NextGen keyboard shortcuts let you open Patient Lookup, jump to your provider approval queue, and move through a chart without reaching for the mouse. Which shortcuts work depends on the NextGen product in front of you, so a hotkey a colleague uses in Enterprise PM may do nothing in Enterprise EHR.
The cheat sheet below sorts shortcuts by product, then the sections that follow cover each product and the handful worth learning first.
Key takeaways
- NextGen shortcuts differ by product, so check whether you’re in Enterprise EHR, Enterprise PM, or Document Management before memorizing keys.
- Start with five Enterprise EHR keys: Alt + P for Patient Lookup, Alt + F3 for Workflow, F8 for the PAQ, Alt + M for the toolbar, and Ctrl + S to save.
- Press Alt in most NextGen windows to reveal underlined letters, then Alt plus that letter opens the tab, menu, or button.
- Hotkeys speed up navigation; saved text Snippets handle the phrases you type into notes, portal messages, and tasks every day.
Start with the cheat sheet, then jump to the section for your product.
NextGen keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet
These are the NextGen shortcuts most clinicians and practice staff use daily. Each is listed in NextGen’s Enterprise EHR and Enterprise PM keyboard shortcut reference or its Document Management help, as of November 2026.
| Product | Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise EHR | Alt + P | Opens the Patient Lookup window |
| Enterprise EHR | Alt + F3 | Opens the Workflow module |
| Enterprise EHR | F8 | Opens the PAQ (provider approval queue) |
| Enterprise EHR | Alt + M | Shows or hides the top toolbar |
| Enterprise EHR | Alt + F5 | Opens the User Workgroups window |
| Enterprise EHR | Ctrl + S | Saves |
| Enterprise EHR | Alt + L | Logs off |
| Enterprise EHR | Alt + X | Exits the application |
| Enterprise PM | Ctrl + Tab | Switches between open PM windows |
| Enterprise PM | Ctrl + F4 | Closes the active PM window |
| Enterprise PM | Alt + Down Arrow | Opens a pick list |
| Enterprise PM | Alt + underlined letter | Selects an option (Alt + N selects Next) |
| Enterprise EHR and PM | Tab / Shift + Tab | Moves to the next or previous field |
| Document Management | Alt + L | Opens Patient Lookup while filing |
| Document Management | Alt + F | Files a document |
| Document Management | Ctrl + T | Creates a task from the viewer |
| Mirth Connect | Configurable | Editor key mappings are set in Administrator settings |
Why NextGen shortcuts vary by product
“NextGen” covers several applications. NextGen Healthcare’s family includes Enterprise EHR, Enterprise PM, Document Management, NextGen Office, Therapy Suite, and Mirth Connect, and each one documents its keys separately. That’s why a shortcut can work at the front desk and do nothing in the exam room.
| Product | How its shortcuts work |
|---|---|
| Enterprise EHR | Function keys and Alt combinations for main-window navigation, plus context-specific hot keys inside modules like Workflow |
| Enterprise PM | Windows-style keys for window management, pick lists, and form navigation |
| Document Management | A short set of keys for filing, paging, and creating tasks |
| Mirth Connect | Editor shortcuts that administrators can remap |
| NextGen Office and Therapy Suite | No public shortcut table; use in-product help and your practice’s training materials |
Version and configuration matter too. Your administrator can change some settings, and a hot key inside a module only works when that module or tab is active.
NextGen Enterprise EHR keyboard shortcuts
Enterprise EHR has the deepest shortcut set. These cover most of a clinician’s navigation.
Main window shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt + M | Toggle the top toolbar |
| Alt + P | Open Patient Lookup |
| Alt + F3 | Open the Workflow module |
| F8 | Open the PAQ |
| Alt + F5 | Open User Workgroups |
| Ctrl + S | Save |
| Ctrl + C / Ctrl + X / Ctrl + V | Copy, cut, and paste |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo the previous step |
| Alt + L | Log off |
| Alt + X | Exit the application |
Workflow module hot keys
Once Alt + F3 opens Workflow, a second set of keys moves between its tabs. NextGen lists these in its Workflow hot keys reference.
| Shortcut | Workflow tab |
|---|---|
| Alt + C | Clinical Tasking |
| Alt + P | Appointments |
| Alt + Q | Provider Approval Queue |
| Alt + L | Patient Portal |
| Alt + M |
Notice that Alt + P and Alt + L mean something different inside Workflow than in the main window. That’s the context rule in action: the active window decides what a key does.
Menus, pick lists, and fields
Most NextGen windows follow Windows conventions. Press Alt to show underlined letters, then press Alt plus a letter to open that menu, tab, or button. Tab and Shift + Tab move between fields, Alt + Down Arrow opens a pick list, and Esc closes alerts. In patient and person windows, the same Alt-plus-letter pattern opens tabs like Demographics, so look for the underline before you click.
