Keyboard Shortcuts to Boost Your Productivity During Tests

Why Shortcuts Matter During Practice

Between test attempts, most people reach for the mouse to click "restart" or select a new test format. This seems minor but it matters for two reasons. First, moving to the mouse and back takes 3–7 seconds per run — in a session of 20 practice runs, that's up to 2 minutes of dead time. Second, lifting your hands off the keyboard and repositioning disrupts the warm physical state your hands are in after typing.

The fastest typists in practice sessions stay on the keyboard between runs as much as possible. The rhythm and muscle warmth carry over.

TypingTest.now Shortcuts

The Tab + Enter sequence is the most important one to memorise. After your test finishes and the results appear, pressing Tab moves focus to the restart button, and Enter activates it. Two keystrokes, hands stay on the keyboard, and you're ready to start again immediately.

General Browser Shortcuts That Help

A few browser shortcuts are useful during typing test practice sessions:

• F11 — Full screen mode. Removes the browser UI and gives you a cleaner practice environment. Press F11 again to exit.
• Ctrl + L (or Cmd + L on Mac) — Focus the address bar. Useful for quickly navigating to a different test format by typing the URL.
• Ctrl + T — New tab. Open a second test format alongside your main one.
• Ctrl + W — Close the current tab. Clean up after a session.

System-Level Shortcuts Worth Knowing

If you're taking notes or copying text into the custom text mode, these help:

• Win + V (Windows) — Opens clipboard history. Access any of your last 25 copied items, not just the most recent.
• Ctrl + Shift + V — Paste as plain text (removes formatting). Useful when pasting content from documents into the custom text field.
• Ctrl + A — Select all. Useful for clearing the custom text field before pasting new content.

Building a Fast Practice Workflow

A good practice session workflow that uses shortcuts throughout:

1. Open TypingTest.now, press F11 for focus
2. Start the test by typing the first character
3. After the test: read results (5 seconds), then Tab + Enter to restart
4. Repeat for your target number of runs without touching the mouse
5. At the end: log your average score, press F11 to exit full screen

For the broader practice methodology, see the step-by-step WPM increase plan. For what test formats to use in each session, see the best typing tests for practice and skill development.