To use a keyboard shortcut, press and hold one or more modifier keys and then press the last key of the shortcut. For example, to use Command-C (copy), press and hold the Command key, then the C key, then release both keys. Mac menus and keyboards often use symbols for certain keys, including modifier keys:
Converting photos to PDF on a Mac is really easy, and it makes things much more manageable if you're scanning in documents. Scanners typically import photos in.JPG format. If you're just viewing them on your end, then it's fine to have them all lying about as separate files. Before wiping the free space on your Mac using the command line, back up your data. Once you've backed up your data, open the Terminal app from the Applications Utilities folder. Welcome to the Geekbench Mac Benchmark Chart. The data on this chart is calculated from Geekbench 5 results users have uploaded to the Geekbench Browser.To make sure the results accurately reflect the average performance of each Mac, the chart only includes Macs with at least five unique results in the Geekbench Browser. One simple way to fix such errors is to boot your Mac into Safe Mode. Safe Mode, sometimes called 'Safe Boot,' contains an automatic startup check and repair that can fix these problems. To do this, restart your Mac and hold 'Shift' while it's booting. Sign in with your password and your Mac will then check your disks.
On keyboards made for Windows PCs, use the Alt key instead of Option, and the Windows logo key instead of Command.
Some keys on some Apple keyboards have special symbols and functions, such as for display brightness , keyboard brightness , Mission Control, and more. If these functions aren't available on your keyboard, you might be able to reproduce some of them by creating your own keyboard shortcuts. To use these keys as F1, F2, F3, or other standard function keys, combine them with the Fn key.
Cut, copy, paste, and other common shortcuts
- Command-X: Cut the selected item and copy it to the Clipboard.
- Command-C: Copy the selected item to the Clipboard. This also works for files in the Finder.
- Command-V: Paste the contents of the Clipboard into the current document or app. This also works for files in the Finder.
- Command-Z: Undo the previous command. You can then press Shift-Command-Z to Redo, reversing the undo command. In some apps, you can undo and redo multiple commands.
- Command-A: Select All items.
- Command-F: Find items in a document or open a Find window.
- Command-G: Find Again: Find the next occurrence of the item previously found. To find the previous occurrence, press Shift-Command-G.
- Command-H: Hide the windows of the front app. To view the front app but hide all other apps, press Option-Command-H.
- Command-M: Minimize the front window to the Dock. To minimize all windows of the front app, press Option-Command-M.
- Command-O: Open the selected item, or open a dialog to select a file to open.
- Command-P: Print the current document.
- Command-S: Save the current document.
- Command-T: Open a new tab.
- Command-W: Close the front window. To close all windows of the app, press Option-Command-W.
- Option-Command-Esc: Force quit an app.
- Command–Space bar: Show or hide the Spotlight search field. To perform a Spotlight search from a Finder window, press Command–Option–Space bar. (If you use multiple input sources to type in different languages, these shortcuts change input sources instead of showing Spotlight. Learn how to change a conflicting keyboard shortcut.)
- Control–Command–Space bar: Show the Character Viewer, from which you can choose emoji and other symbols.
- Control-Command-F: Use the app in full screen, if supported by the app.
- Space bar: Use Quick Look to preview the selected item.
- Command-Tab: Switch to the next most recently used app among your open apps.
- Shift-Command-5: In macOS Mojave or later, take a screenshot or make a screen recording. Or use Shift-Command-3 or Shift-Command-4 for screenshots. Learn more about screenshots.
- Shift-Command-N: Create a new folder in the Finder.
- Command-Comma (,): Open preferences for the front app.
Sleep, log out, and shut down shortcuts
You might need to press and hold some of these shortcuts for slightly longer than other shortcuts. This helps you to avoid using them unintentionally.
- Power button: Press to turn on your Mac or wake it from sleep. Press and hold for 1.5 seconds to put your Mac to sleep.* Continue holding to force your Mac to turn off.
- Option–Command–Power button* or Option–Command–Media Eject : Put your Mac to sleep.
- Control–Shift–Power button* or Control–Shift–Media Eject : Put your displays to sleep.
- Control–Power button* or Control–Media Eject : Display a dialog asking whether you want to restart, sleep, or shut down.
- Control–Command–Power button:* Force your Mac to restart, without prompting to save any open and unsaved documents.
- Control–Command–Media Eject : Quit all apps, then restart your Mac. If any open documents have unsaved changes, you will be asked whether you want to save them.
- Control–Option–Command–Power button* or Control–Option–Command–Media Eject : Quit all apps, then shut down your Mac. If any open documents have unsaved changes, you will be asked whether you want to save them.
- Control-Command-Q: Immediately lock your screen.
- Shift-Command-Q: Log out of your macOS user account. You will be asked to confirm. To log out immediately without confirming, press Option-Shift-Command-Q.
* Does not apply to the Touch ID sensor.
Finder and system shortcuts
- Command-D: Duplicate the selected files.
- Command-E: Eject the selected disk or volume.
- Command-F: Start a Spotlight search in the Finder window.
- Command-I: Show the Get Info window for a selected file.
- Command-R: (1) When an alias is selected in the Finder: show the original file for the selected alias. (2) In some apps, such as Calendar or Safari, refresh or reload the page. (3) In Software Update preferences, check for software updates again.
- Shift-Command-C: Open the Computer window.
- Shift-Command-D: Open the desktop folder.
- Shift-Command-F: Open the Recents window, showing all of the files you viewed or changed recently.
- Shift-Command-G: Open a Go to Folder window.
- Shift-Command-H: Open the Home folder of the current macOS user account.
- Shift-Command-I: Open iCloud Drive.
- Shift-Command-K: Open the Network window.
- Option-Command-L: Open the Downloads folder.
- Shift-Command-N: Create a new folder.
- Shift-Command-O: Open the Documents folder.
- Shift-Command-P: Show or hide the Preview pane in Finder windows.
- Shift-Command-R: Open the AirDrop window.
- Shift-Command-T: Show or hide the tab bar in Finder windows.
- Control-Shift-Command-T: Add selected Finder item to the Dock (OS X Mavericks or later)
- Shift-Command-U: Open the Utilities folder.
- Option-Command-D: Show or hide the Dock.
- Control-Command-T: Add the selected item to the sidebar (OS X Mavericks or later).
- Option-Command-P: Hide or show the path bar in Finder windows.
- Option-Command-S: Hide or show the Sidebar in Finder windows.
- Command–Slash (/): Hide or show the status bar in Finder windows.
- Command-J: Show View Options.
- Command-K: Open the Connect to Server window.
- Control-Command-A: Make an alias of the selected item.
- Command-N: Open a new Finder window.
- Option-Command-N: Create a new Smart Folder.
- Command-T: Show or hide the tab bar when a single tab is open in the current Finder window.
- Option-Command-T: Show or hide the toolbar when a single tab is open in the current Finder window.
- Option-Command-V: Move the files in the Clipboard from their original location to the current location.
- Command-Y: Use Quick Look to preview the selected files.
- Option-Command-Y: View a Quick Look slideshow of the selected files.
- Command-1: View the items in the Finder window as icons.
- Command-2: View the items in a Finder window as a list.
- Command-3: View the items in a Finder window in columns.
- Command-4: View the items in a Finder window in a gallery.
- Command–Left Bracket ([): Go to the previous folder.
- Command–Right Bracket (]): Go to the next folder.
- Command–Up Arrow: Open the folder that contains the current folder.
- Command–Control–Up Arrow: Open the folder that contains the current folder in a new window.
- Command–Down Arrow: Open the selected item.
- Right Arrow: Open the selected folder. This works only when in list view.
- Left Arrow: Close the selected folder. This works only when in list view.
- Command-Delete: Move the selected item to the Trash.
- Shift-Command-Delete: Empty the Trash.
- Option-Shift-Command-Delete: Empty the Trash without confirmation dialog.
- Command–Brightness Down: Turn video mirroring on or off when your Mac is connected to more than one display.
- Option–Brightness Up: Open Displays preferences. This works with either Brightness key.
- Control–Brightness Up or Control–Brightness Down: Change the brightness of your external display, if supported by your display.
- Option–Shift–Brightness Up or Option–Shift–Brightness Down: Adjust the display brightness in smaller steps. Add the Control key to this shortcut to make the adjustment on your external display, if supported by your display.
- Option–Mission Control: Open Mission Control preferences.
- Command–Mission Control: Show the desktop.
- Control–Down Arrow: Show all windows of the front app.
- Option–Volume Up: Open Sound preferences. This works with any of the volume keys.
- Option–Shift–Volume Up or Option–Shift–Volume Down: Adjust the sound volume in smaller steps.
- Option–Keyboard Brightness Up: Open Keyboard preferences. This works with either Keyboard Brightness key.
- Option–Shift–Keyboard Brightness Up or Option–Shift–Keyboard Brightness Down: Adjust the keyboard brightness in smaller steps.
- Option key while double-clicking: Open the item in a separate window, then close the original window.
- Command key while double-clicking: Open a folder in a separate tab or window.
- Command key while dragging to another volume: Move the dragged item to the other volume, instead of copying it.
- Option key while dragging: Copy the dragged item. The pointer changes while you drag the item.
- Option-Command while dragging: Make an alias of the dragged item. The pointer changes while you drag the item.
- Option-click a disclosure triangle: Open all folders within the selected folder. This works only when in list view.
- Command-click a window title: See the folders that contain the current folder.
- Learn how to use Command or Shift to select multiple items in the Finder.
- Click the Go menu in the Finder menu bar to see shortcuts for opening many commonly used folders, such as Applications, Documents, Downloads, Utilities, and iCloud Drive.
Document shortcuts
The behavior of these shortcuts may vary with the app you're using.
- Command-B: Boldface the selected text, or turn boldfacing on or off.
- Command-I: Italicize the selected text, or turn italics on or off.
- Command-K: Add a web link.
- Command-U: Underline the selected text, or turn underlining on or off.
- Command-T: Show or hide the Fonts window.
- Command-D: Select the Desktop folder from within an Open dialog or Save dialog.
- Control-Command-D: Show or hide the definition of the selected word.
- Shift-Command-Colon (:): Display the Spelling and Grammar window.
- Command-Semicolon (;): Find misspelled words in the document.
- Option-Delete: Delete the word to the left of the insertion point.
- Control-H: Delete the character to the left of the insertion point. Or use Delete.
- Control-D: Delete the character to the right of the insertion point. Or use Fn-Delete.
- Fn-Delete: Forward delete on keyboards that don't have a Forward Delete key. Or use Control-D.
- Control-K: Delete the text between the insertion point and the end of the line or paragraph.
- Fn–Up Arrow: Page Up: Scroll up one page.
- Fn–Down Arrow: Page Down: Scroll down one page.
- Fn–Left Arrow: Home: Scroll to the beginning of a document.
- Fn–Right Arrow: End: Scroll to the end of a document.
- Command–Up Arrow: Move the insertion point to the beginning of the document.
- Command–Down Arrow: Move the insertion point to the end of the document.
- Command–Left Arrow: Move the insertion point to the beginning of the current line.
- Command–Right Arrow: Move the insertion point to the end of the current line.
- Option–Left Arrow: Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word.
- Option–Right Arrow: Move the insertion point to the end of the next word.
- Shift–Command–Up Arrow: Select the text between the insertion point and the beginning of the document.
- Shift–Command–Down Arrow: Select the text between the insertion point and the end of the document.
- Shift–Command–Left Arrow: Select the text between the insertion point and the beginning of the current line.
- Shift–Command–Right Arrow: Select the text between the insertion point and the end of the current line.
- Shift–Up Arrow: Extend text selection to the nearest character at the same horizontal location on the line above.
- Shift–Down Arrow: Extend text selection to the nearest character at the same horizontal location on the line below.
- Shift–Left Arrow: Extend text selection one character to the left.
- Shift–Right Arrow: Extend text selection one character to the right.
- Option–Shift–Up Arrow: Extend text selection to the beginning of the current paragraph, then to the beginning of the following paragraph if pressed again.
- Option–Shift–Down Arrow: Extend text selection to the end of the current paragraph, then to the end of the following paragraph if pressed again.
- Option–Shift–Left Arrow: Extend text selection to the beginning of the current word, then to the beginning of the following word if pressed again.
- Option–Shift–Right Arrow: Extend text selection to the end of the current word, then to the end of the following word if pressed again.
- Control-A: Move to the beginning of the line or paragraph.
- Control-E: Move to the end of a line or paragraph.
- Control-F: Move one character forward.
- Control-B: Move one character backward.
- Control-L: Center the cursor or selection in the visible area.
- Control-P: Move up one line.
- Control-N: Move down one line.
- Control-O: Insert a new line after the insertion point.
- Control-T: Swap the character behind the insertion point with the character in front of the insertion point.
- Command–Left Curly Bracket ({): Left align.
- Command–Right Curly Bracket (}): Right align.
- Shift–Command–Vertical bar (|): Center align.
- Option-Command-F: Go to the search field.
- Option-Command-T: Show or hide a toolbar in the app.
- Option-Command-C: Copy Style: Copy the formatting settings of the selected item to the Clipboard.
- Option-Command-V: Paste Style: Apply the copied style to the selected item.
- Option-Shift-Command-V: Paste and Match Style: Apply the style of the surrounding content to the item pasted within that content.
- Option-Command-I: Show or hide the inspector window.
- Shift-Command-P: Page setup: Display a window for selecting document settings.
- Shift-Command-S: Display the Save As dialog, or duplicate the current document.
- Shift–Command–Minus sign (-): Decrease the size of the selected item.
- Shift–Command–Plus sign (+): Increase the size of the selected item. Command–Equal sign (=) performs the same function.
- Shift–Command–Question mark (?): Open the Help menu.
Other shortcuts
For more shortcuts, check the shortcut abbreviations shown in the menus of your apps. Every app can have its own shortcuts, and shortcuts that work in one app might not work in another.
- Apple Music shortcuts: Choose Help > Keyboard shortcuts from the menu bar in the Music app.
- Other shortcuts: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard, then click Shortcuts.
Learn more
- Create your own shortcuts and resolve conflicts between shortcuts
- Change the behavior of the function keys or modifier keys
When the proverbial manure hits the fan and prevents your Mac from booting as you want, knowing the right startup key combination can save the day, whether you boot into Safe Mode, Recovery, Apple Diagnostics, or from another disk entirely.
Here are fifteen startup key combinations that can save the day when things go wrong. Not all are useful on today's Macs, but we wanted the list to be complete.
Option: Invoke Startup Manager — The first startup key every Mac user should know is the Option key. Press and hold Option as your Mac boots to enter the Startup Manager, which lets you select which disk to boot from.
Startup Manager is primarily useful for booting from an alternative drive, like a system clone, USB thumb drive, or a Boot Camp partition. However, you can also use it to force a boot from your primary drive if your Mac is stubbornly booting from another disk. Startup Manager may also help identify a flaky hard drive; if the drive you're looking for doesn't appear in Startup Manager, you know you have a problem.
If you have a bootable external drive, booting from that drive can also help you isolate problems or provide a different environment, such as a different version of OS X.
T: Target Disk Mode — What if you want to boot from another Mac's drive using Startup Manager? You can connect the Macs via FireWire or Thunderbolt, and then put the other Mac into Target Disk Mode, which lets it serve as an external drive. Hold T during boot to enter this mode. If either Mac lacks a FireWire or Thunderbolt port, you're out of luck.
In addition to troubleshooting, Target Disk Mode can also be useful for quickly transferring many gigabytes of files. And if your main Mac's display fails, you can use Target Disk Mode to turn it into the boot drive for another Mac with a working screen.
Shift-Control-Option: Reset the SMC — When your Mac is exhibiting truly odd behavior, it may be worth resetting the System Management Controller (SMC), which controls all manner of things, such as batteries, keyboard backlight, and cooling fans. Apple lists all the things an SMC reset can fix.
