113 Notion Shortcuts for Better Productivity [Win+Mac]

Maria Kharlantseva, April 4, 2024
notion shortcuts

Moving a team to a digital workspace offers many benefits, but doing so can be pretty hard. That’s where apps like Notion come in handy. Notion is an all-in-one workplace app that you can use to manage teams, communicate with team members, and more. On top of that, it includes powerful Notion widgets and Notion aesthetic templates, as well as integrates with other apps for working professionals that could do wonders for productivity and efficiency (for example, for Notion time tracking).

But one of the best features of the Notion app is its extensive array of shortcuts. You aren’t going to be able to use and memorize all the Notion hotkeys and Notion keyboard shortcuts, but as you get used to the app, the commands will start to feel more and more natural. To help you learn all the Notion hot keys available to you, we will show you precisely what each shortcut does. Buckle up!

Notion Shortcuts

As you may have heard, Notion is an incredibly modern workplace software. While it may seem simple since the interface is designed for easier use, there are tons of things you can do on Notion project management level to bring your work to the next level such as making use of the Notion inline code (cmd/ctrl + E) to help you quickly turn a block or sentence into a piece of code, and more. That said, it can be hard to wrap your head around all the Notion commands and Notion keyboard shortcuts toggle because of the sheer amount on the platform (and feel like a dog in space).

best notion shortcuts to improve your productivity [windows+mac]

We’re going to start with the most popular Notion hotkeys, like creating a new page. But later, we’ll get to the more specific shortcuts like the Notion strikethrough shortcut, the Notion toggle shortcut, the Notion code inline, and more.

🎉 Most popular Notion keyboard shortcuts

Let’s start with some of the most popular shortcuts. These are the Notion keyboard shortcuts that you are most likely to use on the app – be it when creating a time tracker within the time clock app Everhour or a to-do list. When starting with Notion, understanding these shortcuts will make it much easier and faster to use the app and bring the most out of your team.

For simplicity, we’ll list these shortcuts in Windows and Linux format, wherein you use the control (ctrl) key. However, if you’re on a Mac, you can still use these shortcuts. Just sub out the ctrl key for the cmd key on the Mac keyboard.

Shortcut Purpose
Ctrl + N This is the shortcut used to create a new page. However, this is only available on the desktop app.
Ctrl + Shift + N (cmd + click on Mac) Create a new Notion window.
Ctrl + P Jump to a recently viewed page without having to click on anything.
Ctrl + [ Go to the previous page that was opened.
Ctrl + ] Go to the next Notion page.
Ctrl + K (cmd + Shift + K on Mac) You can use this shortcut to jump to the previous database page when in the database peek view mode.
Ctrl + J (cmd + Shift + J on Mac) When in database peek view mode, you can use this shortcut to jump forward to the next page.
Ctrl + Shift + L This is the Notion command used to toggle between the dark and light modes of the app.

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📑 Notion commands for creating & styling content 

One of the biggest benefits of using Notion is that you can style and create your content. That way, it truly fits the team or organization’s needs and requirements. This includes the shortcut for Notion inline code, how to indent in Notion, and more.

Shortcut Purpose
Enter Insert a new line of text on the content.
Shift + Enter Create a line break within one line of text.
Ctrl + Shift + M Add a comment to the content.
– – – Create a divider. (Just type three dashes in a row)
Ctrl + B Create a bold text (you can also select normal text and use the shortcut to turn the letters bold).
Ctrl + I Italicize the text. You can select text and when you press the shortcut, it will only italicize the text you selected.
Ctrl + U Underline the text.
Ctrl + Shift + S This is the Notion strikethrough shortcut.
Ctrl + K Select a text and use this shortcut to embed a link to the text.
Ctrl + E This is the Notion code inline shortcut.
Shift + Tab This is the shortcut if you want to un-nest certain content.
/turn You can use this at the end of the beginning of a block to change the type of block and see the different choices.
/color Use this at the beginning or end of a block to highlight the block or change the highlight color.

With this set of shortcuts, Cmd is still the Mac alternative to the Ctrl button. For the Shift button, the Mac alternative is the option key.

