Keyboard Shortcuts
The dashboard listens for a small, fixed set of keyboard shortcuts. Most are inside specific surfaces — the search modal, the Job Selector, the PO image lightbox — and only work when that surface is open. One shortcut works anywhere: Cmd+K (Mac) / Ctrl+K (Windows) opens global search. There is also a Skip to content link reachable on first Tab for keyboard-only users.
This page is the master cheat sheet. Other pages mention specific shortcuts inline; this is the one place that lists them all.
Cmd+K (Mac) / Ctrl+K (Windows) — open global search from anywhere. If you only memorize one shortcut, memorize this one.
The full list
Shortcuts are grouped by where they work.
Anywhere in the dashboard (after sign-in)
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| Cmd+K (Mac) / Ctrl+K (Windows) | Open the global search modal. See Global Search. |
| Tab (immediately after page load) | Move focus to the Skip to content link, which then accepts Enter to jump past the sidebar and chrome straight into the main content. Designed for screen-reader and keyboard-only navigation. |
Inside the global search modal or the Job Selector
These shortcuts only fire while the modal or selector dropdown is the active surface.
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| ↓ / ↑ | Move the highlight down or up through visible results. |
| Enter | Open the highlighted job. |
| Esc | Close the modal or dropdown without selecting. |
Inside any open modal, drawer, or lightbox
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| Esc | Close the topmost overlay (see the list below). |
| ← / → | PO image lightbox only — step between attached photos, when more than one photo is attached to that PO. |
Esc is wired to close whichever overlay is currently open: the global search modal, the Job Selector dropdown, the PO image lightbox, the Export dropdown menu, the Email Report modal, the Add Billing Period modal, the per-widget settings panel, and the mobile navigation drawer. It does not close the page itself.
What the dashboard does NOT have
PMs coming from other apps sometimes expect shortcuts that aren't wired here. To save you the discovery, the table below is the complete list of "no, that doesn't work."
| You might expect | Reality in JCI |
|---|---|
? to open a shortcuts overlay | Not wired. This page is the only cheat sheet. |
/ to focus the search input | Not wired. Use Cmd+K / Ctrl+K instead. |
Vim-style chords (g j, g q, etc.) | Not wired. There are no chord shortcuts of any kind. |
| Shortcuts to switch tabs inside Job Detail (Spend Analytics, Category Cards, PO Detail, Field Data, Budget) | Not wired. Use the tab buttons. |
| Shortcuts to toggle My Jobs, change filter chips, or trigger Copy Link / Export | Not wired. Use the buttons. |
| Cmd+/ or Ctrl+/ | Not wired for anything. |
↓ / ↑ only move the highlight inside the global search modal or the Job Selector dropdown. They do not navigate between widgets, table rows, or tabs in the rest of the app.
Mac vs. Windows
Only the search shortcut differs between platforms — Cmd+K on Mac, Ctrl+K on Windows. Everything else (arrow keys, Enter, Esc, Tab) is identical across both.
If your sidebar Search button shows the wrong tooltip for your OS, your browser is most likely passing the wrong platform hint — the shortcut itself works either way.
Where each shortcut shows up in the UI
Some shortcuts are surfaced visually so you can find them without coming here.
- The Search button in the desktop sidebar carries an accessible name of Search jobs (Ctrl+K), which screen readers will announce and which appears as the button's tooltip on hover.
- The Esc convention is consistent across every modal — if you see one open, Esc closes it.
For the broader interface tour, see The Interface.
Inline form fields
A handful of inline form editors — for example, when you're editing a budget line or a billing period in place — listen for Enter to commit the value and Esc to cancel the edit. Those are field-editor conventions, not navigation shortcuts. They're documented on the relevant editing pages, not here.
When a shortcut isn't working
A few common causes:
- You're not signed in yet. Cmd+K only fires once you've reached the authenticated portion of the app.
- A modal is already open. Cmd+K opens the search modal, but the in-modal arrow keys take over once it's open.
- Focus is in a text input. Pressing Esc while inside an input typically closes the surrounding modal — not the input itself.
- The browser intercepted the keys. Some browsers reserve Cmd+K for their own URL bar in certain modes; if you suspect that's happening, click the dashboard window first to ensure focus is in the page.
For broader troubleshooting, see Troubleshooting.
Related pages
- Global Search — the surface most of these shortcuts live on.
- Recent Jobs — opens via Cmd+K when the input is empty.
- Switching Jobs — the Job Selector, which uses the same arrow / Enter / Esc pattern.
- PO Detail tab — where the PO image lightbox lives.
- Troubleshooting — for when a shortcut isn't working.