LibreOffice Writer: The Ultimate Keyboard Shortcuts Keys

LibreOffice is the most popular free and open-source word document processing software and has been compared to the likes of MS Office Word and Open Office thanks to its familiar navigation, templating system, toolbars, custom styles, and efficiency, among other features.

The last time we published a comprehensive list of shortcuts was in the Most Useful Mac Keyboard Shortcuts You Should Know. If LibreOffice Writer is your go-to document for writing and editing office documents then read on.

Today’s article focuses on the shortcut list that you can familiarize yourself with in order to write and navigate LibreOffice writer with ease. The key commands listed below are the most on-demand shortcuts among users which makes us certain there is more than a handful for everyone.

Function Keys for LibreOffice Writer

Shortcut Keys

Effect

F2

Formula Bar

Command +F2

Insert Fields

F3

Complete AutoText

Command +F3

Edit AutoText

Shift+F4

Select next frame

Ctrl+Shift+F4

Open Data Source View

F5

Navigator on/off

Command +Shift+F5

Navigator on, go to page number

F7

Spellcheck

Command +F7

Thesaurus

F8

Extension mode

Command +F8

Field shadings on / off

Shift+F8

Additional selection mode

Ctrl+Shift+F8

Block selection mode

F9

Update fields

Command +F9

Show fields

Shift+F9

Calculate Table

Command +Shift+F9

Update Input Fields and Input Lists

Command +F10

Nonprinting Characters on/off

Command+T

Styles window on/off

Shift+F11

Create Style

Command +F11

Sets focus to Apply Style box

Command +Shift+F11

Update Style

F12

Numbering on

Command +F12

Insert or edit Table

Shift+F12

Bullets on

Command +Shift+F12

Numbering / Bullets off

Shortcut Keys for LibreOffice Writer

Shortcut Keys

Effect

Command +A

Select All

Command +J

Justify

Command +D

Double Underline

Command +E

Centered

Command +H

Find and Replace

Command +Shift+P

Superscript

Command +L

Align Left

Command +R

Align Right

Command +Shift+B

Subscript

Command+Shift+Z

Redo last action

Command +0 (zero)

Apply Text Body paragraph style

Command +1

Apply Heading 1 paragraph style

Command +2

Apply Heading 2 paragraph style

Command +3

Apply Heading 3 paragraph style

Command +4

Apply Heading 4 paragraph style

Command +5

Apply Heading 5 paragraph style

Command + Plus Key(+)

Calculates the selected text and copies the result to the clipboard.

Command +Hyphen(-)

Soft hyphens; hyphenation set by you.

Command +Shift+minus sign (-)

Non-breaking hyphen (is not used for hyphenation)

Command +multiplication sign * (only on number pad)

Run macro field

Command +Shift+Space

Non-breaking spaces. Non-breaking spaces are not used for hyphenation and are not expanded if the text is justified.

Shift+Enter

Line break without paragraph change

Command +Enter

Manual page break

Command +Shift+Enter

Column break in multicolumnar texts

Option +Enter

Inserting a new paragraph without numbering inside a list. Does not work when the cursor is at the end of the list.

Option +Enter

Inserting a new paragraph directly before or after a section, or before a table.

Arrow Left

Move cursor to left

Shift+Arrow Left

Move cursor with selection to the left

Option +Arrow Left

Go to beginning of word

Option +Shift+Arrow Left

Selecting to the left word by word

Arrow Right

Move cursor to right

Shift+Arrow Right

Move cursor with selection to the right

Option +Arrow Right

Go to start of next word

Option +Shift+Arrow Right

Selecting to the right word by word

Arrow Up

Move cursor up one line

Shift+Arrow Up

Selecting lines in an upwards direction

Ctrl+Arrow Up

Move cursor to beginning of the previous paragraph

Option +Shift+Arrow Up

Select to beginning of paragraph. Next keystroke extends selection to beginning of previous paragraph

Arrow Down

Move cursor down one line

Shift+Arrow Down

Selecting lines in a downward direction

Option +Arrow Down

Move cursor to beginning of next paragraph.

