A reference for the default keyboard shortcuts in Subtitle Edit. Every shortcut can be customized in Options → Shortcuts — and many more actions are available there without a default binding. On macOS, Cmd (Win in the shortcut editor) is used wherever Ctrl is shown below, except for the macOS differences.
See also: Shortcuts Settings
A few defaults differ on macOS so the standard macOS shortcuts keep working and every default can be typed on an Apple keyboard.
| Action | Windows / Linux | macOS | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Replace | Ctrl+H | Cmd+Option+F | Cmd+H hides the app |
| Find next / previous | F3 / Shift+F3 | Cmd+G / Cmd+Shift+G | The macOS standard |
| Go to line number | Ctrl+G | Control+G | Cmd+G is find next |
| Auto-translate | Ctrl+Shift+G | Cmd+Shift+T | Cmd+Shift+G is find previous |
| Redo | Ctrl+Y | Cmd+Shift+Z | The macOS standard |
| Insert line after / before | Alt+Insert / Ctrl+Shift+Insert | Cmd+Option+I / Cmd+Option+Shift+I | Apple keyboards have no Insert key |
| Delete selected line(s) | Delete | Cmd+Backspace | The Delete key on Apple keyboards is a backspace |
| Extend selected line to previous | Alt+Shift+E | Cmd+Option+Shift+E | Option+Shift+E types a character (È on Italian keyboards) |
| Set start time | F11 | F9 | F11 shows the desktop |
| Set start and offset the rest | F9 | No default | F9 is set start time on macOS |
| Open data folder | Ctrl+Alt+Shift+D | Control+Cmd+Option+Shift+D | Cmd+Option+Shift+D alone never reaches the app |
| Toggle play/pause (secondary) | Ctrl+Space | No default | Cmd+Space opens Spotlight |
Settings that still had the old defaults are moved to the new ones on first start. Shortcuts you assigned yourself are left alone.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+N | New subtitle |
| Ctrl+O | Open subtitle file |
| Ctrl+S | Save subtitle |
| Ctrl+Shift+S | Save subtitle as… |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Y | Redo |
| Ctrl+F | Find |
| F3 | Find next |
| Shift+F3 | Find previous |
| Ctrl+H | Replace |
| Ctrl+Shift+R | Multiple replace |
| Ctrl+G | Go to line number |
| Ctrl+L | Focus selected line |
| Ctrl+Shift+B | Add or edit bookmark |
| Ctrl+Shift+O | Toggle translation mode |
| Ctrl+Shift+Alt+R | Toggle right-to-left |
| Ctrl+4 | Set up like Subtitle Edit 4 (classic theme, icons, waveform, replace rules and shortcuts) |
| Alt+Up | Go to previous line |
| Alt+Down | Go to next line |
| Ctrl+Home | Go to first line |
| Ctrl+End | Go to last line |
| Ctrl+Shift+K | Command palette — search and run any command |
| F1 | Show help (every window opens its own help page) |
| F2 | Show source view |
| F10 | Activate the main menu bar (press F10 or Escape again to return to editing) |
| Ctrl+F8 | List errors |
| F8 / Shift+F8 | Go to next / previous error |
| Alt+F7 | Spell check |
F1 is the default for the Help action and can be changed in Options → Shortcuts like any other shortcut. The same key works in every dialog, and opens the help page for that dialog.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Shift+M | Merge selected lines |
| Alt+Insert | Insert line after |
| Ctrl+Shift+Insert | Insert line before |
| Ctrl+Alt+B | Auto-break text |
| Ctrl+Alt+V | Split line at text box cursor position |
| Ctrl+U | Selected text to lowercase |
| Ctrl+Shift+U | Selected text to uppercase |
| Ctrl+Shift+F3 | Toggle casing |
| Ctrl+Shift+E | Extend selected line to next |
| Alt+Shift+E | Extend selected line to previous |
Active while the subtitle text box has focus.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+X / Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V | Cut / copy / paste |
| Ctrl+A | Select all text |
| Shift+Delete | Cut (Windows-standard gesture; Subtitle Edit binds it because Avalonia does not) |
| Shift+Backspace | Delete selection or next character — forward delete. Default on macOS only, where the Delete key is a backspace; assign it yourself elsewhere |
| Option+Backspace | Delete the previous word (macOS only, fixed) |
| Cmd+Backspace / Cmd+Delete | Delete to the start of the line (macOS only, fixed) |
Note: “Text box: Cut / Copy / Paste (alternative)” exist as separate, unbound actions in Options → Shortcuts for anyone who wants a second gesture (e.g. Ctrl+Insert / Shift+Insert).
