Mac OS X Shorcuts Tutorial

Here are many useful shortcuts that will make your daily work with your Mac OS X much more comfortable and efficient. The keyboard shortcuts, listed here will work in all current Mac OS X versions.

Shortcuts that are only available in certain OS X versions are labeled with the version name. 

- OS X Mavericks

- OS X Yosemite

- OS X El Capitan

- macOS Sierra

Mac keyboard legend shortcut

Button	Designation
	Esc (also: ␛, ⎋, escape )
	Tab (also: ↩, tab stop , tab key )
	Caps-Lock (also: ⇪, Capslock , Caps Lock )
	Shift (also: ⇧, Shift , Shift )
	Ctrl (also: ^, control , control key )
	Alt (also: ⌥, option key , option key , selection key ), alternate
	CMD (also: ⌘, , Command , Apple , Apple , Apple key , Command key , Command key , clover , cloverleaf , propeller , Ctrl )
	Enter (also: ↩, ⌤, Return , Enter , Enter )
	Backspace (also: ←, ␣, backspace , backspace )
	Eject, Power (also: ⏏, ⌽, eject )
/	Mission Control (former Exposé)  (also: Overview , F3 , Exposé )

General shortcuts for Mac OS X

Mac OS shortcut	Action
Alt + CMD + Q	Sign out
Alt + CMD + Eject	hibernation
CMD + Ctrl + Eject	Start anew
Alt + CMD + Ctrl + Eject	shut down
Ctrl + Eject	Dialog window " Restart ", " resting state ", " off "
Ctrl + Shift + Eject	Turn off the monitor / lock Screenlock / Mac
Mac OS shortcut	Action
Alt + CMD + Ctrl + 8	Invert screen on / off
Alt + CMD + D	Hide dock on / off automatically
CMD + Shift + T	adds the marked file to the dock
CMD + Shift + 3	" normal " screenshot, more options
CMD + Tab	switch between active applications
CMD + <	switch between windows of an application
CMD + Q	exit program
Alt + CMD + Esc	Exit program immediately
Alt + CMD + Shift + Esc (hold for several seconds)	Shoot down the program
CMD + W	Close the window
Alt + CMD + W	Close all windows of a program
CMD + M	Minimize active window / drop to the dock
CMD + H	Hide / hide windows
Alt + CMD + H	all windows, except active, hide
CMD + Exposé	hide all windows & show desktop / desktop
CMD + F5	activates / deactivates the speech output
CMD + ,	in most programs settings menu
CMD + F CMD + Alt + Space	Find dialog
CMD + Space	Spotlight search
CMD + Space (keep moving)	Siri
CMD + Backspace	Move file / folder to trash
CMD + Shift + Backspace	Empty trash
Alt + Shift + CMD + Backspace	Recycle Bin without dialog box / clear confirmation
Alt + Shift + Lauter/Leiser	finer volume setting
Alt + Shift + Heller/Dunkler	finer brightness setting
Ctrl + F7	activates tab control in dialog boxes
Ctrl + CMD + F	Program in full screen / fullscreen represent OS X Lion
Mark word and  Ctrl + CMD + D	Dictionary, word look up OS X Lion
F3	Mission Control OS X Lion
Ctrl + Pfeiltaste links / rechts	Spaces switch OS X Lion
Ctrl + F3 danach Tab	switch between programs OS X Lion
Alt + Change window size with mouse	Adjust the window size on both sides OS X Lion
Alt + Shift + Change window size with mouse	Scales a window & gets OS X Lion aspect ratio
CMD + Change window size with mouse	Size v. inactive windows customize OS X Lion
CMD + move inactive windows	inactive windows move OS X Lion
Move the mouse up / down the left / right edge of the window	Move margins on the sidebar OS X Lion

Basic Shortcuts for Mac OS X

Mac OS shortcut	Action
CMD + P	To press
CMD + O	open dialog box
CMD + A	select all
CMD + C	Copy
CMD + V	Insert
Alt + CMD + V	Insert & delete the source file (Cut) OS X Lion
CMD + S	Save / Save
CMD + Shift + S	Save As / Save As
CMD + Z	Back
CMD + E	Eject volume
Fn + Backspace	Remove (Enf key)
Ctrl + Mausklick Can be used in system settings are changed	right-click

