Everyday Shortcuts¶

2026-09-21

The Mac keyboard has the same keys as everyone else's, but they are used differently. Once the modifier keys make sense, the rest of macOS gets much easier to learn.

The modifier keys¶

Symbol	Key	Roughly equivalent to	Used for
⌘	Command (`cmd`)	`Ctrl` on Windows	App shortcuts: copy, paste, save, new tab
⌥	Option (`alt`)	`Alt`	Typing special characters, word-wise navigation, alternate menu actions
⌃	Control (`ctrl`)	(none really)	Terminal shortcuts, Mission Control, some text editing
⇧	Shift	`Shift`	Same as everywhere
fn / 🌐	Function / Globe	`Fn`	Function keys, emoji picker, dictation

The big shift: ⌘ is the main shortcut key, not Control. Copy is Cmd+C, paste is Cmd+V, and it is the same in almost every app. Because Control is not busy doing that job, terminals can keep Ctrl+C for interrupting a process.

Option is for words and symbols¶

Option+Left / Option+Right moves the cursor by one word.
Option+Backspace deletes the previous word.
Holding Option while typing produces special characters, for example Option+2 gives ™ on a US layout.
On European keyboard layouts Option also works as AltGr: it is the key for @, brackets, braces, backslash, and |. On a Finnish layout, for example, @ is Option+2, [ and ] are Option+8 and Option+9, and { } add Shift. The exact keys differ per layout, so check the Keyboard Viewer (enable Show Input menu in menu bar in Keyboard → Text Input → Input Sources) to see what Option and Option+Shift produce.
Holding Option while clicking a menu often reveals a hidden alternate item (for example, "Save As…" instead of "Save").
In a terminal you often want Option to act as Meta/Alt. In Terminal.app it is under Settings → Profiles → Keyboard → Use Option as Meta key; iTerm2 has an equivalent setting.

Cursor movement without Home and End¶

Mac keyboards have no Home/End keys. Combine arrows with modifiers instead:

Shortcut	Action
`Cmd`+`Left` / `Cmd`+`Right`	Start / end of line
`Cmd`+`Up` / `Cmd`+`Down`	Start / end of document
`Option`+`Left` / `Option`+`Right`	Previous / next word
`Fn`+`Up` / `Fn`+`Down`	Page up / page down
`Fn`+`Left` / `Fn`+`Right`	Home / End (scroll to top / bottom of the view in many apps)
`Fn`+`Backspace`	Forward delete (the Delete key on Windows)
Add `Shift` to any of the above	Select while moving

Emacs-style shortcuts also work in most native text fields: Ctrl+A (line start), Ctrl+E (line end), Ctrl+K (kill to end of line).

Shortcuts worth learning first¶

Everyday¶

These are the same as on Windows, with Cmd in place of Ctrl. Your muscle memory carries over; only the finger changes. The ones without a Windows equivalent are Cmd+Q (quit) and Cmd+, (settings).

Shortcut	Action
`Cmd`+`C` / `Cmd`+`X` / `Cmd`+`V`	Copy / cut / paste
`Cmd`+`Z` / `Cmd`+`Shift`+`Z`	Undo / redo
`Cmd`+`A`	Select all
`Cmd`+`F`	Find
`Cmd`+`S`	Save
`Cmd`+`N` / `Cmd`+`T`	New window / new tab
`Cmd`+`W`	Close window or tab
`Cmd`+`Q`	Quit the app (closing the last window does not quit it)
`Cmd`+`,`	Open the app's Settings
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`T`	Reopen last closed tab (browsers)

Switching and finding your way around¶

Shortcut	Action
`Cmd`+`Tab`	Switch between apps (hold `Cmd`, tap `Tab` to cycle)
`Cmd`+`	Switch between windows of the current app
`Cmd`+`H`	Hide the current app
`Cmd`+`M`	Minimize the window
`Ctrl`+`Up`	Mission Control: overview of all windows and desktops
`Ctrl`+`Left` / `Ctrl`+`Right`	Move between desktops (Spaces)
`Cmd`+`Space`	Spotlight

Screenshots¶

Shortcut	Action
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`3`	Screenshot of the whole screen
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`4`	Screenshot of a selected area
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`5`	Screenshot and screen recording toolbar

Add Ctrl to the first two to copy the screenshot to the clipboard instead of saving a file.

Finder¶

Shortcut	Action
`Enter`	Rename the selected file (not open it!)
`Cmd`+`O` or `Cmd`+`Down`	Open the selected item
`Space`	Quick Look: preview the file without opening it
`Cmd`+`Backspace`	Move to Trash
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`.`	Show/hide hidden files
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`G`	Go to a folder by typing its path
`Cmd`+`Up`	Go to the enclosing folder

Force quit¶

If an app hangs, use Cmd+Option+Esc to open the Force Quit window.

