycles through open windows in the taskbar
Super/Windows Key + Tab	Cycles through open applications

Raspberry Keyboard Shortcuts for File Management

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl + C	Copies the selected file
Ctrl + N	Creates a new file
Ctrl + O	Opens a file
Ctrl + S	Saves the current file
Ctrl + Shift + S	Saves the current file with a new name
Ctrl + Shift + N	Creates a new folder
Ctrl + V	Pastes the selected file
Ctrl + X	Cuts the selected file
Ctrl + Y	Redoes the last action
Ctrl + Z	Undoes the last action
F2	Renames the selected file
Shift + Delete	Permanently deletes the selected file
Ctrl + Alt + Delete	Opens the System Monitor

LXDE Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Alt + Tab	Switch between open windows
Ctrl + Alt + D	Show/hide desktop
Ctrl + Alt + T	Open terminal window
Ctrl + Alt + Delete	Log out or restart the computer
Super/Windows Key + D	Show/hide desktop
Super/Windows Key + L	Lock the screen
Super/Windows Key + R	Run command prompt
Super/Windows Key + T	Open LXDE terminal
Super/Windows Key + X	Show LXDE application menu
Super/Windows Key + Up	Maximize current window
Super/Windows Key + Down	Minimize current window
Super/Windows Key + F1	Help

System Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Alt + Print Screen	Takes a screenshot of the current window
Ctrl + Alt + Backspace	Restarts the X server
Ctrl + Alt + F1	Switches to the first virtual terminal (TTY1)
Ctrl + Alt + F2	Switches to the second virtual terminal (TTY2)
Ctrl + Alt + F3	Switches to the third virtual terminal (TTY3)
Ctrl + Alt + F4	Switches to the fourth virtual terminal (TTY4)
Ctrl + Alt + F5	Switches to the fifth virtual terminal (TTY5)
Ctrl + Alt + F6	Switches to the sixth virtual terminal (TTY6)
Ctrl + Alt + F7	Switches back to the GUI (X server

Web Browser Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Alt + Left	Goes back to the previous page
Alt + Right	Goes forward to the next page
Ctrl + Enter	Automatically adds “.com” to the URL in the address bar
Ctrl + L	Highlights the URL in the address bar
Ctrl + R	Refreshes the current page
Ctrl + T	Opens a new tab
Ctrl + Shift + T	Reopens the last closed tab
Ctrl + W	Closes the current tab

These keyboard shortcuts can help you navigate and use Raspbian more efficiently, saving you time and effort in performing various tasks.

Custom Raspberry Keyboard Shortcuts

Custom keyboard shortcuts are shortcuts that you can create in Raspbian to perform specific tasks that are not included in the default shortcuts. Here’s how to create custom shortcuts:

Creating Custom Raspberry Keyboard Shortcuts

1. Open the Keyboard Shortcuts Preferences window by clicking on the Raspbian menu button and navigating to Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts.
2. Click on the “Add” button at the bottom of the window.
3. In the “Command” field, enter the command for the action you want to perform. For example, if you want to open the file manager, enter “pcmanfm” in the Command field.
4. Click on the “Apply” button to save the new shortcut.

Editing Custom Raspberry Keyboard Shortcuts

1. Open the Keyboard Shortcuts Preferences window.
2. Select the shortcut you want to edit and click on the “Edit” button.
3. Modify the Command field as needed.
4. Click on the “Apply” button to save the changes.

Removing Custom Raspberry Keyboard Shortcuts

1. Open the Keyboard Shortcuts Preferences window.
2. Select the shortcut you want to remove and click on the “Remove” button.
3. Click on the “Apply” button to save the changes.

Adding Custom Keyboard Shortcuts via Terminal

In addition to the default keyboard shortcuts provided by your Raspberry Pi, you can also create your own custom keyboard shortcuts. This can be done through the terminal by using the xdotool command.

To add a custom keyboard shortcut using xdotool, follow these steps:

1. Open the terminal window.
2. Type sudo apt-get install xdotool to install xdotool if it is not already installed on your Raspberry Pi.
3. Determine the command you want to run when the keyboard shortcut is pressed. For example, to open the Raspberry Pi Configuration tool, the command is lxsession-default application/tools/raspberry-config.desktop.
4. Type nano ~/.config/openbox/lxde-pi-rc.xml to open the keyboard shortcut configuration file in the nano text editor.
5. Add the following lines to the file, replacing Ctrl+Alt+T with the keyboard shortcut you want to use, and replacing lxsession-default application/tools/raspberry-config.desktop with the command you want to run:

phpCopy code<keybind key="Control+Alt+T">
  <action name="Execute">
    <command>xdotool key Ctrl+Alt+t && lxsession-default application/tools/raspberry-config.desktop</command>
  </action>
</keybind>

6. Save the changes to the file and exit the text editor by pressing Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter.
7. Restart your Raspberry Pi or log out and log back in for the changes to take effect.

Note: If you want to add a keyboard shortcut that uses a key combination that is already used by the system or another application, you will need to change the keybind to a different key combination to avoid conflicts.

Troubleshooting Keyboard Shortcuts

If you are experiencing issues with your keyboard shortcuts in Raspbian, here are some troubleshooting steps you can try:

Check Keyboard Shortcuts Preferences

Make sure that the keyboard shortcuts you are trying to use are not conflicting with other keyboard shortcuts or are not disabled. You can check this in the Keyboard Shortcuts Preferences window.

Restart Raspbian

Sometimes, restarting Raspbian can help resolve issues with keyboard shortcuts. Try restarting the system and see if the shortcuts work properly.

Update Raspbian

Make sure that you are running the latest version of Raspbian. Updates can fix bugs and improve system performance, which may resolve issues with keyboard shortcuts.

All the shortcuts can be used with Onboard on any Raspberry with Touchscreen.

My keyboard is the original Raspberry Pi Keyboard.