Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Navigate MATLAB
Using keyboard shortcuts to navigate MATLAB® can increase productivity and is useful in situations where using a mouse is not an option.
Navigate MATLAB Desktop
This table describes the actions and related keyboard shortcuts useful for navigating MATLAB without using a mouse. The table covers both the installed version of MATLAB and MATLAB Online™.
Action | Keyboard Shortcut |
|---|---|
Move forward and backward through the different areas of the MATLAB desktop, including the toolstrip, Current Folder toolbar, sidebar panels, and Command Window. | Ctrl+F6 and Ctrl+Shift+F6 On an installed version of MATLAB, you also can use Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab. On macOS systems, use Command+F6 and Command+Shift+F6 instead. |
Move into a tool, for example, into the current toolstrip tab. | Tab |
Move between controls within a tool, for example, between toolstrip tabs or between the items on a toolstrip tab. | Up/Down Arrow, Left/Right Arrow |
| Move between groups of open documents, for example, between Editor and Live Editor documents, or docked figures. | Ctrl+Page Up, Ctrl+Page Down Not supported in MATLAB Online. |
Close controls within a tool, for example, documents in the Editor and Live Editor. | Delete |
| Make an open tool the active tool. | Command Window: Ctrl+0 Command History: Ctrl+1 Files panel: Ctrl+2 Workspace panel: Ctrl+3 Editor: Ctrl+Shift+0 Figures: Ctrl+Shift+1 Variables editor: Ctrl+Shift+3 On macOS systems, use the Command key instead of the Ctrl key. Not supported in MATLAB Online. |
Move between code and output in the Live Editor when output is on the right. | Ctrl+Shift+O On macOS systems, use Option+Command+O instead. |
| Move focus between the command prompt and scroll buffer in the Command Window. | Shift+Tab |
| Open link at cursor location in the Command Window. | Ctrl+Enter |
| Open a context menu. | Shift+F10 |
Show access keys for the toolstrip. | Alt Not supported on macOS systems. |
Open a toolstrip tab and show access keys for the toolstrip. | Alt+ For example, pressing Alt followed by H accesses the Home tab and displays access keys for the options available on that tab. Not supported on macOS systems. |
| Perform a search. | Ctrl+Shift+Space On macOS systems, use Command+Shift+Space instead. |
| Open the Settings window. | Ctrl+, On macOS systems, use Command+, instead. |
Display a compact list of keyboard shortcuts. | Ctrl+/ |
Navigate Figures
You can explore plotted data using keyboard shortcuts. Once a figure is selected, the shortcuts described above are slightly modified.
This table describes the actions and related keyboard shortcuts useful for navigating figures in MATLAB without a mouse.
Action | Keyboard Shortcut |
|---|---|
Navigate forward. | Tab When focus is on the figure, pressing Tab steps into the axes. If a figure has multiple axes and focus is on the first axes, then pressing Tab steps to the next axes. |
Reverse navigation. | Shift+Tab Navigate axes in the reverse order as Tab. |
Additional Keyboard Shortcuts
In addition to navigation, keyboard shortcuts are useful for accessing other frequently used actions in MATLAB.
This table describes several of these actions and their related keyboard shortcuts. For additional keyboard shortcuts, see the documentation for a specific tool or feature.
Action | Keyboard Shortcut |
|---|---|
Cancel the current action. | Esc (escape) For example, if you have a context menu open, pressing Esc closes the context menu. If you have the Command History pop-up window open in the Command Window, pressing Esc closes the Command History. |
Interrupt MATLAB execution. | Ctrl+C On Windows® and Linux® systems, you also can use Ctrl+Break. On macOS systems, you also can use Command+. (period). |
Create Printable List of All Keyboard Shortcuts
To create a printable list of the current set of keyboard shortcuts in MATLAB, on the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Settings. Then, select MATLAB > Keyboard > Shortcuts, click the settings button, and select Copy to clipboard. Paste the copied list of shortcuts into a spreadsheet application, such as Microsoft® Excel®, or a text file. For the best formatting, use a spreadsheet application.