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Delete | Delete selected line(s) |
| Ctrl+A | Select all lines |
| Ctrl+Shift+I | Inverse selection |
| Ctrl+I | Toggle italic on selected lines or text |
| Ctrl+X / Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V | Cut / copy / paste selected lines |
| Ctrl+Shift+V | Fill selected lines with clipboard text (also on a single line) |
| Up / Down | Previous / next line |
| PageUp / PageDown | Move the selection one page up / down |
| Home / End | First / last line |
| Shift+Up / Down / PageUp / PageDown / Home / End | Extend the selection (Ctrl+Shift, or Cmd+Shift on macOS, also works when that chord has no shortcut of its own) |
| 0–9 | Type a line number to jump to that line (digits typed within a second add up, e.g. 1 then 2 is line 12) |
The navigation keys and the line-number type-ahead are fixed, not part of Options → Shortcuts. A shortcut you assign to a bare digit wins over the type-ahead.
Inside the source view window (F2), which edits the raw subtitle text. These are fixed, not configurable in Options → Shortcuts.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Shift+Z / Ctrl+Y | Redo |
| Ctrl+F | Find in the source |
| Ctrl+H | Replace in the source (Cmd+Alt+F also works on macOS) |
| F3 / Shift+F3 | Find next / previous |
| Ctrl+G | Go to line number |
| Alt+Up / Alt+Down | Move the current line or selected block up / down |
| Ctrl+D | Duplicate the current line or selected block |
| Ctrl+Shift+K | Delete the current line |
| Ctrl+Backspace | Delete the word before the caret |
| Ctrl+Delete | Delete the word after the caret |
| Escape | Close the search bar, then the window |
Note: On macOS the word deletes use Option+Backspace / Option+Delete, matching the platform. Alt+Up / Alt+Down are the same everywhere.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Toggle play/pause |
| Ctrl+Space | Toggle play/pause (secondary) |
| Left | One second back |
| Right | One second forward |
| Alt+Left | 500 milliseconds back |
| Alt+Right | 500 milliseconds forward |
| F5 | Play selected lines |
| Alt+Enter | Video full screen |
| Ctrl+Alt+P | Pause |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| F11 | Set start time |
| F12 | Set end time |
| F9 | Set start and offset the rest (Windows / Linux; no default on macOS) |
“Set end time and go to next line” has no default shortcut: bare F10 activates the main menu bar (the Windows standard). Assign F10 to the action in Options → Shortcuts if you prefer the Subtitle Edit 4 behavior — a user-assigned shortcut wins over the menu activation.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+V | Paste lines from clipboard at waveform position |
| Ctrl+C | Copy the selected subtitle to the clipboard (“Copy (text only)” has no default key) |
| Shift+Numpad + | Vertical zoom in (waveform focused) |
| Shift+Numpad − | Vertical zoom out (waveform focused) |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Shift+F | Fix common errors |
| Ctrl+Shift+C | Change casing |
| Ctrl+Alt+R | AI review |
| Ctrl+B | Batch convert |
| Ctrl+Shift+H | Remove text for hearing impaired |
| Ctrl+Shift+G | Auto-translate |
| Ctrl+Shift+A | Synchronization → Adjust all times |
| Ctrl+Shift+P | Synchronization → Point sync |
| Ctrl+Shift+D | Find double words |
| Ctrl+Shift+L | Add to name list |
| Ctrl+Alt+Shift+D | Open data folder |
| Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L | Save language file |
Note: Several actions (Bold, Underline, shot-change snapping/extending, green-zone in/out cues, “Guess start time from waveform” / “Guess end time from waveform” / “Guess start and end time from waveform”, “Go to next empty line”, “Waveform paste clipboard text to new selection”, etc.) ship without a default key. Open Options → Shortcuts to assign them, or use Import from SE 4.x to bring over a familiar set.
Button accelerators in the Find and Replace windows. They are fixed, not part of Options → Shortcuts.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt+F | Find next (both windows) |
| Alt+P | Find previous (Find window) |
| Alt+R | Replace & find next (Replace window) |
| Alt+A | Replace all (Replace window) |
| F / P / R / A | The same, without Alt, when the focus is not in a text box (e.g. after clicking a button) |
| Ctrl+Delete | Remove the current search text from the search history |
| Escape | Close the window |
Dialogs that preview their changes in a list of checkboxes — Remove text for hearing impaired, Multiple replace — accept these in the list itself. They are fixed and not part of Options → Shortcuts.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+A | Select all (tick every row) |
| Ctrl+D | Select none (untick every row) |
| Ctrl+Shift+I | Invert selection |
| Space | Toggle the checkbox of the highlighted rows |
The same three actions sit in the list’s right-click menu. In Multiple replace they apply to the fixes preview on the right; the rules tree on the left keeps its own Ctrl+D (duplicate rule). Other tools with such a list (Fix common errors, Merge continuation lines, Remove unicode characters, Fix Netflix errors, AI review) put buttons below the list for the same job.
The Beautify time codes window steps through the cues the beautify pass moved. These keys work wherever the focus is inside the window and are fixed, not part of Options → Shortcuts.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Up / Left / PageUp | Previous change |
| Down / Right / PageDown | Next change |
| Home | First change |
| End | Last change |
| Escape | Cancel |