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.

Installed MATLAB

If you have MATLAB installed on your system, this table describes the actions and related keyboard shortcuts useful for navigating MATLAB without a mouse.

Action	Keyboard Shortcut
Move to the next visible panel.	Ctrl+Tab
Move to the previous visible panel.	Ctrl+Shift+Tab
Move to the next tab in a panel.	Ctrl+Page Down
Move to the previous tab in a 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 On macOS systems, use the Command key instead of the Ctrl key.
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.
Show access keys for the toolstrip tabs.	Alt Not supported on macOS systems.
Select or open a toolstrip tab and show the access keys for each item on the tab.	Press Alt to show the access keys for the toolstrip tabs and then *`<character>`* to select or open a tab, where `<character>` is the displayed access key for the desired toolstrip tab. For example, press Alt followed by H to select or open the Home tab and display the access keys for the items on that tab. Not supported on macOS systems.
Select a toolstrip item.	Press Alt and then *`<character>`* to select the current toolstrip tab, where `<character>` is the displayed access key for the current tab. Then, press *`<character>`* to select a toolstrip item, where `<character>` is the displayed access key for the desired item. For example, press Alt followed by H to select the Home tab and then S to create a new script. Not supported on macOS systems.

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 different areas of the MATLAB Online desktop, including the toolstrip, Current Folder toolbar, sidebar panels, and Command Window.	Ctrl+F6 On macOS systems, use Command+F6 instead.
Move backward through the different areas of the MATLAB Online desktop, including the toolstrip, Current Folder toolbar, sidebar panels, and Command Window.	Ctrl+Shift+F6 On macOS systems, use 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
Close controls within a tool, for example, documents in the Editor and Live Editor.	Delete
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 command prompt and scroll buffer	Shift+Tab
Open 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+`<character>` For example, pressing Alt followed by H accesses the Home tab and displays access keys for the features available on that tab. Not supported on macOS systems.
Perform a search.	Ctrl+Shift+Space On macOS systems, use Command+Shift+Space instead.
Open Preferences Window	Ctrl+, On macOS systems, use Command+, instead.
Display a compact list of keyboard shortcuts.	Ctrl+/

Customizing shortcuts is not supported in MATLAB Online.

Navigate Figures in MATLAB Online

In MATLAB Online, 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 Online without a mouse.

Action	Keyboard Shortcut
Navigate Forward	Tab When focus is on the figure, this means Tab steps into the axes. If there are multiple axes in a figure, and focus is on the first axes, then Tab steps to the next axes.
Reverse Navigation	Shift+Tab Navigate axes in the reverse order as Tab.
Navigate Down	Ctrl+Down Arrow If focus is on a set of axes, then Ctrl+Down Arrow focuses the first focusable element within the axes. For example, if a title is present, focus jumps from the axes to the title. If no titles or labels are present, then focus jumps from the axes to an object within the axes.
Navigate up	Ctrl+Up Arrow Focus shifts from an element to its parent element. For example, if focus is on a line, then Ctrl+Up Arrow shifts focus to the axes.

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 Linux^® systems, you also can use Ctrl+Break. On macOS systems, you also can use Command+. (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 Linux^® systems, you also can use Ctrl+Break. On macOS systems, you also can use Command+. (period).

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