38 Advanced Keyboard Shortcuts to Improve Mac Efficiency

Want to improve typing efficiency? Minimize the frequency of mouse usage! Keeping hands placed correctly on the keyboard improves speed and accuracy, resulting in significant productivity gains.

If you do word processing on macOS, these 38 keyboard shortcuts will help you get rid of the constraints of your mouse or trackpad and become a Mac superuser.

You may already be familiar with some of these shortcuts, but it is a good idea to write unfamiliar shortcuts on post-its as memos. You can use paper post-it notes to place near the workspace, or use Apple's Stickies app to create digital post-it notes and always keep them on your desktop.

General shortcut keys

Cmd Spacebar

Open Spotlight for local and online searches. You can use it to start applications, define words, perform math and unit conversions, view weather, find files and folders in your device, and more.

[Related: 23 practical features hidden in Mac settings]

Cmd Tab left and right arrows

You may already know this shortcut: Press Cmd Tab to switch between the currently used application and the last switched application. Press again (and multiple times if needed) to select any other running apps, starting with the recently opened app. However, if you miss the application you want, you don't have to loop through all the open applications. Simply hold down the Cmd key, release the Tab key, and use the left and right arrows keys to move forward or backward as needed.

Cmd `

This character is called an accent, and unless you write in a language that often uses it (such as Italian), you may not know that it is located above the Tab key. Combining this with Cmd, it can be switched between application windows, which is useful if you run three browser sessions and 12 PDF files that open in preview at the same time.

Cmd H

Hide the currently used application. This is useful for quickly clearing the workspace of applications that only need to run in the background, such as Spotify. To reopen the hidden application, press Cmd Tab.

Cmd Opt H

If you want to focus on a single task for a period of time, this shortcut will hide everything except the current application, including any programs that are open on the secondary display. However, there is one thing to note about this shortcut – it usually works for Google Chrome, but not for cases where the current tab is Google Docs.

Cmd W

allows you to close the window without quitting the application. This is very useful if you want to close many windows at once and don't want to move your mouse around the screen like a madman. Using this shortcut with Cmd ` can help you selectively close certain windows quickly and continuously while keeping the open state of other windows in the same application. Like the previous shortcuts, Google Chrome complicates things when pressing Cmd W, which closes the tab you are currently using instead of closing the window.

Ctrl left and right arrows

Move between desktops or spaces. If you use multiple monitors, it will only change the desktop on the screen you are currently using.

Cmd N

allows you to create new projects, the project type depends on the application you are currently using. In Chrome and Finder, it will create a new window and in Stickies, a new note will pop up.

[Related: Four hidden Mac tweaks to speed up your computer]

• Pro Tips: Finder always runs in the background, which means that when you press Cmd Tab, it always appears in the carousel. However, if the window is not opened, you can select Finder and use Cmd N to open a window.

Finder shortcut keys

Speaking of Finder, this Mac main program has some particularly useful shortcuts.

Select a file and press Space bar for preview – this will prevent you from having to wait for the heavy application to load to know if you have the correct file.

You can also rename the selected file in the Finder window by pressing Enter key. Don't forget to press Enter key again to save the changes.

Finder's navigation is simple and intuitive - just use the up and down arrows keys to browse files. However, if you want to browse the folder, the Cmd up arrow will get you into the closed folder, while the Cmd down arrow will get you into the selected folder.

As mentioned before, Cmd N opens other Finder windows, but Cmd Shift N creates a new folder in the currently opened folder.

Lastly, the best cheat sheet is always on the top of the screen. On the navigation bar, click Menu and then view each item to the right to see the shortcut keys for that particular action. If you often do something with these options, it's best to learn shortcuts or add them to your post-it memo.

Browser shortcut keys

You can browse the internet on your Mac without using a mouse. These shortcuts work in Safari and Google Chrome.

Up/Down Arrow

Scroll the page up or down.

Cmd left and right arrows

Move forward or backward in the browsing history of this tab. However, this feature will be disabled when your current tab is Google Docs.

Cmd Up/Down Arrow

Go to the top or bottom of the page.

Ctrl Tab / Ctrl Shift Tab

The first key combination will cycle through the tab page on the right, and the second key combination will cycle through the tab page on the left. This also applies if you are a Google Chrome user, but the browser also offers an alternative that you may find easier to browse your tabs: Opt Cmd left and right arrows .

[Related: Five Advanced Safari Tips to Improve Your Browsing Experience]

Cmd L

Highlight the location field, i.e. the URL bar. Use this feature to quickly navigate to a new website or search in the same tab.

