There is a version of Notion where everything takes too long. You click through menus to format text. You scroll the sidebar to find pages. You open the block menu with a mouse click instead of a keystroke. You duplicate items one at a time instead of in bulk. This version of Notion is functional but slow — and most users spend months in it before they discover that almost every action has a keyboard shortcut.
This is the complete list. Fifty shortcuts and hidden features organised by category, with a note on which ones are worth prioritising first. You do not need to memorise all of them — but the twenty you use daily will compound into hours saved every week.
All shortcuts below are listed for Windows first, then Mac in parentheses. To use them, you need a Notion workspace — create your free account here if you do not have one.
Navigation Shortcuts
Ctrl+P (Cmd+P) — Quick Find. Searches across every page, database, and block in your entire workspace instantly. The single most important shortcut in Notion. Power users almost never touch the sidebar to navigate — they use Quick Find for everything.
Ctrl+N (Cmd+N) — New page. Creates a new page in your current location without using the sidebar. Pair with Quick Find to navigate and create without ever leaving the keyboard.
Ctrl+Shift+N (Cmd+Shift+N) — New page in a new window. Opens a fresh Notion window, useful when you want to view two pages side by side.
Alt+Click (Option+Click) on a page link — Opens the linked page in a new tab rather than navigating to it. Useful when you want to check something without losing your place in the current page.
Ctrl+[ (Cmd+[) — Navigate back. Moves to the previous page in your navigation history, like a browser back button.
Ctrl+] (Cmd+]) — Navigate forward. Moves forward in navigation history.
Ctrl+Shift+L (Cmd+Shift+L) — Toggle dark mode and light mode. Switches the entire interface without going into settings.
Ctrl+ (Cmd+) — Toggle sidebar open and closed. Maximises your writing or editing space when you need to focus without distractions.
Content and Block Shortcuts
/ — Open the block menu. Type immediately after the slash to search for any block type. The fastest way to insert anything without a mouse.
@ — Mention menu. Type after @ to mention a page (creates a link), a person (sends a notification), or a date (inserts a formatted date with optional reminder). Three tools in one keystroke.
[[ — Open the page search and create a link to another page inline. Faster than @-mentioning a page when you know the exact name.
+ — Typing a plus sign at the start of an empty line opens the block menu. An alternative to the slash command.
Enter — Creates a new block below the current one and moves the cursor to it. Standard but worth noting that pressing Enter inside a toggle list creates a new item inside the toggle, not outside it.
Shift+Enter — Creates a line break within the same block rather than a new block. Useful when you want multiple lines in a single paragraph without creating separate blocks.
Tab — Inside a list (bulleted, numbered, or to-do), pressing Tab indents the current item one level, creating a nested sub-item.
Shift+Tab — Un-indents a nested list item back to the parent level.
Ctrl+D (Cmd+D) — Duplicates the currently selected block or blocks. Select multiple blocks with Shift+Click and duplicate them all at once.
Backspace or Delete on an empty block — Deletes the empty block and moves the cursor to the end of the block above. Faster than clicking to position the cursor.
Formatting Shortcuts
Ctrl+B (Cmd+B) — Bold. Select text first, or toggle bold mode on and start typing.
Ctrl+I (Cmd+I) — Italic.
Ctrl+U (Cmd+U) — Underline.
Ctrl+Shift+S (Cmd+Shift+S) — Strikethrough.
Ctrl+E (Cmd+E) — Inline code. Wraps selected text in a code span. Useful for technical terms, variable names, and formula snippets inside prose.
Ctrl+K (Cmd+K) — Insert link. Select text first, then use this shortcut to attach a URL. Works in both prose and database properties.
# at the start of a line — Creates a Heading 1. ## creates Heading 2. ### creates Heading 3. Faster than the slash command when you are already typing.
– or * at the start of a line — Creates a bulleted list item. 1. creates a numbered list item. [] creates a to-do checkbox.
> at the start of a line — Creates a toggle list item.
” at the start of a line — Creates a quote block.
— on a new line — Creates a divider (horizontal rule).
Ctrl+/ (Cmd+/) — Turn into menu. Converts the current block into any other block type without retyping the content. The single most underused shortcut in Notion.
Database Shortcuts
Space bar on a database item — Opens a quick preview of the item in a sidebar panel without fully navigating to the item page. Ideal for checking details without losing your place in the database view.
Ctrl+Enter (Cmd+Enter) on a database item — Opens the full item page. Faster than double-clicking.
Clicking a property value directly in table view — Edits that property inline without opening the item. Click the Status cell and the dropdown opens. Click the Date cell and the date picker opens. Most users open the full item page to edit properties they could edit directly in the table.