Workflow features that save more time than a hotkey
Some of the biggest time savers in Enterprise EHR are features, not keys.
- Quick Notes: Document the components of a routine visit before the patient arrives, using the responses you expect most often. Apply the Quick Note during the visit, change the exceptions, and add what’s unique to that encounter.
- KBM templates: Knowledge Based Model templates structure the note for each specialty. Ask your administrator which templates your practice has customized before building your own shortcuts around them.
- Print or send several prescriptions at once: Hold Ctrl, select each medication, then choose Print or Send.
- Insert lab results into a document: Right-click where the result belongs, choose Insert Lab Results, select the labs, and click OK.
- Unknown Strength: When a patient can’t recall a dose, select any strength of the drug and the correct form, then choose Unknown Strength in the Medication Module. The medication goes on the record without a guessed dose and is marked as managed elsewhere.
NextGen Enterprise PM keyboard shortcuts
Enterprise PM is where front desk, scheduling, and billing staff spend their day, and its shortcuts are built for form-heavy work. These come from the PM section of NextGen’s keyboard shortcut reference.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt + F4 | Close Enterprise PM |
| Ctrl + F4 | Close the active window |
| Ctrl + Tab | Switch between open PM windows |
| Alt + Tab | Switch between open applications |
| Alt + underlined letter | Select an option (Alt + N selects Next) |
| Alt + Down Arrow | Open a pick list |
| Up / Down Arrows | Highlight a pick list item |
| Space Bar | Select or clear the highlighted item |
| Ctrl + Shift + End | Highlight all pick list items |
| Tab / Shift + Tab | Move to the next or previous field |
The Group Check-in and Create Encounter windows follow the same field rules, so Tab and Shift + Tab carry you through registration without the mouse. Windows that have their own buttons, such as Patient Group Search or the electronic signature window, use Alt plus the underlined letter on each button.
Document Management and Mirth Connect shortcuts
NextGen Document Management
Document Management has a small, task-focused set of keys for people who file scanned and faxed documents all day.
| Shortcut | Action | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Alt + L | Open Patient Lookup | Filing window |
| Alt + F | File the document | Filing window |
| Alt + N | Go to the next page | Viewer |
| Ctrl + T | Create a task | Viewer |
| Ctrl + Shift + F9 | Reuse the previous patient’s information | Filing |
Ctrl + Shift + F9 helps when you file a stack of documents for one patient. Check the patient name and date of birth on every document before you file it.
Mirth Connect
Mirth Connect is the integration engine interface teams use, and it runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its editor shortcuts are configurable. Open Administrator settings to review the current key mappings, remap any that conflict with your operating system, and use Restore Defaults to undo changes. The JavaScript editor also includes auto-completion, code folding, comment toggles, and find and replace.
NextGen Office and Therapy Suite notes
NextGen Office and Therapy Suite don’t publish a full shortcut table. Don’t assume Enterprise EHR or PM keys carry over. Use each product’s in-app help, ask your administrator for the practice’s training sheet, and test a key in a non-patient context before you add it to a team cheat sheet.
Windows and browser shortcuts that help in NextGen
Because NextGen’s desktop products follow Windows conventions, the standard keys do a lot of work. For a wider list, see our guide to 400+ keyboard shortcuts.
| Shortcut | Use |
|---|---|
| Windows + Left or Right Arrow | Snap NextGen to one side of the screen and another app to the other |
| Windows + L | Lock your computer when you step away from a workstation |
| Ctrl + F | Find text on a web page or in a document |
| Enter | Activate the selected button |
| Esc | Close an alert or prompt |
| Windows + V | Open clipboard history (turn it on first in Windows settings) |
Many NextGen shortcuts rely on Alt and US keyboard letters. If your team uses a non-US layout, test each key before it goes into training materials.
Best NextGen shortcuts to learn first
New NextGen users get the most from a few keys tied to the screens they use most. Start with the set for your role.
Enterprise EHR users (clinicians and nurses)
- Alt + P to open Patient Lookup
- F8 to open the PAQ
- Alt + F3, then Alt + C, to reach Clinical Tasking
- Ctrl + S to save
- Quick Notes for routine visit types
Enterprise PM users (front desk and billing)
- Tab and Shift + Tab for registration fields
- Ctrl + Tab to move between open PM windows
- Alt + Down Arrow to open pick lists
- Alt + underlined letter for buttons and menus
- Esc to close an alert or prompt (a standard Windows key)
Document Management users
Learn Alt + L, Alt + F, and Alt + N first. Add Ctrl + Shift + F9 once you’re filing several documents for the same patient and comfortable checking each one.