Finder Shortcuts for Mac OS X

Mac OS shortcut	Action
Enter	Rename marked file  can be undone with CMD + Z
Alt + CMD + T	Show / Hide Finder Toolbar
CMD + N	opens the Finder / new Finder window / new document
CMD + Pfeiltaste hoch	Close folder / back
CMD + Pfeiltaste runter CMD + O	Open file / folder
CMD + D	Duplicate file / folder
CMD + Shift + N CMD + Shift + R	creates a new folder
CMD + I	Show file / folder information
Alt + CMD + I	Information about the selected file
Alt while moving	creates a copy of the file
CMD + Alt while moving	creates an alias at the destination
CMD + L	creates an alias in the same place
CMD + R	displays the source file of the alias
CMD + click on the program icon in the dock	displays the folder where the program is located
CMD + K	connect to server
CMD + 1	Icon view
CMD + 2	List View
CMD + 3	Column view
CMD + 4	Cover flow view
CMD + Y	Quick look
CMD + Alt + Y	Quicklook full screen view
CMD + J	Desk presentation options

Mac OS X quick access

Mac OS shortcut	Action
CMD + Shift + G	"Go to Folder" dialog
CMD + Shift + R	Open AirDrop folder
CMD + Shift + H	Open user directory
CMD + Shift + C	Open the computer directory
CMD + Shift + O	Open the document folder
CMD + Shift + U	Open the utility folder
CMD + Shift + K	Open network folder
CMD + Shift + A	Open the program folder
CMD + Shift + D	Open a desk folder
CMD + Shift + G	opens a dialog box
CMD + Shift + L	Open the Library folder
CMD + Alt + L	Open the Downloads folder
Alt + F1	opens System Settings -> Monitors
Alt + F3	opens System Settings -> Exposé & Spaces
Alt + F10	opens System Settings -> Sound

Startup Shortcuts for Mac OS X

The following shortcuts must be executed during system startup.

Mac OS shortcut	Action
C	starts from CD / DVD
Alt	Startup Manager (selection start volume)
mouse button	throws the CD out
Shift	starts Mac OS in "safe mode",  disables startup items & unimportant  kernel extension files
V	starts Mac OS in " verbose mode "
CMD + R	starts Mac OS in " Recovery Mode "
T	starts in " Target Disk Mode "
D	Apple hardware test
CMD + Alt + P + R	NVRAM reset

Word processing shortcuts for Mac OS X

Mac OS shortcut	Action
CMD + Alt + T	opens a window for inserting special characters
CMD + Pfeiltaste rechts	to the end of the line
CMD + Pfeiltaste links	to the beginning of the line
CMD + Pfeiltaste hoch	to the beginning of the document
CMD + Pfeiltaste runter	to the end of the document
Alt + Pfeiltaste rechts	a word forward
Alt + Pfeiltaste links	a word backwards
Alt + Pfeiltaste hoch	a paragraph back
Alt + Pfeiltaste runter	a paragraph before
Alt + CMD + Shift + V	Insert text & customize text style
CMD + X	(Text) Cut
long press of a letter  (eg A)	shows possible letter accents OS X Lion
fn (twice)	launches the dictation function OS X Mountain Lion
CMD + Ctrl + Space	Opens the special character palette

iTunes (Mac OS) Shortcuts

iTunes shortcut	Action
Leertaste	pause
Pfeiltaste rechts	play next title
Pfeiltaste links	play previous title
CMD + I	opens the song information for the selected title
CMD + N	with open song information;  displays information about the next track
CMD + P	with open song information;  displays information about the previous track
CMD + L	back to the current song
CMD + Shift + N	creates a playlist from the selected songs
CMD + T	shows visual effects
CMD + Alt + 2	opens the equalizer
Alt + Enter	Add the selected song to "Up next"

iWork (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) Shortcuts

iWork shortcut	Action
CMD + B	Display text in bold
CMD + I	Text in italics
CMD + U	Show text underlined

Preview / Preview Shortcuts

Preview / Preview Shortcut	Action
CMD + L	Turn document to the left
CMD + R	Turn document to the right
CMD + +	Enlarge
CMD + -	decrease
CMD + 0	original size
CMD + Shift + A	Shows / hides the annotation tools
CMD + D	Bookmark
` Shift + ´	activates a magnifying glass OS X Lion
+ (with magnifying glass activated)	enlarges the magnifying glass OS X Lion
- (with magnifying glass activated)	Shrinks the magnifying glass OS X Lion

Safari Shortcuts

Safari Shortcut	Action
CMD + Shift + N	New private window
CMD + T	open a new tab

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