Keyboard Shortcuts — Windows, Mac and Chromebook Basics, Checked Against Official Help

Start with these ten, from copy to print. They work almost everywhere and you use them often. “—” means the official table does not list it; it does not mean it cannot be used.

On Windows, Save (Ctrl+S) and Print (Ctrl+P) appear in the official Word and Chrome tables, not in the general Windows list. They can vary by app. For Redo, the official Windows list shows only Ctrl+Y; I could not confirm from an official list whether Ctrl+Shift+Z works in a given app.

What gets switched also differs slightly. Microsoft describes Alt+Tab as switching between open windows. Apple describes ⌘+Tab as switching to the next app in order of recent use.

Moving the cursor, selecting, and deleting matter most when you write. Instead of tapping the arrow keys over and over, you move by word or by line.

Two rules cover most of the table: adding Ctrl (Option on a Mac) turns a move or delete into a word-sized one, and adding Shift turns a move into a selection. Where the cursor lands differs by system: for “next word”, Windows moves to the start of the next word, while Mac and Chromebook move to the end of the word (per each company’s description).

Closing windows, locking the screen, and taking screenshots. Names and keys differ most here.

Apple describes ⌘+W on a Mac as closing the front window. The shortcut it describes as quitting the app is ⌘+Q. Alt+F4 on Windows is explained in the next section.

These were checked against Google’s Chrome shortcut table. I did not check other browsers such as Edge. The Chromebook column comes from the Chromebook help.

The Mac cell for reload is “—” because Chrome’s official table has no row for a plain reload. Apple’s help does describe ⌘+R as reloading the page in some apps such as Safari.

• Alt+F4 closes the window; it is not “quit the app”

  Microsoft describes Alt+F4 as closing the active window, and as prompting you to shut down if no windows are open (the Windows 11 table). The Windows 10 table says it closes the active item or exits the active app. To fit both, remember it as the close-window key. The shortcut that Apple describes as quitting the app is ⌘+Q on a Mac.

• Next tab in Chrome on a Mac is ⌘+Option+→

  In Chrome’s official table, next tab on a Mac is ⌘+Option+→ and previous tab is ⌘+Option+←. Ctrl+Tab is in the Windows column. Safari differs: Apple’s help gives Control+Tab or Shift+⌘+] for the next tab and Control+Shift+Tab or Shift+⌘+[ for the previous tab.

• Redo is a different key on each system

  The official Windows list shows Ctrl+Y, Mac is Shift+⌘+Z, and Chromebook is Ctrl+Shift+Z. If you learn only undo, you will have to look up redo separately.

• PrintScreen depends on your Windows version and settings

  In Microsoft’s Windows 11 table, PrintScreen lets you choose an area to capture (Snipping Tool) and can be switched off in settings. The Windows 10 table says it copies the whole screen to the clipboard. Win+Shift+S selects an area and sends it to the clipboard in the Windows 11 table; the Windows 10 table describes it as taking a screenshot of part of the screen. Win+PrintScreen appears in the Windows 11 table as saving the whole screen as a file (it is not in the Windows 10 table).

• Word-by-word movement stops in different places

  When Ctrl+→ (Option+→ on a Mac) jumps to the next word, Microsoft says the cursor lands at the start of the next word, while Apple and Google say it lands at the end of the word.

Chromebooks are among the devices used in schools. The Ctrl-based basics are the same as on Windows. The differences are below.

• Some shortcuts use the Search key

  Locking the screen (Search key+L), moving to the start or end of a line, and the emoji panel use the Search key. Google says that on some keyboards it is called the Launcher key, and the two work the same way.

• When you plug in a Windows or Mac keyboard

  Google says to use the Windows key or the Command key in place of the Search or Launcher key.

• You can see every shortcut on screen

  Press Ctrl+Search key+S to see all keyboard shortcuts. You can also open them from Settings, under Device and then Keyboard and inputs.

