Here are a few keyboard shortcuts you can use to perform common tasks
quickly. Many more are available in addition to what is listed here. For
more command line and keyboard shortcuts, visit:
[Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Backspace]
= kill X. Kills your current X session and returns you to the login
screen. Use this if the normal exit procedure does not work.
[Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Delete]
= shutdown and reboot. Shuts down your current session and reboots the
OS. Use only when the normal shutdown procedure does not work.
[Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Fn]
= switches screens. [Ctrl]+[Alt] + one
of the function keys displays a new screen. [F1]
through [F6] are text (console) screens and
[F7] is a graphical screen.
[Alt] + [Tab] = switch tasks. If
you have more than one application open at a time, you can use
[Alt] + [Tab] to switch among open tasks
and applications.
[Ctrl] + [a] = move cursor to the beginning
of a line. This works in most text editors and in the URL field in
Mozilla.
[Ctrl] + [d] = logout of a terminal
or console instead of having to type exit or
logout.
[Ctrl] + [e] = move cursor
to end of a line. This works in most text editors and in the URL field in
Mozilla.
[Ctrl] + [l] = clear the
terminal. This shortcut does the same thing as typing
clear at a command line.
[Ctrl] + [u] = clear the current line. If
you are working in a terminal, use this shortcut to clear the current
line from the cursor all the way to the end of the line.
[Middle Mouse Button] = pastes highlighted text. Use the left
mouse button to highlight the text. Point the cursor to the spot where
you want it pasted. Click the middle mouse button to paste it.
[Tab] = command autocomplete. Use this command when
working in a terminal. Type the first few characters of a command and
then press the [Tab] key. It will automatically
complete the command or show all the commands that match the
characters you typed.
[Up] and [Down] Arrow = show command history. When
working in a terminal, press the [up] or
[down] arrow to scroll through a history of commands
you have typed from the current directory. When you see the command
you want to use, press [Enter].
clear = clear the terminal. Type this at a command line
to clear all displayed data from the terminal window.
exit = logout. Type this at a command line to
logout of the current user or root account.
history = show history of commands. Type
this at a command line to see a numbered list of the previous 500
commands you typed. To display a shorter list of commands, by type
history followed by a space and a number. For
example, history 20.
reset = refresh terminal screen. Type this at a
command line to refresh the terminal screen if characters are
unclear.