💬 Complete Reference

All Google Drive Keyboard Shortcuts

64 shortcuts across 8 categories to supercharge your drive productivity.

Browse by Category

🧭

Navigation & Views

Navigate panels, switch views, and show or hide panes in Google Drive.

11 shortcuts

☑️

Select Items

Select, deselect, and extend selections of files and folders.

11 shortcuts

↔️

Move Between Items

Move focus between items without changing the current selection.

4 shortcuts

⚡

Take Action on Selected Items

Open, rename, share, move, star, and delete selected files.

14 shortcuts

➕

Create New Items

Create new documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and folders.

6 shortcuts

📋

Open Menus

Open the create, actions, sort, and settings menus.

5 shortcuts

🖥️

Application Actions

Search, print, undo, redo, and other app-level actions in Google Drive.

8 shortcuts

👁️

Preview Mode

Control files in preview mode — zoom, play, and close.

5 shortcuts

🧭Navigation & Views

Alt + G then N
Go to Navigation PanelMove keyboard focus to the navigation panel (folders list) on the left side.
Alt + G then I
Go to Items ViewMove keyboard focus to the main items view (file and folder grid or list).
Alt + V then L
Switch Between Grid and ListToggle between the grid view and the list view for files in Drive.
Alt + G then C
Go to Page ContentMove keyboard focus to the main page content area.
Alt + G then D
Go to Details PaneMove keyboard focus to the details pane on the right side.
Alt + G then T
Go to Top of ApplicationMove keyboard focus to the Google bar at the top of the application.
Alt + G then A
Go to Download StatusMove focus to the download status indicator.
Alt + G then U
Go to Upload StatusMove focus to the upload status indicator.
Alt + V then E
Show or Hide Approvals PaneToggle the approvals pane open or closed.
Alt + V then D
Show or Hide Details PaneToggle the details pane (showing file info, sharing, and activity) open or closed.
Alt + V then A
Show or Hide Activity PaneToggle the activity pane showing recent changes and history for a file.

☑️Select Items

Shift + Space
Select or Deselect ItemToggle selection on the currently focused file or folder.
Down Arrow
Select Next Item DownMove the selection down to the next item in the list.
Up Arrow
Select Next Item UpMove the selection up to the previous item in the list.
Left Arrow
Select Next Item to the LeftMove the selection left to the previous item in grid view.
Right Arrow
Select Next Item to the RightMove the selection right to the next item in grid view.
Shift + Down Arrow
Extend Selection DownExtend the current selection to include the next item below.
Shift + Up Arrow
Extend Selection UpExtend the current selection to include the next item above.
Shift + Left Arrow
Extend Selection LeftExtend the current selection to include the next item to the left.
Shift + Right Arrow
Extend Selection RightExtend the current selection to include the next item to the right.
Ctrl + A
Select All Visible ItemsSelect all currently visible files and folders in the Drive view.
Esc
Clear All SelectionsDeselect all currently selected files and folders.

↔️Move Between Items

Ctrl + Down Arrow
Move Down Without Changing SelectionMove keyboard focus down to the next item without changing the current selection.
Ctrl + Up Arrow
Move Up Without Changing SelectionMove keyboard focus up to the previous item without changing the current selection.
Ctrl + Left Arrow
Move Left Without Changing SelectionMove keyboard focus left without changing the current selection.
Ctrl + Right Arrow
Move Right Without Changing SelectionMove keyboard focus right without changing the current selection.

⚡Take Action on Selected Items

Enter
Open Selected ItemsOpen the selected file or folder.
Ctrl + Enter
Open Selected Items in New TabOpen the selected file or folder in a new browser tab.
F2
Rename Selected ItemRename the currently selected file or folder.
Ctrl + Alt + A
Share Selected ItemsOpen the sharing dialog for the selected file or folder.
Ctrl + Alt + M
Move Selected ItemsOpen the "Move to" dialog to move selected files to a different folder.
Ctrl + Alt + S
Star or Unstar Selected ItemsToggle a star on or off for the selected files or folders.
Ctrl + Alt + R
Create Shortcut for Selected ItemCreate a shortcut to the selected file or folder in the current location.
Delete or #
Remove Selected ItemsMove the selected files or folders to the trash.
Ctrl + Alt + L
Copy Item URLs to ClipboardCopy the shareable URLs of the selected files to the clipboard.
Ctrl + Shift + C
Copy Item Titles to ClipboardCopy the file names of the selected items to the clipboard.
Ctrl + X
Cut Selected ItemsCut the selected files to the clipboard to move them elsewhere.
Ctrl + Shift + V
Paste Items from ClipboardPaste files from the clipboard into the current folder, or move them if they were cut.
Alt + C then U
Upload FileOpen the file picker to upload a file to Google Drive.
Alt + C then I
Upload FolderOpen the folder picker to upload an entire folder to Google Drive.

➕Create New Items

Alt + C then T
Create New DocumentCreate a new Google Docs document in the current folder.
Alt + C then P
Create New PresentationCreate a new Google Slides presentation in the current folder.
Alt + C then S
Create New SpreadsheetCreate a new Google Sheets spreadsheet in the current folder.
Alt + C then D
Create New DrawingCreate a new Google Drawing in the current folder.
Alt + C then F
Create New FolderCreate a new folder in the current Drive location.
Alt + C then O
Create New FormCreate a new Google Form in the current folder.

📋Open Menus

Alt + N
Open Create MenuOpen the New/Create menu to create files and folders.
Shift + F10 or Alt + A
Open More Actions MenuOpen the "More actions" context menu for the selected item.
Alt + Shift + A
Open Current Folder Actions MenuOpen the actions menu for the current folder.
Alt + R
Open Sort MenuOpen the sort menu to sort files by name, date, size, and more.
Ctrl + Shift + S
Open Settings MenuOpen the Settings menu for Google Drive.

🖥️Application Actions

Ctrl + /
Display Keyboard ShortcutsOpen the keyboard shortcuts reference list for Google Drive.
Alt + T then Q
Choose Next Visual DensityCycle through visual density options (row height and element spacing) in list view.
Ctrl + F
Find / Find NextOpen the find bar to search for files by name in the current view.
Ctrl + P
PrintPrint the current Drive view.
Ctrl + Z
Undo Last ActionUndo the last action taken in Google Drive, such as a move or rename.
Ctrl + Y
Redo Last ActionRedo the last action that was undone.
Alt + G then K
Show Last MessageDisplay the last status or system message in Google Drive.
/
Search DriveMove focus to the search bar to search across all files in your Drive.

👁️Preview Mode

Ctrl + Alt + P
Preview ItemsOpen the selected file in preview mode without fully opening it.
Esc
Close PreviewClose the current file preview and return to the Drive file list.
Space
Play or PausePlay or pause the current media file (video or audio) in preview mode.
+ or =
Zoom InZoom in on the file currently open in preview mode.
-
Zoom OutZoom out on the file currently open in preview mode.