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APPLE HOLIC Appleholic, (noun), æp·əl-hɑl·ɪk: An imaginative
By Jonny Evans, Computerworld | AUG 11, 2020 7:28 AM PDT person who thinks about what Apple is doing,
why and where it is going. Delivering popular
Apple-related news, advice and entertainment
since 1999.

HOW-TO

30 keyboard shortcuts Mac users need to know

This collection of keyboard shortcuts for macOS can help users get the most from their
iMacs, MacBook Pro and MacBook laptops.

Leif Johnson

I’m sure most Mac users know Command-C means copy and Command-V
means paste, but there’s a host of other useful shortcuts that make a Mac
user’s life much easier. I’ve assembled this short collection to illustrate this
truth:

Esc

Never underestimate the power of the Esc key to get you out of trouble.
Say you're taking a screen shot and managed to select part of your screen
for that shot, only to discover it's the wrong part – tap Esc and you won't
need to worry about it. That's basically the principle of Esc. Use it to
cancel a previous command. Another example: Web page won't load and
is sucking up your system resources?

Tap Esc....

Command-W

Closes the active window you are currently in. Use Option-Command-W
to close all currently active app windows.

[ Further reading: 40 tips to get the most from your Mac (and macOS 'High
Sierra') ]

Command-Y

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Roadmap Report. Download now! ]

A lot of people use QuickLook to preview items they're looking for. To use
QuickLook, select an item in Finder, press the Space bar and a preview will
appear. There’s also a keyboard shortcut — select an item (you can even
use the Up and Down arrows to navigate to it in Finder view) and then
press Command-Y.

Command – Comma (,)

This is one of the least-known keyboard commands on a Mac, but it’s

super useful. It works like this: You are working in an app, and you want to
open the application’s Preferences. You can navigate to the Menu bar if
you like and scroll through to access the Preferences. Or you can simply
press Command-, (comma) to get to them in the fastest possible time.

Command-G

I'm sure you use Command-F to find items, such as words in a document
or on a webpage. Command-G is its lesser-known relative. Use it to
navigate through each instance of the item you want to find. This means
that if you use Command-F to find all the mentions of 'Command' on this
page, and then tap Command-G, you'll be able to navigate through each
one. Oh, and you can also press Shift-Command-G to move back to the
previous mention.

Command-M

Press this combination to minimize the front app window to Dock, or

press Command-Option-M to minimize all the windows belonging to the
front app.

Command and Option

If you can’t see your desktop for all the open applications, just hold
Command and Option down and click anywhere on your desktop. You
may just want to get to all the open windows for a specific app, in which
case hold down the same keys and click on any available window for that
app.

Command-Shift-A

Select this combination when in Finder/Desktop view to get to your

Applications folder, or replace the A with U to open your Utilities folder in
a new Finder window (or D for Desktop, H for Home or I to access iCloud
Drive).

Command-Space

The combination that can change your life, Command-Space invokes

Spotlight, just depress these keys and start typing your query. (I guess you
know about Command-tab already?)

Command-L

The fastest way to make a search or navigate to a Website in Safari,

Command-L instantly selects the address bar: start typing your query, and
select the appropriate choice using the up/down arrows on the keyboard.

Command-Tab

Open application switcher, keeping Command pressed, use Tab to

navigate to the app you hope to use.

Command-Option-D

Show or hide the Dock from within most apps.

Fn-left arrow (or right arrow)

Jump directly to the top or bottom of a web page using the Function key
and the right (to the bottom of the page) or left (to the top of the page)
arrows on the keyboard. You can achieve a similar result using Command-
Up or Command-Down. A third way is to use Control-Tab and Control-
Shift-Tab.

Command-left/right arrows

Hit Command and the left arrow to go back a page in the browser
window. Hit Command right to go forward again.

Tab nav

Navigate between multiple tabs using the Command-Shift-] or

Command-Shift-[ characters.

Command-Shift-\

The easiest way to see all your open tabs in one Safari window.

Option-Shift-Volume

Press Option-Shift and volume up/down to increase or decrease the

volume on your Mac in small increments. You can also use Option-Shift to
change display brightness in small amounts. Read even more Option
secrets here.