Shortcut Purpose
Ctrl + Shift + 0 This is the Notion hotkey to create a text.
Ctrl + Shift + 1 Create an H1 Heading.
Ctrl + Shift + 2 Create an H2 Heading.
Ctrl + Shift + 3 Create an H3 Heading.
Ctrl + Shift + 4 Create a to-do checkbox.
Ctrl + Shift + 5 Create a bulleted list.
Ctrl + Shift + 6 Create a numbered list.
Ctrl + Shift + 7 Create a toggled list.
Ctrl + Shift + 8 Create a code block.
Ctrl + Shift + 9 Create a new page. It can also be used to turn everything you have on a specific line into a brand-new page.
Ctrl + “+” Zoom-in.
Ctrl + “-” Zoom-out.
Ctrl + Shift + U This shortcut will let you go one tier up in the page hierarchy.
Alt (Option on a Mac) You can hold alt while clicking and dragging content on one page to copy and paste the content onto a new Notion page.

👩‍💻 Notion shortcuts for markdown style

These are the Notion commands, such as the Notion Strikethrough shortcut and the other shortcuts that you may use when writing in Markdown style. This can make writing in this style much easier and streamline the process. This first set of shortcuts is the Notion hot keys you can use while you’re typing.

Shortcut Purpose
** Place it on either side of the text to put it in bold letters.
* Place it on either side of the text to italicize the letters.
‘ ‘ ‘ Place these on either side of the text to create a Notion inline code.
~ While typing, this is the Notion strikethrough shortcut.

This next batch of shortcuts is the one that you can use at the beginning of a new line or the start of an existing content block.

Shortcut Purpose
*, -, or +, and then press spacebar This allows you to create a bulleted list.
[] This is to create a checkbox. Note that there is no space between the two symbols.
1, a, or I followed by the spacebar This will create a numbered list of the content.
# and then the spacebar This creates an H1 heading.
## and then the spacebar This creates an H2 heading.
### and then the spacebar This creates an H3 heading.
> and then the spacebar This is the Notion toggle shortcut in Markdown style.
“ and then the spacebar This creates a quote block on the content.

📤 Notion shortcuts to edit and move blocks

Everything on your Notion content such as a paragraph, image, embed, and any line of type is in one block. You can move all of the blocks as your content demands with these shortcuts.

Shortcut Purpose
Esc This will automatically select the block that you’re in. If you already have blocks selected, this shortcut will erase all the selected blocks.
Ctrl + A Press this once and you will select the block that the cursor is in.
Spacebar This is a Notion toggle shortcut that allows you to place an image in fullscreen or exit the fullscreen viewing mode.
Arrow keys You can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate and select different content blocks.
Shift + Up or Down arrow keys This is used to expand the number of blocks that you selected.
Alt + Shift + click (Cmd + shift + Click on Mac) This shortcut is what to use if you want to select or deselect an entire block.
Shift + click This is will select one block and all the other blocks in between the selected block.
Backspace or delete This is what to use to erase and delete specific blocks. To use this shortcut, select the block you want to delete and press the shortcut.
Enter This can be used if you want to edit the text within a selected block.
Ctrl + Slash This shortcut will allow you to edit one or multiple blocks at a time. The shortcut allows you to change the block type, color, and other parameters.
Ctrl + \ (when in the database) If you’re in the database and press this shortcut, you can edit all the rows and cards you selected in the database.
Ctrl + Shift + arrow keys When you have a block selected, this shortcut allows you to move the block around without the mouse.
Ctrl + Alt + T This shortcut expands or closes all the toggles within a toggle list.
Ctrl + Shift + H This applies the last text and highlight color you used.
Ctrl + Enter This allows you to modify the block you’re in. Modifying means opening a page, checking or unchecking a checkbox, and embedding or making images full-screen.

🔗 [[ commands

This next set of shortcuts uses the “[[“ combination to allow you to access different Notion features.

Shortcut Purpose
[[ When typing this combination along with the name of your workspace, it creates a link to it. When you change the name of the page, the name of the link will change as well automatically.
[[ + the name of the subpage You can use the same combination to nest a link within the current page you’re working on. To do this, simply type the combination and select the “create new sub-page” option.
[[ + “add new page in…” option When you type this shortcut, one of the options that pop up is the “add a new page in…” option. This allows you to create a new page somewhere else.

🐕 @ commands

Like the “@” commands on other platforms, you can use these shortcuts to mention pages, people, and dates, and even add reminders to specific pages.

Shortcut Purpose
@ + the person’s name This allows you to mention a specific team member in the content. This could be used to let them know of tasks they need to perform and more.
@ + page name This is for mentioning a specific page. This is great for aligning different pages together. And when you change the name of the page, the name of the link automatically changes as well.
@ + date This is to note a specific date. This is great for times when there are strict deadlines for tasks or specific dates for meetings and events.
@remind This is to add a reminder to the page. When you do this, you can receive a notification at the exact time of the reminder.

