Mac Keyboard Shortcuts

What makes using a computer keyboard easy? The different shortcuts that helps one navigate between various commands. All you need to do is hit a few buttons on your keyboard and your work is done. Tasks such as saving files, open new folders, switch between tabs and even zoom in on a window, are made easy with a few strokes on the keyboard. Windows users tend to boast of many keyboard shortcuts that are available to them. Mac OS X users need not sulk, now. All they need to do is learn Mac keyboard shortcuts and make using of Apple computers a piece of cake.

What do Keys on Mac Keyboard Stand For

When using Mac keyboard shortcuts, you will have to use a combination of keys to carry out a specific function. In order to do so, one needs to recognize what functions do specific keys stands for. Before we have a look at the shortcuts, let's understand what do the symbols and hot keys mean.

Symbol	Key on Mac Keyboard
⌘	Command
⌃	Control
⌥	Option key (Alt)
⇧	Shift key
⏏	Caps Lock
fn	Function key

Keyboard Shortcuts for Mac

There are a variety of key combinations that you can use to carry out functions in a jiffy. We shall have a look at almost all the Mac keyboard shortcuts in the following table.

Keyboard Shortcuts at Startup
Key or Keys Shortcut	Function
Command + A	Select all items in the front Finder window (or desktop if no window is open)
Command + C	Copy selected item/text to the Clipboard
Shift + Command + C	Open the Computer window
Command + D	Duplicate selected item
Shift + Command + D	Open desktop folder
Command + E	Eject
Option + Command + A	Deselect all items
Shift + Command + A	Open the Applications folder
Command + F	Find any matching Spotlight attribute
Shift + Command + F	Find Spotlight file name matches
Option + Command + F	Navigate to the search field in an already-open Spotlight window
Shift + Command + G	Go to Folder
Shift + Command + H	Open the Home folder of the currently logged-in user account
Command + I	Get Info
Option + Command + M	Minimize all windows
Command + N	New Finder window
Shift + Command + N	New folder
Option + Command + N	New Smart Folder
Option + Command + I	Show Inspector
Control + Command + I	Get Summary Info
Shift + Command + I	Open iDisk
Command + J	Show View Options
Command + K	Connect to Server
Shift + Command + K	Open Network window
Command + L	Make alias of the selected item
Command + M	Minimize window
Command + O	Open selected item
Shift + Command + Q	Log Out
Option + Shift + Command + Q	Log Out immediately
Command + R	Show original (of alias)
Command + T	Add to Sidebar
Shift + Command + T	Add to Favorites
Option + Command + T	Hide Toolbar / Show Toolbar in Finder windows
Command + X	Cut
Option + Command + Y	Slideshow (Mac OS X 10.5 or later)
Command + Z	Undo / Redo
Shift + Command + U	Open Utilities folder
Command + V	Paste
Command + W	Close window
Option + Command + W	Close all windows
Command + 1	View as Icon
Command + 2	View as List
Command + 3	View as Columns
Command + 4	View as Cover Flow (Mac OS X 10.5 or later)
Command + , (Command and the comma key)	Open Finder preferences
Command + `	Cycle through open Finder windows
Command + Tab	Switch application-cycle forward
Shift + Command + Tab	Switch application-cycle backward
Command + Delete	Move to Trash
Command + Shift + ?	Open Mac Help
Option + Shift + Command + Esc (hold for three seconds) For Mac OS X v10.5, v10.6 or later only	Force Quit front-most application
Command + [	Back
Command +	Forward
Command + Up Arrow	Open enclosed folder
Control + Command + Up Arrow	Open enclosed folder in a new window
Command + Down Arrow	Open highlighted item
Shift + Command + Delete	Empty Trash
Option + Shift + Command + Delete	Empty Trash without confirmation dialog
Spacebar (or Command + Y)	Quick Look (Mac OS X 10.5 or later)
Command key while dragging	Move dragged item to other volume/location (pointer icon changes while key is held)
Option key while dragging	Copy dragged item (pointer icon changes while key is held)
Option + Command key combination while dragging	Make alias of dragged item (pointer icon changes while key is held)

