The Best Mac Keyboard Shortcuts (2022 Updated)
Macs users are unaware that pressing specific key combinations can make them even more efficient. Much like with Windows PCs, these keyboard shortcuts can dramatically reduce the amount of time spent performing manual actions.
Are you wondering how to copy and paste on a Mac or are looking for an advanced keystroke with which keyboard shortcuts to impress your colleagues promise to make your life a little easier. This article describes what and where the relevant keys are and lists the various functions and how to perform them.
How to do mac keyboard shortcuts
Hold down a modifier key to accomplish a keyboard shortcut and then press the last key of the shortcut. For example, to copy using the shortcut + command + C, hold down the command key and then press the C key. Once done, release both keys.
Mac keyboard symbol
Mac menus and keyboards, including modifier keys, often use symbols for some keys:
- Command / cm⌘
- Shift ⇧
- Options (or, on the PC keyboard, Alt) ⌥
- Control (or, on a PC keyboard, Ctrl) ⌃
- Caps Lock ⇪
- Fn / Function
How do you make your mac keyboard shortcuts?
While many mac keyboard shortcuts are already in place, it is possible to set your own for specific tasks so that you can speed up processes that occur frequently. To set your shortcut, follow the procedure below:
- On your Mac,
- Open the Apple menu bar
- Choose ‘System Preferences’
- Click on ‘keyboard’
- Click on ‘Shortcut’.
- Choose an item in the left pane, then in the right pane, choose the tick-box next to the shortcut you want to change.
- Double-click the current key combination, then press the new key combination you want to use.
- Once complete, quit any program or app and restart. This will activate your keyboard shortcut.
How to search page on mac
Our list is extensive, so using a shortcut is the best way to find everything you need that will allow you to find keywords on the page and navigate to related information. A small window will display by hit command and F together. For example, in the window, type the keyword of what you want to do, ‘copy’ or ‘paste’, and you will see every occurrence of that word. If the word has multiple occurrences then you can navigate from one to the other to find the corresponding entry.
How to copy and paste on mac
Mac keyboard shortcuts for Copy and paste may soon become your favorite as they will most likely come to your Mac to use.
- For copy by Command + C
- For paste by Command + V
How to select all on mac
Choosing a text with a mouse is easy, but when you want to choose everything on the page, there is a very simple way that is endless scrolling. Just use this shortcut:
- Command + A
Desktop and system shortcuts
Following mentioned are a few mac keyboard shortcuts for desktop and system:
Go to the search field | Option + Command + F |
Open the choose files or items, or open a dialog to choose a file to open within a program | Command + O |
Show app full screen (if supported by the program) | Control + Command + F |
Most recently used app among your open apps switch to the next | Command +Tab |
Take a screenshot or make a screen recording (in macOS Mojave) | Shift + Command + 5 |
Take a screenshot or make a screen recording (in earlier macOS versions) | Shift + Command-3 or Shift + Command + 4 |
Take a screenshot of a chosen area | Command + Shift + 4 and drag over the area you want to screenshot. While dragging, hold Spacebar to move the chosen area. Hold Shift to change the size in one direction only (horizontal or vertical). Hold Option for center-based resizing. |
Take a screenshot of a specific window/object | Command + Shift + 4, then press Spacebar, then click on the window/object. |
Take a screenshot of the touch bar | Command + Shift + 6 |
Create a new folder in the Finder | Shift+ Command + N |
Open preferences for the program you are using | Command + Comma |
Turn on Zoom | Option + Command + * (asterisk) |
Zoom in | Option + Command + + (plus) |
Zoom out | Option + Command + – (minus) |
Hide the windows of the front app | Command + H |
To view the front app but hide all other apps | Option + Command + H |
Minimize the front window to the Dock | Command + M |
Minimize all windows of the front app | Option + Command + M |
Document shortcuts
These mac keyboard shortcuts may vary depending on the program you are using.
