Keyboard Shortcuts & Quick Reference
Navigate PulseLMS Efficiently
This guide provides keyboard shortcuts and quick reference information for efficient navigation and use of PulseLMS.
Table of Contents
- General Navigation
- Text Editor Shortcuts
- Quiz Navigation
- Gradebook Shortcuts
- Forum Shortcuts
- Calendar Shortcuts
- File Manager Shortcuts
- Accessibility Shortcuts
- Browser Shortcuts
- Quick Reference Cards
General Navigation
Site-Wide Shortcuts
| Shortcut |
Action |
Tab |
Move to next focusable element |
Shift + Tab |
Move to previous focusable element |
Enter |
Activate focused link/button |
Space |
Toggle checkboxes, expand/collapse |
Esc |
Close modal dialogs, cancel operations |
Alt + 1 |
Skip to main content (some themes) |
Alt + 2 |
Skip to navigation (some themes) |
Navigation Drawer
| Shortcut |
Action |
← → |
Expand/collapse menu items |
↑ ↓ |
Move between menu items |
Enter |
Select menu item |
Home |
Jump to first item |
End |
Jump to last item |
| Shortcut |
Action |
↓ |
Open dropdown / move down |
↑ |
Move up in dropdown |
Enter |
Select item |
Esc |
Close dropdown |
Text Editor Shortcuts
TinyMCE Editor (Default)
| Shortcut |
Action |
Ctrl + B |
Bold |
Ctrl + I |
Italic |
Ctrl + U |
Underline |
Ctrl + Shift + S |
Strikethrough |
Ctrl + \ |
Clear formatting |
Structure
| Shortcut |
Action |
Ctrl + Shift + 1 |
Heading 1 |
Ctrl + Shift + 2 |
Heading 2 |
Ctrl + Shift + 3 |
Heading 3 |
Ctrl + Shift + 4 |
Heading 4 |
Ctrl + Shift + 7 |
Numbered list |
Ctrl + Shift + 8 |
Bullet list |
Editing
| Shortcut |
Action |
Ctrl + Z |
Undo |
Ctrl + Y |
Redo |
Ctrl + A |
Select all |
Ctrl + C |
Copy |
Ctrl + X |
Cut |
Ctrl + V |
Paste |
Ctrl + Shift + V |
Paste as plain text |
| Shortcut |
Action |
Ctrl + K |
Insert/edit link |
Ctrl + Shift + K |
Remove link |
Find and Replace
| Shortcut |
Action |
Ctrl + F |
Find |
Ctrl + H |
Find and replace |
Atto Editor (Alternative)
| Shortcut |
Action |
Ctrl + B |
Bold |
Ctrl + I |
Italic |
Ctrl + L |
Bullet list |
Ctrl + Shift + O |
Numbered list |
Ctrl + Shift + H |
Heading styles |
Ctrl + K |
Create link |
Quiz Navigation
Taking Quizzes
| Shortcut |
Action |
Tab |
Move between questions/options |
Space |
Select answer (multiple choice) |
Enter |
Submit/confirm selection |
1-9 |
Quick select option (some question types) |
Quiz Navigation Panel
| Shortcut |
Action |
↑ ↓ |
Navigate question list |
Enter |
Jump to question |
Ctrl + → |
Next page |
Ctrl + ← |
Previous page |
Question Types
Multiple Choice
| Shortcut |
Action |
↑ ↓ |
Move between options |
Space |
Select/deselect option |
True/False
| Shortcut |
Action |
T |
Select True |
F |
Select False |
Essay/Text
| Shortcut |
Action |
Tab |
Move to text area |
| Standard text shortcuts |
Format text |
Gradebook Shortcuts
Grader Report
| Shortcut |
Action |
Tab |
Move between grade cells |
Enter |
Edit grade cell |
Esc |
Cancel editing |
↑ ↓ ← → |
Navigate cells (when supported) |
Quick Grading
| Shortcut |
Action |
Tab |
Move to next grade input |
Shift + Tab |
Move to previous grade input |
Enter |
Confirm and move to next |
Forum Shortcuts
Reading Forums
| Shortcut |
Action |
J |
Next post (some themes) |
K |
Previous post (some themes) |
Enter |
Open selected discussion |
Composing Posts
| Shortcut |
Action |
| All text editor shortcuts apply |
|
Ctrl + Enter |
Submit post (if enabled) |
Calendar Shortcuts
Calendar Navigation
| Shortcut |
Action |
← |
Previous day |
→ |
Next day |
↑ |
Previous week |
↓ |
Next week |
Page Up |
Previous month |
Page Down |
Next month |
Home |
First day of month |
End |
Last day of month |
Enter |
Select date / view day |
Date Picker
| Shortcut |
Action |
↑ ↓ ← → |
Navigate dates |
Enter |
Select date |
Esc |
Close picker |
File Manager Shortcuts
File Picker
| Shortcut |
Action |
Tab |
Move between areas |
Enter |
Select file/folder |
↑ ↓ |
Navigate file list |
Backspace |
Go up one folder |
Drag and Drop
| Action |
Result |
| Drag file to course |
Upload as resource |
| Drag file to editor |
Insert/embed file |
| Drag file to assignment |
Attach to submission |
Accessibility Shortcuts
Screen Reader Navigation
| Shortcut |
Action |
H |
Next heading |
Shift + H |
Previous heading |
1-6 |
Heading level |
L |
Next list |
T |
Next table |
F |
Next form field |
B |
Next button |
Skip Links
Most PulseLMS pages include skip links:
