Keyboard shortcuts
We have mentioned shortcuts already a few times. Let's make ourselves familiar. This is not the exhaustive list of shortcuts, but they should get your most of the way there.
Navigate the desktop workspace
Ctrl/Cmd means Ctrl on Windows and Linux, or Command on macOS. These are the built-in defaults, but you can override them.
| Action | Default |
|---|---|
| Global search | Ctrl/CmdP |
| New tab | Ctrl/CmdT |
| Close the current tab | Ctrl/CmdW |
| Back in tab history | Ctrl/Cmd[ |
| Forward in tab history | Ctrl/Cmd] |
| Toggle project sidebar | Ctrl/CmdS |
| Toggle concept or segment context sidebar | Ctrl/CmdShiftS |
| Find in the current editor | Ctrl/CmdF |
| Switch to tab 1–9 | Ctrl/Cmd1–9 |
Tip ☝️🤓 Remember, your writing saves automatically, so Ctrl/CmdS is not a manual save.
Open global search and type > to find commands. Escape closes the palette.
Editor shortcuts
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Bold | Ctrl/CmdB |
| Italic | Ctrl/CmdI |
| Undo | Ctrl/CmdZ |
| Open the slash menu | Type / at the start of a paragraph or after a space. |
| Open mention suggestions | Type @ and start a concept name. |
| Move through slash or mention menu items | ↑ / ↓ |
| Choose the highlighted menu item | Enter |
| Accept an inline concept link suggestion | Tab |
| Cycle through inline concept matches | ↑ / ↓ while multiple matches are offered. |
| Dismiss a menu or inline suggestion | Escape |
Concept link suggestions appear as you type ordinary names when Concept link suggestions is enabled in the editor view settings. If you're wondering that is that faded text that sometimes appears when you pause writing, this is it. Tab confirms the offered mention; continuing to type leaves ordinary text.
Dialog shortcuts
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Open the speaker picker | Ctrl/CmdK with the caret inside dialogue. |
| Assign a numbered speaker candidate | Ctrl/Cmd1–9 inside dialogue or while the picker is open. |
| Cycle through inline speaker suggestions | Arrow keys while a speaker suggestion is active. |
| Accept the suggested speaker | Tab |
| Dismiss the suggestion or picker | Escape |
The number chooses the concept directing, rather than cycling through them. These dialogue shortcuts take precedence over tab switching while the caret (text cursor) is inside recognised dialogue and the numbered candidate exists. In the picker, you can also search by concept name and choose a result with ↑ / ↓ and Enter.
The formatting guide and mentions guide give those actions some context. Hemingway mode deliberately restricts backward editing; turn it off in Editor settings when you want to revise.
Change a workspace shortcut
Open Commands & Shortcuts in settings. Choose the action's shortcut control and press the combination you want. Escape cancels recording.
If a combination belongs to another action, Writality asks whether to reassign it. Reassigning disables the old action's binding. You can restore an action's default or disable its shortcut.
Website documentation shortcuts
While reading these guides on the website, / or Ctrl/CmdK opens documentation search. Desktop global search uses Ctrl/CmdP.