Home | Appendix

Quick links: |  | Windows Document Lists View/Edit Pane The Sorter Sheets PDFs Images Multimedia

|  |  | Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts make using DEVONthink much more efficient for many people. Some of the following shortcuts are common to most Mac applications; others are only available in DEVONthink. In addition, many menu commands have keyboard shortcuts. These are shown directly in the menu.
Note: You can change the shortcuts for menu commands in System Settings > Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts.
Windows Control-Tilde (~): Cycles through open application windows. This is a common macOS shortcut. Control-Tab: Cycles focus between the item list, view/edit pane, and the Tags bar or Inspectors (if visible). Escape: Cancels processes, closes dialogs or Quick Look previews, etc., depending on the context. Command-}: Cycles to the next tab. Command-{: Cycles to the previous tab.
Note: Hold ⇧ to cycle in reverse order.
Document Lists Navigating items: Up/Down arrow: Navigates up and down in all views. Use ⇧ to select multiple entries. Left/Right arrow: Expands or collapses the selected groups in horizontal split, vertical split or List views, or navigates to previous/next item in other views. Option-click (the triangle in front of a group): Expands or collapses all groups that are contained within this group as well. Option-Left/Right arrow: Expands or collapses the selected groups and all their children the item list. Selecting items: Shift-click: Selects consecutive items. Shift-arrow: Extends the next consecutive item to the current selection. Command-click: Adds a non-consecutive item to the selection. Manipulating items: Return: Renames documents. Backspace: Deletes selected items. Command-Drag: When dragging items from the Finder, this moves, not copies, the file into the database. Option-drag: Duplicates items to the drag destination instead of moving it. Command-Option-drag: Creates replicants for the items at the drag destination. Dragging items from the Finder to DEVONthink with ⌥⌘ pressed indexes the item. Dragging items into documents with ⌥⌘ held inserts a link to the item. Item List: Command-Shift-O: Opens a selected document in the system default application. Tab: Jumps to the first or next editable column when using View > List. Space: Opens the standard Quick Look panel showing a preview of the selected items. Option-Space: Opens a full screen Quick Look slideshow. Option-bracket: Using [ and ], goes backwards and forwards through the visited locations. View/Edit Pane Home/End: Goes to beginning of, or end of, any view. Page up/down: Scrolls one page up and down in any view. Space/Shift-Space: Scrolls one page down or up in non-editable views, e.g., web pages, images, or PDF documents. Command-click: Opens the target of a link in a new tab or separate window. Command-Option-drag: Inserts a cross-link for groups or documents dropped into a rich text document. Dragging files or folders from the Finder to a rich text document with ⌥⌘ pressed creates links to them. Command-Shift-click: Opens a link in a new tab and activates it. This requires enabling tabbed browsing in Settings > General. Option-bracket: Using [ and ], goes backwards and forwards through the documents or visited web pages . Option-drag: Selects text using a rectangular selection ribbon. Option-click (a link): For HTML-based files, adds the clicked URL to the Download Manager panel. Option-click (a word): Initiates a search with the clicked word as the search term. Shift-arrow: Expands or contracts the current text selection. The Sorter General Note Creation and Clipping: Command-S: Saves the entered data. Equivalent to clicking Add. Escape: Clears any entered data. Equivalent to pressing the retreating circle icon. Voice and Video Note: Spacebar: Start and stop recording. Screen Capture: Command-1: Capture the entire window. Command-2: Capture a highlighted window. Command-3: Capture a marqueed area. Web Clip: Command-1: Clips from the default browser. Command-2: Clips from a URL you've copied to the clipboard. Command-3: Type a URL to clip and any associated data, e.g., comments, tags, etc.. Clip to DEVONthink: Command-F: Toggles the Clutter-free option. Sheets Return: Moves one cell down for editing. Shift-Return: Moves one cell up for editing. Tab: Moves one cell to the right for editing. Shift-Tab: Moves one cell to the left for editing. Arrows: Moves the editing selection. Escape: Stops editing. PDFs +: Zooms in. -: Zooms out. Command-drag: Scrolls the visible area with the mouse. Images +: Zooms in. -: Zooms out. Multimedia Spacebar: Start and stop playback. Left/Right Arrows: Move forward or backward one frame or .25 second. Option-Left/Right Arrows: Jump to the beginning or end of the file. Shift-Left/Right Arrows: Move forward or backward in 15 second intervals. The Shift-interval is customizable in the hidden preferences. Command-Left/Right Arrows: Change forward or reverse playback speeds. Option-Forward/Reverse buttons: Hold the Option key and click the forward or reverse buttons to change playback speeds in .1 increments, e.g., 2.1, 2.2, etc. Up/Down Arrows: Adjust the playback volume. Hold Option to switch between mute and full volume.
Note: These keys operate when a multimedia file is the active document. They are not global controls, i.e., they will have no effect on an audio file playing in a minimized window.