caret-navigation

Purpose

Explains the difference between “Move Caret to Page Bottom/Top” (visible area) vs “Move Caret to Text End/Start” (entire file) in WebStorm and other JetBrains IDEs on macOS.

Key Findings

“Page” navigation moves within visible area only - not to file boundaries
“Text Start/End” navigation moves to file boundaries - beginning or end of entire document
Mac keyboards lack Home/End keys, requiring Fn-based shortcuts
Different actions exist for line-level, page-level, and file-level navigation

The Confusion Explained

Why “Move Caret to Page Bottom” Doesn’t Go to End of File

Critical distinction:

“Move Caret to Page Bottom” only moves the caret to the bottom of the visible portion of the page. If the page is longer than what you can see in the window at that moment, it won’t reach the bottom of the file.

This is working as designed - “page” refers to the viewport (what’s currently visible), not the entire document.

WebStorm has THREE levels of caret navigation:

Action	Mac Shortcut
Beginning of line	`Fn + ←`
End of line	`Fn + →`

Action	Mac Shortcut
Top of visible page	`Ctrl + Page Up` or `Fn + Cmd + ↑`
Bottom of visible page	`Ctrl + Page Down` or `Fn + Cmd + ↓`

These move only within what’s currently visible on screen.

Action	Mac Shortcut	Keymap Action Name
Beginning of file	`Fn + Cmd + ←` or `Cmd + Home`	”Move Caret to Text Start”
End of file	`Fn + Cmd + →` or `Cmd + End`	”Move Caret to Text End”

These move to the absolute start/end of the file.

Complete Keyboard Shortcuts Reference (Mac)

Action	Shortcut	Notes
Beginning of line	`Fn + ←`	First character of current line
End of line	`Fn + →`	Last character of current line
Top of visible page	`Ctrl + Page Up`	Top of viewport
Bottom of visible page	`Ctrl + Page Down`	Bottom of viewport
Beginning of file	`Fn + Cmd + ←`	First line of document
End of file	`Fn + Cmd + →`	Last line of document

With Selection (Add Shift)

Adding Shift to any navigation shortcut selects text from current position to target:

Action	Shortcut
Select to line start	`Shift + Fn + ←`
Select to line end	`Shift + Fn + →`
Select to file start	`Shift + Fn + Cmd + ←`
Select to file end	`Shift + Fn + Cmd + →`

Keymap action name: “Move Caret to Text End/Start with Selection”

Alternative: Go to Line

If you don’t have Home/End keys or shortcuts aren’t working:

Cmd + G

Opens “Go to Line” dialog:

Enter 1 for beginning of file
Enter last line number for end of file

Why Mac Keyboards Are Different

Mac keyboards (especially MacBook) lack dedicated Home/End keys, requiring:

Fn key combinations to emulate missing keys
Different muscle memory than Windows/Linux

Default WebStorm shortcuts assume:

Cmd + Home for file start
Cmd + End for file end

But without physical Home/End keys, you must use:

Fn + Cmd + ← (emulates Cmd+Home)
Fn + Cmd + → (emulates Cmd+End)

Customizing Shortcuts

Opening Keymap Settings

Cmd + ,  (Settings)
→ Keymap

Or:

Ctrl + Alt + S  (on Mac: Cmd + ,)
→ Keymap

Finding Actions to Remap

Search for these action names in Keymap settings:

Action Name	Default Mac Shortcut
Move Caret to Text Start	`Cmd + Home` or `Fn + Cmd + ←`
Move Caret to Text End	`Cmd + End` or `Fn + Cmd + →`
Move Caret to Text Start with Selection	`Shift + Cmd + Home`
Move Caret to Text End with Selection	`Shift + Cmd + End`
Move Caret to Page Top	`Ctrl + Page Up`
Move Caret to Page Bottom	`Ctrl + Page Down`

Recommended Custom Shortcuts

If the default Fn + Cmd + ←/→ feels awkward, consider remapping to:

Cmd + ↑ for file start (may conflict with “Move Caret to Page Top”)
Cmd + ↓ for file end (may conflict with “Move Caret to Page Bottom”)

Trade-off: Easier file navigation but loses page-level shortcuts.

Common Issues

Issue: Shortcut Does Nothing

Possible causes:

Keymap conflict - another action is using the same shortcut
“Fn” key not working - check System Settings > Keyboard
External keyboard may have different key layout

Solution:

Settings (Cmd + ,) → Keymap
→ Search for "Move Caret to Text Start"
→ Check assigned shortcuts
→ Add new shortcut if needed

Issue: Goes to Wrong Location

Check which action you’re using:

Page Bottom = bottom of visible area (viewport)
Text End = end of file

Use Fn + Cmd + → for true end-of-file navigation.

Issue: Fn Key Not Working

macOS System Settings:

System Settings
→ Keyboard
→ Keyboard Shortcuts
→ Function Keys
→ Ensure "Use F1, F2, etc. as standard function keys" is configured correctly

Quick Reference Card

Print-friendly cheat sheet:

╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║   WebStorm Caret Navigation (Mac)              ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ Line Start:        Fn + ←                      ║
║ Line End:          Fn + →                      ║
║ Page Top:          Ctrl + Page Up              ║
║ Page Bottom:       Ctrl + Page Down            ║
║ File Start:        Fn + Cmd + ←                ║
║ File End:          Fn + Cmd + →                ║
║                                                 ║
║ Add Shift to any shortcut to SELECT text       ║
║                                                 ║
║ Alternative: Cmd + G (Go to Line)              ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