# Create faster with the Add Cell Menu

**URL:** <https://talk.observablehq.com/t/create-faster-with-the-add-cell-menu/6622>\
**Category:** Announcements\
**Created:** [May 26, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://talk.observablehq.com/t/create-faster-with-the-add-cell-menu/6622 "2022-05-26T18:33:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![waynesutton](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/talk.observablehq.com/waynesutton/32/5040_2.png) [@waynesutton](https://talk.observablehq.com/u/waynesutton)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://talk.observablehq.com/t/create-faster-with-the-add-cell-menu/6622/1 "2022-05-26T18:33:15Z")

</div>

Observable supports your data journey with snippets, components, and examples. With the new Add Cell Menu, you now have dozens of building blocks at your fingertips. Just click ➕ or type ⌘cmd​:leftwards\_arrow\_with\_hook:︎return to get started. We’ve also rewritten our code snippets to be immediately executable with sample data for a quick preview.

Learn more about the add cell menu. [Here](https://observablehq.com/@observablehq/adding-cells?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=cell_menu&utm_source=forum)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pac02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a3d4f5/32.png) [@pac02](https://talk.observablehq.com/u/pac02)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 7:04am UTC](https://talk.observablehq.com/t/create-faster-with-the-add-cell-menu/6622/2 "2022-06-02T07:04:28Z")

</div>

In the past, new cells were JavaScript by default. This new feature add one more click when creating a new cell and make the process not as fast as before. So I’m not sure if this new feature is a good one or not.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Fil](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/talk.observablehq.com/fil/32/207_2.png) [@Fil](https://talk.observablehq.com/u/Fil)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 10:36am UTC](https://talk.observablehq.com/t/create-faster-with-the-add-cell-menu/6622/3 "2022-06-02T10:36:28Z")

</div>

It’s a bit different visually, but if you type code directly and hit enter, the code is saved in a javascript cell; no added click!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![mbostock](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/talk.observablehq.com/mbostock/32/9_2.png) [@mbostock](https://talk.observablehq.com/u/mbostock)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 2:29pm UTC](https://talk.observablehq.com/t/create-faster-with-the-add-cell-menu/6622/4 "2022-06-03T14:29:05Z")

</div>

Here are some fast ways to create JavaScript cells.

First, you can always:

- **Double-click** the ➕ button to insert a new JavaScript cell.

Second, while editing a cell, try any one of these:

- Press **Option-Command-Enter** (Ctrl-Alt-Enter) to insert a new JavaScript cell below. Or press **Shift-Option-Command-Enter** (Ctrl-Alt-Shift-Enter) to insert a new JavaScript cell above.
- Press **Command-Enter** (Ctrl-Enter) to open the add cell menu below, immediately followed by **Enter** to insert a new JavaScript cell. Or press **Command-Shift-Enter** (Ctrl-Shift-Enter) to open the add cell menu above, immediately followed by **Enter** to insert a new JavaScript cell.
- Press **Option-Enter** (Alt-Enter) to split the current cell into two cells of the same type and focus the cell below. (At the end of a JavaScript cell, this inserts an empty JavaScript cell below.) Or press **Option-Shift-Enter** (Alt-Shift-Enter) to split the current cell into two cells of the same type and focus the cell above. (At the beginning of a JavaScript cell, this inserts an empty JavaScript cell above.)

The above keyboard shortcuts also work with a cell selected, which you can do while editing by pressing **Esc**. That’s especially useful in conjunction with the keyboard shortcuts for splitting cells since you’ll always get a new empty cell.

When the add cell menu open, you can also:

- Press **Enter** (JavaScript is selected by default).
- Simply write code and then press **Enter** (Insert as JavaScript is selected by default).
- Paste code from the clipboard (Insert as JavaScript is invoked by default).

Also, if you go to your [settings page](https://observablehq.com/settings) and scroll down to **Editor preferences** , you can ✅ enable the **“New cell” keyboard shortcut defaults to JavaScript** preference. This will change the **Command-Enter** (Ctrl-Enter) keyboard shortcut to insert a new JavaScript cell rather than opening the add cell menu. And if you still want the add cell menu, you can press **Option-Command-Enter** (Ctrl-Alt-Enter).

Also, in an empty JavaScript, Markdown, or HTML cell, you can use the ⬆ **arrow up** and ⬇ **arrow down** keys to cycle between cell modes.