Tech Zuma has compiled a list for you with the most needed/common shortcuts or shortcuts that make working on the Mac easier and faster. To improve productivity when working on a Mac, keyboard shortcuts are numerous. These key combinations allow you to perform specific actions without using the mouse, trackpad, or other device. The principle is simple: keep the modifier key (s) pressed while pressing the last key of the shortcut. On the Mac universe, modifier keys are represented by symbols. Here are the complained list of keyboard shortcuts most useful to know and adopt.
Be faster and more productive using Keyboard Shortcuts in Mac OS X
- KEYBOARD SHORTCUT
- DESCRIPTION
MENU COMMANDS
- Shift+Apple+Q
- Log out
- Shift+Option Apple+Q
- Log out immediately
- Shift+Apple+Delete
- Empty Trash
- Apple+H
- Hide Active Application Doesn’t Work With Adobe Applications
- Option+Apple+H
- Hide All But The Active Application
- Control+Eject
- Shut Down, Sleep, or Restart Options
- Apple+Control+Eject
- Quit all applications and Restart
- Apple+ . (period)
- Stop a process
- Apple+ , (comma)
- Open Preferences for Active Application
- Option+Apple+D
- Show/Hide Dock
- Control+Up Arrow
- Move up one page
- Control+Down Arrow
- Move down one page
- Option+Apple+Esc
- Force Quit
FILE MANAGEMENT
- Apple+N
- New Finder window or New Blank Page in Some Applications
- Shift+Apple+N
- New Folder Must Be In Finder Window For It to Work
- Apple+O
- Open Another Existing Document
- Apple+S
- Save
- Shift+Apple+S
- Save as
- Apple+P
- Apple+W
- Close Window
- Apple+Option+W
- Close all Windows
- Apple+I
- Get Info
- Option+Apple+I
- Show Attributes Inspector Limited use – varies by application.
- Apple+D
- Duplicate
- Apple+Q
- Close Application
- Apple+L
- Make Alias
- Apple+R
- Show Original
- Apple+T
- Add to Favorites Deprecated
- Apple+Delete
- Move Highlighted Items to Trash
- Apple+E
- Eject
- Apple+F
- Find
EDITING
- Apple+Z
- Undo
- Apple+X
- Cut
- Apple+C
- Copy
- Apple+V
- Paste
- Apple+A
- Select All
- Apple+ {
- Align Left Only Works in Some Applications
- Apple+ }
- Align Right Only Works in Some Applications
- Apple+ | (pipe)
- Align Center Only Works in Some Applications
- Apple+ ; (semicolon)
- Check Spelling Only Works in Some Applications
- Shift+Apple+C
- Show Colors palette in application Only Works in Some Applications
- Apple+T
- Show Font palette in application Only Works in Some Applications
VIEW MENU
- Apple+1
- View as Icons
- Apple+2
- View as List
- Apple+3
- View as Columns
- Option+Apple+T
- Hide Toolbar
- Apple+J
- Show View Options
MOVING AROUND
- Apple+ [
- Back Must be in Finder Window
- Apple+ ]
- Forward Must be in Finder Window
- Shift+Apple+A
- Applications Must be in Finder Window
- Shift+Apple+F
- Favorites Must be in Finder Window
- Shift+Apple+G
- Goto Folder Must be in Finder Window
- Apple+K
- Connect to Server Must be in Finder Window
- Apple+Tab
- Switch to next Application Hold Apple key to enter App. switcher mode
CONTROLLING WINDOWS
- Apple+N
- New Window
- Apple+T
- New Tab If the Application supports Tabs
- Apple+M
- Minimize Window
- Option+Apple+M
- Minimize All Windows
GETTING HELP
- Apple+ ?
- Open Mac Help
UNIVERSAL ACCESS
- Option+Apple+ * (asterisk)
- Turn on Zoom
- Option+Apple+ =
- Zoom in
- Option+Apple+ –
- Zoom out
- Control+Option+Apple+ *
- Switch to White on Black
COMBINE KEYBOARD WITH MOUSE
- Option+Drag
- Copy to new location
- Option+Apple+Drag
- Make alias in new location
- Apple+Drag
- Move to new location without copying
SCREEN SHOTS
- Apple+Shift+3
- Take a picture of the screen will leave a .png file on desktop
- Apple+Shift+4
- Take a picture of the selection will leave a .png file on desktop
- Apple+Shift+4, Control
- Take a picture of the selection, place in clipboard
- Apple+Shift+4, Spacebar
- Take a picture of the selected window will leave a .png file on desktop
