Moving through Expressions

Moving the Cursor by Typing

You can use the keyboard to move the cursor forward or backward one character or one word at a time. You can also delete the character or word to the right or the left of the cursor, and you can move the cursor to the beginning or end of a line.

Getting out of an Expression

Move to the end of the next-higher subexpression by pressing Ctrl and Space at the same time.

Press Ctrl+Space repeatedly:

(1/(1+(1/(2+(1/(3\[VerticalSeparator]))))))

(1/(1+(1/(2+(1/3)\[VerticalSeparator]))))

(1/(1+(1/(2+(1/3)))\[VerticalSeparator]))

(1/(1+(1/(2+(1/3)))))\[VerticalSeparator]

Selecting the Next Placeholder

Select the next placeholder by pressing the Tab key.

\[VerticalSeparator](({{a, \[Placeholder], \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], b, \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], \[Placeholder], c}}))->

Pressing the Tab key:

(({{a, \[Placeholder], \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], b, \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], \[Placeholder], c}}))

Press Tab repeatedly:

(({{a, \[Placeholder], \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], b, \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], \[Placeholder], c}}))

(({{a, \[Placeholder], \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], b, \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], \[Placeholder], c}}))

(({{a, \[Placeholder], \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], b, \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], \[Placeholder], c}}))

(({{a, \[Placeholder], \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], b, \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], \[Placeholder], c}}))

(({{a, \[Placeholder], \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], b, \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], \[Placeholder], c}}))

Select the previous placeholder by pressing Shift and Tab at the same time.

(({{a, \[Placeholder], \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], b, \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], \[Placeholder], c}}))\[VerticalSeparator]

Press Shift and Tab at the same time:

(({{a, \[Placeholder], \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], b, \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], \[Placeholder], c}}))

Press Shift+Tab repeatedly:

(({{a, \[Placeholder], \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], b, \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], \[Placeholder], c}}))

(({{a, \[Placeholder], \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], b, \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], \[Placeholder], c}}))

(({{a, \[Placeholder], \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], b, \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], \[Placeholder], c}}))

(({{a, \[Placeholder], \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], b, \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], \[Placeholder], c}}))

(({{a, \[Placeholder], \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], b, \[Placeholder]}, {\[Placeholder], \[Placeholder], c}}))

Switching Positions

Move back and forth between complementary positions by pressing Ctrl+5 or Ctrl+%.

First, alternate between a radicand and an index:

((x\[VerticalSeparator])^(1/n))

Press Ctrl+%:

(x^(1/(n\[VerticalSeparator])))

Press Ctrl+%.

((x\[VerticalSeparator])^(1/n))

Next, alternate between a superscript and a subscript:

(Subscript[x, j]^(i\[VerticalSeparator]))

Press Ctrl+%.

(Subscript[x, j\[VerticalSeparator]]^i)

Press Ctrl+%.

(Subscript[x, j]^(i\[VerticalSeparator]))

Finally, alternate between an overscript and an underscript:

(∑_(n=1)^(∞\[VerticalSeparator]))(1/(n^2))

Press Ctrl+%:

(∑_(n=1\[VerticalSeparator])^∞)(1/(n^2))

Press Ctrl+%.

(∑_(n=1)^(∞\[VerticalSeparator]))(1/(n^2))