Finding every keyboard shortcut in PDF by Zaweba

Keyboard shortcuts are the difference between using a program and working in it. Reaching for the mouse and a menu for every page turn, search and undo adds up over a day. PDF by Zaweba has a shortcut for most of what you do often, and one place where you can see them all.

Where to find them

Choose Help > Keyboard shortcuts. The window shows every shortcut in the app. The list is generated from the same command list that builds the menus, which means it is always complete and always correct. If a shortcut shows on a menu item, it is in the list, and if it is in the list, it works. There is no separate help page to drift out of date.

Read through it once when you start with the app, then come back to it whenever you catch yourself using a menu for something you do every day.

Shortcuts worth learning first

A handful repay the effort straight away. Ctrl+F searches the document and F3 moves to the next match. Ctrl+G goes to a page. Alt+Left takes you back after following a link. Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y undo and redo. Ctrl+E switches on Edit text. Ctrl+K opens the command palette, where you can type part of any command's name and run it, which covers anything you haven't learned a key for.

For reading, F11 gives full screen, Ctrl+H read mode and Ctrl+5 fits the printed part of the page to the width. For copying, Ctrl+Shift+C copies with layout and Ctrl+Alt+C copies as a table.

You don't need all of these at once. Pick two or three for the job you do most and let the rest come later.

Moving round without the mouse

Tab and Shift+Tab move between text areas and form fields. On a form, this is how you fill it in quickly: type in one field, press Tab, type in the next. On a page in Edit text, it moves between the blocks of text you can change. Together with the shortcuts, it means a good deal of work in the app can be done without lifting a hand to the mouse.

That is useful for speed, and it matters for accessibility. People who can't use a mouse easily, or who use a screen reader, rely on the keyboard for everything. A program that has a key for its main commands and a sensible Tab order is one they can use.

Habits that help

Learn shortcuts from the menus. Each time you choose a command from a menu, glance at the key beside it. After a few days the common ones will stick without any special effort.

Use the palette as a bridge. When you don't remember a key, Ctrl+K and a few letters of the command's name gets you there almost as fast, and recently used commands come first, so the ones you need most are quick to reach.

Keep the shortcuts window handy for a while. Printing it out isn't necessary; opening it from Help takes a second.

The shortcuts in PDF by Zaweba aren't a separate layer of the program for experts. They are the same commands as the menus, just quicker, and the list in Help shows every one.