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.

This table describes the actions and related keyboard shortcuts useful for navigating MATLAB without a mouse. On macOS systems, use the Command key instead of Ctrl.

Action	Keyboard Shortcut
Move to the next visible panel.	Ctrl+Tab
Move to the previous visible panel.	Ctrl+Shift+Tab
Move to the next tabbed panel.	Ctrl+Page Down
Move to the previous tabbed panel.	Ctrl+Page Up
Make an open tool the active tool.	Command Window: Ctrl+0 Command History: Ctrl+1 Current Folder: Ctrl+2 Workspace: Ctrl+3 Profiler: Ctrl+4 Figure Palette: Ctrl+6 Plot Browser: Ctrl+7 Property Editor: Ctrl+8 Editor: Ctrl+Shift+0 Figures: Ctrl+Shift+1 Web browser: Ctrl+Shift+2 Variables Editor: Ctrl+Shift+3 Comparison Tool: Ctrl+Shift+4 Help browser: Ctrl+Shift+5
Show access keys for the toolstrip.	Alt
Open a toolstrip tab and show access keys for the toolstrip.	Alt+`<character>` For example, pressing Alt followed by H accesses the Home tab and displays access keys for the features available on that tab.

You cannot customize most of these shortcuts. For information about customizable keyboard shortcuts and how to view and modify them, see Customize Keyboard Shortcuts.

MATLAB Online

MATLAB Online provides access to MATLAB from a standard web browser. Because MATLAB Online™ runs in a browser, navigation using the keyboard is slightly different.

This table describes the actions and related keyboard shortcuts useful for navigating MATLAB Online without a mouse.

Action	Keyboard Shortcut
Move forward through the toolstrip and other tools.	Ctrl+F6 On macOS systems, use Cmd+F6 instead.
Move backward through the toolstrip and other tools.	Ctrl+Shift+F6 On macOS systems, use Cmd+Shift+F6 instead.
Move into a tool.	Tab
Move between controls within a tool.	Up/Down Arrow, Left/Right Arrow
Close controls within a tool, for example, documents in the Editor and Live Editor.	Delete
Open context menu on Windows^® and UNIX^® systems.	Shift+F10
Show access keys for the toolstrip.	Alt
Open a toolstrip tab and show access keys for the toolstrip.	Alt+`<character>` For example, pressing Alt followed by H accesses the Home tab and displays access keys for the features available on that tab.
Display a compact list of keyboard shortcuts.	Ctrl+/

Customizing shortcuts is not supported in MATLAB Online.

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 click the name of the Edit menu, the whole menu appears. Pressing Esc hides the menu again. In the Function Browser, pressing Esc up to three times has the following effects: Dismiss the search history. Clear the search field. Close the Function Browser.
Interrupt MATLAB execution.	Ctrl+C On Windows and UNIX systems, you also can use Ctrl+Break. On Mac systems, you also can use Cmd+. (period).

Action

Keyboard Shortcut

Cancel the current action.

Esc (escape)

For example, if you click the name of the Edit menu, the whole menu appears. Pressing Esc hides the menu again.

In the Function Browser, pressing Esc up to three times has the following effects:

Dismiss the search history.
Clear the search field.
Close the Function Browser.

Interrupt MATLAB execution.

Ctrl+C

On Windows and UNIX systems, you also can use Ctrl+Break. On Mac systems, you also can use Cmd+. (period).

You cannot customize these shortcuts. For information about customizable keyboard shortcuts and how to view and modify them, see Customize Keyboard Shortcuts.

Documentation