Supercharge your productivity by touching the mouse as infrequently as possible by memorizing Mac keyboard shortcuts. When your hands are firmly positioned on the keyboard, it can increase your accuracy and speed.
Learn the following keyboard shortcuts and become a Mac power user.
Finder Shortcuts
Finder is a Mac workhorse, and several helpful shortcuts help you finish tasks.
- You can choose a file and press the Spacebar to preview. On doing this, you don’t have to wait while a heavy application loads. So you can know whether you have the correct file.
- Press Enter to rename a chosen file, and then press Enter to save the changes.
- Use the up and down arrows to navigate Finder. If you wish to go through folders, press the Command + up/down arrow.
- Open additional Finder windows by pressing Command + N and create a new folder inside the one that’s open by pressing Command + Shift + N.
On the top of the screen, you will find the cheat sheet in Finder. Click on a menu on the navigation bar and look to the right of each item. You will see the shortcut for the specific action. You can add it to your sticky note to remember.
Screen Capture Shortcuts
Do you use a lot of screenshots? If so, Mac comes with a Screenshot application, which you can find using Spotlight search. However, this is time-consuming, and you can speed up taking screenshots by learning some handy shortcuts.
You can capture your MacBook’s screen by pressing Command + Shift + 3. The screenshot will be saved as an image on the desktop unless you have chosen a different place to save the file. If you wish to send your screenshot to the clipboard, add Control to this shortcut.
Do you want to screenshot a specific area of the screen? Press Command + Shift + 4, and the cursor will transform into a crosshair. You can use this crosshair to choose the area you wish to save. As you release your click, you will hear the shutter button sound, and the screenshot will be saved to the desktop.
Universal Keyboard Shortcuts
- Open Spotlight without the hassle by pressing Command + Spacebar. It will help you to search for things online and locally. You can even use Spotlight to define words, launch apps, do unit conversions and math, find folders and files, check the weather, etc.
- You can toggle between the app you currently use and the last one you switched from by pressing Command + Tab. If you want to select any other running application, you can hit the same shortcut again and while holding Command, use the left and right arrows to go forward and backward.
- Toggle between app windows by pressing Command + ` (grave accent), and this will help improve your experience when you have 12 PDFs open in Preview and five browser sessions going at once.
- If you want to hide the application you are currently using, you can press Command + H. It will quickly clear your workspace of applications and only have those apps running in the background that you need. You can hit Command + Tab to open the hidden application again.
- Do you want to focus on a single task? If so, Command + Option + H is the shortcut for you. The shortcut hides everything, but the application you are currently working with includes all the programs open on secondary monitors. However, this shortcut does work with Google Chrome, but not if the tab is a Google Doc document.
- Close a window without quitting an application by pressing Command + W. the shortcut is helpful if you wish to close many windows at once without moving your mouse around the screen like a crazy person. You can combine this shortcut with the Command + ` shortcut to help close the windows selectively and leave others open in the same application in rapid succession. There’s a caveat with this shortcut too. Google Chrome may complicate things when you are pressing Command + W. Instead of closing windows, it will only close the tabs you are currently working on.
- Move between spaces or desktops by pressing Control + left or right arrows. If you are working with multiple monitors, it will help to change desktops on the screen that you are currently using.
- Want to create a new folder or other items? Press Command + N to quickly create a new item. The item will depend on the application you are currently using. In Finder and Chrome, it will create new windows; if you are using Stickies, a new note will pop up. You can also use this shortcut to create a new folder on the desktop.
Final Thoughts
Learn these keyboard shortcuts to get the most out of your Mac. These shortcuts will prevent you from moving your mouse cursor like a maniac and boost productivity.
