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'Next Tab' with xbindkeys + xdotool

Page created: 2026-10-27

Back to Unix. See also Click the mouse with your keyboard: xbindkeys + xdotool for more information about this tool combo.

I have an annoying GUI process that requires I do a fair amount of Ctrl+Tab to go to the next tab in a multi-document interface (MDI) application. If that doesn’t sound familiar, this is very similar to the popular Alt-Tab combo to switch between windows or workspaces, but switches between documents or "tabs" within an application.

The example most folks are probably familiar with are "tabs" in a modern web browser.

Anyway, I have had a devil of a time simulating Ctrl+Tab with xdotool. But it turns out many MDI applications accept Ctrl+PgDown (Page Down) as well.

And I was able to get that combo working. Behold:

# Ctrl-Tab
"xdotool key ctrl+Page_Down"
  F9 + Release

Again, see my other article for details on how to actually use this incantation!