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.
[Ctrl] + [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 material. Use the left
mouse button to highlight material. 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/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.