Cmd T

Open a new tab. Relatedly, if you are browsing the website and want to open a link in a new tab, hold down the Cmd key when clicking. (Because this is when you actually use the mouse.)

Cmd N

Open another browser window. This is a great way to keep your project or configuration file separated. For example, I like to always open the Work window and the Personal window. If you want to access a browsing history page that is not required in your session, Cmd Shift N will open a new privacy or incognito window.

Cmd W

As mentioned above, in the browser, this key combination will close the current tab page, not the entire window.

Cmd Shift T

If you accidentally close the wrong tab, this shortcut will open it immediately. Press the key combination again (and press multiple times) and you will see that the tab you have closed starts to recover from the recently closed tab.

Cmd Y

Open your browsing history. In Chrome, it will open in the new tab, but in Safari, it will open the history in the current tab. This doesn't work in Google Docs either - there, these keys are reddo shortcuts.

[Related: 9 quick tips for using Apple Maps]

It's also easy if you want to pull some tabs into new windows. Before you drag one of the tabs in any direction, hold down the Cmd key and click the tabs you want to move to select them. You can also select all tabs in the window and drag them to another window to merge everything into a single browser window.

Mac word processor shortcut keys

You do not need to use a mouse when drafting documents or emails. period. You can use the keyboard just to quickly select entire words or lines of text, change formats, and more.

Cmd left and right arrows

Go to the beginning or end of the line. Hold down the Shift key while using this shortcut to select everything on the left or right of the cursor.

Cmd Up/Down Arrow

Go to the top or bottom of the document.

Opt left and right arrows

Move between words rather than between individual characters. If you spend a lot of time writing every day, this will save you a lot of time in the long run.

Similarly, pairing this shortcut with the Shift key allows you to select many words at once without moving your hands away from the keyboard. If you want to move a piece of text, select it using the Opt Shift left and right arrows and cut it with Cmd X. The text will be copied to the clipboard automatically. Then navigate to where you want to place and paste it using Cmd V.

Fn Delete

Delete the text before the cursor. If you have used Windows, this shortcut is the Delete key for the Mac version. If you have trouble finding the Fn or Function key, it is located in the lower left corner of the keyboard.

Cmd K

When the text is selected, this will open a window that allows you to paste the URL and link it to the selected word.

Cmd ]/*[

Insert indent forward (]) and indent backward ([). I use it to distinguish important texts in emails or texts I have questions.

Screen shot shortcut keys

If you use screenshots frequently, the Mac comes with a screenshot app. You can find it using Spotlight search , but as you might already think of it, it's time consuming - it's better to use shortcut keys.

[Related: Master your Mac with custom keyboard shortcuts]

First, specify the location where the screenshot is saved. By default, this location will be your desktop, but if you want to avoid accumulating receipts on your desktop, you can create a dedicated folder to keep it tidy. I like to save them to folders on my desktop for easy access.

Cmd Shift 3

Save the screenshot of the entire screen to your dedicated folder. Add Ctrl to this shortcut key to send the screenshot to the clipboard.

Cmd Shift 4

Save screenshots of specific areas of the screen. When you press this shortcut, your cursor will be converted to a crosshair, which you can use to select the area you want to save. After you release the click, you will hear the sound of the shutter button, indicating that the Mac has successfully taken the screenshot.

A cool trick you can try when using this shortcut is to press space bar afterwards to automatically select only your current window, bypassing the crosshair to drag and drop the selection. This key combination is similar to Cmd Shift 3, but the generated image will exclude the top navigation bar of Dock and macOS. When you are ready, click the mouse to save the screenshot.

[Related: There is an annoying "Do Not Disturb" error on MacOS Big Sur. Here is the solution. ]

Similarly, add Ctrl to this shortcut key to send the screenshot to the clipboard. You can paste the screenshot directly into an email, message, or tweet, but if you decide you want to save the content you just copied, open the Preview app and press Cmd N. Your screenshot will appear and you can edit and save it.

Last suggestion: Continue to explore the shortcut keys

There are still many ways to use the keyboard to navigate the internet and your device. In any app you use frequently, it's worth browsing the menu items and looking at the right side to find key combinations that will make your life easier.

Some shortcut keys can be used between different platforms, operating systems, and even different types of programs. But there are always some shortcuts that are unique to the tools you are using and may help increase your productivity. Look for them and don't forget to add them to your post-it memo when you find something interesting.

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