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Last active April 10, 2025 20:41
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Windows VSCode Navigation Cheatsheet

Windows VSCode Navigation Cheatsheet

Companion summary to Syntax's MAXIMUM VS Code Productivity — Navigating Codebases Quickly video for Windows.

Cursor Positions

  • Go Back: Ctrl+Left Arrow
  • Go Forward: Ctrl+Right Arrow
  • Go to Last Edit: Ctrl+K, Ctrl+Q
  • Go to Line: Ctrl+P, :, [line number] (e.g., :10)
  • Go to Line and Column: Ctrl+P, :, [line number], :, [column number] (e.g., :10:5)

Selections

  • Expand Selection: Shift+Alt+Right Arrow
  • Shrink Selection: Shift+Alt+Left Arrow
  • Select All String Contents: (Requires Quick And Simple Text Selection) Ctrl+K, ;
  • Select Current Line: Ctrl+L
  • Select Current Word: Ctrl+D
  • Mouse Column Selection: Shift+Alt, then drag mouse

Multiple Cursors

  • Add Cursor Above: Ctrl+Alt+Up Arrow
  • Add Cursor Below: Ctrl+Alt+Down Arrow
  • Add Cursor to Next Occurrence of Selection: Ctrl+D
  • Add Cursor to Previous Occurrence of Selection: Ctrl+U
  • Add Cursor to All Occurrences of Selection: Ctrl+Shift+L

Lines

  • Duplicate Line Below: Shift+Alt+Up Arrow
  • Duplicate Line Above: Shift+Alt+Down Arrow
  • Move Line Up: Alt+Up Arrow (works for selections)
  • Move Line Down: Alt+Down Arrow (works for selections)

Scrolling

  • Scroll in Up/Down: Ctrl+UpArrow or Ctrl+DownArrow
  • Scroll Faster: Alt, then mouse scroll

Editor Groups

(An Editor Group is a collection of tabs)

  • Move Editor to Group at Side: Ctrl+K, [Arrow Key]
  • Focus to Editor to Group at Side: Ctrl+K, Ctrl+[Arrow Key]
  • Split to Editor into Group at Side (custom): Ctrl+K, Shift+[Arrow Key]
  • Close Editor: Ctrl+K, W

Tabs

  • Quick Open Last Tab: Ctrl+Tab (use arrow keys while holding Ctrl to choose different tab)
  • Close Tab: Ctrl+W
  • Close Other Tabs: Ctrl+K, Ctrl+W

Workspace Search

  • Go to File: Ctrl+P, then fuzzy search for the file name
  • Go to Arbitrary Text: Ctrl+P, %, then fuzzy search for the text
  • Go to Symbol: Ctrl+T, then fuzzy search for the symbol

In-File Search

  • Go to Symbol: Ctrl+Shift+O, then fuzzy search for the symbol
    • Prefix search with : to group by symbol type
  • Find: Ctrl+F
  • Find with Regex: Alt+R
  • Find Next: F3
  • Find Previous: Shift+F3

Symbol Jumps

  • Go to Definition: Ctrl+Click on the symbol name, or F12
  • Go to References: Right-click for context menu, or Ctrl+Shift+F12. If already at definition, F12 will show references.
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