Shortcuts are how you stop reaching for the ribbon. A few dozen keystrokes cover the moves you make all day in Microsoft Project — opening a plan, indenting a task, filling a column down, jumping to the end of the schedule — without leaving the keyboard or losing your place in the sheet.
The list below is the reference we hand out with the viewer: the shortcuts that activate functions in the main tabs of the on-premises Microsoft Project program, the Project Online subscriber set, and the ones for drawing objects. Where a shortcut differs by version, the table says which.
All shortcuts here are based on the US keyboard layout. On another layout the letters may sit elsewhere, so check the combination against your own keyboard.
Frequently used shortcuts
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Open a project file (display the Open dialog box) | Ctrl+F12 |
| Open a project file (display the Open tab in the File menu) | Ctrl+O |
| Save a project file | Ctrl+S |
| Create a new project | Ctrl+N |
Navigate views and windows
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Activate the entry bar to edit text in a field | F2 |
| Activate the menu bar | F10 or Alt |
| Activate the project control menu | Alt+Hyphen (-) or Alt+Spacebar |
| Activate the split bar | Shift+F6 |
| Close the program window | Alt+F4 |
| Display all filtered tasks or all filtered resources | F3 |
| Display the Field Settings dialog box | Alt+F3 |
| Open a new window | Shift+F11 |
| Reduce a selection to a single field | Shift+Backspace |
| Reset sort order to ID order and turn off grouping | Shift+F3 |
| Select a drawing object | F6 |
| Display task information | Shift+F2 |
| Display resource information | Shift+F2 |
| Display assignment information | Shift+F2 |
| Turn on or off the Add To Selection mode | Shift+F8 |
| Turn on or off Auto Calculate | Ctrl+F9 |
| Turn on or off the Extend Selection mode | F8 |
| In the Print window, move left, right, up or down to view different pages in the print preview pane | Alt+Arrow keys |
Shift+F2 is context-sensitive: it opens the information dialog for whatever is selected — a task, a resource or an assignment.
Outline a project
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Hide subtasks | Alt+Shift+Hyphen (-) or Alt+Shift+Minus sign on the numeric keypad |
| Indent the selected task | Alt+Shift+Right arrow key |
| Show subtasks | Alt+Shift+Equal sign (=) or Alt+Shift+Plus sign on the numeric keypad |
| Show all tasks | Alt+Shift+Asterisk on the numeric keypad |
| Remove a task indent | Alt+Shift+Left arrow key |
| Move the selected task up (the entire row must be selected) | Alt+Shift+Up arrow key |
| Move the selected task down (the entire row must be selected) | Alt+Shift+Down arrow key |
Select and edit in a dialog box
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Move between fields at the bottom of a form | Arrow keys |
| Move into tables at the bottom of a form | Left Alt+1 or Right Alt+2 |
| Move to the next task or resource | Enter |
| Move to the previous task or resource | Shift+Enter |
Select and edit in a sheet view
Editing, moving and selecting in the sheet, and the timescale under it.
