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macOS cheat sheet: How many Mac keyboard shortcuts do you know?

Macworld One thing that never ceases to amaze me about macOS is the amount you can do with just a few keyboard shortcuts. In fact, Apple seems to have coded so many functions into various combinations of key presses that it feels like Im finding new ones every day. And whether youre a newbie with a Neo or a veteran from the PowerBook days, there are always new ones to learn. Here, well show you all of the best macOS keyboard shortcuts that you need to know. Memorize a few of them and youll be well on your way to a faster, more convenient way to use your Mac. And if you ever forget one or want to discover a few new shortcuts, just come back here and check our extensive list. Keep in mind that some third-party apps override these combinations with ones of their own. The key keys Keyboard shortcuts involve combinations of modifier keys. Here, we will refer to these modifier keys using their abbreviations: Command: Cmd Control key: Ctrl Delete key: Del Function key: Fn Option key: Opt Core macOS functions Action Combination Move selected item to the Trash Cmd-Del Empty the Trash Shift-Cmd-Del Empty the trash without confirmation Opt-Cmd-Shift-Del Cycles through apps Cmd-Tab (Cmd-Shift-Tab reverses the selection) Cycles through the open windows of your currently selected app Cmd-` Open Spotlight Cmd-spacebar Search within Finder Cmd-Opt-spacebar Open the Apps app (macOS Tahoe or later) or open Launchpad (before Tahoe) Fn-Shift-A Open the Character Viewer Ctrl-Cmd-spacebar or Fn-E Shows the Desktop Cmd-F3 or Fn-H or Fn-F11 Opens Mission Control Ctrl-Up arrow Show all the open windows of the foremost app Ctrl-Down arrow Open Mission Control settings Opt-F3 Opens and closes Control Center Fn-C Starts and stops dictation Fn-D Opens and closes the Notification Center Fn-N Lock Screen Ctrl-Cmd-Q (or press the power button on MacBooks) Log out of your user account Shift-Cmd-Q Log out of your user account without confirmation Opt-Shift-Cmd-Q Handling text Action Combination Cut Cmd-X Copy Cmd-C Paste Cmd-V Undo Cmd-Z Redo Shift-Cmd-Z Bold Cmd-B Italic Cmd-I Underline Cmd-U Insert a web link Cmd-K Find text on screen Cmd-F Find next instance of text on screen Cmd-G Go back to previous instance of text on screen Shift-Cmd-G Open the Spelling and Grammar window Shift-Cmd-; Look for misspelled words Cmd-; Delete word left of insertion point Opt-Del Delete character left of insertion point Del or Ctrl-H Delete character right of insertion point Fn-Del or Ctrl-D Move insertion point to start of document Cmd-Up arrow Move insertion point to end of document Cmd-Down arrow Move insertion point to start of current line Cmd-Left arrow Move insertion point to end of current line Cmd-Right arrow Move insertion point to start of previous word or the end of next word Opt-Left arrow or right arrow Move insertion point to paragraph above or below Opt-Up arrow or down arrow Highlight all text from current insertion point to start of document Shift-Cmd-Up arrow Highlight all text from current insertion point to end of document Shift-Cmd-Down arrow Highlight all text from current insertion point to end of line Shift-Cmd-Right arrow Highlight all text from current insertion point to start of line Shift-Cmd-Right arrow Highlight all text from current insertion point to start of paragraph Shift-Opt-Up arrow Highlight all text from current insertion point to end of paragraph Shift-Opt-Down arrow Highlight all text from current insertion point to same location in line above Shift-Up arrow Highlight all text from current insertion point to same location in line below Shift-Down arrow Highlight one character, then select next character Shift-Right arrow Highlight one character, then select previous character Shift-Left arrow Move to start of line or paragraph Ctrl-A Move to end of line or paragraph Ctrl-E Move one character forward Ctrl-F Move one character backwards Ctrl-B Move one line up Ctrl-P Move one line down Ctril-N Go back to the insertion point location Ctrl-L Insert a new line after insertion point Ctrl-O Swap character to right of insertion point with one to the left Ctrl-T Manage apps and files Action Combination Close active window Cmd-W Close all app windows, keep app running Opt-Cmd-W Save file Cmd-S Cycle through open apps Cmd-Tab or Shift-Cmd-Tab Hide all windows of the foremost app Cmd-H Hide all app windows except foremost app Opt-Cmd-H Enter or exit full screen for foremost app Ctrl-Cmd-F Minimize current window Cmd-M Minimize every window of frontmost app Opt-Cmd-M Open settings for frontmost app Cmd-, Open new tab CMd-T Quit app Cmd-Q Force quit unresponsive app Opt-Cmd-Esc Preview a file Select file, then spacebar or Cmd-Y Preview selected files as slideshow Opt-Cmd-Y Explore the Finder Action Combination Duplicate selected items Cmd-D Eject the selected disk or volume Cmd-E Search within Finder Cmd-F Get Info for chosen file Cmd-I Show View