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Reference

Keyboard shortcuts

Every shortcut in IdeaM, and the touch gesture that does the same job on an iPhone or iPad. 45 actions in all. Learn a handful and the outline starts to feel like an instrument.

45
Actions
3
Platforms

The same action on every device. What you learn on a Mac you already know on Windows, and your fingers already know it on an iPad.

This page is laid out to print — one sheet per group.

Jump to a group

Getting around

9 actions

Moving through an outline and changing how much of it you can see.

  • Move to the item above or below

    Mac
    ↑ ↓
    Windows & Linux
    ↑ ↓
    iPhone & iPad
    Scroll and tap

  • Select an item

    Mac
    Click
    Windows & Linux
    Click
    iPhone & iPad
    Tap

  • Open or close one branch

    Mac
    Click the arrow
    Windows & Linux
    Click the arrow
    iPhone & iPad
    Tap the arrow

  • Expand everything

    Mac
    ⌘E
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+E
    iPhone & iPad
    Down-arrow toolbar button

  • Compress everything

    Mac
    ⌘⇧E
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+Shift+E
    iPhone & iPad
    Up-arrow toolbar button

  • Search this outline

    Control, not Command — on a Mac, ⌘F belongs to the browser’s own page search, so we leave it alone.

    Mac
    ⌃F
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+F
    iPhone & iPad
    Search field in the toolbar

  • Focus on one branch

    Mac
    ⌘⇧F
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+Shift+F
    iPhone & iPad
    Focus toolbar button

  • Step back out

    Mac
    Esc
    Windows & Linux
    Esc
    iPhone & iPad
    Focus button again

  • Show or hide the sidebar

    Mac
    ⌘B
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+B
    iPhone & iPad
    Sidebar button

Building the outline

12 actions

Adding items, naming them, and moving them around the hierarchy.

  • New item below this one

    Mac
    Return
    Windows & Linux
    Enter
    iPhone & iPad
    Green + button

  • Edit an item’s name

    Mac
    Double-click the name (or right-click ‣ Edit Name)
    Windows & Linux
    Double-click the name (or right-click ‣ Edit Name)
    iPhone & iPad
    Tap the selected item again to rename it

  • Edit an item’s content

    Mac
    Right-click ‣ Edit Content
    Windows & Linux
    Right-click ‣ Edit Content
    iPhone & iPad
    Tap … on the selected item ‣ Edit Content

  • Finish editing the name

    Mac
    Return
    Windows & Linux
    Enter
    iPhone & iPad
    Return

  • Cancel editing the name

    Mac
    Esc
    Windows & Linux
    Esc
    iPhone & iPad
    Tap elsewhere

  • Start typing in a brand-new item

    Mac
    Space
    Windows & Linux
    Space
    iPhone & iPad
    Tap it again

  • Indent

    Mac
    Tab
    Windows & Linux
    Tab
    iPhone & iPad
    Swipe right

  • Outdent

    Mac
    ⇧Tab
    Windows & Linux
    Shift+Tab
    iPhone & iPad
    Swipe left

  • Move an item

    Mac
    Drag
    Windows & Linux
    Drag
    iPhone & iPad
    Press and hold, then drag

  • Delete an item

    Mac
    Delete
    Windows & Linux
    Delete
    iPhone & iPad
    Tap … ‣ Delete Item, or press and hold ‣ Delete on the bar

  • Duplicate an item

    Mac
    ⌘D
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+D
    iPhone & iPad
    Tap … on the selected item ‣ Duplicate

  • Open the item menu

    Mac
    Right-click
    Windows & Linux
    Right-click
    iPhone & iPad
    Tap … on the selected item

Copying whole branches

9 actions

These carry an item and everything underneath it — not just the line you clicked.

