IntelliJ IDEA · Go back
Navigation
Windows · Linux
Ctrl+Alt+LeftMac
Cmd+Option+LeftWalks back through the places your caret has been, not through tabs, so it often moves inside the same file. On some Windows machines the Intel graphics driver grabs this combination first and rotates the screen — turn the driver's hotkeys off if that happens.
- Group
- Navigation
- Keys held
- 3
IntelliJ IDEA ships a different default keymap per platform, and two of them on macOS — "macOS" and "macOS System Shortcuts" — so when nothing works, look at Keymap in Settings first; whichever you pick then serves PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand and Android Studio unchanged.
Reading the key names
- Keys joined by + are pressed together: Ctrl+Shift+P means hold Ctrl and Shift, then P.
- On a Mac, Cmd is ⌘, Option is ⌥ (labelled Alt on some keyboards), Control is ⌃ and Shift is ⇧.
- Windows Ctrl usually becomes Cmd on a Mac, but not always — this reference lists both combinations separately.
- With a Korean, Japanese or Chinese input method active, shortcuts built on letter keys may not fire. Switch to Latin input and try again.
- When a combination does nothing, another program has often claimed it as a global shortcut first.
Common questions
QWhat is the shortcut for Go back in IntelliJ IDEA?
Walks back through the places your caret has been, not through tabs, so it often moves inside the same file. On some Windows machines the Intel graphics driver grabs this combination first and rotates the screen — turn the driver's hotkeys off if that happens. It is Ctrl+Alt+Left on Windows and Cmd+Option+Left on a Mac.
QIs it the same on Windows and Mac?
No — Ctrl+Alt+Left on Windows, Cmd+Option+Left on a Mac.
QHow many keys is that?
3 pressed together. The combination sits under Navigation in IntelliJ IDEA.