Set keyboard shortcuts

To change the key or keys to be pressed for a keyboard shortcut:

  1. Open the Activities overview and start typing Settings.

  2. Click on Settings.

  3. Click Keyboard in the sidebar to open the panel.

  4. In the Keyboard Shortcuts section, select View and Customize Shortcuts.

  5. Select the desired category, or enter a search term.

  6. Click the row for the desired action. The Set shortcut window will be shown.

  7. Hold down the desired key combination, or press Backspace to reset, or press Esc to cancel.

Pre-defined shortcuts

There are a number of pre-configured shortcuts that can be changed, grouped into these categories:

Accessibility
Accessibility

Accessibility

Launchers
Launchers

Launchers

Navigation
Navigation

Navigation

Screenshots
Screenshots

Screenshots

Sound and Media
Sound and Media

Sound and Media

System
System

System

Typing
Typing

Typing

Windows
Windows

Windows

Custom shortcuts

To create your own application keyboard shortcut in the Keyboard settings:

  1. Select Custom Shortcuts.

  2. Click the Add Shortcut button if no custom shortcut is set yet. Otherwise click the + button. The Add Custom Shortcut window will appear.

  3. Type a Name to identify the shortcut, and a Command to run an application. For example, if you wanted the shortcut to open Rhythmbox, you could name it Music and use the rhythmbox command.

  4. Click the Add Shortcut… button. In the Add Custom Shortcut window, hold down the desired shortcut key combination.

  5. Click Add.

The command name that you type should be a valid system command. You can check that the command works by opening a Terminal and typing it in there. The command that opens an application cannot have the same name as the application itself.

If you want to change the command that is associated with a custom keyboard shortcut, click the row of the shortcut. The Set Custom Shortcut window will appear, and you can edit the command.