Edit in a view
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Cancel an entry | Esc |
| Clear or reset the selected field | Ctrl+Delete |
| Copy the selected data | Ctrl+C |
| Cut the selected data | Ctrl+X |
| Delete the selected data | Delete |
| Delete the row that has a selected cell | Ctrl+Minus sign on the numeric keypad |
| Fill down a column | Ctrl+D |
| Display the Find dialog box | Ctrl+F or Shift+F5 |
| In the Find dialog box, continue to the next instance of the search results | Shift+F4 |
| Use the Go To command in the Edit menu | F5 |
| Link tasks | Ctrl+F2 |
| Paste the copied or cut data | Ctrl+V |
| Reduce the selection to one field | Shift+Backspace |
| Undo the last action | Ctrl+Z |
| Unlink tasks | Ctrl+Shift+F2 |
| Set the task to manually schedule | Ctrl+Shift+M |
| Set the task to auto schedule | Ctrl+Shift+A |
Move in a view
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Move to the beginning of a project (timescale) | Alt+Home |
| Move to the end of a project (timescale) | Alt+End |
| Move the timescale left | Alt+Left arrow key |
| Move the timescale right | Alt+Right arrow key |
| Move to the first field in a row | Home or Ctrl+Left arrow key |
| Move to the first row | Ctrl+Up arrow key |
| Move to the first field of the first row | Ctrl+Home |
| Move to the last field in a row | End or Ctrl+Right arrow key |
| Move to the last field of the last row | Ctrl+End |
| Move to the last row | Ctrl+Down arrow key |
Move in the side pane
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Move the focus between the side pane and the view on the right side | F6 in Project 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 and Project for Microsoft 365; Ctrl+Tab or Ctrl+Shift+Tab in Project 2010 |
| Select different controls in the side pane when the focus is in the side pane | Tab key |
| Select or clear checkboxes and option buttons when the focus is in the side pane | Spacebar |
Select in a view
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Extend the selection down one page | Shift+Page down |
| Extend the selection up one page | Shift+Page up |
| Extend the selection down one row | Shift+Down arrow key |
| Extend the selection up one row | Shift+Up arrow key |
| Extend the selection to the first field in a row | Shift+Home |
| Extend the selection to the last field in a row | Shift+End |
| Extend the selection to the start of the information | Ctrl+Shift+Home |
| Extend the selection to the end of the information | Ctrl+Shift+End |
| Extend the selection to the first row | Ctrl+Shift+Up arrow key |
| Extend the selection to the last row | Ctrl+Shift+Down arrow key |
| Extend the selection to the first field of the first row | Ctrl+Shift+Home |
| Extend the selection to the last field of the last row | Ctrl+Shift+End |
Select and edit in the entry bar
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Accept an entry | Enter |
| Cancel an entry | Esc |
| Delete one character to the left | Backspace |
| Delete one character to the right | Delete |
| Delete one word to the right | Ctrl+Delete |
| Extend the selection to the end of the text | Shift+End |
| Extend the selection to the start of the text | Shift+Home |
| Turn on or off Overtype mode | Insert |
Use a timescale
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Move the timescale left one page | Alt+Page up |
| Move the timescale right one page | Alt+Page down |
Use a Network Diagram
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Move to a different Network Diagram box | Arrow keys |
| Add Network Diagram boxes to the selection | Shift+Arrow keys |
| Move a Network Diagram box | Ctrl+Arrow keys |
| Move to the top Network Diagram box in the view or project | Ctrl+Home or Shift+Ctrl+Home |
| Move to the lowest Network Diagram box in the project | Ctrl+End or Shift+Ctrl+End |
| Move to the leftmost Network Diagram box in the project | Home or Shift+Home |
| Move to the rightmost Network Diagram box in the project | End or Shift+End |
| Move up one window height | Page up or Shift+Page up |
| Move down one window height | Page down or Shift+Page down |
| Move left one window width | Ctrl+Page up or Shift+Ctrl+Page up |
| Move right one window width | Ctrl+Page down or Shift+Ctrl+Page down |
| Select the next field in the Network Diagram box | Enter or Tab key |
| Select the previous field in the Network Diagram box | Shift+Enter |
Moving a box with Ctrl+Arrow keys needs manual positioning turned on first: select the box, go to Format, then Layout, and select Allow manual box positioning.
