Alt+Enter

Updated: 12/10/2023 by Computer Hope
Alt+Enter keyboard shortcut

Alt+Enter is a keyboard shortcut most commonly used to create a new line in a Microsoft Excel cell. Below are other programs that use this keyboard shortcut and related information.

How to use the Alt+Enter keyboard shortcut

To use this keyboard shortcut, press and hold either Alt key, and while continuing to hold, press Enter.

Alt+Enter in Google Docs

Pressing Alt+Enter in Google Docs opens the selected hyperlink.

Alt+Enter in Google Sheets

Pressing Alt+Enter in a Google Sheets opens the selected hyperlink.

Alt+Enter in Microsoft Excel

In Microsoft Excel, pressing Alt+Enter creates a new line in a Microsoft Excel cell.

Alt+Enter in Word and other word processors

In Microsoft Word and other word processors, pressing Alt+Enter adds a page break at the cursor's current position.

Using Alt+Enter in Internet browsers

In all major Internet browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera), pressing Alt+Enter opens a search in a new tab. For example, if you type "computer help" in the address bar or search bar and press Alt+Enter, a search for "computer help" opens in a new tab.

Alt+Enter in Windows

In Windows, press Alt+Enter when any file, shortcut, or other object is highlighted to open the Properties window for that object.

Alt+Enter in the Windows command line

In early versions of Microsoft Windows (Windows XP and lower), pressing Alt+Enter would resize the Windows command line from a window to a full screen. More recent versions of Windows no longer support this keyboard shortcut.

Alt+Enter in TextPad

In TextPad, pressing Alt+Enter opens the document properties window showing statistics, such as the characters, words, and lines in the document.

Below are links to related keyboard shortcuts and individual key pages.

Alt, End key, Keyboard shortcut, Keyboard terms