apple keyboard shortcuts

 

 

 

 

 

 

apple keyboard shortcuts

Here are some Mac keyboard shortcuts that will improve your workflow.

Command + Tab

This key combination will allow you to cycle through open applications. Start by holding down the "command" key and pressing "tab" to cycle through applications. Each time you press tab, it will switch to the next application in line.

Command + Spacebar

This shortcut simply opens the spotlight search and moves your cursor into the search bar. This is a great tool to help you quickly get to a buried file or folder.

Shift + Control + Power button

If you use multiple displays this will be especially helpful, as this combination immediately puts all displays to sleep.

Command + Shift + G

When you have a finder window open, use this shortcut to open a direct line to a specific folder. Simply put the folder path in the space the appears and it will take you directly to the folder.

Command + Bracket

By pressing "command" and the left bracket ([) you can move to the previous folder. By pressing "command" and the right bracket (]) you can move to the next folder.

Option + Shift + Command + V

This shortcut is a life-saver for anyone who regularly works in Safari. This is the shortcut for "Paste and Match Style," which basically means you can copy and paste something without its previous formatting.

Command + Shift + 3

If you need to quickly take a screenshot of your full screen, this shortcut will do that, and save it as a file on your desktop. If you modify it as Command + Shift + Control + 3, it will save it to the clipboard.

Command + Shift + 4

If you want to screenshot a selection from your screen, this shortcut will give you the option to select what you want in a box and save it as a file on your desktop. If you modify it as Command + Shift + Control + 4, it will save it to the clipboard.

Command + Semicolon

Use this shortcut to find all misspelled words in a given document. By holding command and continuously hitting the semicolon (;) it will cycle through the misspelled words. Modify this as Command + Colon (Shift + Semicolon) to open the spelling and grammar window.

Command + F

This shortcut will find text in a document, using a search bar functionality.

Command + H

Hide the windows of the application that is currently running. Modify as Command + Option + H to hide windows of other applications that are running.

Command + Z

While fairly common, this shortcut is an important one. Use this to "undo" the previous action.

Command + Shift + Z

This shortcut operates as a "redo" functionality to put back the last change that was undone with an "undo" function.

Command + Arrow

While working in text, use the command key with one of the arrow keys to move the cursor to different parts of a document. Using command with the left arrow key will move it to the beginning of the current line, while using it with the right arrow key will move it to the end of the current line. Using it with the up arrow will move it to the beginning of the document, while the down arrow will move it to the end of the document.

 

Action	Keystroke
Open Sidebar item in a new Tab or Window (depending on Finder Preferences)	Cmd-Click
Switch Finder views (Icon, List, Column, Cover Flow)	Cmd-1, Cmd-2, Cmd-3, Cmd-4
In List view, expand a folder	Right Arrow
In List view, collapse a folder	Left Arrow
Rename the selected file/folder	Press Return (or Enter)
Go into selected folder or open the selected file	Cmd-Down Arrow
Go to parent folder	Cmd-Up Arrow
Go Back	Cmd-[
Go Forward	Cmd-]
Select the next icon in Icon and List views	Tab (Shift-Tab reverses direction)
Alternate columns in Column View	Tab (Shift-Tab reverses direction)
Resize one column to fit the longest file name (Column View)	Double-Click column divider (or the resize widget at the bottom of the column divider, depending on your setup)
Resize all columns to fit their longest file names (Column View)	Option Double-Click column divider (or the resize widget at the bottom of the column divider, depending on your setup)
Copy and Paste files	Cmd-C, then Cmd-V
Copy and Paste files Exactly (Keeps original ownership & permissions. Requires Admin username & password.)	Cmd-C, then Cmd-Option-Shift-V
Cut and Paste files (Move files)	Cmd-C, then Cmd-Option–V
Move a file instead of copying (Copies to the destination and removes it from the original disk.)	Cmd-Drag file to disk
Immediately Delete a File (does not put file in Trash)	Cmd-Opt–Delete
Move selected files to the Trash (called the Recycle Bin in Windows)	Cmd-Delete
Empty the Trash with warning (like emptying Recycle Bin in Windows)	Cmd-Shift-Delete
Empty the Trash with no warning (like emptying Recycle Bin in Windows)	Cmd-Opt-Shift-Delete
Cancel a drag-n-drop action while in the midst of dragging	Esc
Show Inspector (a single, live refreshing Info window)	Cmd-Opt-I
Undo the last action (such as rename file, copy file, etc.)	Cmd-Z
Hide/Show Sidebar (on the left)	Cmd-Opt-S
Hide/Show Toolbar (on the top) and the Sidebar	Cmd-Opt-T
Move or Remove item in toolbar (at the top of the window). Works in most programs.	Cmd-Drag
Open Quick Look (Previews most types of files without having to open them)	Press the Spacebar (or Cmd-Y). On a trackpad can also tap with 3 fingers.
Zoom In/Out in Quick Look (Images & PDFs)	Pinch on a trackpad or hold Opt while scrolling. For images, hold Option to zoom to 100%.
Find Files	Cmd-F

