As you add more tabs to your browser window, it can be hard to keep track of them all. The good news is that most browsers have built-in ways how to Switch Tabs With keyboard on Windows and Mac. If you spend a few minutes learning these commands, you will be able to move through tabs at a speed that will blow your mind.
What is it? Shortcuts on the keyboard. Many browsers and operating systems have shortcuts built in so that you can use them without a mouse. In many situations, using these keyboard shortcuts is faster or better than using a mouse. Switching between tabs on your browser is a great example of this. Let’s look at some of the best ways to use the keyboard to switch between tabs.
How to Switch Tabs with Keyboard on Windows
- Press Ctrl+Tab or Ctrl+PgDn to go to the tab on the right.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Tab or Ctrl + PgUp to go to the tab on the left.
- You might also be able to switch tabs with Ctrl+F6 or Ctrl+Tab, so it’s a good idea to try these as well.
Steps to Switch Tabs with Keyboard on Mac
- Press Command + Shift + Left Bracket () to move to the next tab.
- Alternatively, you can use Control + Tab to cycle through the open tabs in the order they were last accessed.
How to Switch Tabs with Keyboard in Any Browser
- Press Ctrl + Tab to move to the next tab.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Tab to move to the previous tab.
- Alternatively, you can use Ctrl + to directly switch to a specific tab. For example, Ctrl + 1 will switch to the first tab, Ctrl + 2 will switch to the second tab, and so on.
- If you have many tabs open and want to quickly locate a specific tab, you can use the Ctrl + Tab combination and while holding down the Ctrl key, press Tab multiple times to cycle through the open tabs. Release both keys when you reach the desired tab.
FAQs
Press the control (“Ctrl”) key followed by the “Tab” key to go to the next tab in your window. Both keys are on the far-left side of the keyboard, in the same column. Tap this combination once to switch tabs a single time. If you press “Ctrl” and “Tab” several times, then you can continuously switch tabs.
With this set of keystrokes: Ctrl + a number between 1 and 8. Chrome assigns a number to the first eight tabs it has open, starting from the left. If one of the tabs you need falls within that group, you only have to press Ctrl + the number of that tab to switch directly to it.
On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar (you may need to scroll down). Turn on “Keyboard navigation.” With this option turned on, you can use the Tab key to navigate to all controls on the screen.
