My most favorite keyboard shortcut in the vSphere Client is Ctrl+Shift+F – It’s like Google for vCenter. It flips to the search box and allows you to find VMs, Templates, Datastores, Networks, Hosts, Clusters, Folders,etc.
vCenter Navigation Shortcuts
These shortcuts are for when you are in the a VM’s Console
| Shortcut | Description |
| Ctrl+Shift+V | Switches to VM and Templates |
| Ctrl+Shift+H | Switches to Hosts and Clusters |
| Ctrl+Shift+D | Switches to Datastore |
| Ctrl+Shift+N | Switches to Networking |
| Ctrl+Shift+F | Switches to Search – THE shortcut to remember |
| Ctrl+Shift+E | Switches to Events |
| Ctrl+Shift+L | Switches to Licensing |
| Ctrl+Shift+M | Switches to Maps |
| Ctrl+Shift+O | Switches to System Logs |
| Ctrl+Shift+P | Switches to Host Profiles |
| Ctrl+Shift+R | Switches to Roles |
| Ctrl+Shift+S | Switches to Sessions |
| Ctrl+Shift+T | Switches to Scheduled Tasks |
| Ctrl+Shift+U | Switches to Customization Specifications Manager |
| Ctrl+Shift+I | Opens vCenter Server Settings |
| Alt+Home | Switches to Home |
| Ctrl+Tab | Cycles forward through tabs |
| Ctrl+Shift+Tab | Cycles backward through tabs |
| Alt+Arrow Left/Right | Shortcuts for the Forward/Back buttons at the top left of the vSphere Client |
VM Console Shortcuts
These shortcuts are for when you are in the a VM’s Console
| Shortcut | Description |
| Ctrl+Shift+Insert | Sends Ctrl+Alt+Delete |
| Ctrl+G | Transfers mouse and keyboard input from the local machine to the virtual machine (same as clicking in the window) great for when you don’t have a mouse handy |
| Ctrl+Alt+Enter | Full Screen VM |
| Ctrl+Alt | Unlocks mouse/keyboard from VM console window, also exists full screen mode |
| Ctrl+Shift+X | Exit VM Console |
New Item Shortcuts
Use these shortcuts to create new things in vCenter
| Shortcut | Description |
| Ctrl+N | New VM |
| Ctrl+A | New vApp |
| Ctrl+H | New Host |
| Ctrl+L | New Cluster |
| Ctrl+O | New Resource Pool |
| Ctrl+F | New Folder |
| Ctrl+D | New Datastore |
VM Shortcuts
These shortcuts are for when you select a VM or are in the a VM’s Console
| Shortcut | Description |
| Ctrl+B | Power On VM |
| Ctrl+E | Power Off VM |
| Ctrl+T | Reset VM |
| Ctrl+Z | Suspend VM |
| Ctrl+D | Shut Down Guest – Requires VMware Tools |
| Ctrl+R | Restart Guest – Requires VMware Tools |
| Ctrl+P | Add Permission to VM |
| Ctrl+M | Add Alarm to VM |
