MATE has many keyboard shortcuts that, by pressing a combination of
keys, help you do things that
normally require a mouse, trackpad, or another input device. You can find more keyboard shortcuts documented in the Getting
Started section of MATE Welcome. This provides a comparison of some of these keyboard shortcuts
with those you might have used in your previous operating system.
Note
Changing your theme or window manager in the MATE Tweak tool might change some of these shortcuts. These changes in behavior are indicated in the descriptions and tables that follow.
Every major operating system makes use of a special hardware "meta key" on the keyboard. They are listed below, and for the purpose of running MATE on your computer hardware, the keys are equivalent with one another. In Linux documentation, the "meta key" is often referred to as the "Super key".
|
⌘ |
Apple macOS Command key (used on Apple keyboards) |
|
⊞ |
The Microsoft Windows logo key (used on Microsoft-branded and many generic keyboards) |
|
|
The Ubuntu logo key or Tux penguin logo key, also known as the "Super" key (used on keyboards of some computers pre-installed with Linux) |
Your keyboard's meta key can be used by MATE to activate menus and launchers as well as the many keyboard shortcuts that include the "Super" key. As they are for users of the MATE Desktop in other Linux distributions, both the Super + L and the Ctrl + Alt + L key combinations are recognized as screen lock keyboard shortcuts in MATE.
Tip
The Super key just works after you install MATE on most computer hardware. However, when you order a computer pre-installed with Linux from the manufacturer Dell, you will need to follow Dell's instructions on how to enable the Super key. Details are available from Dell's support website in a knowledge base article entitled, " How to enable the Ubuntu super key on Dell OEM Ubuntu installations." Check your hardware manufacturer's documentation or website to determine if your computer's Super key requires similar setup.
Common Application Shortcuts
These shortcuts apply in most applications.
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|
Meta Key |
|
⌘ |
⊞ |
|
Copy the selected text/object |
Ctrl + C |
⌘ + C |
Ctrl + C |
|
Cut the selected text/object |
Ctrl + X |
⌘ + X |
Ctrl + X |
|
Paste/insert the selected text/object |
Ctrl + V |
⌘ + V |
Ctrl + V |
|
Paste the selected text without formatting or with options |
Ctrl + Shift + V |
⌘ + Shift + V |
Ctrl + Shift + V |
|
Select all text |
Ctrl + A |
⌘ + A |
Ctrl + A |
|
Find and replace words |
Ctrl + F |
⌘ + F |
Ctrl + F |
|
Make the selected text bold |
Ctrl + B |
⌘ + B |
Ctrl + B |
|
Make the selected text italic |
Ctrl + I |
⌘ + I |
Ctrl + I |
|
Underline the selected text |
Ctrl + U |
⌘ + U |
Ctrl + U |
|
Open a new document or window |
Ctrl + N |
⌘ + N |
Ctrl + N |
|
Save the current document |
Ctrl + S |
⌘ + S |
Ctrl + S |
|
Open another document |
Ctrl + O |
⌘ + O |
Ctrl + O |
|
Print the current document |
Ctrl + P |
⌘ + P |
Ctrl + P |
|
Undo the last change you made |
Ctrl + Z |
⌘ + Z |
Ctrl + Z |
|
Redo a change that you just undid |
Ctrl + Shift + Z |
⌘ + Shift + Z |
Ctrl + Y |
|
Toggle the current application between full-screen and windowed |
F11 |
⌘ + Ctrl + F |
F11 |