56 Essential iPad Pro Keyboard Shortcuts You Need to Know

The Apple Smart Keyboard combined with the Apple iPad Pro helps make iPad Pro users more productive. That’s because the 12.9-inch tablet now can replace your laptop for many task. We’ve got the 56 most important iPad Pro keyboard shortcuts that you need to know to speed up your typing and to become more proficient while writing on the iPad Pro.

The first iPad Pro keyboard shortcut you must learn brings up pertinent keyboard shortcuts in any app or in iOS. Press and hold ⌘ (COMMAND KEY) on the iPad Pro keyboard to bring up a graphic showing the available iPad Pro keyboard shortcuts. Here’s what it looks like in iOS without an app open on-screen (see below).

iPad Pro Keyboard Shortcuts in iOS 9

Let’s start with some keyboard shortcuts that work in iOS 9.x and higher. These iPad Pro keyboard shortcuts work in iOS no matter what apps you’ve got running on your iPad Pro.

• ⌘ + SHIFT + H – Go to Home screen from any open app.
• ⌘ + SPACE – Brings up Spotlight search so you can find apps, email in the Mail app and gives options to search the web, the app store or inside certain apps depending on the search string you entered.
• ⌘ + TAB – App switcher comes up and shows a row of the most recently run apps (see below). Keep hitting it to switch between them or you can use the arrow keys to move between the list of apps or tap on it.

iPad Pro Keyboard Shortcuts in Safari

• ⌘ + R – Reloads the current page.
• ⌘ + [ – Goes back to the last page in your surfing history.
• ⌘ + ] – Moves forward to the next page in the surfing history.
• ⌘ + F – Search for text on a page.
• ⌘ + L – Jumps to the URL bar so you can type a new web address or search the web.
• ⌘ + T – Opens a new Safari tab.
• ⌘ + W – Close the current tab
• CONTROL + TAB – Moves focus to the tab to the right of the current tab
• CONTROL + SHIFT + TAB – Moves focus to the tab to the left of the current tab
• ⌘ + SHIFT + \ – Shows all open tabs

iPad Pro Keyboard Shortcuts in Mail

• ⌘ + N – Create a new email message.
• ⌘ + R – Reply to the current email message.
• ⌘ + SHIFT + F – Forward the current email message to someone.
• ⌘ + SHIFT + R – Reply to all the people who received the current message.
• ⌘ + SHIFT + L – Flag the current message.
• ⌘ + SHIFT + J – Mark the current message as junk mail.
• ⌘ + SHIFT + U – Mark the current message unread.
• ⌘ + SHIFT + N – Retrieve all of your new messages not already downloaded.
• ⌘ + UP ARROW – Go to the previous message.
• ⌘ + DOWN ARROW – Go to the next message.
• DELETE – Delete the current message.
• ⌘ + OPTION + F – Search your mailbox.

iPad Pro Keyboard Shortcuts in Messages

• RETURN – Send the message you just typed.
• ⌘ + N – Create a new message.

iPad Pro Keyboard Shortcuts in Calendar

• ⌘ + F = Search your calendar.
• ⌘ + N = Create a new calendar appointment.
• ⌘ + T = Go to Today.
• ⌘ + R = Refresh the Calendar.
• ⌘ + 1 = Go to Day View.
• ⌘ + 2 = Go to Week View.
• ⌘ + 3 = Go to Month View.
• ⌘ + 4 = Go to Year View.

iPad Pro Keyboard Shortcuts in Contacts

• ⌘ + N = Create a new contact.
• ⌘ + F = Search for a contact.

iPad Pro Keyboard Shortcuts in Notes

• ⌘ + B = Bold text.
• ⌘ + I = Italicize text.
• ⌘ + U = Underline text.
• ⌘ + OPTION + T = Use Title style.
• ⌘ + OPTION + H = Use Heading style.
• ⌘ + OPTION + B = Use Body style.
• ⌘ + OPTION + L = Create a checklist.
• ⌘ + SHIFT + U = Mark a checklist item as checked.
• ⌘ + N = Create a new note.
• ⌘ + F = Find a note.

iPad Pro Keyboard Shortcuts in Pages, Numbers and Keynote

• ⌘ + F = Find something in the document, sheet or presentation.
• ⌘ + N = Create a new document, sheet or presentation.
• ⌘ + SHIFT + W = Show the word count in your document.
• ⌘ + SHIFT + K = Add a comment in a keynote
• ⌘ + OPTION + P = Play the current Keynote presentation.
• ⌘ + OPTION + A = Show the Transitions and Bullets toolbar so you can one or the other in a Keynote presentation.
• ⌘ + OPTION + N = Show Presenter Notes in Keynote.
• ⌘ + OPTION + C = Copy a style of a spreadsheet box in Numbers.
• ⌘ + SHIFT + N = Insert a new sheet in Numbers.