JavaScript Data Grid Keyboard shortcuts

Access all Handsontable features using just your keyboard. Use shortcuts you know from Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel.

Overview

This page lists all of Handsontable's default keyboard shortcuts.

These keyboard shortcuts work when you navigate the grid. They come from Handsontable's Core, so they work out of the box, with no need for additional plugins.

Windows macOS Action Excel Sheets
Arrow keys Arrow keys Move one cell up, down, left, or right
Ctrl+Backspace Cmd+Backspace Scroll the viewport to show the focused cell
Ctrl+ Cmd+ Move to the first cell of the current column
Ctrl+ Cmd+ Move to the last cell of the current column
Ctrl+ Cmd+ Move to the leftmost cell of the current row
Ctrl+ Cmd+ Move to the rightmost cell of the current row
Enter Enter Enter the editing mode of the active cell
Shift+Enter Shift+Enter Enter the editing mode of the active cell
F2 F2 Enter the editing mode of the active cell
Alphanumeric keys Alphanumeric keys Enter the editing mode of the active cell, and enter the pressed key's value into the cell
Tab Tab Move to the next cell* (if there's only one column available, move one cell down)
Shift+Tab Shift+Tab Move to the previous cell* (if there's only one column available, move one cell up)
Home Home Move to the first non-frozen cell of the current row*
Ctrl+Home Cmd+Home Move to the first non-frozen cell of the grid*
End End Move to the last non-frozen cell of the current row*
Ctrl+End Cmd+End Move to the last non-frozen cell of the grid*
Page Up Page Up Move one screen up
Page Down Page Down Move one screen down

* This action depends on your layout direction.

Selection keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts help you select cells. They come from Handsontable's Core, so they work out of the box, with no need for additional plugins.

Windows macOS Action Excel Sheets
Ctrl+A Cmd+A Select all cells
Ctrl+Shift+Space Cmd+Shift+Space Select all cells and headers
Ctrl+Shift+Enter Cmd+Shift+Enter Save and close editor
Ctrl+Space Ctrl+Space Select the entire column
Shift+Space Shift+Space Select the entire row
Ctrl+Shift+ Cmd+Shift+ Extend the selection to the first cell of the current column**
Ctrl+Shift+ Cmd+Shift+ Extend the selection to the last cell of the current column**
Ctrl+Shift+ Cmd+Shift+ Extend the selection to the leftmost cell of the current row**
Ctrl+Shift+ Cmd+Shift+ Extend the selection to the rightmost cell of the current row**
Shift + Arrow keys Shift + Arrow keys Extend the selection by one cell
Shift+Home Shift+Home Extend the selection to the first non-frozen cell of the current row*
Shift+End Shift+End Extend the selection to the last non-frozen cell of the current row*
Shift+Page Up Shift+Page Up Extend the selection by one screen up
Shift+Page Down Shift+Page Down Extend the selection by one screen down
Ctrl+Enter Cmd+Enter Fill the selected range of cells with the value of the active cell
Delete Delete Clear the contents of the selected cells
Backspace Backspace Clear the contents of the selected cells

* This action depends on your layout direction.
** In case of multiple selection layers, only the last selection layer gets extended.

Edition keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts work when you're editing a cell's contents. They come from Handsontable's Core, so they work out of the box, with no need for additional plugins.

Windows macOS Action Excel Sheets
Arrow keys Arrow keys Move the cursor through the text
Alphanumeric keys Alphanumeric keys Enter the pressed key's value into the cell
Enter Enter Complete the cell entry and move to the cell below
Shift+Enter Shift+Enter Complete the cell entry and move to the cell above
Tab Tab Complete the cell entry and move to the next cell*
Shift+Tab Shift+Tab Complete the cell entry and move to the previous cell*
Delete Delete Delete one character after the cursor*
Backspace Backspace Delete one character before the cursor*
Home Home Move the cursor to the beginning of the text*
End End Move the cursor to the end of the text*
Ctrl + Arrow keys Cmd + Arrow keys Move the cursor to the beginning or to the end of the text
Ctrl+Shift + Arrow keys Cmd+Shift + Arrow keys Extend the selection to the beginning or to the end of the text
Page Up Page Up Complete the cell entry and move one screen up
Page Down Page Down Complete the cell entry and move one screen down
Alt+Enter Option+Enter Insert a line break
Ctrl+Enter Ctrl/Cmd+Enter Insert a line break
Escape Escape Cancel the cell entry and exit the editing mode

* This action depends on your layout direction.

