OS X: Keyboard shortcuts A keyboard shortcut is a way to invoke a function in OS X by pressing a combination of keys on your keyboard. Learn about common OS X keyboard shortcuts.
Using keyboard shortcuts To use a keyboard shortcut, press a modifier key at the same time as a character key. For example, pressing the Command key (it has a symbol) and then the "c" key copies whatever is currently selected to the Clipboard. This is also known as the Command-C keyboard shortcut. You can see the keys that map to many shortcuts by looking in an app's menus.
A modifier key is a part of many keyboard shortcuts. A modifier key alters the way other keystrokes or mouse/trackpad clicks are interpreted by OS X. Modifier keys include: Command, Shift, Option, Control, Caps Lock, and the fn key. These keys are represented by special symbols when you see them in menus and other parts of OS X: ⌘ ⌃ ⌥ ⇧ ⇪ fn
Command key Control key Option key Shift Key Caps Lock Function Key
When the fn key is used with the top row of keys on your keyboard, it makes them perform a different function. For example, if a keyboard shortcut is Control-F2, you press fn-ControlBrightness on your keyboard. If you look closely at the Brightness key at the top of your
keyboard, there is an F2 symbol indicating that this key works as a function key (F2 or function 2) when you hold fn on the keyboard. If you use a non-Apple keyboard that includes a Windows key, the Alt key is the same thing as pressing Option, and the Windows key is the same thing as Command. You can change how these keys are interpreted from the Keyboard pane of System Preferences.
Startup shortcuts Use these key combinations to change how your computer starts up. Press and hold the key or combination of keys immediately after starting your Mac until the expected function occurs or appears. For example, press and hold the Option key during startup until the Startup Manager appears. Note: If you're using a keyboard manufactured by someone other than Apple, the Alt key is usually the same key as the Option key. If this modifier doesn't appear to work, try using an Apple keyboard instead. Key or key combination
What it does Display all startup volumes (Startup Manager) Start up in Safe Mode Prevent automatic login Start from bootable media (DVD, CD, USB thumb drive) Start up in Target disk mode Start from a NetBoot server Force OS X startup (when non-OS X startup volumes are available) Use Apple Hardware Test Use OS X Recovery (OS X Lion or later) Start up in Verbose Mode Start up in Single User Mode Reset NVRAM / parameter RAM
Option or Alt Shift Left Shift C T N X
D Command-R Command-V Command-S Command-Option-P-R Hold down the Media Eject (â??) key or F12 key, or Eject removable discs mouse or trackpad button
Sleep and shut down shortcuts Use these key combinations after your Mac has started up to sleep, shut down, or restart your computer. Key or key combination Power button
What it does Tap to power on. Once powered on, tap the power button to wake
or sleep in OS X Mavericks. Hold down the power button for 1.5 seconds Hold down the power button for 5 seconds Command-Control-power button Control-Media Eject (⏏) Command-Option-Media Eject (⏏) Command-Control-Media Eject (⏏) Command-Option-ControlMedia Eject (⏏) Shift-Control-Media Eject (⏏)
Show the restart / sleep / shutdown dialog in OS X Mavericks Force the Mac to power off Force the Mac to restart Show restart / sleep / shutdown dialog Put the computer to sleep Quit all applications (after giving you a chance to save changes to open documents), then restart the computer Quit all applications (after giving you a chance to save changes to open documents), then shut down the computer Put all displays to sleep
Taking screenshots Use these shortcuts to take a picture of what you see on your screen. You can also use Grab to take screenshots, an app located in the Utilities folder.