Shortcuts for Project Online subscribers
Use the main window
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Switch between active dialog boxes and the main app | Alt+F6 |
| Open the context menu for the selected item (the right-click menu) | Shift+F10 or the Windows Menu key |
| Activate the ribbon | F10 |
| Activate the view splitter | Alt+Shift+F6 |
| Display the autofilter dropdown menu for the selected column | Alt+Shift+F3 |
| Reapply the current filter | Ctrl+F3 |
| Open the on-object menu for the selected cell | Alt+Shift+F10 |
Use the Team Planner view
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Expand or collapse a resource row or a grouping row | Alt+Shift+Plus sign (+) or Minus sign (-) |
| Scroll the timescale left | Alt+Left arrow key |
| Scroll the timescale right | Alt+Right arrow key |
| Reschedule a scheduled task | Ctrl+Arrow keys |
| Open the task information dialog box | Select the task and press Enter |
| Reassign a task | Ctrl+Up or Down arrow key |
Use the Timeline view
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Cycle through the element types — task bar, milestone, callout and timeline bar — when one of them is already selected | Tab key or Down arrow key |
| Cycle through the element types in the opposite order — timeline bar, callout, milestone, task bar — when one of them is already selected | Shift+Tab or Up arrow key |
| Go to the previous or next item of that type, for example to the next milestone | Left or Right arrow key |
| Scroll the timescale left | Alt+Left arrow key |
| Scroll the timescale right | Alt+Right arrow key |
| Move the item up or down to the next channel or timeline bar | Ctrl+Up or Down arrow key |
| Open the task information dialog box | Shift+F2 |
Use OfficeArt objects
The drawing tools in the Gantt Chart and Network Diagram views have their own keys for shapes and text boxes.
Move OfficeArt shapes
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Nudge the shape up, down, right or left | Arrow keys |
| Increase the shape’s width by 10% | Shift+Right arrow key |
| Decrease the shape’s width by 10% | Shift+Left arrow key |
| Increase the shape’s height by 10% | Shift+Up arrow key |
| Decrease the shape’s height by 10% | Shift+Down arrow key |
| Increase the shape’s width by 1% | Ctrl+Shift+Right arrow key |
| Decrease the shape’s width by 1% | Ctrl+Shift+Left arrow key |
| Increase the shape’s height by 1% | Ctrl+Shift+Up arrow key |
| Decrease the shape’s height by 1% | Ctrl+Shift+Down arrow key |
| Rotate the shape 15 degrees to the right | Alt+Right arrow key |
| Rotate the shape 15 degrees to the left | Alt+Left arrow key |
Select and copy OfficeArt objects and text
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Select an object (with text selected inside the object) | Esc |
| Select an object (with an object selected) | Tab key or Shift+Tab until the object you want is selected |
| Select text within an object (with an object selected) | Enter |
| Select multiple shapes | Press and hold Ctrl while you select the shapes |
| Select multiple shapes with text | Press and hold Shift while you select the shapes |
| Cut selected object | Ctrl+X |
| Copy selected object | Ctrl+C |
| Paste cut or copied object | Ctrl+V |
| Paste special | Ctrl+Alt+V |
| Copy formatting only | Ctrl+Shift+C |
| Paste formatting only | Ctrl+Shift+V |
| Group shapes, pictures or WordArt | Ctrl+G after you select the items you want to group |
| Ungroup shapes, pictures or WordArt | Ctrl+Shift+G after you select the group you want to ungroup |
| Undo the last action | Ctrl+Z |
| Redo the last action | Ctrl+Y |
| Add next object to a selection with multiple objects | Ctrl+Click with the mouse |
| Add next text box to a selection with multiple objects (lets you select the text element in a text box) | Shift+Click with the mouse |
Edit OfficeArt text and text boxes
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Collapse selection | Esc |
| Select all text | Ctrl+A |
| Delete one word to the left | Ctrl+Backspace |
| Delete one word to the right | Ctrl+Delete |
| Undo an action | Ctrl+Z |
| Redo an action | Ctrl+Y |
| Move one word to the left | Ctrl+Left arrow key |
| Move one word to the right | Ctrl+Right arrow key |
| Move to the beginning of the line | Home |
| Move to the end of the line | End |
| Move up one paragraph | Ctrl+Up arrow key |
| Move down one paragraph | Ctrl+Down arrow key |
| Move to the beginning of the object’s text | Ctrl+Home |
| Move to the end of the object’s text | Ctrl+End |
When the plan is not yours to edit
Shortcuts speed up the person who builds the schedule. Everyone else — the stakeholders, the team members, the executives who need to read the plan — only needs to open it.
Seavus Project Viewer opens native .mpp files read-only on Windows and macOS, with the Microsoft Project views, tables and reports intact, so the people who read the plan do not need a Microsoft Project licence to do it. The Windows viewer and the Mac viewer both start with a free 15-day trial.