Zoom Keyboard Shortcuts

Mac Cmd+Shift as the modifier for most Zoom shortcuts. Cmd+Shift+A to mute and unmute. Space bar as push-to-talk while muted.

Windows Alt as the primary modifier — not Ctrl. Alt+A to mute and unmute. Space bar as push-to-talk. The Alt pattern applies throughout Zoom's Windows shortcut set.

Linux Alt as the primary modifier, matching Windows. The same shortcut set as Windows throughout.

iPhone Requires an external keyboard. Basic meeting controls including mute are available. Small shortcut set.

Mute and unmute. The most-used shortcut in Zoom. Covered on every platform page with the exact keys for that platform.

Push to talk. On Mac, Windows, and Linux: holding Space while muted temporarily unmutes you. Release Space and you're muted again. This works while you're in a meeting and your microphone is muted — a fast alternative to toggling mute on and off.

Video controls. Turning the camera on and off. Switching the camera input between sources.

Screen sharing. Starting and stopping screen sharing. Pausing a screen share in progress.

Participant and meeting controls. Opening and closing the participants panel, raising your hand, sending reactions, opening chat, and leaving or ending a meeting.

Full-screen mode. Entering and exiting full-screen during a meeting.

A printable PDF of Zoom shortcuts is available for each platform. The mute, push-to-talk, and screen sharing sections are the most useful for regular meeting participants.

Slack, Microsoft Teams, Notion, Google Docs, and Todoist sit near Zoom because meeting work often connects calls, chat, notes, documents, and follow-up tasks. Slack and Microsoft Teams cover team communication around meetings, Notion and Google Docs support shared notes and documentation, and Todoist helps turn meeting outcomes into tasks. These apps are related by workflow and audience, not because every Zoom meeting needs all of them.

What is the keyboard shortcut to mute and unmute in Zoom?

It differs by platform. On Mac: Cmd+Shift+A. On Windows and Linux: Alt+A. On iPhone with an external keyboard, the shortcut is covered on the iPhone platform page.

What is push to talk in Zoom?

If your microphone is muted in a Zoom meeting, holding the Space bar temporarily unmutes you for as long as you hold it — you can speak, then release Space to mute again. This is faster than pressing the mute shortcut twice for a brief contribution. Push to talk works on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Why does Zoom on Windows use Alt instead of Ctrl?

This is Zoom's own design decision — the same reason some apps use non-standard modifier conventions. Alt is used for Zoom's call controls on Windows and Linux rather than the Ctrl that most other Windows applications use. The Windows platform page notes this upfront so it doesn't catch you off guard.

This section lists official sources and documentation for Zoom. Use these references to verify shortcut behavior instead of relying on old screenshots, memory, or someone else’s setup. They are especially helpful when comparing platform differences across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Linux, where meeting controls may not behave exactly the same.

Official references are also useful for checking keyboard layout issues, browser conflicts, operating system shortcut conflicts, and app-version differences. A shortcut that works cleanly on one machine may be reserved by the OS or affected by a different layout on another. When something does not behave as expected, verify it against the official source before changing your own notes, updating a team cheat sheet, or teaching the workflow to someone else.