Great keyboard shortcuts for Linux Mint Cinnamon

Although the Cinnamon graphical desktop environment is great for using your Linux Mint distribution, navigating it, customizing its files, and using applications with your mouse or trackpad, there are also alternative ways to operate your Linux Mint installation. With keyboard shortcuts, achieving a certain goal or performing an action is often easier and faster than using your mouse or trackpad. In this article, as part of my Linux Mint Tutorial Series, I give you an overview of great keyboard shortcuts for Linux Mint Cinnamon. 

Content of this article

1. What are keyboard shortcuts
2. Generic keyboard shortcuts
3. Generic navigation keyboard shortcuts
4. Terminal keyboard shortcuts 
5. Window management keyboard shortcuts
6. Workspaces keyboard shortcuts
7. System keyboard shortcuts
8. Keyboard shortcuts to create screenshots
9. Keyboard shortcuts to navigate the Nemo file manager
10. Keyboard shortcuts in the Firefox web browser
11. Keyboard shortcuts in the Chrome web browser
12. How to add or change keyboard shortcuts in Linux Mint Cinnamon

Article information

Distro versions: 

• Linux Mint 21.2 Cinnamon

Tutorial series: 

• Linux Mint Tutorial Series

What are keyboard shortcuts

Linux Mint Cinnamon is an excellent graphical desktop environment and offers everything you need to manage and use your Linux Mint based computer with your mouse or trackpad. But you can also perform many tasks and actions via your keyboard by combining different key combinations. This is often just a little faster than clicking with your mouse. I am also a keen mouse clicker myself, but I sometimes have to admit that using a keyboard shortcut such as Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V, copying and pasting a selection is easier than using a mouse. There are many keyboard shortcuts that can also be used in other Linux distributions and some work specifically in Linux Mint Cinnamon. So let’s see what is available for you.

Note: In this article I frequently call the Windows key (between Ctrl and Alt) on your keyboard the Super key. On some modern Linux dedicated laptops and keyboards, this key can have the Linux Tux logo instead of a Windows logo.

Generic keyboard shortcuts 

Keyboard shortcuts to cut, copy, paste, find, etc.

Ctrl + A	Select all
Ctrl + C	Copy
Ctrl + X	Cut
Ctrl + V	Paste
Ctrl + Z	Undo
Ctrl + Y	Redo
Ctrl + F	Find text
Ctrl + H	Find and replace text

Generic navigation keyboard shortcuts 

Keyboard shortcuts to cut, copy, paste, find, etc.

Ctrl + Alt + Down	Show window selection overview
Super + D	Show Desktop
Super + S	Show Desklets
Alt + Tab	Cycle through open windows
Shift + Alt + Tab	Cycle backwards through open windows
Alt + F2	Open Run dialogue

Terminal keyboard shortcuts 

Keyboard shortcuts for GNOME Terminal.

Note: You can add and change keyboard shortcuts via Edit / Preferences / Shortcuts.

Ctrl + Alt + T	Launch Terminal
Shift + Ctrl + T	New tab
Shift + Ctrl + W	Close tab
Shift + Ctrl + N	New window
Shift + Ctrl + Q	Close window
Shift + Ctrl + C	Copy
Shift + Ctrl + V	Paste
Ctrl + +	Zoom in on current page
Ctrl + –	Zoom out on current page
Ctrl + 0	Zoom to default
F11	Full screen
Shift + Ctrl + F	Find
Shift + Ctrl + G	Find next
Shift + Ctrl + H	Find previous
Shift + Ctrl + J	Clear highlight

Window management keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts for window positioning, tiling and snapping, etc.

Alt + F8	Resize window
Alt + F7	Move window
Alt + F5	Un-max­imize window
Alt + F4	Close window
Alt + Space	Activate window menu
Alt + F10	Toggle maximi­zation state
Super + Left	Push tile left
Super + ­Right	Push tile right
Super + Up	Push tile up
Super + Down	Push tile down
Ctrl + S­upe­r + Left	Push snap left +
Ctrl + S­upe­r + Right	Push snap right
Ctrl + S­upe­r + Down	Push snap down
Shift + ­Ctr­l + A­lt + Left	Move window to left workspace
Shift + ­Ctr­l + A­lt + ­Right	Move window to right workspace
Super + ­Shi­ft + Left	Move window to left monitor
Super + ­Shi­ft + ­Right	Move window to right monitor
Super + ­Shi­ft + Up	Move window to up monitor
Super + ­Shi­ft + Down	Move window to down monitor

Workspaces keyboard shortcuts 

Keyboard shortcuts to navigate workspaces.

Ctrl + Alt + Up	Show workspace selection overview
Ctrl + Alt + Left	Switch to left workspace
Ctrl + Alt + Right	Switch to right workspace

System keyboard shortcuts 

System related keyboard shortcuts.