Key combination Command-Shift-3 Command-ShiftControl-3 Command-Shift-4 Command-ShiftControl-4
What it does Capture the screen to a file Capture the screen to the Clipboard Capture a selection of the screen to a file, or press the spacebar to capture just a window Capture a selection of the screen to the Clipboard, , or press the spacebar to capture just a window
Application and other OS X shortcuts These keyboard shortcuts work in most apps. Key combination Command-Space bar Command-Option-Space bar Command-Tab
What it does Show or hide the Spotlight search field (if multiple languages are being used simultaneously, this shortcut may rotate through enabled script systems instead) Show the Spotlight search results window (if multiple languages are installed, may rotate through keyboard layouts and input methods within a script) Move forward to the next most recently used application in a list of open applications
Move backward through a list of open applications (sorted by recent use) Shift-Tab Navigate through controls in a reverse direction Move focus to the next grouping of controls in a dialog or the next Control-Tab table (when Tab moves to the next cell) Shift-Control-Tab Move focus to the previous grouping of controls Eject from secondary optical media drive (if one is installed) Option-Media Eject (â??) Command-F1 Toggle "Mirror Displays" on multi-monitor configurations Command-F2 Toggle Target Display Mode Command-F3 Show Desktop Command-F5 Toggle VoiceOver On or Off Option-F1 or Option-F2 Opens "Displays" System Preference Option-F3 or Option-F4 Open Mission Control preferences Option-F10 or -F11 or -F12 Open Sound preferences Shift-Control-F6 Move focus to the previous panel Temporarily override the current keyboard access mode in windows Control-F7 and dialogs Control-F8 Move to the status menus in the menu bar Command-Accent (`) Activate the next open window in the frontmost application Command-Shift-Accent (`) Activate the previous open window in the frontmost application Command-Option-Accent Move focus to the window drawer (`) Command-Minus (–) Decrease the size of the selected item Command-{ Left-align a selection Command-} Right-align a selection Command-| Center-align a selection Command-Colon (:) Display the Spelling and Grammar window Command-Semicolon (;) Find misspelled words in the document Command-Comma (,) Open the front application's preferences window Command-Option-ControlDecrease screen contrast Comma (,) Command-Option-ControlIncrease screen contrast Period (.) Command-Question Mark Open the application's help in Help Viewer (?) Command-Option-/ Turn font smoothing on or off Command-Shift-= Increase the size of the selected item Highlight every item in a document or window, or all characters in Command-A a text field Command-B Boldface the selected text or toggle boldfaced text on and off Command-C Copy the selected data to the Clipboard Command-Shift-C Display the Colors window Command-Option-C Copy the formatting settings of the selected item and store on the Command-Shift-Tab
Command-Option-V Command-Option-D Command-Control-D Command-D Command-Delete Command-E Command-F Command-Option-F Command-G Command-Shift-G Command-H Command-Option-H Command-I Command-Option-I Command-M Command-Option-M Command-N Command-O Command-P Command-Shift-P Command-Q Command-S Command-Shift-S Command-T Command-Option-T Command-U Command-V Command-Option-V Command-Shift-Option-V Command-Control-V Command-W Command-Shift-W Command-Option-W Command-X Command-Z
Clipboard Paste (apply) the formatting settings from the Clipboard to the selected item Show or hide the Dock Display the definition of the selected word Selects the Desktop folder in Open and Save dialogs or selects Don't Save in dialogs that contain a Don't Save button Selects Don't Save in dialogs that contain a Delete or Don't Save button Use the selection for a find Open a Find window Move to the search field control Find the next occurrence of the selection Find the previous occurrence of the selection Hide the windows of the currently running application Hide the windows of all other running applications Italicize the selected text or toggle italic text on or off Display an inspector window Minimize the active window to the Dock Minimize all windows of the active application to the Dock Create a new document in the frontmost application Display a dialog for choosing a document to open in the frontmost application Display the Print dialog Display a dialog for specifying document parameters (Page Setup) Quit the frontmost application Save the active document Display the Save As dialog or duplicate the current document Display the Fonts window Show or hide a toolbar Underline the selected text or turn underlining on or off Paste the Clipboard contents at the insertion point Apply the style of one object to the selected object (Paste Style) Apply the style of the surrounding text to the inserted object (Paste and Match Style) Apply formatting settings to the selected object (Paste Ruler) Close the frontmost window Close a file and its associated windows Close all windows in the application without quitting it Remove the selection and store in the Clipboard Undo previous command (some applications allow for multiple Undos)
Redo previous command (some applications allow for multiple Redos) Toggle between the current and previous input sources Toggle through all enabled input sources choose an application to Force Quit
Command-Shift-Z
Control-Space bar Option-Control-Space bar Command-Option-esc Command-Shift-Option-Esc Force Quit the front-most application (hold for three seconds) Command-Left Bracket ([) Previous browser webpage Command-Right Bracket (]) Next browser webpage Text selection shortcuts