Mirth Connect users
Learn your organization’s current keymap in Administrator settings, and know where Restore Defaults lives before you remap anything.
Tips for using NextGen shortcuts safely
- Confirm the product. Check the title bar so you use the right set of keys.
- Check the active window. Many hot keys only work in one module, tab, or dialog.
- Confirm the patient. Shortcuts move you quickly, so verify the name and date of birth before you act on a chart.
- Review before you sign or file. Speed never replaces reading what you approve.
- Test before you train. Try new keys outside a live patient record, especially on non-US keyboards.
How TextExpander helps NextGen users chart faster
Charting takes a big share of the clinical day. In a 2024 study of 200,081 ambulatory physicians using Epic, doctors spent an average of 5.8 hours working in the EHR for every 8 hours of scheduled patient time. Hotkeys solve navigation. The other half of charting time goes to wording you’ve already written many times: patient instructions, normal review-of-systems lines, portal replies, and task notes. TextExpander saves that wording as Snippets you insert with a short abbreviation, wherever you type. That includes NextGen, your email, and the patient portal, because TextExpander works at the keyboard level and doesn’t need a NextGen integration.
Here are three starter Snippets. Fill-ins are typed at the visit, so no patient details are stored in the Snippet. Our guide to writing medical progress notes faster has more note examples.
- ;rosneg Review of systems negative except as noted in HPI. Patient denies {Fill-in: symptoms reviewed}.
- ;portalrx Hi {Fill-in: first name}, your refill request for {Fill-in: medication} has been sent to {Fill-in: pharmacy}. Please allow {Fill-in: number} business days. Call us at {Fill-in: practice phone} with any questions.
- ;followup Please schedule a follow-up visit in {Fill-in: weeks} weeks. Call sooner if {Fill-in: warning signs}.
Templates inside an EHR only work in that EHR. When a practice charts in one system, messages patients in another, and emails specialists from a third, the same wording has to live somewhere every tool can reach. That’s why the most useful healthcare documentation shortcuts are the ones that work in every app, not just inside one EHR. If your organization also uses Epic, see our guide to Epic keyboard shortcuts.
We have all of these different systems, and we wanted to have a unified voice when we talk to patients. Athena has macros, but we can’t use those in other systems.
Jacob Moore, Product Manager, CloseKnit Health
For a team, the value grows with shared Snippet Groups. A practice manager keeps one approved version of each instruction, and an update reaches every provider and staff member at once. Keep protected health information out of saved Snippets and type it into Fill-ins instead. TextExpander offers a Business Associate Agreement on qualified Enterprise plans; see the TextExpander HIPAA page for how to use it in clinical work.
Keep your best patient instructions one shortcut away
NextGen hotkeys get you to the right screen. Snippets fill in the instructions, ROS lines, and portal replies you write every day, in NextGen and every other app you chart in. Start with the three phrases you type most.
See what changes when your dot phrases work beyond NextGen.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most useful NextGen keyboard shortcuts?
The most useful NextGen keyboard shortcuts in Enterprise EHR are Alt + P for Patient Lookup, Alt + F3 for the Workflow module, F8 for the provider approval queue, Alt + M to toggle the toolbar, and Ctrl + S to save. Enterprise PM users get the most from Tab, Ctrl + Tab, and Alt + Down Arrow for pick lists. Check which NextGen product you're in first, because keys differ by product.
Why don't some NextGen shortcuts work for me?
Some NextGen shortcuts don't work because each product and module has its own keys, and many hot keys only work when a specific window or tab is active. Alt + P opens Patient Lookup from the main window but opens Appointments inside Workflow. Check the product name and active window, then ask your NextGen administrator whether a setting or version change affects the key.
What are NextGen Quick Notes?
NextGen Quick Notes are pre-built note components for routine visits. You document the responses you expect most often before the patient arrives, apply the Quick Note during the visit, and then change only the exceptions and add what's unique to that encounter. They cut repeat documentation for common visit types inside NextGen.
Can I use a text expander or dot phrases in NextGen?
Yes. A text expander such as TextExpander works wherever you type, so an abbreviation like ;followup can expand into full follow-up instructions inside NextGen, email, or a patient portal. That lets your dot phrases travel beyond one system. Keep patient details out of saved Snippets and type them into Fill-ins during the visit.
How can doctors write clinical notes faster outside of the EHR?
Doctors write notes and messages faster outside the EHR by saving their most-used wording as reusable Snippets that work in any app, such as email, patient portals, referral letters, and secure chat. EHR templates stay inside one system, so a text expansion tool fills the gap. Practices that share one approved library also keep wording consistent across providers.