Discover shortcuts from the menu bar

Every menu item that has a shortcut shows it next to the name. The Help menu in any app has a search box that finds menu items by name and shows you where they live, which is a quick way to learn shortcuts as you go.

Mouse and trackpad¶

Right click¶

Trackpad: click with two fingers. If that does nothing, enable it in System Settings → Trackpad → Point & Click → Secondary click.
Any pointing device: hold Ctrl and click. This works everywhere, including with a one-button mouse or a laptop with the trackpad set to single-finger clicks.
Mouse: a mouse with two buttons works as expected once Secondary click is set to the right side in System Settings → Mouse.

Modifier clicks¶

Like the everyday shortcuts, most of these match Windows with Cmd in place of Ctrl: Cmd + click toggles a single item and Shift + click selects a range. The Mac-specific one is Ctrl + click, which is right click, not multi-select.

Action	Result
`Cmd` + click on a link	Open in a new tab (browsers)
`Cmd` + click on files	Add or remove a single item from the selection
`Shift` + click on files	Select a range
`Option` + drag a file	Copy it instead of moving it
`Cmd`+`Option` + drag a file	Create an alias (a shortcut)
`Cmd` + drag a window	Move a background window without focusing it
`Option` + click the green window button	Maximize the window (without fullscreen)
`Option` + click a menu	Show alternate menu items

Double-clicking a window's title bar zooms or maximizes it, depending on the setting in Desktop & Dock.

Gestures worth knowing¶

Gesture	Action
Two-finger scroll	Scroll
Two-finger swipe left/right	Back / forward in browsers and many apps
Pinch, or double-tap with two fingers	Zoom
Three-finger tap (or force click)	Look up the word under the pointer
Three or four fingers up	Mission Control
Three or four fingers left/right	Switch desktops

Turn on tap to click and three-finger drag

Tap to click is off by default: System Settings → Trackpad → Point & Click. Three-finger drag, which moves windows and selects text without pressing down, is in Accessibility → Pointer Control → Trackpad Options → Use trackpad for dragging.

Scroll direction

"Natural" scrolling moves the content like a touch screen, and it is on by default. If a mouse feels backwards, turn it off in System Settings → Mouse. The trackpad has its own separate switch.

Spotlight¶

Spotlight is the launcher, calculator, unit converter, and search box for the whole Mac. Open it with Cmd+Space and start typing.

Launching apps¶

Type a few letters of an app's name and press Enter. After a few days Spotlight learns your habits, so saf is enough for Safari and term is enough for Terminal. You will rarely need the Dock or Launchpad again.

What else it does¶

Calculator: type 18% of 240 or (12 + 7) * 3 and the answer appears immediately.
Unit and currency conversion: 5 miles in km, 100 usd in eur.
Files and folders: search by name; press Cmd+Enter to reveal the selected result in Finder.
Definitions and quick facts: type a word to see its dictionary entry.
Settings: type "bluetooth" or "display" to jump straight to the relevant System Settings page.
Shortcuts and actions: in recent macOS versions Spotlight can run Shortcuts and app actions, such as creating a note or starting a timer.
Clipboard history: recent macOS versions can browse recently copied items from Spotlight. Check Spotlight in System Settings for the exact shortcut on your version.

Filtering results¶

Use the filter buttons at the top of the Spotlight window, or type a kind keyword such as kind:pdf or kind:folder in the query. Specific queries like kind:pdf invoice narrow results fast.

Tune it¶

Under System Settings → Spotlight you can turn off result categories you never use, so the list stays relevant. Add folders to the Search Privacy list to exclude them (large build output or node_modules directories are good candidates).

Not happy with Spotlight?

Third-party launchers such as Raycast and Alfred build on the same idea with plugins, snippets, and clipboard history. They are worth trying once the Spotlight habit is in place, and they can take over Cmd+Space.

Make the keyboard fit you¶

Swap or remap modifiers: System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Modifier Keys lets you, for example, turn Caps Lock into Control or Escape.
Faster key repeat: System Settings → Keyboard has sliders for key repeat rate and delay; turning both up makes text editing feel much snappier.
Function keys: to get F1–F12 without holding Fn, turn on Keyboard Shortcuts → Function Keys → Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys.
A layout for programming: the Finnish layout hides ~, \, / and parentheses behind chords and dead keys. mac-sane-keyboards is a Finnish variant with no dead keys and those characters on single keys, with a one-line installer.
Full keyboard access: in the same place you can enable Tab navigation across all controls in dialogs.
Custom app shortcuts: Keyboard Shortcuts → App Shortcuts lets you assign a shortcut to any menu item by its exact name.

Where next¶

Pick five shortcuts from above and use them for a week.
Make Spotlight the only way you launch apps.
Next in this series: window management, Finder tricks, and the terminal.