FUNDAMENTALS A Complete Guide for Beginners
Atom is a free text and source code editor developed by GitHub. It is an open-source text editor compatible with most desktop platforms, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. Among the many code editors available, Atom has emerged as a powerful and versatile option that many professionals and enthusiasts prefer. In this article, I have listed some shortcut keyboard commands that you can utilize for Mac, and Linux if you want to work more productively while working on a project. Also, the atom cheat sheet can be a handy resource for anyone who want to explore or master this text editor.
Download Atom Cheat Sheet
What is Atom Text Editor?
Atom is a free and open-source text editor developed by GitHub.It was first released in 2014, and its flexibility, extensibility, and customizable features have made it popular among developers and programmers. Atom is available for a variety of platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Due to the fact that Atom is built using web technologies, primarily HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, it can be easily customised and extended. Users can customise its appearance and behavior by installing community-created themes and packages.
Additionally, Atom provides syntax highlighting, autocomplete, and code formatting support for a number of programming languages. It includes a file system browser, multiple panes for simultaneous editing, find and replace functionality, and a command palette for quickly accessing commands and features.
Furthermore, Atom has a thriving developer community that contributes to its ecosystem by creating packages and plugins to enhance its functionality. These packages can include features such as Git integration, linting, debugging, and integration with a variety of frameworks and tools.
Overall, Atom is a powerful and customizable text editor for developers, with various features and extensibility to suit individual preferences and workflows.
List of Shortcuts Used in Atom Text Editor
This list along with atom cheat sheet gives you a taste of the many shortcut commands and functionalities available in Atom. This includes file management, editing and navigation, code formatting, package management, and so on.
Also note that you can also use these shortcuts in macOS, but instead of CTRL you have to use the cmd.
Commonly Used Shortcuts
Here are some shortcut keys that are frequently used in the atom text editor. This list contains keys to display a command palette or settings view, reload editor, open or close Chrome developer and so on.
In this section, I have listed all the shortcut keys that are used to open and save files and manage window and tab. This section provides you with shortcut commands. That can be used to remove or select a line, join lines, indent or outdent selected lines, and so on. In this section, I’ve listed commands that you will use to manage words. Such as deleting a portion of it and also managing brackets, which means completing the bracket or selecting code inside it. You can use these shortcut commands to edit your files, remove or delete content, etc. This list contains commands that you will use to find and replace and search a word or selection within the file. The tree view is a sidebar panel that displays a hierarchical view of the files and folders in your project directory, providing a convenient way to navigate and manage your project’s file structure without switching between different file tabs. These shortcut keys allow you to quickly navigate, expand or collapse a directory, delete, and select items and so on in the Atom text editor’s Tree view panel. These are some shortcuts for different packages that can be used in the Atom text editor. Using these you can build and open a project, expand abbreviation, etc. Diffs enable you to compare and visualize differences between different versions of a file, making it easier to track changes and collaborate with others. Code folding, on the other hand, allows you to selectively hide and reveal sections of code, allowing you to focus on relevant parts while decluttering your workspace. Here I’ve listed commands that you can use to toggle lists of diffs in a file, move to the next diff, fold and unfold indentation levels, and so on, which will be a useful reference for effectively utilising diffs and code folding in Atom In conclusion, the Atom cheat sheet is useful for developers as it provides quick access to commands, shortcuts, and customization options. Using keyboard shortcuts and managing multiple panes allows users to move around the editor quickly. Developers can optimize their workflow, integrate with programming languages, and improve collaboration by becoming familiar with the cheat sheet. The concise format of the cheat sheet makes it an indispensable tool for increasing productivity and maximizing the potential of the user of the Atom text editor.
Shortcut Keys
Description
CTRL + ,
Opens and displays preferences/settings view
CTRL + B
Browses tabs within the window
CTRL + SHIFT + P
Opens and closes command palette
CTRL + Pageup
Cycles through open tabs on the left (in the active pane)
CTRL + Pagedown
Cycles through open tabs on the right (in the active pane)
CTRL + SHIFT + L
Chooses the language of the file
CTRL + SHIFT + M
Displays a preview of the file in Markdown format
CTRL + .