Keyboard Shortcuts for Applications and Other Commands
Key or Keys Shortcut	Function
Control + B	Move one character backward
Control + D	Delete the character in front of the cursor
Control + E	Move to end of line/paragraph
Control + F	Move one character forward
Control + H	Delete the character behind the cursor
Control + O	Insert a new line after the cursor
Command + Space	Show or hide the Spotlight search field (if multiple languages are installed, may rotate through enabled script systems)
Control + A	Move to beginning of line/paragraph
Control + K	Delete from the character in front of the cursor to the end of the line/paragraph
Control + L	Center the cursor/selection in the visible area
Control + N	Move down one line
Control + P	Move up one line
Control + T	Transpose the character behind the cursor and the character in front of the cursor
Control + V	Move down one page
Option + Delete	Delete the word that is left of the cursor, as well as any spaces or punctuation after the word
Option + Command + Space	Show the Spotlight search results window (if multiple languages are installed, may rotate through keyboard layouts and input methods within a script)
Command + Tab	Move forward to the next most recently used application in a list of open applications
Shift + Command + Tab	Move backward through a list of open applications (sorted by recent use)
Shift + Tab	Navigate through controls in a reverse direction
Control + Tab	Move focus to the next grouping of controls in a dialog or the next table (when Tab moves to the next cell)
Shift + Control + Tab	Move focus to the previous grouping of controls
Command + Esc	Open Front Row (if installed)
Option + Eject	Eject from secondary optical media drive (if one is installed)
Control + Eject	Show shutdown dialog
Option + Command + Eject	Put the computer to sleep
Control + F1	Toggle full keyboard access on or off
Control + F2	Move focus to the menu bar
Control + Command + Eject	Quit all applications (after giving you a chance to save changes to open documents), then restart the computer
Control Option + Command + Eject	Quit all applications (after giving you a chance to save changes to open documents), then shut down the computer
fn + Delete	Forward Delete (on portable Macs' built-in keyboard)
Control + F3	Move focus to the Dock
Control + F4	Move focus to the active (or next) window
Shift + Control + F4	Move focus to the previously active window
Control + F5	Move focus to the toolbar.
Control + F6	Move focus to the first (or next) panel
Shift + Control + F6	Move focus to the previous panel
Control + F7	Temporarily override the current keyboard access mode in windows and dialogs
Command + {	Left-align a selection
Command + }	Right-align a selection
F9	Tile or untile all open windows
F10	Tile or untile all open windows in the currently active application
F11	Hide or show all open windows
F12	Hide or display Dashboard
Command + `	Activate the next open window in the frontmost application
Shift + Command + `	Activate the previous open window in the frontmost application
Option + Command + `	Move focus to the window drawer
Command + - (minus)	Decrease the size of the selected item
Command + |	Center-align a selection
Command + :	Display the Spelling window
Command + ;	Find misspelled words in the document
Command + ,	Open the front application's preferences window (if it supports this keyboard shortcut)
Option + Control + Command + ,	Decrease screen contrast
Option + Control + Command + .	Increase screen contrast
Command + ?	Open the application's help in Help Viewer
Option + Command + /	Turn font smoothing on or off
Shift + Command + =	Increase the size of the selected item
Shift + Command + 3	Capture the screen to a file
Shift + Control + Command + 3	Capture the screen to the Clipboard
Shift + Command + 4	Capture a selection to a file
Shift + Control + Command + 4	Capture a selection to the Clipboard
Command + A	Highlight every item in a document or window, or all characters in a text field
Control + Command + C	Copy the formatting settings of the selected item and store on the Clipboard
Command + B	Boldface the selected text or toggle boldfaced text on and off
Command + C	Copy the selected data to the Clipboard
Shift + Command + C	Display the Colors window
Option + Command + C	Copy the style of the selected text
Option + Command + D	Show or hide the Dock
Command + Control D	Display the definition of the selected word in the Dictionary application
Command + E	Use the selection for find
Command + F	Open a Find window
Option + Command + F	Move to the search field control
Command + G	Find the next occurrence of the selection
Shift + Command + G	Find the previous occurrence of the selection
Command + H	Hide the windows of the currently running application
Option + Command + H	Hide the windows of all other running applications
Command + I	Italicize the selected text or toggle italic text on or off
Option + Command + I	Display an inspector window
Command + J	Scroll to a selection
Command + M	Minimize the active window to the Dock
Option + Command + M	Minimize all windows of the active application to the Dock
Command + N	Create a new document in the frontmost application
Command + O	Display a dialog for choosing a document to open in the frontmost application
Command + P	Display the Print dialog
Shift + Command + P	Display a dialog for specifying printing parameters (Page Setup)
Command + Q	Quit the frontmost application
Command + S	Save the active document
Shift + Command + S	Display the Save As dialog
Command + V	Paste the Clipboard contents at the insertion point
Option + Command + V	Apply the style of one object to the selected object (Paste Style)
Command + T	Display the Fonts window
Option + Command + T	Show or hide a toolbar
Command + U	Underline the selected text or turn underlining on or off
Option + Shift + Command + V	Apply the style of the surrounding text to the inserted object (Paste and Match Style)
Control + Command + V	Apply formatting settings to the selected object (Paste Ruler Command)
Command + W	Close the frontmost window
Shift + Command + W	Close a file and its associated windows
Option + Command + W	Close all windows in the application without quitting it
Command + X	Remove the selection and store in the Clipboard
Command + Z	Undo previous command (some applications allow for multiple Undos)
Control + Up Arrow	Move focus to another value or cell within a view, such as a table
Command + Right Arrow	Move the text insertion point to the end of the current line
Shift + Command + Z	Redo previous command (some applications allow for multiple Redos)
Control + Right Arrow	Move focus to another value or cell within a view, such as a table
Control + Left Arrow	Move focus to another value or cell within a view, such as a table
Control + Down Arrow	Move focus to another value or cell within a view, such as a table
Command + Left Arrow	Move the text insertion point to the beginning of the current line
Command + Down Arrow	Move the text insertion point to the end of the document
Command + Up Arrow	Move the text insertion point to the beginning of the document
Shift + Command + Right Arrow	Select text between the insertion point and the end of the current line
Shift + Command + Up Arrow	Select text between the insertion point and the beginning of the document
Shift + Command + Left Arrow	Select text between the insertion point and the beginning of the current line
Shift + Right Arrow	Extend text selection one character to the right
Shift + Left Arrow	Extend text selection one character to the left
Shift + Command + Down Arrow	Select text between the insertion point and the end of the document
Shift + Option + Right Arrow	Extend text selection to the end of the current word, then to the end of the following word if pressed again
Shift + Up Arrow	Extend text selection to the line above, to the nearest character boundary at the same horizontal location
Shift + Down Arrow	Extend text selection to the line below, to the nearest character boundary at the same horizontal location
Shift + Option + Left Arrow	Extend text selection to the beginning of the current word, then to the beginning of the following word if pressed again
Shift + Option + Down Arrow	Extend text selection to the end of the current paragraph, then to the end of the following paragraph if pressed again
Option + Control + Space	Toggle through all enabled input sources
Option + Command + Esc	Force Quit
Shift + Option + Up Arrow	Extend text selection to the beginning of the current paragraph, then to the beginning of the following paragraph if pressed again
Control + Space	Toggle between the current and previous input sources

