30 Best MacOS Keyboard Shortcuts

Nacho Grosso

Shortcuts on Mac are activated with a keyboard shortcut. They are always the same, and when combined with others, they open up an infinite range of possibilities. The group of more or less fixed keys on a Mac is the one we detail below, and you should never lose sight of them.

• Command (Cmd) ⌘
• upper case ⇧
• Alt-option) ⌥
• Control (Ctrl) ⌃
• Caps Lock ⇪
• FN

Now, if you are using a different Windows type keyboard, be aware that you will use the Alt key instead of the Option key and the Windows flag key instead of the Command key. With that caveat, these are features that you can activate on MacOS with a simple keyboard shortcut.

The most common commands in MacOS

• Command+X: Cut whatever you have selected, be it text, a file, or a selected photo. From there, you paste it wherever you want.
• Team+S: Same as above, but copy instead of cut.
• Command+V paste what you cut or copied.
• Command+Z: You undo the previous action before the last one. If you press Shift+Command+Z instead of undo, you will redo the action.
• Team+A: you select all items, very useful when you want to copy a lot of files.
• Command+F: Open a search box on your computer or document.
• Command+G: searches for the next occurrence of the element you searched for earlier. To find the previous occurrence, press Shift+Command+G.
• Command+H: Hide the windows of the application that you have in the foreground. To bring an application to the front and hide other applications, press Option+Command+H.
• Team+M: You minimize the window you have in the foreground and dock it. If you want to bring all application windows to the front, press Option+Command+M.
• Team+O: Open the selected item. So O stands for Open.
• Team+P: Print the active document.
• Command+S: Save the active document.
• Command+T: Open a new tab.
• Command+W: close the window that is in the foreground. To close all application windows, press Option+Command+W.
• Option+Command+Esc: force close the application.
• Command+Space: Shows or hides the Spotlight search field, a handy utility for finding whatever you want.
• Control+Command+Space: The keyboard viewer appears so you can put emoji or symbols.
• Control+Command+F: Switch to full screen mode.
• Command+Tab: You go to the next most recently used app among the open ones.
• take screenshots combinations are possible, so don’t miss our post on how to take screenshots on Mac.
• Shift+Command+N: You are opening a new folder.
• Command + semicolon: Open the settings of the application that is in the foreground.

Keyboard shortcuts for hibernation, logout, and shutdown

• Power button: Click to turn on or wake up your Mac. Hold it down for 1.5 seconds to put your Mac to sleep. If you keep holding it down it will turn off your Mac completely.
• Option+Command+Power Button or Option-Command-Eject Disk: You put your Mac to sleep.
• Control+Shift+Power Button or Control+Shift+Eject Disk: Sleep only the screen.
• Control+Power Button or Control+Eject Disk: Displays a dialog box asking if you want to restart, shut down, or put your computer to sleep.
• Control+Command+Power button: Force restart your Mac without asking if you want to keep open and unsaved documents.
• Control+Command+Eject Disk: Close all applications and restart your Mac. If you have open documents with unsaved changes, you will be asked if you want to save them.
• Control+Option+Command+Power Button or Control+Option+Command-Eject Disk: Same as above, but instead of restarting your Mac, you will turn it off.
• Control+Command+Q: As a last resort, you can completely lock the screen. To activate it again, you will need to enter a password.
• Shift+Command+Q: Can’t sign out of your macOS user account by asking for confirmation. To close it without confirmation, press Option+Shift+Command+Q.

These 30 keyboard shortcuts for your Mac will help you save a lot of time and in some cases they are always a very useful resource. Yes, your Magic Mouse can run out of power at the most inopportune moment. With these key combinations you can work sequentially. Also, if you are new to Mac, you should not skip these tips so that your experience is positive and learning time is reduced.