That MacBook on your desk might be even more powerful than you think.
You’re losing out on a significant portion of the appeal of Apple’s desktop operating system if you don’t use keyboard shortcuts on your Mac. Once you learn to speak the language of the keys, you won’t often need to utilize your mouse or trackpad thanks to Apple’s seamless integration of hardware and software.
Although you undoubtedly already know that Command + C and Command + V stand for copy and paste respectively, there are a number of additional helpful keyboard shortcuts that may greatly simplify your life.
1. Add emojis anywhere you wish (Control + Command + Space)
You probably already know how to add emoticons to emails and text messages. But by just pressing Control + Command + Space Bar, you may easily add them anyplace else you can think of. You may choose between a variety of cheerful faces, a grinning pile of poop, twin girls wearing identical black leotards, and other emojis by pressing those three buttons.
2. Compose an Email (Command + Shift + I)
Use the shortcut Command + Shift + I to quickly compose an email if necessary. With Mail for Mac’s compose page now up, you may start publishing right away rather than waiting for it to be forwarded to your inbox.
3. Find a file on your Mac (Command + Space)
Command + Space activates the Spotlight search function, and it has the power to transform your life. Simply press this shortcut and enter the file name in the popup that appears whenever you need to find a file on your Mac. The outcomes are immediate. In addition, Spotlight can search through your hard drive’s complete text of files, bookmarks, and iMessages. Additionally, it’s a quick way to locate and launch apps that you don’t keep on your dock.
4. Escape any trouble (Esc)
Never undervalue the Esc key’s ability to save you from trouble. In the event that you accidentally choose the wrong portion of your screen when taking a screen shot, simply press Esc and you won’t be concerned. The main idea behind Esc is that. You can use it to reverse a prior command. Another illustration is a website that is using all your system resources and won’t load. Press Esc.
5. Quick look to preview files (Click + Space)
Press the space bar after selecting a file in a Finder folder if you want to see what it looks like but don’t want to waste time opening the accompanying program. The desktop files can also be accessed with this. A full-page preview with Markup choices will appear. Everything from pictures and PDFs to Excel files may be used in this way.
6. Define a word (Command + Control + D)
You can specify highlighted terms on the majority of Mac OS X and iOS devices. To define a word on a Mac, just click any portion of the word you wish to define while it is highlighted, then press Command + Control + D.
7. Move files to Trash (Command + Delete)
You won’t understand why you spent so many years manually dragging files onto the trash icon once you give it a try. Simply choose the file or folder you want to move to the trash and press Command + Delete. very simple By the way, pressing Command + Z will allow you to undo your most recent action if you ever unintentionally move something to the trash.
8. Take screenshots or record the screen
As you might anticipate, these shortcuts are frequently employed at Macworld. On a Mac, you can take a screenshot in a number of different methods.
To take a screenshot of every visible window, use Command + Shift + 3. It will appear in the screenshot if you can see it on your Mac’s screen.
Command + Shift + 4: Use a rectangle cropping tool to take a screenshot of a specified region of the screen. The one I use the most is excellent for posting photographs or short passages of text to social media.
With the introduction of macOS Mojave, Apple made it simple to view all of your screenshotting tools at once by adding the shortcut Command + Shift + 5. When you click it, a toolbar will appear with choices for taking screenshots of the full screen, a single window, or a specific area inside a window. Additionally, you can use it to record the whole or a piece of the screen and select where to save the picture or video file. (Screenshots are saved to the desktop by default.)
9. Lock your Mac (Command + Control + Q)
When you hit this shortcut, your Mac will instantly go to the lock screen so that no one can use it while you’re away from your desk at home or at work. It’s a lot quicker than using the menu bar or even shutting off the computer.
10. Get to preferences (Command + Comma)
One of the lesser-known Mac keyboard commands, yet one of the most helpful. It works like this: You wish to access the application’s preferences while using the app. You may access the Preferences by navigating to the Menu bar and scrolling through. Or you may reach them as quickly as possible by just pressing Command + Comma.
11. Hide apps instantly (Command + H)
Here is one for sly people. Tap the shortcut for Command + H to make the currently open window disappear if you don’t want an approaching boss, parent, or friend to see what you’re viewing. Press the app’s icon on the dock or in the App Switcher to resume using it.
By clicking the mouse on any area of your desktop that is visible while holding down Command and Option, you may accomplish this for all open programs. All apps will “hidden.” It’s an excellent method for organizing your desktop.
12. Cycle Open Applications (Command + Tab)
If you have a lot of open programs, you can simply navigate between them all without ever touching your trackpad. Keep Command held when you open the program switcher and use Tab to get to the app you want to utilize.
13. Scroll to very top/bottom (Command + Up or Down)
There are several methods for scrolling. The left scroll bar on the screen, the touchpad, or the arrow keys can all be used to navigate. You may accelerate to the top, though, by pressing Command + either the Up or Down Arrow.
14. Immediately quit any app (Command + Q)
Use this command to quickly terminate any application. When you use this command, the app is shut down entirely rather than merely being minimized (as can occasionally happen when you click the red “X” at the top of any Mac app).
15. Force-quit an App (Command + Option + Q)
Use this shortcut to terminate a program if it is locked (and Command + Q isn’t functioning for any reason).
Additionally, you may force-quit numerous programs by hitting Command + Option + Esc, which is similar to using Control-Alt+Delete on a PC. The Force Quit Applications box will appear in place of the Task Manager, and from there you can select whatever application you wish to end.