- Press Tab immediately after page load
- "Skip to main content" link appears
- Press Enter to skip navigation
Focus Indicators
- All interactive elements have visible focus
- High contrast mode available
- Keyboard-only navigation fully supported
Browser Shortcuts
Universal Browser Shortcuts
| Shortcut |
Action |
F5 or Ctrl + R |
Refresh page |
Ctrl + Shift + R |
Hard refresh (clear cache) |
Ctrl + F |
Find on page |
Ctrl + P |
Print page |
Ctrl + + |
Zoom in |
Ctrl + - |
Zoom out |
Ctrl + 0 |
Reset zoom |
F11 |
Full screen |
Alt + ← |
Back |
Alt + → |
Forward |
Ctrl + Tab |
Next browser tab |
Ctrl + Shift + Tab |
Previous browser tab |
Ctrl + T |
New tab |
Ctrl + W |
Close tab |
Chrome Specific
| Shortcut |
Action |
Ctrl + Shift + J |
Developer tools |
Ctrl + Shift + N |
Incognito window |
Firefox Specific
| Shortcut |
Action |
Ctrl + Shift + K |
Web console |
Ctrl + Shift + P |
Private window |
Quick Reference Cards
Student Quick Reference
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PULSELMS STUDENT SHORTCUTS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ NAVIGATION │
│ Tab .............. Move to next element │
│ Enter ............ Click/activate │
│ Esc .............. Close/cancel │
│ │
│ TEXT EDITING │
│ Ctrl+B ........... Bold │
│ Ctrl+I ........... Italic │
│ Ctrl+K ........... Insert link │
│ Ctrl+Z ........... Undo │
│ │
│ QUIZ │
│ Tab .............. Move between options │
│ Space ............ Select option │
│ Enter ............ Confirm/submit │
│ │
│ CALENDAR │
│ Arrow keys ....... Navigate dates │
│ Enter ............ View day details │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Instructor Quick Reference
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PULSELMS INSTRUCTOR SHORTCUTS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ COURSE EDITING │
│ Turn on Edit mode first! │
│ Tab .............. Move between items │
│ Enter ............ Access edit menus │
│ │
│ GRADING │
│ Tab .............. Move between grades │
│ Enter ............ Edit grade cell │
│ Esc .............. Cancel edit │
│ │
│ TEXT EDITOR │
│ Ctrl+B ........... Bold │
│ Ctrl+I ........... Italic │
│ Ctrl+Shift+1-4 ... Headings │
│ Ctrl+Shift+7 ..... Numbered list │
│ Ctrl+Shift+8 ..... Bullet list │
│ Ctrl+K ........... Insert link │
│ │
│ BROWSER │
│ Ctrl+Shift+R ..... Hard refresh (clear cache) │
│ Ctrl+P ........... Print │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Administrator Quick Reference
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PULSELMS ADMINISTRATOR SHORTCUTS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ NAVIGATION │
│ Site Admin > Search box for quick access │
│ Type setting name to filter │
│ │
│ COMMON ADMIN TASKS │
│ Notifications ....... View site alerts │
│ Plugins overview .... Manage plugins │
│ Purge caches ........ Clear all caches │
│ Users > Browse ...... Find users │
│ │
│ BULK OPERATIONS │
│ Shift+Click ......... Select range │
│ Ctrl+Click .......... Add to selection │
│ │
│ CLI COMMANDS (SSH) │
│ php admin/cli/purge_caches.php │
│ php admin/cli/cron.php │
│ php admin/cli/maintenance.php --enable │
│ php admin/cli/upgrade.php │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Customizing Shortcuts
Browser Extensions
Consider browser extensions for enhanced keyboard navigation:
- Vimium (Chrome/Firefox) - Vim-style navigation
- Shortkeys (Chrome) - Custom shortcuts
- Tridactyl (Firefox) - Vim bindings
Operating System
Windows
Windows + ; - Emoji picker (in text fields)
Alt + Tab - Switch applications
macOS
Cmd + Space - Spotlight search
Cmd + Tab - Switch applications
- Replace
Ctrl with Cmd for most shortcuts
Linux
Super key - Application menu
Alt + Tab - Switch windows
Tips for Efficient Navigation
For Everyone
- Learn Tab navigation - Most efficient for forms
- Use browser bookmarks - Save frequent pages
- Master Ctrl+F - Find anything on page
- Know Esc - Universal "cancel/close"
For Power Users
- Open links in new tabs - Ctrl+Click
- Use browser history - Alt+← to go back
- Bookmark the Dashboard - Quick access
- Learn editor shortcuts - Faster content creation
For Accessibility
- Enable skip links - Tab at page top
- Use heading navigation - H key with screen reader
- Check high contrast mode - Browser settings
- Increase zoom if needed - Ctrl++ or Ctrl+-
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