Getting Started

Keyboard Shortcuts & Gestures

Every Qurannotate shortcut in one place — Mac and Windows keys, Apple Pencil and touch gestures, text formatting and slash commands.

Last updated 27 September 2026

All Qurannotate shortcuts on one page. Choose Mac / iPad or Windows below and the keys change to match. On an iPad with a keyboard, use the Mac keys.

A note canvas open on Surah Al-Fatiha, full of handwriting, inserted ayahs and highlights, with the tool bar along the bottom
Most shortcuts work on the canvas. Its tool bar sits along the bottom of the screen.
The canvas tool bar: Undo, Redo, Select, Pan, Pen, Text, Eraser, Highlighter, Insert (+), AI Study and More tools
Hover over a tool on a computer to see its key: Select V, Pan H, Text T, Eraser E, Highlighter I.

The essentials

The handful worth learning first. They work on every canvas (Quran pages, notebooks and drawing on documents).

Undo
⌘ CmdZ
Redo
⌘ Cmd⇧ ShiftZ
Copy / Cut / Paste
⌘ CmdCor⌘ CmdXor⌘ CmdV
Select everything
⌘ CmdA
Delete what is selected
⌦ Delor⌫ Delete
Duplicate what is selected
⌘ CmdD
Save and go back to reading
Quran page annotations · Not while you are typing in a text box
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option↩ Return
Cancel / clear selection / close
Esc

Canvas tools

Single keys. Press them while you are not typing in a text box.

Select (mouse)
V
Pan / move around
H
Pen
DorBorX
Highlighter
Quran page annotations
I
Highlighter
Notebooks and drawing on documents
⇧ ShiftD
Eraser
E
Text box
T
Sticky note
N
Arrow
A
Line
L
Rectangle
R
Ellipse
O
Last-used shape
G
Frame
F
Laser pointer
K
Zoom tool
Z
Keep the tool after drawing (tool lock)
Q

Colours

Sets the colour for what you draw next. With the Select tool, it also recolours the selected shapes. While typing in a text box, the same keys colour the selected text.

Black
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option1
Grey
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option2
Light violet
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option3
Violet
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option4
Blue
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option5
Light blue
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option6
Yellow
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option7
Orange
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option8
Green
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option9
Light green
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option0
Light red
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option-
Red
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option=

Arranging shapes

Nudge selected shapes
Hold Shift to move further
←or→or↑or↓
Edit the selected shape / step into a group
↩ Return
Group
Quran page annotations
⌘ CmdG
Ungroup
⌘ Cmd⇧ ShiftG
Bring to front / send to back
]or[
Bring forward / send backward
⌥ Option]or⌥ Option[
Flip horizontally / vertically
⇧ ShiftHor⇧ ShiftV
Align left / centre / right
⌥ OptionAor⌥ OptionHor⌥ OptionD
Align top / middle / bottom
⌥ OptionWor⌥ OptionVor⌥ OptionS
Distribute horizontally / vertically
⌥ Option⇧ ShiftHor⌥ Option⇧ ShiftV
Lock / unlock
⇧ ShiftL
Flatten to an image
⇧ ShiftF
Copy as SVG image
⌘ Cmd⇧ ShiftC
Insert an image or video
⌘ CmdU
Print
⌘ CmdP

Zoom & view

Zoom in
=or⌘ Cmd=
Zoom out
-or⌘ Cmd-
Zoom to 100%
⇧ Shift0
Zoom to fit everything
⇧ Shift1
Zoom to selection
⇧ Shift2
Show / hide the page grid
Notebooks
⌘ CmdG
Show / hide the grid
Quran page annotations
⌘ Cmd'
Focus mode (hide the toolbar)
Press again to bring the toolbar back
⌘ Cmd.

Mouse & trackpad

Move around the canvas
Scroll, or two-finger swipe on a trackpad
Move around (any tool)
Hold Space and drag, or drag with the middle mouse button
Zoom
Pinch on a trackpad, or ⌘ / Ctrl + scroll
Add to / remove from selection
Shift + click
Duplicate while dragging
⌥ Option / Alt + drag a shape
Drag in a straight line
Hold Shift while dragging
Keep proportions while resizing
Hold Shift while resizing
Resize from the centre
Hold ⌥ Option / Alt while resizing
Snap rotation to angles
Hold Shift while rotating
Draw straight segments
Hold Shift while drawing with the pen
New text box
Double-click an empty spot (Select tool)
Zoom in / out with the Pan tool
Double-click / triple-click
More options
Right-click on the canvas