Ctrl + A­lt + ­Delete	Log out
Ctrl + A­lt + End	Shut down
Ctrl + Alt + L	Lock screen
Ctrl + A­lt + Esc	Restart Cinnamon
Super + P	Re-detect display devices
Super + O	Orient­ation lock

Keyboard shortcuts to create screenshots

Keyboard shortcuts to create and manage screenshots.

Shift+­Print	Take a screenshot of an area
Shift+­Ctr­l+Print	Copy a screenshot of an area to clipboard
Print	Take a screenshot
Ctrl+Print	Copy a screenshot to clipboard
Alt+Print	Take a screenshot of a window
Ctrl+A­lt+­Print	Copy a screenshot of a window to clipboard
Shift+­Ctr­l+Alt+R	Toggle recording desktop (must restart Cinnamon)

Keyboard shortcuts to navigate the Nemo file manager

With the below keyboard shortcuts you can navigate the file manager in Linux Mint.

Generic

Super + E	Open the Nemo file manager and automatically show your home folder
Ctrl + N	Open a new window
Ctrl + W	Close the current window or tab
Ctrl + Q	Close all windows
Ctrl + F	Search
Ctrl + D	Bookmark current location
Ctrl + B	Edit bookmarks
Ctrl + M	Make link to folder or file
Shift + Ctrl + D	Pin/Unpin selection
F1	Show help
Ctrl + F1	Shortcuts

Opening

Ctrl + O	Open selected file or folder
Shift + Ctrl + T	Open in new tab
Shift + Ctrl + O	Open in new window
Ctrl + Alt + O	Open item location (recent files and search only)

Tabs

Ctrl + T	New tab
Ctrl + Page Up	Go to previous tab
Ctrl + Page Down	Go to next tab
Alt + 0…8	Switch to tab
Shift + Ctrl + Page Up	Move tab left
Shift + Ctrl + Page Down	Move tab right

Navigation

Backspace / Alt + arrow left	Go back
Alt + arrow right	Go forward
Alt + arrow up	Go up
Alt + arrow down	Go down
Alt + Home	Go to home folder
Ctrl + L	Toggle location entry

Dual Pane

F3	Toggle extra pane
Alt + S	Go to other pane’s location
F6	Focus other pane

View

Ctrl + +	Zoom in
Ctrl + –	Zoom out
Ctrl + 0	Reset zoom
F5 / Ctrl + R	Refresh view
Ctrl + H	Show / hide hidden files
F9	Show/hide sidebar
F10	Show/hide action menu
Ctrl + 1	Icon vuiew
Ctrl + 2	List view
Ctrl + 3	Compact view

Editing

Shift + Ctrl + N	Create folder
F2	Rename
Delete	Move to trash
Shift + Delete	Delete permanently
Ctrl + X	Cut
Ctrl + C	Copy
Ctrl + V	Paste
Ctrl + A	Select all
Shift + Ctrl + I	Invert selction
Ctrl + S	Select items matching
Ctrl + Z	Undo
Ctrl + Y	Redo
Ctrl + I	Show item properties

Keyboard shortcuts in the Firefox web browser

Keyboard shortcuts to use in Firefox based browsers.

Ctrl + N	Open a new browser window
Ctrl + T	Open a new browser tab
Ctrl + W	Close the current browser tab
Ctrl + F	Search in the current page
Ctrl + R	Refresh the current page
Ctrl + +	Zoom in on current page
Ctrl + –	Zoom out on current page
Ctrl + 0	Zoom to default
Ctrl + K	Open search area
Ctrl + L	Open address area
Ctrl + P	Open the print dialogue to print the page

Keyboard shortcuts in the Chrome web browser

Keyboard shortcuts to use in Chrome based browsers.

Ctrl + N	Open a new browser window
Ctrl + T	Open a new browser tab
Ctrl + W	Close the current browser tab
Ctrl + F	Search in the current page
Ctrl + R	Refresh the current page
Ctrl + +	Zoom in on current page
Ctrl + –	Zoom out on current page
Ctrl + 0	Zoom to default
Ctrl + K	Open search area
Ctrl + NL	Open address area
Ctrl + P	Open the print dialogue to print the page

How to add or change keyboard shortcuts in Linux Mint Cinnamon

As you can see, there are a lot of keyboard shortcuts available out of the box, but it is also possible to change current shortcuts or add new shortcuts so your system behaves exactly as you want.

1) Click in the panel on the Linux Mint logo or hit the Super key to open the Linux Mint main menu / application launcher. 

2) Type “Keyboard” in the search area and click on “keyboard”.

3) In the Keyboard window select the Shortcuts tab.

The following screen opens:

Here you can add custom shortcuts, remove shortcuts, and change existing shortcuts.

Final words

That was my list of great keyboard shortcuts to be used in your Linux Mint Cinnamon environment. As already mentioned I am actually a keen mouse clicker myself, but I have to admit that in a lot of situations, a keyboard shortcut can be much faster and more convenient than all those clicks and mouse movements. I hope you like this list and that it is of any use to you. If you have some nice additional keyboard shortcuts you think should be added to this article, please let me know via my contact page.