List of Keyboard Shortcuts for macOS

Finder

Action	Keystroke
Open the Sidebar item in a new Tab or Window (depending on Finder Preferences)	Cmd-Click
Switch Finder views (Icon, List, Column, Gallery)	Cmd-1, Cmd-2, Cmd-3, Cmd-4
In List view, expand a folder	Right Arrow
In List view, collapse a folder	Left Arrow
Rename the selected file/folder	Press Return (or Enter)
Go into the selected folder or open the selected file	Cmd-Down Arrow
Go to the parent folder	Cmd-Up Arrow
Go Back	Cmd-[
Go Forward	Cmd-]
Select the next icon in Icon and List views	Tab (Shift-Tab reverses direction)
Alternate columns in Column View	Tab (Shift-Tab reverses direction)
Resize one column to fit the longest file name (Column View)	Double-click the column divider (or the resize widget at the bottom of the column divider, depending on your setup)
Resize all columns to fit their longest file names (Column View)	Option Double-Click column divider (or the resize widget at the bottom of the column divider, depending on your setup)
Copy and paste files	Cmd-C, then Cmd-V
Copy and Paste files Exactly (Keeps original ownership & permissions. Requires Admin username & password.)	Cmd-C, then Cmd-Option-Shift-V
Cut and Paste files (Move files)	Cmd-C, then Cmd-Option–V
Copy a File’s Pathname	Cmd-Opt–C
Move a file instead of copying (Copies to the destination and removes it from the original disk.)	Cmd-Drag file to disk
Immediately Delete a File (does not put the file in Trash)	Cmd-Opt–Delete
Move selected files to the Trash (called the Recycle Bin in Windows)	Cmd-Delete
Empty the Trash with a warning (like emptying Recycle Bin in Windows)	Cmd-Shift-Delete
Empty the Trash with no warning (like emptying Recycle Bin in Windows)	Cmd-Opt-Shift-Delete
Cancel a drag-n-drop action while dragging	Esc
Show Inspector (a single, live refreshing Info window)	Cmd-Opt-I
Undo the last action (such as rename file, copy file, etc.)	Cmd-Z
Toggle Hidden Files (Show Hidden Files or Hide Them). Also works in Open/Save dialogs!	Cmd-Shift-Period(.) Maybe a comma (,) instead of a period for some languages.
Hide/Show Sidebar (on the left)	Cmd-Opt-S
Hide/Show Toolbar (on the top) and the Sidebar	Cmd-Opt-T
Move or Remove an item in the toolbar (at the top of the window). Works in most programs.	Cmd-Drag
Open Quick Look (Previews most types of files without having to open them)	Press the Spacebar (or Cmd-Y). On a trackpad can also tap with 3 fingers.
Zoom In/Out in Quick Look (Images & PDFs)	Pinch on a trackpad or hold Cmd and hit + (plus) to zoom in or – (minus) to zoom out. Cmd–0 zooms back to fit in the window.
Find Files	Cmd-F

App Switcher

Action	Keystroke
Quickly switch between 2 apps (like Safari & Finder)	Press Cmd-Tab to switch to the last used app. Press Cmd-Tab again to switch back.
Switch between apps	Press Cmd-Tab & continue holding Cmd. While holding Cmd, to choose which app you want to switch to:

Press Tab (multiple times as needed) to scroll right
press Tilde(~) or Shift-Tab to scroll left
Press Left/Right Arrow keys
aim with the mouse
Press the End/Home key to go to the first/last app

Quit an app in the app switcherIn the app switcher, you’re already holding Cmd, so hit Q to quit the selected app.Hide an app in the app switcherIn the app switcher, you’re already holding Cmd, so hit H to hide the selected app.Cancel the app switcherIn the app switcher, you’re already holding Cmd, so hit Esc or period(.)

Managing Windows & Dialogs

Action	Keystroke
Switch to the next window	Cmd-Tilde(~)
Switch to the previous window	Cmd-Shift-Tilde(~)
See where the File/Folder is located (a menu will pop up displaying the folder hierarchy). Works in most programs, including the Finder.	Cmd-Click on the name of the window (in the title bar)
Move a window in the background without switching to it.	Cmd-Drag on the window’s title bar
Choose “Don’t Save” in a Dialog	Cmd-D in some apps, but other apps use Cmd-Delete (Cmd-D will change the location to the Desktop)

