The following lists the keyboard and mouse shortcuts available when working with tables and the table window. These can be used in ArcMap, ArcGlobe, and ArcScene, although the editing shortcuts are for ArcMap only. In most cases, the table window must have focus (be the active window) to use the shortcuts. Click the table to give it focus.
If you press F1 in the table window, you can get a pop-up help topic that lists useful tips and shortcuts for working with tables.
You can download ArcGIS for Desktop: A Selection of Time-Saving Tips and Shortcuts, a printable PDF of tips and shortcuts, from the Esri's white papers web page.
Opening and closing tables and table menus
| Keyboard shortcut | Function |
|---|---|
| CTRL+T | Open the attribute table of the selected layer or table in the table of contents. |
| Press CTRL and double-click a layer or table in the table of contents | Open the table. |
| CTRL+ENTER on a feature layer in the table of contents | Open the table. |
| CTRL+TAB | Toggle between open table windows. |
| CTRL+F4 | Close the active table window. |
| CTRL+SHIFT+F4 | Close all open table windows. |
| ALT+SPACEBAR (when table window has focus) | Open the table window's System menu (from the System menu, you can restore, move, resize, minimize, maximize, or close the window). |
| Application key (when table window has focus) | Open the row context menu. |
| CTRL+Application key (when table window has focus) | Open the table window's Options menu. |
Selecting in the table
| Keyboard shortcut | Function |
|---|---|
| CTRL+ A | Select all records. |
| SPACEBAR | Select or deselect row.* |
| CTRL+SPACEBAR | Select or deselect row. |
| SHIFT+SPACEBAR | Make a block selection. Use the SPACEBAR to select a record, move down or up several records using the arrow keys, then hold SHIFT and press the SPACEBAR, and all records from the one you initially selected will now be selected.* |
| BACKSPACE | Deselect row. |
| CTRL+BACKSPACE | Deselect all records. |
| CTRL+SHIFT+R | Select only the highlighted records in the Show Selected view and deselect all the other records. |
| CTRL+ENTER (or CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER) | Move to the next record and select it exclusively (particularly useful for working sequentially down through a table, reviewing or editing each record, and looking at the feature it represents on the map). |
| CTRL+U | Switch the selection. |
| SHIFT+DOWN ARROW (or SHIFT+UP ARROW) | Continuously select records (records are deselected if you switch arrow keys while still holding SHIFT). |
| Click top left cell of table | Clear the selection. |
| Hold SHIFT and click top left cell of table | Select all records. |
| Hold CTRL and click top left cell of table | Switch the selection. |
* Only outside an edit session
Interacting with the map from the table
These keyboard shortcuts apply to the current feature. The current feature is the row with an arrow in the first cell on the left, which contains the cell outlined in a bold, black border. To change the current feature, move the cursor to a different row by clicking or using the keyboard. Keep in mind that the current feature may be different from the selected feature, where the whole row is colored cyan (the default color).
| Keyboard shortcut | Function |
|---|---|
| CTRL+SHIFT+= | Zoom to selected features. |
| CTRL+= | Zoom to and flash the current feature. |
| CTRL+8 | Flash current feature. |
| CTRL+N | Pan to and flash the current feature. |
| CTRL+I | Identify the current feature. |
| Double-click the gray cell to the left of a record | Zoom to feature represented by a record and select it. |
| Hold CTRL and double-click the gray cell to the left of a record | Pan to feature represented by a record and select it. |
Navigating within the table
| Keyboard shortcut | Function |
|---|---|
| TAB | Go to next column. If at end of row, go to first cell in the next row. |
| SHIFT+TAB | Go to previous column. If at start of row, go to last cell in the previous row. |
| ENTER | Go to next row in same column. |
| SHIFT+ENTER | Go to previous row in same column. |
| HOME | Go to first cell in row. |
| CTRL+HOME | Go to first row, first cell. |
| END | Go to last cell in row. |
| CTRL+END | Go to last row, last cell. |
| Arrow keys | Go the direction of the arrow key. |
| CTRL+LEFT ARROW | Go to first cell in row (same as HOME). |
| CTRL+RIGHT ARROW | Go to last cell in row (same as END). |
| CTRL+UP ARROW | Go to first row in same column. |
| CTRL+DOWN ARROW | Go to last row in same column. |
| CTRL+G | Jump to a record number. |
| CTRL+D | Go to Page (only for the Index layer of Data Driven Pages) |
Working with fields
| Keyboard shortcut | Function |
|---|---|
| Double-click a field name | Sort field. |
| CTRL+SHIFT+U | Remove field sorting. |
| Hold CTRL and double-click a field name (or CTRL+H) | Turn off field. |
| Hold CTRL+SHIFT and double-click a field name | Hide field. A hidden field will still be available in dialog boxes that list fields, but you can save space in the table window by hiding it. |
| Hold CTRL and right-click a field name (or CTRL+SHIFT+N) | Switch between showing field names and field aliases. |
| Hold ALT and double-click a field name (or CTRL+SHIFT+P) | Open the Field Properties dialog box. |
| Hold SHIFT and double-click a field name (or CTRL+SHIFT+S) | Open the Advanced Table Sorting dialog box. |
| CTRL+SHIFT+F | Open the Field Calculator dialog box. |
| CTRL+SHIFT+G | Open the Calculate Geometry dialog box. |
| CTRL+SHIFT+Z | Resize the fields automatically. |
| Hold SHIFT and roll the mouse wheel | Scroll the table horizontally so you can see more fields in the window. |
| Hold CTRL and roll the mouse wheel | Zoom in and out on the table window. |
Editing in the table
| Keyboard shortcut | Function |
|---|---|
| CTRL+E | Start or stop an edit session. |
| CTRL+S | Save edits. |
| CTRL+C (or CTRL+INSERT) | Copy the value in a cell onto the clipboard. |
| CTRL+SHIFT+C | Copy the selected records onto the clipboard. |
| F2 | Start editing a cell.** |
| ESC | Cancel what has been edited in the cell and restore the original value.** |
| DELETE | Delete the selected rows.** |
| CTRL+V (or SHIFT+INSERT) | Paste.** |
| CTRL+Z | Undo edits to a record.** |
| CTRL+Y | Redo edits to a record.** |
| SHIFT+ENTER | Add a carriage return to the cell being edited, creating a multiline cell. |
| CTRL+F | Open the Find and Replace dialog box. |
** Only during an edit session