Keyboard Shortcuts for VoiceOver
Key or Keys Shortcut	Function
Control Option + F8 or fn Control Option + F8	Open VoiceOver Utility
Command + F5 or fn Command + F5	Turn VoiceOver on or off
Control Option + F7 or fn Control Option + F7	Display VoiceOver menu
Control Option + ; or fn Control Option + ;	Enable/disable VoiceOver Control Option-lock
Option + Command + (+)	Zoom In
Option + Command + Minus sign (-)	Zoom Out
Option + Command + 8 or fn Command + F11	Turn on Zoom
Option + Control + Command + 8	Invert/revert the screen colors
Control Option + Command + ,	Reduce contrast
Control Option + Command + .	Increase contrast

Keyboard Shortcuts for Mouse Keys
Key or Keys Shortcut	Function
0	Hold Mouse Button
1	Move Diagonally Bottom Left
2	Move Down
3	Move Diagonally Bottom Right
4	Move Left
9	Move Diagonally Top Right
. (period on number pad)	Release Hold Mouse Button
5	Press Mouse Button
6	Move Right
7	Move Diagonally Top Left
8	Move Up

These were all the Mac keyboard shortcuts that you can use on a daily basis . These shortcuts make it simpler to access various functions, folders and carry out commands. Just make sure you remember the above keyboard lesson and have a field day typing on your computer.