App Switcher

Action	Keystroke
Quickly switch between 2 apps (like Safari & Finder)	Press Cmd-Tab to switch to last used app. Press Cmd-Tab again to switch back.
Switch between apps	Press Cmd-Tab & continue holding Cmd. While holding Cmd, to choose which app you want to switch to: press Tab (multiple times as needed) to scroll right press Tilde(~) or Shift-Tab to scroll left press Left/Right Arrow keys aim with the mouse press End/Home key to go to first/last app
Quit an app in the app switcher	In the app switcher, you’re already holding Cmd, so hit Q to quit selected app.
Hide an app in the app switcher	In the app switcher, you’re already holding Cmd, so hit H to hide selected app.
Cancel the app switcher	In the app switcher, you’re already holding Cmd, so hit Esc or period(.)

Managing Windows & Dialogs

Action	Keystroke
Switch to next window	Cmd-Tilde(~)
Switch to previous window	Cmd-Shift-Tilde(~)
See where the File/Folder is located (a menu will pop-up displaying the folder hierarchy). Works in most programs, including the Finder.	Cmd-Click on name of the window (in the titlebar)
Move a window in the background without switching to it.	Cmd-Drag on the window’s titlebar
Choose “Don’t Save” in a Dialog	Cmd-D in some apps, but other apps use Cmd-Delete (Cmd-D will change the location to the Desktop)

Dock

Action	Keystroke
Hide all other applications (except the one you're clicking on)	Command-Option click an App’s icon in Dock
Reveal a Dock item’s location in the Finder	Command Click on the icon in the Dock
Force a file to open in a specific app	While dragging the file onto an app’s icon in the Dock, hold Command-Option
In an App’s Dock menu change the Quit to Force Quit (Click & hold on an App in the Dock to show the menu)	Hold Option while in Dock menu
Move Dock to left, bottom, right side of screen	Hold Shift and drag Dock divider
Change the icon size of a stack (must be the grid view)	Cmd-plus(+) or Cmd-minus(–)
Temporarily turn magnification on/off	Hold Control-Shift
Force the Dock to only resize to non-interpolated icon sizes	Hold Option while dragging Dock separator

Dashboard

Action	Keystroke
Close a widget without having to open the widget dock	Hold Option and hover over widget (close box will appear)
Reload/Refresh a widget	Cmd-R

Working with Text Only work in some apps (Safari, Mail, TextEdit, etc.)

Action	Keystroke
Go to end of line	Cmd-right arrow
Go to beginning of line	Cmd-left arrow
Go to end of all the text	Cmd-down arrow
Go to beginning of all the text	Cmd-up arrow
Go to end of current or next word	Option-right arrow
Go to beginning of current or previous word	Option-left arrow
Add Shift to the above keystrokes to make a selection to that point.
On Laptops: Delete Text to the right of the cursor (like the Del key on a full keyboard)	Function(fn)-Delete
Non-touching (Discontinuous) text selections	Command-drag
Select non-linear areas	Option-drag
Delete entire word to the left	Opt-Delete
Paste and Match Style (so it looks the same as the text you are pasting into)	Cmd–Opt-Shift–V
Look up word in dictionary	Mouse over a word and hit Cmd-Ctrl-D (Or on a trackpad use 3 fingers to tap on a word)
Display Emoji pop-up	Command-Control-Space (You can then start typing to search the list of Emojis)
Display Special/Alternate Characters	Hold any key. Example: Holding the “A” key will display à á â etc. You can press the corresponding number under the character you want to type to choose it (or arrow over to it).
Auto completion word	Start typing the word. Press Esc (or F5) to open suggested word list
Switch to Outline Mode in TextEdit	Press Option-Tab to convert the current line into a list item Press Return to create another list item Press Tab at the start of a blank list item to indent it, creating a sublist Press Shift-Tab to remove a level of indention Press Return twice to decrease the indent, exiting the current sublist/list

Screenshots Saved to the Desktop as a PNG file.

Action	Keystroke
Take picture of the entire screen	Cmd-Shift-3
Take picture of a selected area	Cmd-Shift-4 and Drag over an area While dragging: Hold Spacebar to move selected area. Hold Shift to change size in one direction only (horizontal or vertical) Hold Option for center-based resizing.
Take picture of a specific window/object	Cmd-Shift-4, then press Spacebar, then Click on the window/object
Hold Control with any of the above keystrokes to copy the screenshot to the clipboard instead of making a file.

