Keyboard Shortcuts

By using some simple keyboard shortcuts you can learn how to work much faster. For instance, if you are writing a text and have to do something with the mouse – perhaps there is a keyboard command that can perform the same thing? Using that keyboard command, your hands don’t have to leave the keyboard. In the long run, this will save you a lot of time.

The Keys

Below is a list of the most important keys on your Mac’s keyboard. They may vary a little depending on which Mac you have.

The top 5

The best keyboard commands of Mac OS X:

1. Application switching

If you press command-tab, a window containing all open application will appear. Keep command pressed down and press the tab key repeatedly to browse between the applications and when the right one is selected, release the keys and the application will appear in front of the others. Timesaving!

2. Quitting applications

To close an application simply press command-q and the application will quit immediately. Much faster than using the mouse.

3. Closing windows

If you wish to close your current window, press command-w. Please notice that this will not cause the whole application to quit, just the active window. Most applications can be open without having an open window, like Safari for instance. To close the whole application, press command-q.

4. Minimizing windows

Command-m causes the active window to minimize itself into the right of the dock. This is a smart way to hide a window without closing it.

5. Hide an application

Use command-h to hide the current application and all of it’s windows. The application will appear to be totally gone, but when you click it again in the dock, all of the previously hidden windows will appear just the way you left them before you pressed command-h.

Other smart keyboard shortcuts

Print something. If you wish to print something, press command-p and the active window, if printable, will print (it will ask you about settings first though).

Save

Most applications where you edit something (e.g. Word, Pages, Photoshop) use the command-s shortcut in order to save.

Open

To open a document, image or something else, most applications use the command-o.

Copy

In most applications, you can copy an item by using command-c.

Paste

If you wish to paste a copied object, just press command-v.

Take a screenshot

If you wish to take a screenshot, just press command-shift-3. If you wish to take a screenshot of a selection, use command-shift-4.

On your Mac there is a helpful application called “Grab” (other name in other languages) that will help you take screenshots.