➕ + commands

These shortcuts are used to create new pages and to link different pages together. This could be very useful for collating different sets of content.

Shortcut Purpose
+ The simple “+” button on the keyboard allows you to create a new page right away. This can save a lot of time and effort.
+ To move the page to another place Just like the [[ commands, you can choose the option to move the page to another place whenever you use the “+” shortcut.
+ And the link to the page You can type the plus shortcut followed by the name of the page you want to link to. And just like the other shortcuts, the link name will automatically change if you change the page name.

📜 Slash commands

Another cool Notion feature is that whenever you type the “/” key, you get a dropdown menu of tons of functions and options. If you want to streamline the process of using it, here are the shortcuts for that.

Shortcut Purpose
/text or /plain This is the shortcut to create a new text block.
/page Use this shortcut to create a new page.
/bullet This shortcut will automatically create a bulleted list on the page.
/num If you want to create a numbered list, just type this shortcut.
/todo You can create a to-do list with checkboxes by using this shortcut.
/toggle This is the Notion toggle shortcut if you want to create a toggle list.
/div This will create a light grey divider on the content.
/quote If you want to create a quote block quickly, this is the shortcut.
/h1 or /* This will allow you to create an H1 heading.
/h2 or /** This shortcut creates an H2 heading.
/link This will allow you to quickly create a link to your workspace.
Esc If you made a mistake while typing the shortcut, this button will erase whatever you typed.
/h3 or /*** This shortcut instantly creates an H3 heading for you.

The above shortcuts are the simplest ones. This next set is for the inline commands.

Shortcut Purpose
/mention This shortcut allows you to mention another person in the content.
/date or /reminder This will set a reminder for a specific event that will send a notification on the time and date you set the reminder.
/equation This shortcut lets you add a TeX formula line to the content.
/emoji This shortcut brings up the emoji picker to add more creativity to your content.

This next set of commands is the database commands.

Shortcut Purpose
/table-inline Create a database table on the current page.
/board-inline Create a Kanban board on the current page.
/calendar-inline Create a calendar on the current page.
/list-inline Create a list-style database on the page.
/gallery-inline Create a gallery on the page.
/timeline-inline Build a timeline on the current page.
-full You can substitute the “inline” shortcut for “-full” if you want to create something on a separate page instead of on the current page.
/linked This shortcut allows you to create a linked database.

This next section is all the media shortcuts you can use.

Shortcut Purpose
/image This lets you upload or embed an image from Unsplash or upload one of your own.
/pdf Allows you to paste the URL for a pdf to display inline on the page.
/book Paste in a URL to any website and create a bookmark.
/video Use this to upload videos or embedded ones from websites like YouTube.
/audio You can use this to upload audio files or embed music from Spotify or SoundCloud.
/code Create a code block where you can write simple code snippets.
/file Upload any file from your computer and embed it.
/embed Add or embed any of the 500+ different embed types compatible with Notion.

These last shortcuts are the advanced Notion slash commands.

Shortcut Purpose
/command Create a comment on any specific block.
/duplicate Create a copy of the current block.
/moveto Move blocks to a different page.
/delete Delete the current block.
/toc Create a table of contents block.
/button Create a button with definable actions. Another alternative to this shortcut is /template.
/bread Insert a breadcrumb menu.
/math Lets you write mathematical equations.

Notion Shortcuts: Conclusion

best notion shortcuts to improve your productivity [windows+mac]

Notion is a great app that can help streamline various processes at your workplace such as employee time tracking, an attendance tracker, workplace organization, creating schedules, or whatever else is necessary. It has loads of Notion integrations and Notion templates to use (and our very own Notion time tracking integration is among them too!) However, if you know how to use the Notion shortcuts, you can make Notion a whole lot more efficient than it already is.

And while you won’t be able to memorize all of the shortcuts from above, we recommend that you try and use at least a few of them, to begin with. Over time, the more you use a certain shortcut, the more natural it will feel until one day, you become an expert at using Notion shortcuts.

Maria Kharlantseva

Maria is a proud content guardian with experience working for international teams and projects of different complexities. Maria has a passion for fantasy novels, music, black-and-white films, and nitpicking (because there is always room for improvement!).