Checkbox editor keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts work in the checkbox cell editor.

Windows macOS Action Excel Sheets
Space Space Check or uncheck the checkbox
Enter Enter Check or uncheck the checkbox
Delete Delete Uncheck the checkbox
Backspace Backspace Uncheck the checkbox

handsontable editor keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts work in the handsontable cell editor.

Windows macOS Action Excel Sheets
Move to the cell above the active cell
Move to the cell below the active cell

Plugin keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts work with particular plugins.

Clipboard keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts work when the CopyPaste plugin is enabled.

Windows macOS Action Excel Sheets
Ctrl+X Cmd+X Cut the contents of the selected cells to the system clipboard
Ctrl+C Cmd+C Copy the contents of the selected cells to the system clipboard
Ctrl+V Cmd+V Paste from the system clipboard

Cell merging keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts work when the MergeCells plugin is enabled.

Windows macOS Action Excel Sheets
Ctrl+M Ctrl+M Merge or unmerge the selected cells

Undo and redo keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts work when the UndoRedo plugin is enabled.

Windows macOS Action Excel Sheets
Ctrl+Z Cmd+Z Undo the last action
Ctrl+Y Cmd+Y Redo the last action
Ctrl+Shift+Z Cmd+Shift+Z Redo the last action

Context menu keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts work in context menus. To activate them, enable the ContextMenu plugin.

Windows macOS Action Excel Sheets
Ctrl+Shift+\ or Shift+F10 Cmd+Shift+\ or Shift+F10 Open the context menu
Arrow keys Arrow keys Move one available menu item up, down, left, or right
Page Up Page Up Move to the first visible item of the context menu or submenu
Page Down Page Down Move to the last visible item of the context menu or submenu
Escape Escape Close the context menu or submenu
Enter Enter Run the action of the selected menu item

Column groups keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts work in column groups, also known as "nested headers". To activate them, enable the NestedHeaders plugin.

Windows macOS Action Excel Sheets
Enter Enter Collapse or expand the column group

Row parent-child keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts work in row groups, also known as "nested rows". To activate them, enable the NestedRows plugin.

Windows macOS Action Excel Sheets
Enter Enter Collapse or expand the row group

Rows sorting keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts work with rows sorting. To activate them, enable the ColumnSorting, or the MultiColumnSorting plugin.

Windows macOS Action Excel Sheets
Enter Enter Sort data by the selected column, in ascending, descending, or the original order
Shift+Enter Shift+Enter Sort data by multiple columns, in ascending, descending, or the original order. Requires the MultiColumnSorting plugin.

Column menu keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts work with the column menu. To activate them, enable the DropdownMenu plugin.

Windows macOS Action Excel Sheets
Shift+Alt+ Shift+Option+ Open the column menu. Works in any cell, if the respective column header displays the menu button.
Ctrl+Enter Cmd+Enter Open the column menu. Works only when you're selecting a column header that displays the column menu button.

Column filter keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts work with the column filter. To activate them, enable the Filters plugin and the DropdownMenu plugin.

Windows macOS Action Excel Sheets
Alt+A Option+A Clear all filters

Comments keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts work with comments. To activate them, enable the Comments plugin.

Windows macOS Action Excel Sheets
Ctrl+Alt+M Ctrl+Option+M Add or edit a comment
Ctrl+Enter Cmd+Enter Save and exit the current comment
Escape Escape Exit the current comment without saving

API reference

For the list of options, methods, and Handsontable hooks related to keyboard navigation, see the following API reference pages:

Troubleshooting

Didn't find what you need? Try this: