Basic modifier keys in keyboards for MacOS

The appearance and location of buttons in keyboards for MacOS depends on the manufacturer, but they always contain standard modifier keys:

  • Command (Cmd or ⌘ icon)
  • Option (Opt or ⌥ icon)
  • Shift
  • Control (Ctrl)
  • Fn

The Cmd and Opt keys are proprietary solutions and are used exclusively to implement the capabilities of Apple operating systems. The rest of the modifiers are standard for Mac and Windows. But they all allow you to create effective shortcuts that will be useful for both office workers and system administrators.

It's worth noting that many manufacturers offer keyboards that are compatible with MacOS and Windows. They have a universal layout and the ability to select the OS used.

Useful keyboard shortcuts for working with the system

Using a PC starts with the operating system, so MacOS provides a good set of features for quick access to certain settings and utility utilities. Such combinations will be especially useful for IT specialists. Let's look at the most useful ones:

Keyboard shortcut Action to be performed
Shift + Command + C opening the Computer window
Shift + Command + D opening desktop folder
Shift + Command + F opening the Recent Files window
Shift + Command + G opening the “Go to Folder” window
Shift + Command + I opening the iCloud Drive folder
Shift + Command + K opening the Network window
Shift + Command + O opening the Documents folder
Shift + Command + R opening the AirDrop window
Shift + Command + U opening the Utilities folder
Command+Delete moving the selected item to the trash
Shift + Command + Delete emptying the trash can with confirmation
Option + Shift + Command + Delete emptying the trash without asking for confirmation
Control + Command + F switching the program to full screen mode
Shift + Command + question mark (?) opening the Help menu
Option + Command + L opening the Downloads folder
Option + Command + D show or hide the Dock
Option + Command + N creating a new dynamic folder
Option + Command + M minimizes all active program windows
Option + Command + W closing all program windows
Option + Command + Esc force application shutdown
Option + Command + Power button putting your Mac to sleep
Control + Shift + Power button putting displays to sleep
Control + power button mode selection (reboot, sleep, shutdown)
Control + Command + Power button forced restart of the computer without prompting to save documents
Control + Option + Command + Power button closing all applications and turning off the computer with a request to save documents
Shift + Command + Q Logout from user account with confirmation
Option + Shift + Command + Q Logging out of a user account without confirmation
Control + Command + Q immediate screen lock
Command+Tab switch to the next open application
Command+W closing the active window
Command+M minimize the active window to the Dock
Command+H hiding the active application window
Command+Y quick view of favorite files
Command+E ejecting the selected disk or drive
Command+D duplicating favorite files
Command + Shift + 3 taking a screenshot of the entire screen
Command + Shift + 4 taking a screenshot of part of the screen
Command + Shift + 4-Space taking a snapshot of a specific window or menu
Shift + Command + 5 opening the screenshot and video program

Shortcuts to make it easier to search in Spotlight

Spotlight is the main search tool not only in MacOS, but also in other Apple software solutions. Using the system, you can find public and hidden system files, folders, documents, etc. on your computer. For effective use of Spotlight, not only hotkeys are provided, but also regular quick control buttons:

Key or combination Action to be performed
Command + space open or close the Spotlight window
Command + Down Arrow go to first result in next category
Command + Up Arrow go to first result in previous category
Command+R view the file in an app or Finder
Option + Command + Space open a Finder window with the search field selected
Return key open result
Arrow to down move to next result
Up arrow go to previous result
Space open results view in quick view
Tab key switch between search field and search results
Command show search result path

Finder combinations

Finder (similar to Explorer in Windows) is a file manager in MacOS. It displays the contents of drives/folders and makes it easier for the user to interact with the PC. The ability to quickly work in Finder will be useful to any specialist and home user, and for this you need to remember the following combinations:

Keyboard shortcut Action to be performed
Command+N opening a new Finder window
Command+1 view items as icons
Command+2 view items as a list
Command+3 view items as columns
Command + 4 view items as a gallery
Command+P printing a document or file
Command + [ go to previous folder
Command + ] move to next folder
Command + Down Arrow opening the selected item
Control + Shift + Command + T adding the selected Finder item to the Dock
Shift + Command + P show or hide the preview area
Shift + Command + T show or hide the tab bar
Shift + Command + N creating a new folder
Command+F start a Spotlight search in the Finder window
Option + Command + P show or hide the path bar
Option + Command + S show or hide the sidebar
Command+C copying a selected file or folder
Command+X moving (cutting) the selected file or folder
Command+V inserting a copied (cut) file or folder
Command + Z undoing a previous command or action
Command+A selecting all elements in the window

