The following table provides the key bindings for editable text entry areas in GTK-2. However, be advised that these bindings are programmable, and may be augmented or changed by installation of a local theme.
| GTK Single-Line Bindings | |
| Ctrl-a | Select all text |
|---|---|
| Ctrl-c | Copy selected text to clipboard |
| Ctrl-v | Paste clipboard at cursor |
| Ctrl-x | Cut selection to clipboard |
| Home | Move cursor to beginning of line |
| End | Move cursor to end of line |
| Left | Move cursor left one character |
| Ctrl-Left | Move cursor left one word |
| Right | Move cursor right one character |
| Ctrl-Right | Move cursor right one word |
| Backspace | Delete previous character |
| Ctrl-Backspace | Delete previous word |
| Clear | Delete current line |
| Shift-Insert | Paste clipboard at cursor |
| Ctrl-Insert | Copy selected text to clipboard |
| Delete | Delete next character |
| Shift-Delete | Cut selected text to clipboard |
| Ctrl-Delete | Delete next word |
Clicking with button 1 will move the cursor to that location. Double clicking will select the clicked-on word. Triple clicking will select the entire line. Button 1 is also used to select text by dragging the pointer over the text to select.
Clicking with button 2 will paste the primary selection into the line at the click location, if the window text is editable.
Clicking with button 3 will will bring up a context menu. From the menu, the user can select editing operations.
These operations are basically the same in Windows and Unix/Linux, with one important difference: in Windows, the primary selection applies only to the program containing the selection. In Unix/Linux, the primary selection applies to the entire desktop, like the clipboard.