  • Copy a branch

    Mac
    ⌘C
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+C
    iPhone & iPad
    … ‣ Copy Suboutline

  • Cut a branch

    Mac
    ⌘X
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+X
    iPhone & iPad
    … ‣ Move Suboutline

  • Paste a branch

    Mac
    ⌘V
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+V
    iPhone & iPad
    … ‣ Paste Suboutline

  • Undo

    Mac
    ⌘Z
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+Z
    iPhone & iPad
    Undo button

  • Redo

    Mac
    ⌘⇧Z
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+Shift+Z
    iPhone & iPad
    Redo button

  • Add one more item to the selection

    Mac
    ⌘Click
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+Click
    iPhone & iPad
    Press and hold one item, then tap the others

  • Select a run of items

    Mac
    ⇧Click
    Windows & Linux
    Shift+Click
    iPhone & iPad
    Press and hold one item, then tap the others

  • Indent or outdent everything selected

    Mac
    Tab / ⇧Tab
    Windows & Linux
    Tab / Shift+Tab
    iPhone & iPad
    Swipe right or left

  • Clear the selection

    Mac
    Esc
    Windows & Linux
    Esc
    iPhone & iPad
    Tap empty space

Writing inside an item

7 actions

The text editor in the content pane. Standard everywhere, on purpose.

  • Bold

    While you are typing, ⌘B means bold. Outside the editor it shows and hides the sidebar.

    Mac
    ⌘B
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+B
    iPhone & iPad
    Select text → format bar

  • Italic

    Mac
    ⌘I
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+I
    iPhone & iPad
    Select text → format bar

  • Underline

    Mac
    ⌘U
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+U
    iPhone & iPad
    Select text → format bar

  • Select all the text

    Mac
    ⌘A
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+A
    iPhone & iPad
    Press and hold → Select All

  • Copy text

    Mac
    ⌘C
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+C
    iPhone & iPad
    Press and hold → Copy

  • Paste text

    Mac
    ⌘V
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+V
    iPhone & iPad
    Press and hold → Paste

  • Undo your typing

    Mac
    ⌘Z
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+Z
    iPhone & iPad
    Undo button

Your Second Brain

5 actions

Keeping things worth keeping, and getting them back later.

  • Save the selected item

    Mac
    ⌘⇧B
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+Shift+B
    iPhone & iPad
    Brain menu → Save

  • Ask your Second Brain

    This one writes an answer with AI, so it uses one AI generation.

    Mac
    ⌘⇧S
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+Shift+S
    iPhone & iPad
    Brain menu → Ask

  • Quick capture a note

    Mac
    ⌘⇧I
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+Shift+I
    iPhone & iPad
    Brain menu

  • Search your Second Brain

    Plain keyword search. Instant, on your own machine, and it uses no AI.

    Mac
    Brain menu → magnifier
    Windows & Linux
    Brain menu → magnifier
    iPhone & iPad
    Brain menu → magnifier

  • Open your Second Brain

    Mac
    Brain toolbar button
    Windows & Linux
    Brain toolbar button
    iPhone & iPad
    Brain menu

AI and help

3 actions

The AI tools that live on a key of their own.

  • Quick Command — change your outline with a plain-English instruction

    Type or dictate, then press Enter. Deletions wait for your approval.

    Mac
    ⌘K
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+K
    iPhone & iPad
    AI menu › Quick Command

  • Live Books — bring an item up to date from the web

    Needs an item selected. It is switched off inside the built-in User Guide.

    Mac
    ⌘⇧R
    Windows & Linux
    Ctrl+Shift+R
    iPhone & iPad
    AI menu

  • Show the in-app shortcut card

    Press it anywhere except while you are typing.

    Mac
    ?
    Windows & Linux
    ?
    iPhone & iPad
    Help button

Two things worth knowing

  • Turning on Project Management in Settings adds status, due dates and task dependencies — but it does not add any new keyboard shortcuts. Those controls live in the item menu and the content pane, so the list above is the whole keyboard story either way.
  • Shortcuts that would fight the system are deliberately left alone. Search is ⌃F rather than ⌘F, and nothing is bound to the function keys or to a three-finger gesture, so your Mac and your iPad keep behaving the way you expect.

Start with four.

Return for a new item, Tab and Shift+Tab to move it in and out, ⌘Z when you change your mind. That is most of a day’s outlining right there.

Read the guide