Power BI Desktop Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet

Quick reference for the shortcuts that actually save time in Power BI Desktop — editing DAX, arranging visuals on the canvas, and moving around tables and matrices. Press Shift + ? inside Power BI Desktop at any time to pull up the built-in shortcut list.

DAX Formula Bar

The formula bar is a real code editor, and most of its shortcuts aren't discoverable from the UI.

Action	Shortcut
Submit the formula	`Ctrl + Enter` or `Enter`
Insert a new line	`Shift + Enter` or `Alt + Enter`
Insert a new line above	`Ctrl + Shift + Enter`
Comment / uncomment the current line	`Ctrl + /`
Select the current line	`Ctrl + L`
Select all occurrences of the current word	`Ctrl + F2`
Select next occurrence of the current selection	`Ctrl + D`
Move the current line up / down	`Alt + ↑` / `Alt + ↓`
Jump to matching bracket	`Ctrl + Shift + \`
Jump to start / end of the line	`Ctrl + Home` / `Ctrl + End`
Go to a specific line number	`Ctrl + G`
Show autocomplete suggestions	`Ctrl + Space`
Expand / collapse the formula bar	`Ctrl + J`
Close the formula bar	`Esc`

Ctrl + D in particular is worth building a habit around — it's the fastest way to rename every occurrence of a measure or column reference inside a single formula without retyping each one.

Report Canvas

All of these require editing mode. See Report Design for layout and alignment principles beyond the shortcuts themselves.

Action	Shortcut
Multi-select visuals	`Ctrl + Spacebar` (or `Ctrl` + click with a mouse)
Group selected visuals	`Ctrl + G`
Clear selection	`Ctrl + Shift + C`
Move a visual (small steps)	Arrow keys
Move a visual (larger steps)	`Shift` + arrow keys
Resize a visual	Arrow keys (with the visual selected, not a data point)
Maintain aspect ratio while resizing	`Shift` + drag a resize handle
Show or hide a data point tooltip	`Ctrl + H`
Right-click equivalent	`Shift + F10`

Canvas Zoom and Scroll

Action	Shortcut
Zoom in / out	`Ctrl + Plus` / `Ctrl + Minus`
Scroll canvas up / down	`Page Up` / `Page Down`
Scroll canvas left / right	`Alt + Page Up` / `Alt + Page Down`

Selection Pane (Layering)

Action	Shortcut
Open the selection pane	`F6`
Move an object up a layer	`Ctrl + Shift + F`
Move an object down a layer	`Ctrl + Shift + B`
Hide / show an object	`Ctrl + Shift + S`

Useful for the "visual hidden behind another visual" problem — rather than dragging things around to find it, open the pane and toggle visibility directly.

For moving around a table or matrix visual without a mouse, such as when checking exact values cell by cell.

Action	Shortcut
Move one cell up / down / left / right	Arrow keys
Jump to the first / last cell in a row	`Ctrl + Home key` / `Ctrl + End key`
Jump to the first / last element in a column	`Ctrl + ↑` / `Ctrl + ↓`
Jump to the first / last cell in the whole table	`Ctrl + Home` / `Ctrl + End`
Select multiple contiguous rows	`Shift + ↑` / `Shift + ↓`
Select multiple non-contiguous rows	`Ctrl + Enter` or `Ctrl + Space`
Expand / collapse a matrix level	`Shift + →` / `Shift + ←`

Next Steps

Source: Keyboard shortcuts in Power BI Desktop, Microsoft Learn.