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Shortcut for New Tab in Chrome

AppsChrome, Edge, FirefoxWindows and MacChecked 2 Nov 2026

New tab

CtrlT

Link in new tab

Ctrl

Hold Ctrl and click the link

Duplicate tab (Chrome)

AltD

Then Alt + Enter

Mac

CommandT

The shortcut for new tab in Chrome is Ctrl + T, and it works the same in Edge and Firefox. A blank tab opens with the cursor already in the address bar, so you can start typing a search or website straight away. On a Mac, press Command + T.

To open a link in a new tab without leaving the page you are reading, hold Ctrl and click the link. To bring back a tab you just closed, press Ctrl + Shift + T.

Quick facts

  • New tab

    Ctrl + T

  • Link in background tab

    Ctrl + click

  • Link in new tab, switch to it

    Ctrl + Shift + click

  • Reopen closed tab

    Ctrl + Shift + T

  • Typed address in new tab

    Alt + Enter

  • Mac

    Command + T

Shortcut for duplicate tab in Chrome

  1. Press Alt + D to select the address of the current page.
  2. Press Alt + Enter. The same page opens in a new tab beside it.

You can also right click a tab and choose Duplicate. Duplicating is useful when you want to compare two parts of the same long page side by side.

Moving between many tabs

Ctrl + Tab moves to the next tab and Ctrl + Shift + Tab to the previous one. Ctrl + 1 to Ctrl + 8 jump to tabs by position, and Ctrl + 9 to the last tab. With 20 tabs open, these are much faster than reading tiny tab titles. Right click a tab and choose Pin to keep important ones small at the left. Pinned tabs survive when you close other tabs, and they reopen with the browser if Continue where you left off is turned on in the startup settings. That makes them a good home for email, a calendar or an office portal you check all day.

Tab groups in Chrome and Edge, created by right clicking a tab, let you colour and name sets of tabs such as Work or Bills.

New tab on a laptop

The keys use letters only, so they work identically on laptops. Touchpads make middle clicking hard, which is why Ctrl plus a click is the easiest way to open links in new tabs. Many touchpads also let a three finger tap act as a middle click; check the touchpad settings. For private browsing in a separate window, see incognito shortcut.

When a new tab will not open

Problems and fixes
ProblemFix
Ctrl + T does nothingClick inside the browser window first
New tab opens a strange pageAn extension or setting changed the new tab page; check browser settings
Ctrl + Shift + T opens nothingNo tab was closed in this session
Too many tabs slow the laptopClose unused tabs; Chrome's Task Manager shows the heavy ones
A student comparing college websites opens each result with Ctrl and a click, reads the first, then uses Ctrl + Tab to go through the rest without losing the search results page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the shortcut for new tab in Chrome?
Ctrl + T.
How do I open a link in a new tab?

Hold Ctrl and click the link.

Can I bring back a tab I closed by mistake?
Ctrl + Shift + T.
What is the shortcut for duplicate tab in Chrome?
Alt + D, then Alt + Enter.
What is the new tab shortcut on Mac?
Command + T.
How do I switch to the next tab?
Ctrl + Tab.