Want to save time? The best time-saver is mastering Mac keyboard shortcuts. This will put your productivity in overdrive and you will be blazing fast when it comes to ticking off your work checklist.
Table of Contents
For instance, you might be at a loss trying to type the upside-down question mark when writing a document in Spanish. Since the letters in the Mac keyboard are in English, you may have to search Google or copy-paste it from somewhere else and then ensure the formatting is correct. You could have saved so much time if you simply knew how to write upside down question mark. And the keyboard shortcut for this is Option + Shift + ?.
Similarly, there are other shortcuts to be learned that can help you streamline your workflow.
So, without further ado, let’s look at the shortcuts you wish you knew yesterday.
Foreign language characters
Option + 1
¡
Option + <letter>
Accented letters
Option + c
ç
Basic shortcuts
Command + C
Copy
Command + V
Paste
Command + X
Cut
Command + A
Select all
Command + Z
Undo
Command + P
Print
System and Finder shortcuts
Command + I
Get Info window for the selected file
Command + D
Duplicate the chosen files
Command + Y
Quick Look
Command + T
Show or hide the tab bar in a Finder window
Command + 2
View the items in the Finder window as a list
Command + brightness down
Enable or disable video mirroring when an external display is connected
Command + Mission Control
Show the desktop
Command + J
Display the View options
Command + /
Hide or show the status bar in a Finder window
Spotlight shortcuts
Command
Display the path of a result
Return
Open a result
Command + R
View a file in an app or Finder
Tab
Show the preview area
Arrow keys
Move up and down the results
Safari shortcuts
Arrow keys
Scroll left, right, up and down
Shift + Spacebar
Scroll up a page
Control + Tab
Switch to the next tab
Command + L
Go to the Address bar
Command + click a link
Open link in new tab
Command + Escape
Enter or exit full screen
Command + R
Reload a page
Command + F
Find specific text on the web page
Command + I
Hide or show the toolbar
Command + Option + L
Show downloads
Document shortcuts
Control + E
Move to the end of the paragraph or line
Control + A
Move to the beginning of the paragraph or line
Control + P
Move up a line
Control + D
Delete a character to the right of the insertion point
Control + Command + D
Show or hide the definition of the selected word
Startup shortcuts
Command + R
macOS Recovery mode
Command + V
Verbose mode
Command + S
Single-user mode
Option + Command + P + R
Reset PRAM or NVRAM
Accessibility shortcuts
Command + F5
Turn on or off VoiceOver
Control + Option + Command + Comma
Reduce contrast
Control + Option + Command + 8
Invert colors
Control + Option + F8
Open VoiceOver Utility
Option + Command + 8
Turn zoom on or off
Window management shortcuts
Command + M
Minimize the window
Command + F
Fill the screen with the front window
Command + Option + M
Minimize all windows
Command + Option + H
Hide the Dock
Option + Command + F
Move a window to a specific screen
Screenshot shortcuts
Shift + Command + 3
Capture the entire screen
Shift + Command + 4
Capture a portion of the screen
Shift + Command + 4 + Spacebar
Capture a menu or window
Shift + Command + 5
Open the screenshot menu for more options
Advanced Shortcuts
Command + W or Option + Command + W – Close only the front window or all the open windows.
Control + Command + F – Use a supported application on the full screen.
Spacebar – Use Quick Look to preview selected items
Control + Power button – See the dialog box with multiple options like shut down, sleep or restart.
Command + K – Open System Preferences
Command + Option + O – Open the Go menu to quickly navigate through selected folders.
Command + Option + Shift + 4 – Record a screencast of the chosen area.
Command + Option + H – Hide the Dock to maximize screen space.
F3 – Open Mission Control to view all the desktops and windows that are open.
F12 – Decrease volume.
Besides these keyboard shortcuts on your Mac, it is possible to create custom keyboard shortcuts to speed up your workflow. This how you can create custom keyboard shortcuts:
Open System Preferences or System Settings
Choose Keyboard
Select the Shortcuts tab
Select App Shortcuts
Click the add or plus button
Click on the Application pop-up menu and choose a particular application
Create keyboard shortcuts
When creating custom keyboard shortcuts, ensure the new shortcuts don’t replace the default shortcuts. This might create issues.
The Bottom Line
So, there you have it! These are the essential Mac keyboard shortcuts you must know to speed up your workflow. Master them and see the difference.
Do you want to add to this list of keyboard shortcuts? Leave a comment.
