<h3>Why Use Keyboard Shortcuts in iTunes?</h3><p>The Windows version of iTunes has an easy-to-use menu system, so why use keyboard shortcuts at all?</p><p>Knowing the essential shortcuts in iTunes (or any other program for that matter) helps to speed up tasks. The graphical user interface (GUI) in iTunes maybe easy enough to use, but it can be slow if you need to do a lot of <a href="https://www.lifewire.com/mac-software-apps-4102627" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="1">music library management</a> tasks.</p><p>If for example, you need to create several playlists or need to quickly pull up song information, then knowing specific keyboard shortcuts can really speed things up.</p><p>Knowing how to get to a particular option via a keyboard shortcut also accelerates your workflow. Rather than navigating through endless menus looking for the relevant option, you can get the job done with just a few key presses.</p><p>To discover the essential keyboard commands to efficiently control iTunes, take a look at the handy table below.</p><h3>Essential iTunes Keyboard Shortcuts for Managing Your Digital Music Library</h3><table border="5" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Playlist Shortcuts</strong></td></tr><tr><td>New playlist</td><td>CTRL &#43; N</td></tr><tr><td>New <a href="https://www.lifewire.com/make-smart-playlists-in-itunes-that-automatically-update-2438714" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="2">Smart Playlist</a></td><td>CTRL &#43; ALT &#43; N</td></tr><tr><td>New playlist from selection</td><td>CTRL &#43; SHIFT &#43; N</td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Song Selection and Playback</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Add file to library</td><td>CTRL &#43; O</td></tr><tr><td>Select all songs</td><td>CTRL &#43; A</td></tr><tr><td>Clear song selection</td><td>CTRL &#43; SHIFT &#43; A</td></tr><tr><td>Play or pause selected song</td><td>Spacebar</td></tr><tr><td>Highlight currently playing song in the list</td><td>CTRL &#43; L</td></tr><tr><td>Get song information</td><td>CTRL &#43; I</td></tr><tr><td>Show where song is located (via Windows)</td><td>CTRL &#43; SHIFT &#43; R</td></tr><tr><td>Fast forward search in playing song</td><td>CTRL &#43; ALT &#43; Right Cursor Key</td></tr><tr><td>Fast backwards search in playing song</td><td>CTRL &#43; ALT &#43; Left Cursor Key</td></tr><tr><td>Skip forwards to the next song</td><td>Right Cursor Key</td></tr><tr><td>Skip backwards to the previous song</td><td>Left Cursor Key</td></tr><tr><td>Skip forwards to the next album</td><td>SHIFT &#43; Right Cursor Key</td></tr><tr><td>Skip backwards to the previous album</td><td>SHIFT &#43; Left Cursor Key</td></tr><tr><td>Volume level up</td><td>CTRL &#43; Up Cursor Key</td></tr><tr><td>Volume level down</td><td>CTRL &#43; Down Cursor Key</td></tr><tr><td>Sound on / off</td><td>CTRL &#43; ALT &#43; Down Cursor Key</td></tr><tr><td>Enable / disable mini player mode</td><td>CTRL &#43; SHIFT &#43; M</td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>iTunes Store Navigation</strong></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://www.lifewire.com/review-of-the-itunes-store-2438397" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="3">iTunes Store</a> home page</td><td>CTRL &#43; Shift &#43; H</td></tr><tr><td>Refresh page</td><td>CTRL &#43; R or F5</td></tr><tr><td>Go back one page</td><td>CTRL &#43; [</td></tr><tr><td>Go forward one page</td><td>CTRL &#43; ]</td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>iTunes View Controls</strong></td></tr><tr><td>View iTunes music library as a list</td><td>CTRL &#43; SHIFT &#43; 3</td></tr><tr><td>View iTunes music library as album list</td><td>CTRL &#43; SHIFT &#43; 4</td></tr><tr><td>View iTunes music library as a grid</td><td>CTRL &#43; SHIFT &#43; 5</td></tr><tr><td>Cover Flow mode (version 11 or lower)</td><td>CTRL &#43; SHIFT &#43; 6</td></tr><tr><td>Customize your view</td><td>CTRL &#43; J</td></tr><tr><td>Enable / disable column browser</td><td>CTRL &#43; B</td></tr><tr><td>Show / hide iTunes sidebar</td><td>CTRL &#43; SHIFT &#43; G</td></tr><tr><td>Enable / disable visualizer</td><td>CTRL &#43; T</td></tr><tr><td>Full screen mode</td><td>CTRL &#43; F</td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>iTunes Miscellaneous Shortcuts</strong></td></tr><tr><td>iTunes preferences</td><td>CTRL &#43; ,</td></tr><tr><td>Eject a CD</td><td>CTRL &#43; E</td></tr><tr><td>Display audio equalizer controls</td><td>CTRL &#43; SHIFT &#43; 2</td></tr></tbody></table>