• The official page assumes a US English keyboard

  Google’s page says it assumes a US Chromebook with a standard QWERTY English keyboard. On a Japanese-layout keyboard, symbol keys sit elsewhere (see Typing numbers and symbols).

For preparing a class to use Typing Musou on Chromebooks, see Preparing Chromebooks and school PCs.

This approach is my own suggestion, not a research-backed method. You do not need to memorize the tables; pick from what you do every day.

1. 01.1. Pick 2–3 things you still do with the mouse every day
2. 02.2. When one comes up, use the shortcut before reaching for the mouse. Slow is fine at first
3. 03.3. Keep going, and once your hands move first, pick the next 2–3
4. 04.4. Bookmark the tables and look things up whenever you hesitate

Ctrl and Shift sit at the edges of the keyboard and are usually pressed with the pinky. If your pinky feels hard to move, see Why your ring and pinky fingers won’t move.

I opened and compared the official help pages below on October 18, 2026. I did not verify on physical machines.

1. Microsoft Support: Keyboard shortcuts in Windows — Japanese-language page; the Windows 11 and Windows 10 tables were compared separately (October 18, 2026)
2. Microsoft Support: Keyboard shortcuts in Word — Japanese-language page; used to check Save (Ctrl+S) and Print (Ctrl+P) on Windows
3. Apple Support: Mac keyboard shortcuts — Japanese-language page
4. Apple Support: Take a screenshot on your Mac — Japanese-language page
5. Apple Support: Safari keyboard shortcuts and gestures on Mac — Japanese-language page
6. Apple Support: Rename files, folders, and disks on Mac — Japanese-language page
7. Google: Chrome keyboard shortcuts — Japanese-language page
8. Google: Chromebook keyboard shortcuts — Japanese-language page

Official help gets updated. If something behaves differently from the tables, check the help for your OS and app.

• Q. Which shortcuts should I learn first?

  Copy (Ctrl+C / ⌘+C), paste (Ctrl+V / ⌘+V), cut (Ctrl+X / ⌘+X), undo (Ctrl+Z / ⌘+Z), select all (Ctrl+A / ⌘+A), and find (Ctrl+F / ⌘+F). They work in almost every app and you use them constantly.

• Q. Are Windows and Mac shortcuts different?

  Windows Ctrl generally corresponds to Mac ⌘, so most shortcuts swap directly (Ctrl+C becomes ⌘+C). The differences are redo (Ctrl+Y on Windows, Shift+⌘+Z on Mac), moving by word (Option on a Mac), locking the screen, and screenshots.

• Q. What does Alt+F4 do?

  In Microsoft’s Windows 11 description, it closes the active window; if no windows are open, it prompts you to shut down. The shortcut officially described as quitting the app is ⌘+Q on a Mac.

• Q. What is the next-tab shortcut in Chrome on a Mac?

  In Chrome’s official table it is ⌘+Option+→ (previous tab is ⌘+Option+←). Ctrl+Tab is the key in the Windows column. In Safari, Apple’s help gives Control+Tab or Shift+⌘+].

• Q. Are Chromebook shortcuts the same as Windows?

  The Ctrl-based basics are the same. The differences are redo (Ctrl+Shift+Z), locking the screen (Search key+L), and moving to the start or end of a line (Search key+arrow). Ctrl+Search key+S shows every shortcut on screen.

• Q. Can I practice shortcuts in Typing Musou?

  No. The game has no shortcut-practice feature. What it can train is the groundwork shortcuts rely on: letter-key fingering and the home position, in the Home Position Dojo.

The basics line up: Ctrl on Windows and Chromebook, ⌘ on a Mac. The easy mistakes are Alt+F4 (closes the window), tab switching on a Mac (⌘+Option+→ in Chrome, Control+Tab in Safari), redo, and what PrintScreen does.

You do not have to learn everything at once. Take 2–3 from what you do every day and use them in the moment. The finger groundwork they rely on can be practiced in the Dojo.