Standardize Word Navigation Shortcuts: Ctrl+Arrow Keys Should Be Default

Help
1

As a user migrating from other editors (VS Code, Sublime, Notepad++, browsers, etc.) to Obsidian, I’ve encountered a productivity issue that many others seem to share:In almost all modern text editors, the standard shortcut for word-by-word cursor movement is Ctrl+Arrow Keys (or Option+Arrow Keys on macOS).

However, Obsidian defaults to Alt+Arrow Keys, which causes:

Muscle memory conflict - Constantly adapting to different shortcuts

Reduced efficiency - Frequent mistakes interrupt workflow

Suggested solutions:

Change default to Ctrl+Arrow Keys (aligning with mainstream editors)

Or provide shortcut presets during first setup:

    Standard Editor preset (Ctrl+Arrow Keys)

    Obsidian Traditional preset (Alt+Arrow Keys)

At minimum, clearly label "move by word" functions in settings
2

In most of my text editors:

  • Ctrl + right arrow goes to the end of the word.
  • Ctrl + left arrow goes to the start of the word.
  • Ctrl + up arrow goes to the previous “paragraph” (line).
  • Ctrl + down arrow goes to the next “paragraph” (line).

Obsidian does those same actions for me on Windows.

Which actions are you requesting?

That way, you, the devs, and others can be on the same page about what you. Or someone might know a plugin or workaround for you.

3

I am confused. we already use ctrl-arrowkey on windows and linux

4

And Opt arrow already works on Mac.