Fn twice

Press the function (fn) key twice to launch Dictation on your Mac, start
speaking, and press fn once you’ve finished. Here are some other ideas on
controlling your Mac with your voice. NB: macOS Catalina now offers the
far more powerful Voice Control, which lets you manage everything on
your Mac using only your voice. Find out more about this here.

Option-File

In Safari, pressing the Option key while selecting the File menu lets you
access the ‘Close Other Tabs’ command. Try the other Safari menu items
with Option depressed to find other commands you probably weren’t
aware of.

Option-Brightness Up (or down)

Use this command to quickly launch Displays preferences. Or press

Option with the Mission Control or Volume (up/down) buttons to access
preferences for Mission Control and Sounds.

Command – Backtick `

This is one of the least well-known keyboard commands on a Mac, but it’s
super useful. Use this combination to move between open windows in
your currently active app. It's so useful you'll wonder why you hadn't used
it before.

Control - Command - Space

Want to insert emoji or other symbols into what you write? Use Control-
Command-Space to open the Character Viewer where you can select and
use such symbols.

Command-P

Do you open a document before printing it through the File menu? Do

this instead: Select the document in Finder and press Command-P. The
item will open and the Print dialog will appear. You can also tap
Command-P to print the current item when in most any app.

Option + Command + Esc

In the event an application freezes or hangs you may want to try this: Tap
Option-Command-Esc to Force Quit the rogue app. It’s not always a
magic bullet, but sometimes an application restart is all you need to get
your system moving again.

Command + Control + Q

Walking away from your Mac? Tap this shortcut to immediately lock your
machine.

Touch Bar tip No. 1

If you use a MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar, you can press Shift-
Command-6 to grab an image of what is on your Touch Bar. Want to grab
an image to place into the document you're typing in? Just tap Control-
Shift-Command-6 and the picture will be saved to your Clipboard for
pasting it in.

Touch Bar tip No. 2

This MacBook Pro Touch Bar tip is particularly useful if you find that you
often accidentally tap the Siri button: You can change where that button
is located so you're less likely to tap it by accident. Open Keyboard
Preferences and choose Customize Control Strip. Look at the Touch Bar,
and you’ll see the icons are slightly agitated. Move your cursor to the
bottom of your screen and keep moving (as if you're moving it off the
screen); you should see one of the items in your Touch bar highlighted.
Now move your cursor to highlight the Siri button and then drag and drop
that button a space or two to the left.

(This is also an excellent way to become familiar with how you can edit
other items in your Touch Bar.)

Touch Bar tip No. 3

Do you use the function keys regularly in some apps? You can get to
them, of course, by pressing the ‘fn’ character. But it's also possible to set
up the Touch Bar so it always shows the function keys in those apps. To do
this, open Keyboard System Preferences, select Function Keys, and tap +.
You can then select the app(s). Don’t worry if you want to use a regular
Control Strip command when you're using one of the apps — just press Fn
to get back to that view.

Safari tips

There are lots of keyboard tips for the Safari browser:

Command + I: Open new email message with content of a page.

Command + Shift + I: Open new email message containing only the

URL of a page.

Spacebar: To move your window down one screen.

Shift+Spacebar: To move your window up one screen.

Command + Y: Open/close the History window.

Command + Shift + T

This web browser tip can sometimes be a lifesaver. Command + Shift + T

will open your last closed tab, which helps a lot if you are researching
something and close a window without saving the URL.

You can also take a look at Apple’s own extensive collection of keyboard
shortcuts for more great ideas.

Google+? If you use social media and happen to be a Google+ user, why
not join AppleHolic's Kool Aid Corner community and join the
conversation as we pursue the spirit of the New Model Apple?

Got a story? Drop me a line via Twitter or in comments below and let me
know. I'd like it if you chose to follow me on Twitter so I can let you know
when fresh items are published here first on Computerworld.

Related: Mac MacOS Operating Systems Apple OS X Yosemite MacBook Pro

Jonny is a freelance writer who has been writing (mainly about Apple and technology) since 1999.

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