Azure Cosmos DB Keyboard Shortcuts: Streamline Your Workflow in Data Explorer

Meredith Moore

May 3rd, 20240 1

Working with databases just got a whole lot easier in Azure Cosmos DB Data Explorer, thanks to some nifty new keyboard shortcuts. Now you can speed through your database tasks and manage your data with keyboard clicks.

This update is about making your workflow smoother and faster. We heard your feedback and now with a few key presses, you can run queries, add new containers, edit items, and do so much more. It’s all designed to help you get more done in less time.

And if you’ve ever hit F5 mistakenly and watched your work disappear, you’ll be happy to know it’s no longer a problem. These shortcuts are smart and will keep your progress safe.

The letters shown below correspond to keys on your keyboard. For example, to use G+N, press and hold the G key, then press N. If the command is Ctrl+K Ctrl+X, press and hold Ctrl, then press K, release K and then press X. If the command is Alt + N P, press Alt + N, release both, and then press P.

To do this action	Windows Press	Mac Press
Close tab	Ctrl + alt + W	Cmd+ Opt + W
Discard edit Query/Item/Stored Procedure/Trigger/UDF	Esc	Esc
Download Query to Disk	Ctrl + Shift + S	Cmd + Shift + S
Enable/Disable Copilot	Ctrl + P	Cmd + P
Execute Query/Stored Procedure	Shift + Enter or F5	Shift + Return or F5
New Container	Alt + N C	Opt + N C
New Database	Alt + N D	Opt + N D
New Item	Alt + N I	Opt + N I
New Query	Ctrl + J or Alt + N Q	Cmd + J or Opt + N Q
New Stored Procedure (SPROC)	Alt + N P	Opt + N P
New Trigger	Alt + N T	Opt + N T
New User Defined Function (UDF)	Alt + N F	Opt + N F
Open Query	Ctrl + O	Cmd + O
Open Query from Disk in Query editor	Ctrl + Shift + O	Cmd + Shift + O
Run query	Shift + Enter or F5	Shift + Return or F5
Save Query	Ctrl + S	Cmd + S
Switch to Tab on the left	Ctrl + Alt + [ or Ctrl + Shift + F6	Cmd + Opt + [ or Cmd + Shift + F6
Switch to Tab on the right	Ctrl + Alt + ] or Ctrl + F6	Cmd + Opt + ] or Cmd + F6
Update Item/SPROC/UDF/Trigger	Ctrl + S	Cmd + S

Keyboard shortcuts for filter and Items

To do this action	Windows Press	Mac Press
Apply Filter	Enter	Return
Clear Filter	Ctrl + Shift + C	Cmd + Shift + C
Close Filter	Esc	Esc
Close Tab	Ctrl + Alt + W	Cmd + Opt + W
Delete Item	Alt + D	Opt + D
Discard edit Item	Esc	Esc
New Item	Alt + N I	Opt + N I
Move cursor from item to filter	Ctrl + Shift + F	Cmd + Shift + F
Open Edit Filter	Ctrl + Shift + F	Cmd + Shift + F
Open properties menu	Ctrl + Shift + O	Cmd+ Shift + O
Select filter from menu	Ctrl + Down Arrow	Cmd + Down Arrow
Update Item	Ctrl + S	Cmd + S

Keyboard shortcuts for editing queries

To do this action	Windows Press	Mac Press
Add new query tab	Ctrl + J or Alt + N Q	Cmd+ J or Opt + N Q
Cancel Query	Esc	Esc
Close tab	Ctrl + alt + W	Cmd + Opt + W
Copy line down	Shift + Alt + DownArrow	Shift + Opt + DownArrow
Comment line	Ctrl + K Ctrl + C	Cmd + K Cmd + C
Copy line up	Shift + Alt + UpArrow	Shift + Opt + UpArrow
Copy query clipboard	Shift + Alt + C	Shift + Opt + C
Cut the selected text	Ctrl + X	Cmd + X
Delete the current line	Ctrl + shift + K	Cmd + shift + K
Download Query to Disk	Ctrl + Shift + S	Cmd + Shift + S
Duplicate the current query	Ctrl + ALT + D	Cmd + Opt + D
Enable Copilot/Disable Copilot	Ctrl + P	Cmd + P
Find	Ctrl + F	Cmd + F
Format all	Shift + Alt + F	Shift + Opt + F
Format selection	Ctrl + K Ctrl + F	Cmd + K Cmd + F
Go to line	Ctrl + G	Cmd + G
Indent the current line or the selected lines	Tab	Tab
Insert line above	Ctrl + Shift + Enter	Cmd+ Shift + Return
Insert Line Below	Ctrl + Enter	Cmd + Return
Move line down	Alt + DownArrow	Opt + DownArrow
Move line up	Alt + UpArrow	Opt + UpArrow
Move the cursor to the end of the line	Shift + Alt + I	Shift + Opt + I
Move the cursor to the next word	Ctrl + Right	Cmd + Right
Move the cursor to the previous word	Ctrl + Left	Cmd + Left
Open Query	Ctrl + O	Cmd + O
Open Query from Disk	Ctrl + Shift + O	Cmd + Shift + O
Paste the copied or cut text	Ctrl + V	Cmd + V
Restore previous undone edit	Ctrl + Shift + Z	Cmd + Shift + Z
Run Query/Stored Procedure	Shift + Enter or F5	Shift + Return or F5
Save Query to Disk	Ctrl + Shift + S	Cmd + Shift + S
Select all the text in the query editor	Ctrl + A	Cmd + A
Select the text from the cursor to the next word	Ctrl + Shift + Right	Cmd+ Shift + Right
Select the text from the cursor to the previous word	Ctrl + Shift + Left	Cmd + Shift + Left
Show Editor Context Menu	Shift + F10	Shift + F10
Switch to tab on the left	Ctrl + Alt + [ or Ctrl + Shift + F6	Cmd + Opt + [ or Cmd + Shift + F6
Switch to tab on the right	Ctrl + Alt + ] or Ctrl + F6	Cmd + Opt + ] or Cmd + F6
Toggle comment on/off	Ctrl + /	Cmd + /
Uncomment line	Ctrl + K Ctrl + U	Cmd + K Cmd + U
Undo last editing	Ctrl + Z	Cmd + Z
Unindent the current line or the selected lines	Shift + Tab	Shift + Tab

Next steps

To wrap it up, maximizing efficiency in Azure Cosmos DB Data Explorer with these keyboard shortcuts allows you to whizz through your tasks at top speed, all with a keyboard. This update provides a streamlined workflow, enabling you to execute tasks with simple key combinations. We heard your feedback! From executing a query with F5, to setting up a new container with Alt N + C, these shortcuts are all about cutting down time and boosting your work output. For more details, check out these docs.

Let us know how we are doing. Send feedback to us in Data Explorer by pressing the smile icon.

About Azure Cosmos DB

Azure Cosmos DB is a fully managed and serverless distributed database for modern app development, with SLA-backed speed and availability, automatic and instant scalability, and support for open-source PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and Apache Cassandra. Try Azure Cosmos DB for free here. To stay in the loop on Azure Cosmos DB updates, follow us on X, YouTube, and LinkedIn.