Option +Shift+Arrow Down

Select to end of paragraph. Next keystroke extends selection to end of next paragraph

Command+Arrow Left

Go to beginning of line

Command+Arrow Left +Shift

Go and select to the beginning of a line

Command+Arrow Right

Go to end of line

Command+Arrow Right +Shift

Go and select to end of line

Command+Arrow Up

Go to start of document

Command+Arrow Up +Shift

Go and select text to start of document

Command+Arrow Down

Go to end of document

Command+Arrow Down +Shift

Go and select text to end of document

Command +PageUp

Switch cursor between text and header

Command +PageDown

Switch cursor between text and footer

Insert

Insert mode on/off

PageUp

Screen page up

Shift+PageUp

Move up screen page with selection

PageDown

Move down screen page

Shift+PageDown

Move down screen page with selection

Option+Fn+Backspace

Delete text to end of word

Option +Backspace

Delete text to beginning of word

In a list: delete an empty paragraph in front of the current paragraph

Command+Fn+Backspace +Shift

Delete text to end of sentence

Command +Shift+Backspace

Delete text to beginning of sentence

Command +Tab

Next suggestion with Automatic Word Completion

Command +Shift+Tab

Use previous suggestion with Automatic Word Completion

Command+Option+Shift+V

Paste the contents of the clipboard as unformatted text.

Command + double-click or Command + Shift + F10

Use this combination to quickly dock or undock the Navigator, Styles window, or other windows

Shortcut Keys for Paragraphs and Heading Levels

Shortcut Keys

Effect

Command+Option +Up Arrow

Move the active paragraph or selected paragraphs up one paragraph.

Command+Option +Down Arrow

Move the active paragraph or selected paragraphs down one paragraph.

Tab

The heading in format “Heading X” (X = 1-9) is moved down one level in the outline.

Shift+Tab

The heading in format “Heading X” (X = 2-10) is moved up one level in the outline.

Command +Tab

At the start of a heading: Inserts a tab stop. Depending on the Window Manager in use, Option +Tab may be used instead.

To change the heading level with the keyboard, first position the cursor in front of the heading.

Shortcut Keys for Tables in LibreOffice Writer

Shortcut Keys

Effect

Command +A

If the active cell is empty: selects the whole table. Otherwise: selects the contents of the active cell. Pressing again selects the entire table.

Command +Home

If the active cell is empty: goes to the beginning of the table. Otherwise: first press goes to beginning of the active cell, second press goes to beginning of the current table, third press goes to beginning of document.

Command +End

If the active cell is empty: goes to the end of the table. Otherwise: first press goes to the end of the active cell, second press goes to the end of the current table, third press goes to the end of the document.

Command +Tab

Inserts a tab stop (only in tables). Depending on the Window Manager in use, Option +Tab may be used instead.

Option +Arrow Keys

Increases/decreases the size of the column/row on the right/bottom cell edge

Option +Shift+Arrow Keys

Increase/decrease the size of the column/row on the left/top cell edge

Option+Command +Arrow Keys

Like Option , but only the active cell is modified

Option+Command +Shift+Arrow Keys

Like Option , but only the active cell is modified

Command +Shift+T

Removes cell protection from all selected tables. If no table is selected, then cell protection is removed from all of the tables in the document.

Shift+Command +Del

If no whole cell is selected, the text from the cursor to the end of the current sentence is deleted. If the cursor is at the end of a cell, and no whole cell is selected, the contents of the next cell are deleted.

If no whole cell is selected and the cursor is at the end of the table, the paragraph following the table will be deleted, unless it is the last paragraph in the document.

If one or more cells are selected, the whole rows containing the selection will be deleted. If all rows are selected completely or partially, the entire table will be deleted.

Shortcut Keys for Moving and Resizing Frames, Graphics and Objects

Shortcut Keys

Effect

Esc

Cursor is inside a text frame and no text is selected: Escape selects the text frame.

Text frame is selected: Escape clears the cursor from the text frame.

F2 or Enter or any key that produces a character on screen

If a text frame is selected: positions the cursor to the end of the text in the text frame. If you press any key that produces a character on screen, and the document is in edit mode, the character is appended to the text.

Option +Arrow Keys

Move object.

Option+Command +Arrow Keys

Resizes by moving lower right corner.

Option+Command +Shift+Arrow Keys

Resizes by moving top left corner.

Command +Tab

Selects the anchor of an object (in Edit Points mode).

Congratulations on making it to the end of the shortcuts list because you are now ready to enjoy the extra performance that every user deserves. Are there any nifty note-worthy keyboard commands that didn’t make it to the page? Feel free to post your suggestions below.

Are there shortcuts for other apps you would like us to publish? You’re welcome to make your requests in the discussion section as well.

Divine Okoi is a cybersecurity postgrad with a passion for the open-source community. With 700+ articles covering different topics in IT, you can always trust him to inform you about the coolest tech.

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