Hotkeys for office applications

Processing documents and spreadsheets can be time consuming. Office workers, civil servants, copywriters and accountants, as well as schoolchildren and students know this firsthand. Hotkeys that are relevant for most office applications in MacOS will help increase efficiency when working with text and numeric data, as well as the speed of formatting and editing:

Keyboard shortcut Action to be performed
Command+C copy selected text
Command+X moving (cutting) selected text
Command+V inserting copied (cut) text
Command + Z undoing a previous command or action
Command+A highlighting all content in a document
Command+F search for the desired element in the document or open a search box
Command+G re-search for a previously found element
Command+B Apply bold to selected text
Command+I apply italics to selected text
Command+U Apply underline to selected text
Command+T Show or hide the Fonts window
Command+K adding a web link
Shift + Command + colon (:) Opening the Spelling and Grammar window
Command + semicolon (;) searching for misspelled words in a document
Option + Delete removing a word to the left of the insertion point
Option + up arrow scroll up one page
Option + down arrow scroll down one page
Command + Up Arrow moving the insertion point to the beginning of the document
Command + Down Arrow moving the insertion point to the end of the document
Command + Left Arrow moving the insertion point to the beginning of the current line
Command + Right Arrow moving the insertion point to the end of the current line
Control + O inserting a new line behind the cursor
Command + { left alignment
Command + } right alignment
Shift + Command + | center alignment
Option + Command + F go to search field
Option + Command + T show or hide the toolbar
Option + Command + C copying formatting parameters (style) of the selected object to the clipboard
Option + Command + V Applying the copied style to the selected object
Option + Command + I Show or hide the Inspector window
Shift + Command + P displaying a window for selecting document settings (page setup)
Shift + Command + S calling the "Save As" dialog box
Shift + Command + minus (-) reducing the size of the selected object
Shift + Command + plus (+) increasing the size of the selected object

Hotkeys for Safari and Chrome

Hotkey for Safari and Chrome browsers makes it easier to navigate through pages and bookmarks, add them to favorites, open functional windows, change program settings and parameters for displaying information in the window.

Popular combinations for Safari:

Keyboard shortcut Action to be performed
Shift + Command + H go to home page
Command + comma (,) change Safari settings
Command + [ return to previous web page
Command + ] go to next web page
Command+F search on the current web page
Command+L select smart search field
Command+P print current web page
Command+C copy selected object
Shift + Command + \ show tab overview
Command-click a link

Command-click a bookmark		 open web page in new tab
Control + Tab go to next tab
Control + Shift + Tab go to previous tab
Command+W close active tab
Shift + Command + T reopen the last closed tab
Command + 1 – 9 select one of the first nine tabs
Command + plus (+) or Command + minus (-) change the scale of the entire page
Option-click and choose View > Make Text Bigger or View > Make Text Smaller change text scale
Option-click a link download file from link
Control + Command + 1 show or hide bookmarks side menu
Popular keyboards for macOS

Popular combinations for Chrome:

Keyboard shortcut Action to be performed
Command + T or Command + N open new tab
Option + Command + N open a new window
Shift + Command + N open a new incognito tab
Command+W close tab
Shift + Command + W close all tabs on the tabs page
Shift + Command + \ go to tabs page
Shift + Command + T open last closed tab
Command+Y show history
Command+L highlight address
Command + comma (,) show settings
Option + Command + B show bookmarks
Shift + Command + J or Option + Command + L show downloaded files
Option + Command + R show reading list
Command+D add page to bookmarks
Command+F find on the page
Command+R refresh the page
Command + period (.) stop downloading
Shift + Command + period (.) use voice search

The procedure for changing and adding shortcuts in MacOS

The MacOS operating system is quite flexible in terms of keyboard shortcut settings. Therefore, users can not only change the existing configuration for the entire system or individual programs, but also add their own combinations for frequently used actions.

How to replace a hotkey in MacOS:

  • On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard in the sidebar, then click Keyboard Shortcuts on the right.
  • Select a category or program from the list on the left.
  • In the list on the right, check the checkbox for the hotkey that you want to change.
  • Double-click your current key combination and enter a new one.
  • Restart your open programs for the new keyboard shortcuts to take effect.

How to add new combinations in MacOS:

  • On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard in the sidebar, then click Keyboard Shortcuts on the right.
  • Select "Application Keyboard Shortcuts" on the left, click the "Add" button, and select a specific program or "All Programs" from the pop-up menu. (If the application is not listed, select Other and use the Open dialog box to find the application. Some programs may not allow you to set keyboard shortcuts.)
  • In the Menu Name field, enter the command for which you are creating a keyboard shortcut, exactly as it appears in the program. (For example, to enter a keyboard shortcut for the command (File > Export to PDF...), you must enter "File->Export to PDF..." in the field.
  • Click the Keyboard Shortcut box, click the desired key combination you want to use as a keyboard shortcut, and then click Done.