Use these key combinations when editing text in a field or document. fn-Delete fn-Up Arrow fn-Down Arrow fn-Left Arrow fn-Right Arrow Command-Right Arrow Command-Left Arrow Command-Down Arrow Command-Up Arrow Option-Right Arrow Option-Left Arrow Option-Delete
Forward Delete (on a portable Mac's built-in keyboard) Scroll up one page (same as Page Up key) Scroll down one page (same as Page Down key) Scroll to the beginning of a document (same as Home key) Scroll to the end of a document (same as End key) Move the text insertion point to the end of the current line Move the text insertion point to the beginning of the current line Move the text insertion point to the end of the document Move the text insertion point to the beginning of the document Move the text insertion point to the end of the next word Move the text insertion point to the beginning of the previous word Delete the word that is left of the cursor, as well as any spaces or punctuation after the word
Command-ShiftSelect text between the insertion point and the end of the current line (*) Right Arrow Command-Shift-Left Select text between the insertion point and the beginning of the current line Arrow (*) Command-Shift-Up Select text between the insertion point and the beginning of the document Arrow (*) Command-ShiftSelect text between the insertion point and the end of the document (*) Down Arrow Shift-Left Arrow Extend text selection one character to the left (*) Shift-Right Arrow Extend text selection one character to the right (*) Extend text selection to the line above, to the nearest character boundary at Shift-Up Arrow the same horizontal location (*)
Extend text selection to the line below, to the nearest character boundary at the same horizontal location (*) Shift-Option-Right Extend text selection to the end of the current word, then to the end of the Arrow following word if pressed again (*) Shift-Option-Left Extend text selection to the beginning of the current word, then to the Arrow beginning of the following word if pressed again (*) Shift-Option-Down Extend text selection to the end of the current paragraph, then to the end of Arrow the following paragraph if pressed again (*) Shift-Option-Up Extend text selection to the beginning of the current paragraph, then to the Arrow beginning of the following paragraph if pressed again (*) Control-A Move to beginning of line or paragraph Control-B Move one character backward Control-D Delete the character in front of the cursor Control-E Move to the beginning of a line or paragraph Control-F Move one character forward Control-H Delete the character behind the cursor Delete from the character in front of the cursor to the end of the line or Control-K paragraph Control-L Center the cursor or selection in the visible area Control-N Move down one line Control-O Insert a new line after the cursor Control-P Move up one line Transpose the character behind the cursor and the character in front of the Control-T cursor Control-V Move down Shift-Down Arrow
*Note: If no text is selected, the extension begins at the insertion point. If text is selected by dragging, then the extension begins at the selection boundary. Reversing the direction of the selection deselects the appropriate unit.
Accessibility These keyboard shortcuts help you control your Mac with your keyboard or assistive devices. Accessibility and VoiceOver keyboard commands Key combination What it does Command-Option-F5 Display Accessibility Options Command-F5 or fn-Command-F5 Turn VoiceOver on or off Option-Control-F8 or fn-Option-Control-F8 Open VoiceOver Utility (if VoiceOver is on) Option-Control-F7 or fn-Option-Control-F7 Display VoiceOver menu (if VoiceOver is on) Option-Control-Semicolon (;) Enable or disable VoiceOver Command-Option-8 Turn Zoom on or off Command-Option-Plus (+) Zoom In Command-Option-Minus (–) Zoom Out
Command-Option-Control-8 Command-Option-Control-Comma (,) Command-Option-Control-Period (.)
Invert/revert the screen colors (OS X Lion or earlier) Reduce contrast (OS X Lion or earlier) Increase contrast (OS X Lion or earlier)
Note: You may need to enable "Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard keys" in Keyboard preferences for the VoiceOver menu and utility to work. Full keyboard access Full keyboard access lets you use your keyboard to navigate and interact with items on the screen. Use these shortcuts to select and adjust controls such as text fields and sliders. This setting can be toggled by pressing Control-F7, or by selecting Full Keyboard Access from the Shortcuts pane of Keyboard preferences in System Preferences. Key combination Tab Shift-Tab Control-Tab Arrow keys Control-Arrow keys Space bar Return or Enter Esc
What it does Move to the next control Move to the previous control Move to the next control when a text field is selected Move to the adjacent item in a list, tab group, or menu or Move sliders and adjusters (vertical up and down arrows used to increase and decrease values) Move to a control adjacent to the text field Select the highlighted menu item Click the default button or perform the default action Click the Cancel button or Close a menu without choosing an item
You can navigate the menus in the menu bar without using a mouse or trackpad. To put the focus in the menu bar, press Control-F2 (fn-Control-F2 on portable keyboards). Then use the key combinations listed below. Key combination Left Arrow and Right Arrow Return Up Arrow and Down Arrow Type the menu item’s name Return
What it does Move from menu to menu Open a selected menu Move to menu items in the selected menu Jump to a menu item in the selected menu Select a menu item
Accessibility - Mouse Keys When Mouse Keys is turned on in Accessibility preferences, you can use the keyboard or numeric keypad keys to move the mouse pointer.