iPad, Apple Pencil & touch

Switch between pen and eraser
iPad app
Double-tap Apple Pencil
Draw with Pencil, move with fingers
iPad app
After you draw with Pencil, fingers pan and pinch but do not draw
Zoom / move around
Pinch / two-finger drag
Zoom in / out with the Pan tool
Double-tap / triple-tap
Next / previous Quran page
Phones, tablets and the mobile apps (not while annotating)
Swipe right / swipe left
Next / previous notebook page
Phones
Swipe from the screen edge
Move between dashboard tabs
Phones
Swipe left / right
Refresh the dashboard
Pull down
Go back
Phones
Swipe in from the left edge
Mushaf or friend options
Long-press the card (or right-click)
Go back / close a window
Android
Back button (press twice on the home screen to exit)

Formatting text

While you are typing inside a text box on a canvas.

Bold / italic / underline
⌘ CmdBor⌘ CmdIor⌘ CmdU
Strikethrough
⌘ Cmd⇧ ShiftS
Highlight
⌘ Cmd⇧ ShiftH
Inline code
⌘ CmdE
Bullet / numbered / checklist
⌘ Cmd⇧ Shift8or⌘ Cmd⇧ Shift7or⌘ Cmd⇧ Shift9
Align left / centre / right
⌘ Cmd⇧ ShiftLor⌘ Cmd⇧ ShiftEor⌘ Cmd⇧ ShiftR
Text colour
Same 12 keys as in Colours above (1–9, 0, −, =)
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option1
Bigger / smaller text
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option.or⌘ Cmd⌥ Option,
Undo / redo typing
⌘ CmdZor⌘ Cmd⇧ ShiftZ
Indent / outdent a list item
Tabor⇧ ShiftTab
Next / previous table cell
Tab in the last cell adds a row
Tabor⇧ ShiftTab
Line break without a new paragraph
⌘ Cmd↩ Return

Type to format

Type these at the start of a line (or around a word) and the formatting appears automatically.

Heading (1 to 6 #)
#
Bullet list
-
Numbered list
1.
Checklist item
[ ]
Bold
**word**
Italic
*word*
Strikethrough
~~word~~
Highlight
==word==
Inline code
`word`
Link
Web addresses become links automatically
https://…

Slash commands

Type / in any text box on a Quran page or notebook. Use ↑ ↓ to choose, Enter to insert, Esc to cancel.

Insert an ayah
/2:255
Insert a range of ayat
/2:255-257
Insert a whole surah
/112
Surah by name (with or without ayat)
/rahman:2-10
Insert a hadith (needs internet)
/bukhari:1
Link to another note or page
/link
Quick link to an ayah
/link 2:20
ﷺ
or /saw
/pbuh
ﷻ
/swt
رضي الله عنه
/ra
رحمه الله
/rh
عليه السلام
/as
Headings, lists and checklists
Documents · Type / then pick from the list
/

Reading & finding your way

Next / previous Quran page
Reading view on a computer or iPad · ← goes forward, like turning a mushaf page
←or→
Next / previous notebook page
⌥ Option→or⌥ Option←
Move through search results
Enter to open
↑or↓
Close a menu or window
Esc
Send an AI Study message
Shift+Enter for a new line. On touch screens, tap Send
↩ Return

Shared documents

Extra keys in documents inside shared (collaborative) notebooks.

Heading 1 to 4
Use 1, 2, 3 or 4
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option1
Normal text
⌘ Cmd⌥ Option0
Quote
⌘ Cmd⇧ ShiftB
Code block
⌘ Cmd⌥ OptionC
Justify
⌘ Cmd⇧ ShiftJ
Switch between typing and drawing
⌘ CmdD
Zoom the page in / out / reset
⌘ Cmd=or⌘ Cmd-or⌘ Cmd0
Quote / code block / divider
also ``` and ---
>

Desktop app

In the Qurannotate app for Mac and Windows.

New mushaf
Dashboard
⌘ CmdN
Zoom the whole window in / out / reset
⌘ Cmd=or⌘ Cmd-or⌘ Cmd0
Full screen
Ctrl⌘ CmdF
Quit
⌘ CmdQ

Last checked against the app on 27 September 2026. Something missing or not working? Tell us.

Related Articles

Select, Pan and Pen — the Main ToolsPen Settings: Colour, Thickness and OpacityLinking to Another Verse or Page

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