Dock

Action	Keystroke
Hide all other apps (except the one you’re clicking on)	Command-Option click an app’s icon in the Dock
Hide the app you’re leaving	Option-click another app’s icon in the Dock
Reveal a Dock item’s location in the Finder	Command-click on the icon in the Dock
Force a file to open in a specific app	While dragging the file onto an app’s icon in the Dock, hold Command-Option
In an App’s Dock menu change the Quit to Force Quit (Click & hold on an App in the Dock to show the menu)	Hold Option while in Dock menu
Move Dock to left, bottom, and right side of the screen	Hold Shift and drag Dock divider
Change the icon size of a stack (must be the grid view)	Cmd-plus(+) or Cmd-minus(–)
Temporarily turn magnification on/off	Hold Control-Shift
Force the Dock to only resize to non-interpolated icon sizes	Hold Option while dragging Dock separator

Working with Text

Only work in some apps (Safari, Mail, TextEdit, etc.)

Action	Keystroke
Go to the end of the line	Cmd-right arrow
Go to the beginning of the line	Cmd-left arrow
Go to the end of all the text	Cmd-down arrow
Go to the beginning of all the text	Cmd-up arrow
Go to end of current or next word	Option-right arrow
Go to the beginning of the current or previous word	Option-left arrow
Add Shift to the above keystrokes to make a selection to that point.
On Laptops: Delete Text to the right of the cursor (like the Del key on a full keyboard)	Function(fn)-Delete
Non-touching (Discontinuous) text selections	Command-drag
Select non-linear areas	Option-drag
Delete the entire word to the left	Opt-Delete
Paste and Match Style (so it looks the same as the text you are pasting into)	Cmd–Opt-Shift–V
Look up the word in the dictionary	Mouse over a word and hit Cmd-Ctrl-D (Or on a trackpad use 3 fingers to tap on a word)
Display Emoji pop-up	Command-Control-Space will open the Special Character panel. On the left, you can select Emoji or other Symbols.
Display Special/Alternate Characters	Hold any key. Example: Holding the “A” key will display à á â etc. You can press the corresponding number under the character you want to type to choose it (or arrow over to it).
Auto-completion word	Start typing the word. Press Option–Esc (or F5) to open the suggested word list
Switch to Outline Mode in TextEdit	Press Option-Tab to convert the current line into a list item Press Return to create another list item Press Tab at the start of a blank list item to indent it, creating a sublist Press Shift-Tab to remove a level of indention Press Return twice to decrease the indent, exiting the current sublist/list

Screenshots

(Saved to the Desktop as a PNG file)

Action	Keystroke
Take a screenshot or screen recording (new in Mojave)	Cmd-Shift-5
Take a screenshot of the entire screen	Cmd-Shift-3
Take a screenshot of a selected area	Cmd-Shift-4 and Drag over an area. While dragging:

Hold Spacebar to move the selected area.
Hold Shift to change size in one direction only (horizontal or vertical)
Hold Option for center-based resizing.

Take a screenshot of a specific window/objectCmd-Shift-4, then press Spacebar, then click on the window/object.
TIP: Hold the Option while you click to remove the drop shadow.Take a screenshot of the touch barCmd-Shift-6Hold Control with any of the above keystrokes to copy the screenshot to the clipboard instead of making a file.

Spotlight

Action	Keystroke
Show Spotlight Search	Cmd-Space
Open Spotlight Finder Search Window	Cmd-Option-Space
Launch Top Hit (in the Menu)	Return
Reveal selected item in Finder	In Spotlight Search: Press Cmd-Return In Finder Window: Press Cmd-R
Skip to the first result in a category	Cmd Up/Down Arrow
Look up the definition of a word	Type the word in Spotlight’s search field and hit Cmd–L to look it up.
Do a web search	Type something into Spotlight and hit Cmd–B to open it as a search in your web browser.
Clear Spotlight Search	Esc clears to do another search. Esc a second time closes Spotlight.

Mission Control

Action	Keystroke
Enter Mission Control	Ctrl-Up Arrow
Move to a neighboring space or full-screen app	Ctrl-Left or Right Arrow
View Windows in the Current App	Ctrl-Down Arrow
Show Desktop	F11 (may need to hold the fn button on some keyboards)

