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Google Chrome's omnibar can be accessed using either:

  • AltD

  • CtrlL

  • F6

  • (list others in comments if you know of any)

What's the difference between these options?

Pacerier
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  • This is a kind of localized question, since those shortcuts, at least not Alt+D and F6, works on Chrome on Mac. On Mac, you have to use ⌘+L (Cmd+L). – Lasse V. Karlsen Jul 25 '11 at 21:20
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    Is [77.16% of the internet](http://gs.statcounter.com/#os-ww-monthly-201504-201504-bar) your definition of "localized"? – Pacerier Apr 28 '15 at 09:46

3 Answers3

24

Made a quick overview of the shortcuts! The difference is small but it does exist:

All keys do almost the same thing, they get the cursor's focus on the address bar but with the following differences in behaviour:

  • Alt+D works in all situations focusing on the address bar.

  • F6 Circles through the following: 

    Address Bar, Bookmarks, New Tab Button, Current Window and Console (if open)

  • Ctrl+E adds a question mark and if a domain is entered it gets searched in Google instead of directly accessing it. It is also intended for other type of entries - see this post.

  • Ctrl+L works as the 'Clear Console' in the console, if open, or focuses the cursor on the address bar otherwise

Community
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Vasilis Bankov
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6

Chances are that there is no difference at all and they just made so many shortcuts so that people who are familiar with other browsers would be able to guess right the first time.

Michael Dillon
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  • I believe that F6 originally comes from Windows Explorer, while Ctrl+L has its origins in Unix/Linux. So it's perhaps a platform issue. – DisgruntledGoat May 20 '11 at 12:03
  • What does F6 do in Windows Explorer? (doesn't do anything for me) – Pacerier Sep 25 '11 at 17:00
  • @Pacerier In Windows, F6 and Shift+F6 are standard shortcuts for going to the next or previous pane of a window. Try out F6 in an Explorer window with both the Folders pane and the Address bar turned on. For me, it cycles between them. – Bavi_H Sep 25 '11 at 18:09
  • @Bavi_H Isn't it the same functionality as what Tab does ? – Pacerier Sep 25 '11 at 19:30
  • @Pacerier In Explorer, yes, Tab and F6 do the same thing. But, for example, in a text editor that lets you split the document into panes (like Visual Studio), F6 will cycle through the panes, but Tab will type a tab character. – Bavi_H Sep 27 '11 at 00:36
5

I know another one :Ctrl+K ( or Ctrl+E )

It adds a "?" in the ominibox.

The "?" means your following input will be treat as keywords for search after pressing Enter.

Another key that adds a "?" in the omnibox is F3.

Sigma
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