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Shortcuts in macOS

Things on this page are fragmentary and immature notes/thoughts of the author. Please read with your own judgement!

Table of keyboard shortcuts lists comparisons of shortcuts on Windows, macOS and Linux.

  1. Unless you have a full Mac keyboard, you will not have the Home/End keys. Fn + Left/Right act as equivalent to Home/End keys in macOS, however, Home/End keys not necessarily behave the same as in Windows/Linux. Command + Left/Right behave equivalent to what Home/End keys do in Windows/Linux.

  2. Delete acts like the key Backspace in Windows/Linux Fn + Delete acts like the key Delete in Windows/Linux.

  3. CMD + C copies files and CMD + V pastes the copied files. CMD + Option + V moves the files instead of to copy them.

Key Binding Description
Option + CMD + V Cut and paste the copied files/directories
F11 or Fn + F11 (depends) show desktop (press again to bring back windows)
Command + Q Quit the current active application

Command + k: connect to server

Option + Left/Right: move to the left/right by one word

Basic Shortcuts

Command + W = Close the current active window Command + O = Open a file in your application Command + P = Print Command + C = Copy Command + V = Paste Command + X = Cut Command + S = Save Command + Z = Undo Command + A = Select All Command + Y or Space = Quicklook Command + Tab = Cycle through windows

Other Shortcuts

Command + Shift + 3 = Take fullscreen picture Command + Shift + 4 = Take selected area screenshot Command + Shift + 4 + Space = Take screenshot of window or menu Option + Command + Escape = Bring up Force Quit window Command + Space = Spotlight search Command + ` (back tick) = Cycle through applications windows Command + . = Cancel operation Command + Shift + ? = Open help Command + I = Get Info Command + [ = Go backwards in history in Finder Command + ] = Go forwards in history in Finder Command + Up Arrow = Go to previous folder in hierarchy Command + Down Arrow = Open folder of file in Finder Command + Option/Alt + T = Show hide Finder’s toolbar Command + Delete = Move item to Trash Command + Shift + Delete = Empty Trash Command + E = Eject disk Command + F = Find Command + G = Next result in Find option Command + H = Hide application Command + M = Minimize Command + N = New window Command + Option/Alt + W = Close all windows Command + Shift + Z = Redo Command + Shift + H = Go to Home folder Command + Shift + D = Go to Desktop Command + Shift + C = Go to Computer Command + Shift + K = Go to Network Command + Shift + I = Go to iDisk Command + Shift + A = Go to Application Command + Shift + U = Go to Utilities Command + Shift + G = Go to folder Shift + Command + Q = Log out Shift + Command + Option/Alt + Q = Log out immediately. Command + D = Duplicate in Finder Command + Option/Alt + 8 = Turn on Voice Over Command + Option/Alt + + or Command + Plus = Zoom in (if turned on) Command + Option/Alt + – or Command + Minus = Zoom Out Command + Option/Alt + D = Show/Hide Dock Ctrl + Eject = Show shutdown dialog Ctrl + Command + Eject = Close all and restart Option + Command + Eject = Sleep Command + Shift + F = Find file by name Command + R = Refresh widget

Command + = = Zoom in (works in terminal, iterm2, etc.) Command + - = Zoom out (works in terminal, iterm2, etc.)

Shortcuts for Moving Windows Among Monitors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hcp5YpFv1d0

http://www.keyboardmaestro.com/main/

Web Browsing

Different web browsers share standard keyboard shortcuts that work similarly on all operating systems, including Mac OS X. On a Mac, the big difference is that you’ll usually be pressing the Command key instead of the Ctrl or Alt keys you’d press on Windows.

Command + F  Start searching the current page. This also works in other applications.
Command + Left Arrow  Go back a page.
Command + Right Arrow  Go forward a page.
Command + T  Open a new tab.
Command + W  Close the current tab.
Command + L  Focus the browsers location bar so you can start typing a search or web address immediately.
Ctrl + Tab  Switch between open tabs.
Ctrl + Shift + Tab  Switch between open tabs in reverse.

Text Editing

Text-editing keyboard shortcuts also function similarly between Mac and Windows. One again, you’ll mostly just be pressing the Command key instead of the Ctrl key. This is a bigger difference than it seems at first glance. The Command key is directly adjacent to the Space bar on Mac keyboards, while the Ctrl key is in the bottom-left corner on Windows keyboards. The way you have to position your fingers is different, so your muscle memory can interfere with these shortcuts.

Command + A  Select All
Command + X  Cut
Command + C  Copy
Command + V  Paste
Command + Z  Undo
Command + Shift + Z  Redo
Command + Left Arrow   Go to the beginning of the current line.
Command + Right Arrow  Go to the end of the current line.
Option + Left Arrow  Move the cursor left one word.
Option + Right Arrow  Move the cursor right one word.
Option + Delete  Delete the word to the left of the cursor. Bear in mind that the Delete button on a Mac functions like Backspace on Windows.

As on Windows, you can press Shift to select text while using these shortcuts. For example, hold down Shift and Option and tap the left arrow repeatedly to select entire previous words.

Managing Open Applications

Macs offer an application switcher that works just like Alt + Tab does on Windows, but there are many more keyboard shortcuts that tie into the Mission Control feature. Read our our guide to using Mission Control for more keyboard shortcuts and tricks.

Command + Tab – Move through a list of open applications. This is like Alt + Tab on Windows.
Command + Shift + Tab – Move through the list in reverse.
Command + Q – Quit the current application. This is like Alt + F4 on Windows.
F3 – Open Mission Control to view all open application windows and desktops.
Ctrl + Left Arrow – Move one desktop to the left.
Ctrl + Right Arrow – Move one desktop to the right.

References

https://appuals.com/cut-paste-mac/

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