20 Business Central Keyboard Shortcuts That Actually Save Time

Most people who use Business Central daily have never looked up the keyboard shortcuts. Which is a shame, because BC is genuinely well-designed for keyboard-first work. Here are the ones worth learning, organised by when you’ll actually use them.

Alt + Q: Tell Me (Search Everything)

If you only learn one shortcut, make it this one. Tell Me opens a universal search that finds pages, actions, reports, and your own data. Type “customer” and you get the customer list. Type “post” and you get posting actions. Type a customer’s name and you get their card directly.

Ctrl + F5: Refresh Without Full Reload

Refreshes the current page data without reloading the browser tab. Faster than F5 and doesn’t lose your scroll position.

Alt + Right / Left Arrow: Navigate History

Moves forward and backward through your navigation history within BC, equivalent to the browser back/forward buttons but without leaving the app.

Working in Lists

Shift + F3: Toggle Filter Pane

Opens and closes the filter pane. This is your starting point for narrowing any list. Once open, use F3 to jump to the search field.

Ctrl + Shift + F3: Clear All Filters

Removes all active filters at once. Useful when you’ve layered several filters and want to start fresh.

Shift + Click: Select a Range of Rows

Click the first row, hold Shift, click the last row. That selects everything in between. Then use bulk actions from the action bar.

Ctrl + A: Select All

Selects every row in the current filtered list view. Be careful when combined with delete or bulk-post actions.

F8: Copy Value from Cell Above

In editable lists (like journal lines), F8 copies the value from the same field in the row above. Invaluable for entering repetitive journal entries.

Working in Cards & Documents

Alt + N: New Record

Creates a new record from any list page without clicking the + New button. Works in most list contexts.

Alt + E: Edit

Opens the currently selected record in edit mode. When viewing a card in read-only mode, Alt + E is faster than finding the Edit button.

Alt + F9: Post Document Without Confirmation

Posts the current document (Sales Order, Purchase Invoice, etc.) and skips the confirmation dialog. Only use this once you’re confident in what you’re posting.

F9: Post (With Confirmation)

The safer version: posts the current document but shows a confirmation dialog first.

Ctrl + Shift + S: Save and Close

Saves the current record and returns to the list. Equivalent to clicking Save and then navigating back.

In Editable Lists (Journal Lines, etc.)

Shortcut	Action
`Tab`	Move to the next field
`Shift + Tab`	Move to the previous field
`Enter`	Confirm entry and move down
`Esc`	Cancel current edit
`F8`	Copy value from the cell above
`Ctrl + Delete`	Delete the current line
`Alt + Insert`	Insert a new line above

General

Ctrl + C / Ctrl + V: Copy & Paste (works in lists!)

You can copy cell values from BC lists and paste them into Excel, and vice versa. Select multiple rows in BC, Ctrl+C, paste into Excel for an instant ad hoc data export.

This also works in reverse: copy a range from Excel and paste it into a BC journal or list (where data entry is allowed).

Alt + F3: View All Actions

Shows the full action bar including actions that don’t fit in the visible ribbon. Useful on smaller screens.

?: Keyboard Shortcut Reference

Press ? on any page to view a contextual list of available keyboard shortcuts. This is built into BC and worth checking on any page type you’re new to.

How to Actually Learn These

Don’t try to memorise all 20 at once. Pick the five that apply to what you do most often. Use them exclusively for a week, even when it’s slower than clicking. After a week, they’ll be automatic, and you can add five more.

The Tell Me shortcut (Alt + Q) alone is worth more than every other item on this list combined. Start there.

New to Business Central? The Getting Started guide covers navigation, filters, dimensions, and more to get you oriented quickly.

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