Spotlight

Action	Keystroke
Show Spotlight Search	Cmd-Space
Open Spotlight Finder Search Window	Cmd-Option-Space
Launch Top Hit (in the Menu)	Return
Reveal selected item in Finder	In Spotlight Search: Press Cmd-Return In Finder Window: Press Cmd-R
Skip to first result in a category	Cmd Up/Down Arrow
Look up the definition of a word	Type the word in Spotlight menu’s search field and hit Cmd–L to look it up.
Clear Spotlight Search	Esc clears to do another search. Esc a second time closes Spotlight.

Mission Control

Action	Keystroke
Enter Mission Control	Ctrl-Up Arrow
Move to a neighboring space or full screen app	Ctrl-Left or Right Arrow
View Windows in the Current App	Ctrl-Down Arrow
Show Desktop	F11 (may need to hold the fn buton on some keyboards)
Show Dashboard	F12 (may need to hold the fn buton on some keyboards) or the dedicated Dashboard key

Startup, Restart, Shutdown & Sleep

Action	Keystroke
Eject CD on boot	Hold Mouse button down immediately after powering on
Safe boot	Hold Shift during startup
Start up in Recovery mode	Hold Cmd-R during startup
Start up in Target Disk mode	Hold T during startup
Startup from a CD, DVD	Hold C during startup
Bypass primary startup volume and seek a different startup volume (CD, etc.)	Hold Cmd-Opt-Shift-Delete during startup
Choose Startup disk before booting	Hold Option during startup
Start up in Verbose mode	Hold Cmd-V during startup
Start up in Single-User mode (command line)	Hold Cmd-S during startup
Shutdown immediately (no confirmation)	Hold Cmd-Opt-Ctrl and press the Eject key or Power button
Restart immediately (no confirmation)	Cmd-Ctrl-Eject
Forced Restart (only do this when absolutely needed)	Cmd-Ctrl-Power button
Sleep immediately (no confirmation)	Press the Power button (or hit Cmd-Opt-Eject)
Show Dialog with Restart, Sleep & Shutdown Options	Hold Ctrl and press the Eject key or Power button (or hold the Power button for a few seconds and the dialog will appear)
Put display to sleep	Hold Ctrl-Shift and press the Eject key or Power button

Safari

Action	Keystroke
Highlight URL/Search Field (at top of window)	Cmd–L
Switch to Next Tab	Ctrl-Tab (or Cmd-Shift-Right Arrow)
Switch to Previous Tab	Ctrl-Shift-Tab (or Cmd-Shift-Left Arrow)
Switch tabs: jump directly to the first tab, second tab, etc. (If you change the preference, this will go to one of the first 9 bookmarks in the Bookmarks Bar.)	Cmd-1 through Cmd-9
Move between found items	Cmd-F, enter your search text and Press: Return to Move Forward Shift-Return to Move Backward
Cancel current Find	Press Escape or Cmd-Period(.)
Scroll by one full screen	Scroll Down: Spacebar or Option–Down Arrow Scroll Up: Shift–Spacebar or Option-Up Arrow
Open Link in New Tab (in the background)	Cmd–Click a link
Open Link in New Window	Cmd–Opt–Shift Click a link
Add to Reading List	Shift–Click a link

Apple Mail

Action	Keystroke
Send Message	Cmd–Shift–D (remember as D = Deliver)
Reply to Message	Cmd–R or Opt–Double Click Message
Reply All	Cmd–Shift–R
Go to Inbox	Cmd–1
Go to other mailboxes in your favorites bar	Cmd–2, 3, etc.
Prevent the next message from being automatically selected & marked as read	Opt–Delete

Preview

Action	Keystroke
Zoom In or Out	Cmd-Plus(+) or Cmd-Minus(-)
Zoom to Actual Size	Cmd-0
Zoom to Fit	Cmd-9

Miscellaneous

Action	Keystroke
Force Quit (displayed list of apps)	Cmd-Opt-Esc
Scroll using a Trackpad (like a mouse’s scroll wheel)	Slide 2 fingers on the trackpad
Right-click using a Trackpad (like on a 2 button mouse)	Place 2 fingers on the trackpad and Click
Adjust the font size in Messages app	Cmd-Plus(+) or Cmd-Minus(-)
Quickly find any menu item and launch it.	Press Cmd-Shift-/ (which is Cmd-? on the keyboard) In the Help menu Search that opens, start typing a few letters of your desired menu command. Arrow key down to the item you want and press Return to choose it.