Options Cmd-J Connect to Server window Cmd-K Open new Finder window Cmd-N Create a new tab in Finder Cmd-T Open selected item Cmd-Down arrow Go to previous folder Cmd-[ Go to next folder Cmd-] Open folder containing the current folder Cmd-Up arrow Opens folder containing the current folder in a new window Ctrl-Cmd-Up arrow Change the Finder view, going through icons, a list, columns and a gallery Cmd-1 through Cmd-4 Open Applications folder Shift-Cmd-A Open Desktop folder Shift-Cmd-D Open Computer window Shift-Cmd-C Open Recents window Shift-Cmd-F Open Go to Folder window Shift-Cmd-G Open the Home folder Shift-Cmd-H Open iCloud Drive Shift-Cmd-I Open Network window Shift-Cmd-K Open Downloads folder Opt-Cmd-L Create new folder Shift-Cmd-N Create a new Smart Folder Opt-Cmd-N Open Documents folder Shift-Cmd-O Make alias of currently selected item Ctrl-Cmd-A Show/hide Preview side pane in Finder Shift-Cmd-P Open AirDrop Shift-Cmd-R Open Shared folder Shift-Cmd-S Show/hide tab bar in Finder Shift-Cmd-T Open Utilities folder Shift-Cmd-U Add selected item to Finder sidebar Ctrl-Cmd-T Show/hide path bar in Finder Opt-Cmd-P Show/hide sidebar in Finder Opt-Cmd-S Show/hide status bar in Finder Cmd-/ Hide top toolbar in Finder Opt-Cmd-T Move copied files to a new location. Opt-Cmd-V Open file/folder while closing original window Hold Opt while double-clicking file/folder Open folder in new tab/window Hold Cmd while double-clicking folder Copy item to new location instead of moving it Drag file while holding Opt Move item to new location instead of copying it Drag file while holding Cmd Make alias Hold Opt-Cmd, then select item and drag the alias to its location In Finder window, open all subfolders In List view, hold Opt and click the triangle In Finder window, see all the folders that contain the current one Cmd-click Finder window title bar In Finder window, select multiple files Hold Cmd while clicking on the different files In Finder window List view, select a consecutive selection of files Hold Shift; click the first item, then click the last item The Dock Action Combination Add selected item to Dock Ctrl-Shift-Cmd-T Disable magnification if it is turned on Hold Shift-Cmd Hide or show Dock Opt-Cmd-D Select the left-most item in Dock Fn-A Move between icons Fn-A, then left or right arrow Screenshots Action Combination Shoot entire screen (includes additional displays Shift-Cmd-3 Select portion of screen to shoot Shift-Cmd-4, then select the portion Shoot specific window with drop shadow Shift-Cmd-4, then press Spacebar; move Camera cursor to the window and click Shoot specific window without drop shadow Shift-Cmd-4, then press Spacebar; move Camera cursor to the window and hold Opt while clicking Open Screenshot app Shift-Cmd-5 Displays Action Combination Raise/lower brightness in smaller increments Opt-Shift-Brightness up or brightness down Open Display System Settings Opt-Brightness up or down Change the brightness of an external display (if supported) Ctrl-Brightness up or down Turn video mirroring on/off Cmd-Brightness down Move and resize windows Action Combination Expands window to fill Desktop Fn-Ctrl-F Moves window to center of screen Fn-Ctrl-C Moves and resizes window to fill left half of screen Fn-Ctrl-Left arrow Moves and resizes window to fill right half of screen Fn-Ctrl-Right arrow Moves and resizes window to fill top half of screen Fn-Ctrl-Up arrow Moves and resizes window to fill bottom half of screen Fn-Ctrl-Down arrow Restores the window to previous size Fn-Ctrl-R Moves and resizes active window to fill left half of display; window below fills right Fn-Ctrl-Shift-Left arrow Moves and resizes active window to fill right half of display; window below fills left Fn-Ctrl-Shift-Right arrow Moves and resizes active window to fill top half of display; window below fills bottom Fn-Ctrl-Shift-Up arrow Moves and resizes active window to fill bottom half of display; window below fills top Fn-Ctrl-Shift-Down arrow Moves and resizes active window to fill left half of your screen. Second and third windows fill the top-right and bottom-right portions of your display Fn-Ctrl-Opt-Shift-Left arrow Moves and resizes active window to fill right half of your screen. Second and third windows fill the top-left and bottom-right portions of your display Fn-Ctrl-Opt-Shift-Right arrow Moves and resizes active window to fill top half of your screen. Second and third windows fill the bottom-left and bottom-right portions of your display Fn-Ctrl-Opt-Shift-Up arrow Moves and resizes active window to fill bottom half of your screen. Second and third windows fill the top-left and top-right portions of your display Fn-Ctrl-Opt-Shift-Down arrow Other Action Combination Opens Keyboard System Settings Opt-Keyboard brightness up or down Adjust keyboard brightness in smaller increments Opt-Shift-Keyboard brightness up or down Open Sounds Sytem Settings Opt-Volume up or down Adjust sound volume in smaller increments Opt-Shift-Volume up or volume down

20 Aug 2026 4:15 pm