Mac Shortcuts

By: Katie Greppin

For those of you with Mac computers, there are a few shortcuts you can use on your computer to increase your efficiency. Shortcuts are a string of keys that you can press on your keyboard to make something happen. Instead of having to click through different menus on your computer, you can just click on a few keys and have the same outcome happen more efficiently.

Below in the table, is a list of some of the most useful ones. The keys in the order you should press them are on the left, and what they will do is on the right. The dash (-) separates the keys that you need to press. For example, the copying shortcut is Command-C. You would press the command key and then the c key. Additionally, many of these work for other computers by pressing the control key instead of the command key, and the alt key instead of the option key.

Useful Shortcuts

Keys	Purpose
Command-C	Copy
Command-X	Cut
Command-V	Paste
Command-S	Save
Command-P	Print
Command-Z	Undo
Shift-Command-Z	Redo
Command-A	Select All
Command-B	Bold Text
Command-I	Italic Text
Command-U	Underline Text
Command-F	Find – to quickly find word in document
Command-N	New- document or tab
Command-T	Open New Tab
Control-Command-F	Make Full Screen
Shift-Command-N	New folder in finder
Command-Delete	Move to Trash
Option-Command-D	Show/ Hide Dock
Command-Shift-4	Screenshot (selection)
Command-Shift-3	Picture of entire screen
Option-Command-Power	Sleep
Control-Command-Esc	Force Quit
Option-press notification center icon (located at the top right of your commuter with the three bars)	Do Not Disturb

The basic shortcuts like Command-C and Z are really helpful, but the longer shortcuts that are also very helpful can be much harder to remember and use. The longer the key sequences are for example, Command-Shift-4 (screenshot) and Option-Command-D (show/hide dock). These are not used as much as Command-C, so it is harder to remember them and therefore use them. I recommend keeping this list in some place accessible, so that way they can all be easily referenced when needed.

If you have a Mac computer and think these shortcuts would be helpful, I definitely recommend trying them. There is a full list on the Apple website, and google is also a helpful resource if there is a particular shortcut you are looking for. Hope this helps!