We have compiled a complete list of all Apple iPad keyboard shortcuts in this article, including common, uncommon, as well as application-specific shortcuts.
Please note that the square brackets < > denote the key to press, while + means pressing two or more keys together. Also, note alphabetical keys are capitalised below for ease of reading, but there is no need to press the <Shift> button to use capitalised lettering.
Universal iPad Keyboard Shortcut Cheatsheet
These shortcuts work system-wide, on the home screen, and on any application you use.
| Show or hide the menu of available keyboard shortcuts in the active screen or app. | <Command> or  for more than 1 second |
| Clear the screen, or go to the Home Screen | <Command> + <H> |
| Cycle from Today View, Home Screen and Application Library | <Command> + Left or Right Arrow |
| Launch the selected app (Use arrow keys on Home Screen to select the app) | <Command> + Down Arrow |
| Cycle through active application | <Command> + <Tab>, release or click to activate |
| Switch active application | + Up Arrow |
| Go to the previous app | + Left Arrow |
| Show or hide the Search window | <Command> + <Space> |
| Screen capture | <Command> + <Shift> + <3> |
| Screen capture, then open up the editor | <Command> + <Shift> + <4> |
| Show or hide the Dock | + <A> |
| Show or hide the Control Center | + <C> |
| Show or hide the Notification Center | + <N> |
| Show or hide Siri | + <S> |
| Show or hide the Application Library | + <Shift> + <A> |
iPad Keyboard Shortcut Cheatsheet for Active App
Most active apps accept the generic shortcuts listed below, but each app may have its own special shortcut.
| Show or hide the menu of available keyboard shortcuts in the active screen or app | <Command> for more than 1 second |
| Show or hide the Dock | <Command> + <Option> + <D> |
| Tile the app window to the left or right | + <Control> + Left or Right Arrow |
iPad Keyboard Shortcut Cheatsheet for Safari Browser
These useful keyboard shortcuts work specifically only inside the Safari browser on the iPad. We have omitted some of the less useful shortcuts.
| Open a link in a new tab in the background | <Command> + Click the link |
| Open a link in a new tab and activate | <Command> + <Shift> + Click the link |
| Open the tab according to the number sequence | <Command> + Any number |
| Open a new tab | <Command> + <T> <Command> + <N> |
| Open a new private tab | <Command> + <Shift> + <N> |
| Close a tab | <Command> + <W> |
| Reload page | <Command> + <R> |
| Back | <Command> + <[> |
| Forward | <Command> + <]> |
| Adjust a page to the actual size | <Command> + <O> |
| Zoom in | <Command> + <+> |
| Zoom out | <Command> + <-> |
| Email this page | <Command> + <I> |
| Show Sidebar | <Command> + <Shift> + <L> |
| Show Favourites Bar | <Command> + <Shift> + <B> |
Text Field iPad Keyboard Shortcut Cheatsheet
These shortcuts work when you are typing or editing text on an iPad.
| Undo | <Command> + <Z> |
| Copy | <Command> + <C> |
| Cut | <Command> + <X> |
| Paste | <Command> + <V> |
| Bold | <Command> + <B> |
| Select All | <Command> + <A> |
| Move the cursor to the next or previous word | <Option> + left or right arrow keys |
| Move the cursor to the next or previous paragraph | <Option> + up or down arrow keys |
| Select to beginning or end of a word | <Option> + <Shift> + left or right arrow keys |
| Select to beginning or end of a sentence | <Command> + <Shift> + left or right arrow keys |
Customize keyboard shortcuts
You can use the following steps to customize the keyboard shortcuts
- Open Settings
- Tap Accessibility
- Tap Keyboards
- Tap Full Keyboard Access and turn it on
- Tap Commands
- Tap a command, then press a custom key combination to assign to it
- Tap Done.