Key combination 8 or numeric keypad 8 K or numeric keypad 2 U or numeric keypad 4 O or numeric keypad 6 J or numeric keypad 1 L or numeric keypad 3 7 or numeric keypad 7 9 or numeric keypad 9 I or numeric keypad 5 M or numeric keypad 0 . (period key)
What it does Move Up Move Down Move Left Move Right Move Diagonally Bottom Left Move Diagonally Bottom Right Move Diagonally Top Left Move Diagonally Top Right Press Mouse Button Hold Mouse Button Release Hold Mouse Button
Finder shortcuts Key combination Command-A Command-Option-A Command-Shift-A Command-C Command-Shift-C Command-D Command-Shift-D Command-E Command-F Command-Shift-F Command-Option-F Command-Shift-G Command-Shift-H Command-Control-T Command-I Command-Option-I Command-Control-I Command-Shift-I Command-J Command-K Command-Shift-K Command-L Command-M
What it does Select all items in the front Finder window (or desktop if no window is open) Deselect all items Open the Applications folder Copy selected item or text to the Clipboard Open the Computer window Duplicate selected item Open desktop folder Eject Find any matching Spotlight attribute Find Spotlight file name matches Navigate to the search field in an alreadyopen Spotlight window Go to Folder Open the Home folder of the currently logged-in user account Add to Sidebar (OS X Mavericks) Get Info Show Inspector Get Summary Info Open iDisk Show View Options Connect to Server Open Network window Make alias of the selected item Minimize window
Command-Option-M Command-N Command-Shift-N Command-Option-N Command-O Command-Shift-Q Command-Shift-Option-Q Command-R Command-T Command-Shift-T Command-Option-T Command-Shift-U Command-V Command-W Command-Option-W Command-X Command-Option-Y Command-Z Command-1 Command-2 Command-3 Command-4 Command-Comma (,) Command-Accent (`) (the Accent key above Tab key on a US English keyboard layout) Command-Shift-Question Mark (?) Command-Left Bracket ([) Command-Right Bracket (])
Minimize all windows New Finder window New folder New Smart Folder Open selected item Log Out Log Out immediately Show original (of alias) Add Finder tab (OS X Mavericks) Show or hide Finder tab (OS X Mavericks) Hide or Show Toolbar in Finder windows Open Utilities folder Paste Close window Close all windows Cut Slideshow (Mac OS X v10.5 or later) Undo View as Icon View as List View as Columns View as Cover Flow (Mac OS X v10.5 or later) Open Finder preferences Cycle through open Finder windows
Open Mac Help Go to the previous folder Go to the next folder Open the folder that contains the current Command-Up Arrow folder Open the folder that contains the current Command-Control-Up Arrow folder in a new window Command-Down Arrow Open highlighted item Command-Shift-Up Arrow Make the desktop active Right Arrow (in List view) Open the selected folder Left Arrow (in List view) Close the selected folder Option-click the disclosure triangle (in List view) Open all folders within the selected folder Open a folder in a separate window, closing Option窶電ouble-click the current window Command窶電ouble-click Open a folder in a separate window Command-click the window title See the folders that contain the current
window Command-Tab Switch application窶田ycle forward Command-Shift-Tab Switch application窶田ycle backward Command-Delete Move to Trash Command-Shift-Delete Empty Trash Command-Shift-Option-Delete Empty Trash without confirmation dialog Space bar (or Command-Y) Quick Look (Mac OS X v10.5 or later) Move the dragged item to another volume or Command key while dragging location (the pointer changes while key is held) Copy dragged item Option key while dragging (the pointer changes while key is held) Make alias of dragged item Command-Option key combination while dragging (the pointer changes while key is held)