Clicking the column header in table view — Opens property settings for that column: rename, change type, hide, or sort by it. Faster than navigating through the Properties panel.
Dragging a view tab — Reorders database views. Click and drag any view tab to change the order views appear in. Put your most-used view first.
Ctrl+Click on a database item in gallery or board view — Selects multiple items simultaneously. Right-click after selecting to bulk-edit properties, move to a different database, or delete multiple items at once.
Selection and Editing Shortcuts
Ctrl+A (Cmd+A) — Select all blocks on a page. Press again to extend selection upward through the page.
Shift+Click on blocks — Selects a range of blocks from the current cursor position to the clicked block. Use with Ctrl+D to duplicate the selection or Delete to remove it.
Escape — Deselects the current block and moves focus to block-selection mode (the block is highlighted but the cursor is not inside it). Press Escape again to deselect entirely.
Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z) — Undo. Works across block creation, deletion, property changes, and formatting. Notion keeps a generous undo history.
Ctrl+Shift+Z (Cmd+Shift+Z) — Redo.
Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V (Cmd+C, Cmd+V) on selected blocks — Copies and pastes entire blocks including all their content and block type. Paste on a different page to move content between pages instantly.
Ctrl+X (Cmd+X) on a selected block — Cuts the block. The block disappears from the current location and can be pasted anywhere else in the workspace.
Hidden Features Most Users Never Find
Clicking the page icon or cover to change it — You can set any emoji or custom image as a page icon. In gallery view, the page icon appears on the card. Setting unique icons per section makes workspace navigation significantly faster.
Dragging a block to the right edge of another block to create columns — Not technically a keyboard shortcut but a hidden interaction most users discover by accident. Drag any block to the far right side of another block until a blue vertical line appears, then release — Notion creates a two-column layout automatically.
Clicking “Calculate” at the bottom of any database column — Shows aggregation options for that column: Sum, Average, Min, Max, Count, Count Values, Count Unique, Percent Empty, Percent Not Empty. Each column can have a different calculation. These appear in the database itself without building a separate summary view.
Right-clicking a database view tab — Reveals options to rename the view, duplicate it, lock it (prevent accidental filter or sort changes), set a default filter, or delete it. Locking a view is particularly useful for shared team databases where you want the main view to stay clean.
Clicking the three-dot menu on any block and selecting “Turn into synced block” — Converts any block into a synced block that can be placed on multiple pages while remaining identical across all of them. Edit the original and every copy updates instantly.
Hovering over a page in the sidebar and clicking the three-dot icon — Reveals Move To, Duplicate, Copy Link, Add to Favourites, and Delete. Move To is particularly useful — it lets you reorganise pages without dragging, which can be imprecise in a long sidebar.
Typing /code to insert a code block and then clicking the language selector — Notion supports syntax highlighting for over thirty programming languages. Set the language and the block renders with appropriate colour highlighting. Useful for technical documentation, tutorials, and developer notes.
Clicking “+” next to a database view tab and selecting “Linked view of database” — Adds a filtered view of a completely different database to the current database’s view tabs. Useful for showing related data from another database alongside the current one without leaving the page.
The Headquarters Second Brain template is built using nearly every technique in this list — synced blocks for navigation, locked views on team databases, column layouts on the dashboard, and page icons throughout for fast visual navigation. If you want to see these features applied in a complete workspace before building your own, it is a useful reference point.
Mobile Shortcuts Worth Knowing
Swipe right from the left edge of the screen — Opens the sidebar on the Notion mobile app. Faster than tapping the menu icon.
Long-press on a block — Enters block selection mode on mobile. Tap additional blocks to add them to the selection, then use the toolbar to move, duplicate, or delete in bulk.
The / key on mobile keyboard — Opens the mobile block menu. All the same block types as desktop are available. For frequent mobile Notion use, keeping the / key accessible in your keyboard layout saves significant time.
Tap and hold a page in the sidebar — Reveals quick options to rename, duplicate, move, or delete the page without opening it.
The Shortcuts Worth Memorising First
If you learn nothing else from this list, learn these five. They cover the actions you perform dozens of times per day and the time savings compound immediately.
Ctrl+P for Quick Find. Ctrl+/ for Turn into. @ for mentions, pages, and dates. Space bar to preview a database item. And the drag-to-column interaction for multi-column layouts.
Add five more each week from the lists above. Within a month, you will move through Notion at a pace that makes the mouse feel like an obstruction rather than a tool.
Want to put these shortcuts to use in a properly structured workspace? Start your free Notion account here and browse the full template collection at createdigitaltools.com — every template is built to take advantage of Notion’s full feature set, including the hidden ones covered in this post.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you sign up for Notion through the links in this post, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions are our own.
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