Boldface the chosen text (and un-boldface text if already bold) | Command +B |
Italicize the chosen text (and un-italicize text is already in italics) | Command + I |
Add a weblink | Command + K |
Underline the chosen text, or turn to underline on or off | Command + U |
Show or hide the Fonts window | Command + T |
choose the Desktop folder from within an Open dialog or Save dialog | Command + D |
Show or hide the definition of the chosen word | Control + Command + D |
Display the Spelling and Grammar window | Shift + Command + Colon (:) |
Find misspelled words in the document | Command + Semicolon (;) |
Delete the word to the left of the insertion point (cursor) | Option + Delete |
Delete the character to the left of the insertion point | Control + H or Delete |
Delete the character to the right of the insertion point | Control + DorFn + Delete |
Forward delete on keyboards that don’t have a Forward Delete key | Control + DorFn + Delete |
Delete the text between the insertion point and the end of the line or paragraph | Control + K |
Page Up: Scroll up one page | Fn + Up Arrow |
Page Down: Scroll down one page | Fn + Down Arrow |
Scroll to the beginning of a document: ‘Home’ | Fn + Left Arrow |
Scroll to the end of a document: ‘End’ | Fn + Right Arrow |
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the document | Command + Up Arrow |
Move the insertion point to the end of the document | Command + Down Arrow |
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the current line | Command + Left Arrow |
Move the insertion point to the end of the current line | Command + Right Arrow |
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word | Option + Left Arrow |
Move the insertion point to the end of the next word | Option +Right Arrow |
choose non-linear areas | Option + Drag |
choose the text between the insertion point and the beginning of the document | Shift + Command + Up Arrow |
choose the text between the insertion point and the end of the document | Shift + Command + Down Arrow |
choose the text between the insertion point and the beginning of the current line | Shift + Command + Left Arrow |
choose the text between the insertion point and the end of the current line | Shift + Command + Right Arrow |
Extend text chooses to the nearest character at the same horizontal location on the line above | Shift + Up Arrow |
Extend text chooses to the nearest character at the same horizontal location on the line below | Shift + Down Arrow |
Extend text choose on one character to the left | Shift + Left Arrow |
Extend text choose on one character to the right | Shift + Right Arrow |
Extend text chooses to the beginning of the current paragraph (press again to extend to the beginning of the following paragraph) | Option + Shift + Up Arrow |
Extend text chooses to the end of the current paragraph (press again to extend to the beginning of the following paragraph) | Option + Shift + Down Arrow |
Extend text chooses to the beginning of the current word (press again to extend to the beginning of the following word) | Option + Shift + Left Arrow |
Extend text chooses to the end of the current word (press again to get to the of the following word) | Option + Shift + Right Arrow |
Move the cursor to the beginning of the line or paragraph | Control + A |
Move the cursor to the end of a line or paragraph | Control + E |
Move cursor one character forward | Control + F |
Move cursor one character backward | Control + B |
Center the cursor or choose on in the visible area | Control + L |
Move up one line | Control + P |
Move down one line | Control + N |
Insert a new line after the insertion point | Control + O |
Swap the character behind the insertion point with the character in front of the insertion point | Control + T |
Left align | Command + Left Curly Bracket ({) |
Right align | Command + Right Curly Bracket (}) |
Centre align | Shift + Command + Vertical bar (|) |
Show or hide a toolbar in the app | Option + Command + T |
Copy style/formatting | Option + Command + C |
Paste style/formatting | Option + Command + V |
Paste and match style: apply the style of the surrounding content to the item pasted within that content | Option + Shift + Command + V |
Show or hide the inspector window | Option + Command + I |
Page setup: display window for choosing document settings | Shift + Command + P |
Display the Save As dialog, or duplicate the current document | Shift + Command + S |
Decrease the size of the chosen item | Shift + Command + Minus sign (-) |
Increase the size of the chosen item | Shift + Command + Plus sign (+) |
Open the Help menu | Shift + Command + Question mark (?) |
Autocomplete a word | Start typing the word. Press Option + Esc (or F5) to open the suggested word list |
Print the current document | Command + P |
Save the current document | Command + S |
Open a new tab | Command + T |
Close the current window you’re working in | Command + W |
Close all windows of the app | Option + Command + W |
Force quit an app | Option + Command + Esc |
Show or hide the Spotlight search field | Command + Space bar |
Perform a Spotlight search from a Finder window | Command + Option + Space bar |
Show the Character Viewer, from which you can choose emojis and other symbols | Control +Command + Space bar |
Find next. Find the next occurrence of the item being searched for | Command + G |
Find previous. Find the previous occurrence | Shift +Command + G |
Undo the previous command | Command + Z |
Redo the previous action you undid | Shift + Command + Z |
Cut the chosen item AND copy it to the clipboard | Command + X |
Copy the chosen item to the Clipboard | Command + C |
Paste the contents of the Clipboard into the current document, folder, or app. | Command + V |
choose all (everything on a page or in a folder) | Command + A |
Search for a word on a page on a Mac (web or other documents) | Command + F |
Mac Keyboard Shortcuts for Shut down and Log out
For some of these mac keyboard shortcuts, you may need to press and hold the keys for slightly longer than other shortcuts. This is so that people can avoid using them unintentionally.
Put your Mac to sleep | Option + Command + Power button or Option + Command + Media Eject |
Put your display to sleep | Control + Shift + Power button or Control + Shift + Media Eject |
Display ‘restart, sleep, or shut down’ options | Control + Power button or Control + Media Eject |
Force your Mac to restart without prompting to save any open/unsaved documents | Control + Command + Power button |
Force your Mac to restart BUT be prompted to save documents that have unsaved changes | Control + Command + Media Eject |
Log out of your macOS user account including a request to confirm | Shift + Command + Q |
Log out immediately without confirming | Option + Shift + Command + Q |
Force quit an app (This will close whatever app is currently active, or foremost. Make sure it’s the right one!) | Option + Command + Shift + Esc |
Force quit all apps | Option + Command + Esc(choose which apps you want to force quit on the menu that pops up) |
Wrap it up!
We assume that all the above Mac keyboard shortcuts will help you a lot to use. If you have any issues understanding these Mac keyboard shortcuts. You can easily contact our Technical Support Team which will provide you with the best solutions. They will be happy to help you.