Startup, Restart, Shutdown & Sleep

Action	Keystroke
Eject CD on boot	Hold the Mouse button down immediately after powering on
Safe boot	Hold Shift during startup
Start up in Recovery mode	Hold Cmd-R during startup
Start up in Target Disk mode	Hold T during startup
Startup from a CD, DVD	Hold C during startup
Bypass the primary startup volume and seek a different startup volume (CD, etc.)	Hold Cmd-Opt-Shift-Delete during startup
Choose Startup disk before booting	Hold Option during startup
Start up in Verbose mode	Hold Cmd-V during startup
Start up in Single-User mode (command line)	Hold Cmd-S during startup
Shutdown immediately (no confirmation)	Hold Cmd-Opt-Ctrl and press the Eject key or Power button
Restart immediately (no confirmation)	Cmd-Ctrl-Eject
Forced Restart (only do this when needed)	Cmd-Ctrl-Power button
Sleep immediately (no confirmation)	Press the Power button (or hit Cmd-Opt-Eject)
Show Dialog with Restart, Sleep & Shutdown Options	Hold Ctrl and press the Eject key or Power button (or hold the Power button for a few seconds and the dialog will appear)
Put display to sleep	Hold Ctrl-Shift and press the Eject key or Power button

Safari

Action	Keystroke
Highlight URL/Search Field (at top of the window)	Cmd–L
Switch to Next Tab	Ctrl-Tab (or Cmd-Shift-Right Arrow)
Switch to the Previous Tab	Ctrl-Shift-Tab (or Cmd-Shift-Left Arrow)
Switch tabs: jump directly to the first tab, second tab, etc. (If you change the preference, this will go to one of the first 9 bookmarks in the Bookmarks Bar.)	Cmd-1 through Cmd-9
Move between found items	Cmd-F, enter your search text, and Press: Return to Move Forward Shift-Return to Move Backward
Cancel current Find	Press Escape or Cmd-Period(.)
Scroll by one full screen	Scroll Down: Spacebar or Option–Down Arrow Scroll Up: Shift–Spacebar or Option-Up Arrow
Open Link in New Tab (in the background)	Cmd-Click a link
Open Link in New Tab (in the foreground)	Cmd–Shift-Click a link
Open Link in New Window	Cmd–Opt–Shift-Click a link
Add to Reading List	Shift-Click a link

Apple Mail

Action	Keystroke
Send Message	Cmd–Shift–D (remember as D = Deliver)
Reply to Message	Cmd–R or Opt–Double Click Message
Reply All	Cmd–Shift–R
Go to Inbox	Cmd–1
Go to other mailboxes in your favorites bar	Cmd–2, 3, etc.
Prevent the next message from being automatically selected & marked as read	Opt–Delete
Search the current message	Cmd–F
Search all messages	Cmd–Opt–F
Compose a new email	Cmd–N

Preview

Action	Keystroke
Zoom In or Out	Cmd-Plus(+) or Cmd-Minus(-)
Zoom to Actual Size	Cmd-0
Zoom to Fit	Cmd-9

Miscellaneous

Action	Keystroke
Force Quit (displayed list of apps)	Cmd-Opt-Esc
Scroll using a Trackpad (like a mouse’s scroll wheel)	Slide 2 fingers on the trackpad
Right-click using a Trackpad (like on a 2 button mouse)	Place 2 fingers on the trackpad and Click
Hide the current app	Cmd-H
Hide all other apps (other than the current app)	Cmd-Option-H
Adjust the font size in the Messages app	Cmd-Plus(+) or Cmd-Minus(-)
Quickly find any menu item and launch it.	Press Cmd-Shift-/ (which is Cmd-? on the keyboard) In the Help menu Search that opens, start typing a few letters of your desired menu command. Arrow key down to the item you want and press Return to choose it.
If an app re-opens with the windows that were open when you last quit it, you can tell it not to re-open the windows.	Hold Shift while launching an app
Turn off notifications (turn on Do Not Disturb)	Option-click the Notification Center icon in the menu bar to toggle notifications off/on
Change system volume in smaller increments	Hold Opt–Shift while changing volume
Change system volume with confirmation beeps	Hold Shift while changing volume (before Yosemite this would disable the beeps)
Turn display mirroring on/off (when connected to an additional display)	Command–Brightness Down (F1)
Completely smooth scrolling, one pixel at a time (does not work in all apps)	Hold Option while dragging the scrollbar
Open the “Sound” panel of System Preferences	Press Option and a Sound key (Mute, Volume Up or Down)
Open the “Displays” panel of System Preferences	Press Option and a Brightness key
Customize the toolbar at the top of a window. Works in the Finder, Apple Mail, Preview, etc. but not some apps, like Firefox.	Cmd drag icons to rearrange. Cmd drag icon off toolbar to remove. Ctrl-click the toolbar and choose to Customize for more options.
Move the Terminal cursor with the mouse	Option-click where you’d like the cursor
Change Terminal Directory to a specific folder (cd into the folder)	Cmd-Drag a folder onto the Terminal Window

Emacs Key Bindings