Pintasan keyboard

Read, sort, and answer mail from the keyboard in the web app and the desktop app.

Shortcuts are on by default. To see the full list at any time, press ?.

Before you begin

• Shortcuts don’t run while you type in a text field, or while a dialog or menu is open. To use them, select an empty part of the mail list first. Search and the command palette are the exceptions, because they open from anywhere.
• On a Mac, use Cmd where this article says Ctrl or Cmd. On Windows and Linux, use Ctrl.

Turn shortcuts on or off

1. Go to Settings > Appearance and open the Accessibility tab.
2. Turn Enable shortcuts on or off.

The shortcut list also has this switch. To open the list, press ?.

Move around

Keys	Action
j	Next message
k	Previous message
Enter or o	Open the selected message
u	Back to the list
x	Select the focused message in the list
Ctrl+a or Cmd+a	Select every message in the list
g, then i	Go to Inbox
g, then s	Go to Starred
g, then t	Go to Sent
g, then d	Go to Drafts
g, then a	Go to All Mail

For the two-key shortcuts, press g, release it, and press the second key within about a second.

Act on a message

These shortcuts act on the open message, or on the message selected in the list.

Keys	Action
e	Archive
#	Move to Trash
!	Report spam
s	Star or unstar
Shift+i	Mark as read
Shift+u	Mark as unread
b	Snooze

Write and reply

Keys	Action
c	Compose a new message
r	Reply
a	Reply to everyone
f	Forward
Ctrl+Enter or Cmd+Enter	Send the message you’re writing

Reply, reply to everyone, and forward need an open message. Selecting a message in the list isn’t enough.

In the editor, Ctrl or Cmd with b, i, or u applies bold, italic, or underline. Ctrl+Shift+x or Cmd+Shift+x applies strikethrough.

If you scheduled the message, Ctrl+Enter or Cmd+Enter schedules it instead of sending it.

Search and commands

Keys	Action
/	Move to the search field
Ctrl+k or Cmd+k	Search
Ctrl+Shift+p or Cmd+Shift+p	Open the command palette
?	Show all keyboard shortcuts

To narrow a search, use from:, to:, subject:, has:attachment, before:, and after:. See Search your mail.

Troubleshooting

• No shortcut works: check that Enable shortcuts is on, and select an empty part of the mail list so no text field has focus.
• A letter appears in a text field: select outside the field first.
• A g shortcut does nothing: press the second key sooner.
• Archive or star does nothing: select or open a message first.
• Reply or forward does nothing: open the message first.
• A shortcut does something else: a browser extension or system shortcut might use the same keys. Check your extensions and system settings.

Related articles

• Search your mail
• Organize your inbox
• Customize your inbox
• Schedule sending and snooze mail
• Send and receive mail