Displays the key bindings that the pressed key combination resolves to
CTRL + ALT + R
Reloads the editor
CTRL + ALT + I
Opens up the Chrome Developer Tools/Console
ALT + SHIFT + S
Displays the snippets available to Atom
Windows and Fille Management
Shortcut Keys
Description
CTRL + N
Opens a new tab with an empty file
CTRL + SHIFT + N
Creates a new editor window
CTRL + O
Displays the Open File dialog, from which you can select a file to open in the editor
CTRL + SHIFT + O
Displays the Open Folder dialog, from which you can choose a folder to add to the editor’s Tree View
CTRL + S
Saves the open file
CTRL + SHIFT + S
Saves the currently active file with a new name
ALT + cmd + S (macOS)
Saves all updated files
CTRL + W
Closes the active tab
CTRL + SHIFT + W
Closes the active editor window
F11 or CTRL + Cmd + F (macOS)
Toggle full-screen window
CTRL+ P
Opens a file (type the name to search)
Managing Lines
Shortcut Keys
Description
CTRL + G
Activates the Go To Line pane
CTRL + L
Selects the entire line in which the cursor is currently positioned
CTRL + SHIFT + D
Duplicates the current cursor position’s line and inserts a new line beneath it with the same contents
CTRL + SHIFT + K
Removes the current line
CTRL + Up
Contents of the current cursor position is moved up one line and If there is another line with content above it, the current line’s content will be swapped with the one above it
CTRL + Down
Contents of the current cursor position is moved down one line and If there is another line with content above it, the current line’s content will be swapped with the one above it
CTRL + /
Toggles comment line
CTRL + ENTER
Enters one line below
CTRL + [
Indents selected lines
CTRL + ]
Outdents selected lines
CTRL + J
Joins lines
Managing Words and Brackets
Shortcut Keys
Description
CTRL + Backspace
Delete until the start of the current word
CTRL + Delete
Deletes until the end of the current word
CTRL + ALT + .
Completes bracket
CTRL + M
When a matching top bracket is found, the cursor moves there
CTRL + ALT + M
Selects the code inside the matching brackets
Editing Shortcut Commands
Shortcut Keys
Description
F3 or cmd + G (MacOS)
While the Find/Replace panel is active, it Toggles forward through the results of the current buffer in the file
SHIFT + F3 or SHIFT + cmd + G (MacOS)
While the Find/Replace panel is active, it Toggles backward through the results of the current buffer in the file
CTRL + SHIFT + F
Activates Find in Project Panel
SHIFT + ALT + Up or Down
Allows you to choose multiple rows to which the same edit will be applied
CTRL + D
If you select a word and then press the key combination for this command, Atom will choose the next word for you.
CTRL+ U
Reverses the previous selection, as in Select Same Words
CTRL + R
Opens a palette with a list of all the symbols (or functions) in the current file, allowing you to perform a fuzzy search and jump lines
CTRL + Space
Displays available auto-completions
Find and Replace Shortcuts
Shortcut Keys
Description
CTRL + F
Find in the current file
CTRL + SHIFT + F
Find within project
F3
Find the next
SHIFT + F3
Find the previous
CTRL + ENTER
Replaces all
CTRL + ALT + /
Searches using Regex
CTRL + ALT + C
Matches case in search
CTRL + ALT + S
Searches only selection
CTRL + ALT + W
Matches entire word
Tree View
Shortcut Keys
Description
CTRL + 0
Toggles the focus tree view
CTRL + K, then B
Toggles the tree view
J
Selects next item
K
Selects the previous item
Arrow Right
Expands the selected directory
Arrow Left
Collapses the selected directory
ALT + Arrow Left
Expands directories recursively
ALT + Arrow Right
Collapses directories recursively
ENTER
Opens selected item
F2
Moves the selected items
Backspace
Deletes current item
D
Duplicates the selected item
CTRL + 1 … 9
Opens the selected item in pane 1 to 9
A
Adds new file
SHIFT + A
Adds new folder
I
Toggles the display of VCS ignored files
Different Packages
Shortcut Keys
Description
CTRL + ALT + B
Builds a Project
CTRL + E
Expands abbreviation
CTRL + SHIFT + H
Git plus monument
CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + P
Opens a project
Diffs and Code Folding
Shortcut Keys
Description
ALT + G, then D
Toggles lists of diffs in a file
Alt + G, then Arrow Down
Moves to the next diffs
Alt + G, then Arrow Up
Moves to the previous diffs
CTRL+ K then CTRL(0-9)
Folds/Unfolds at a specific indentation level, where the number represents the depth of the indentation
CTRL + ALT + [
Folds sections of code
CTRL + ALT + ]
Unfolds sections of code
CTRL + ALT + /
Folds/Unfolds a code
CTRL + ALT + F
Folds selected code
Conclusion
Very helpful!