On desktop Macs, you reset the SMC by unplugging the power cable for 15 seconds, plugging it back in, and turning the Mac on after 5 seconds. On older Mac notebooks, you can reset the SMC by removing the battery and power adapter, holding down the power button for 5 seconds to drain the capacitors, reinserting the battery, and turning it back on again.
However, for newer Mac notebooks, where it's impossible to remove the battery, you need to know this key combo: Shift-Control-Option, using the keys on the left side of the keyboard. Shut down your Mac, connect it to power, press Shift-Control-Option, and then press the power button while holding those keys down. Release the keys and press the power button again to fire up the Mac with a fresh set of SMC settings.
Command-Option-P-R: Reset NVRAM — The other quick fix is resetting Non-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM), which you do by holding Command-Option-P-R during startup. The Mac startup chime should sound a second time. After that, release the keys. (The reason for using P and R in the key combination is that Apple used to call this bit of non-volatile memory 'PRAM,' for Parameter RAM.)
NVRAM controls things like speaker volume, screen resolution, and startup drive selection. Like an SMC reset, an NVRAM reset can fix a host of seemingly random issues.
Shift: Safe Mode — If your Mac gets stuck during the boot process, booting in Safe Mode might help you diagnose what's wrong. To invoke Safe Mode, hold the Shift key while booting. It does a few things:
- Verifies and repairs your startup disk
- Loads only essential kernel extensions
- Ignores startup and login items
- Disables user-installed fonts
- Deletes all system cache files
Simply booting in Safe Mode may solve your problem, if it was related to directory corruption or a messed-up cache file. If a Safe Mode boot works fine, try a regular boot immediately, and if it proceeds normally, you're all set.
However, if your Mac boots fine in Safe Mode, but has problems otherwise, you probably have a software problem related to something that loads at startup. You might guess that a third-party kernel extension was the culprit, but it could also be a corrupt font. Start poking around in the various Library folders on your Mac.
How To Wipe Your Mac And Reinstall MacOS From Scratch
(If all you want to do is disable login items, press Shift when you click the Log In button in the login window, or as soon as you see the progress bar in the startup screen. Release it when you see the Desktop or Dock.)
Command-R: Recovery — Every modern Mac can boot into a special mode called Recovery, which provides tools to resolve a variety of problems. Pyramech mac os. The system disk of most Macs contains a small partition containing a stripped-down version of OS X, which you can boot from by holding Command-R as your Mac boots. If the recovery partition is missing for some reason, you can load the Recovery software from the Internet by holding Command-Option-R at startup. Needless to say, loading Internet Recovery takes quite a bit longer; happily, it does provide a time estimate.
Recovery gives you seven options:
- Restore from a Time Machine Backup: You do have a Time Machine backup, right? Right?
- Reinstall OS X: You don't have to wipe your disk and start from scratch; this option reinstalls the currently installed version of OS X over your existing install, which can fix missing or corrupted system files. If you use Internet Recovery, you get the version of OS X that originally came with your Mac instead.
- Get Help Online: This option opens Safari so you can browse Apple's support site for help.
- Disk Utility: Clicking this item in the list brings up the Disk Utility app, which can check and repair your disks. If absolutely necessary, you can use Disk Utility to erase your system disk, onto which you can then restore your data from Time Machine. (You do have that backup, right?)
- Firmware Password Utility: Choose Utilities > Firmware Password Utility to launch this app, which lets you set and turn off a firmware password. You might want to enable a firmware password to make Find My Mac more secure (see 'Disable Find My Mac by Resetting NVRAM,' 22 July 2016).
- Network Utility: Also available from the Utilities menu, Network Utility lets you test local and Internet connectivity using tools like Netstat, Ping, Traceroute, and more. It's more easily used when the Mac isn't in Recovery mode, but it's here if you need it.
- Terminal: For those who are more comfortable at the command line, you can also launch Terminal from the Utilities menu. It's a stripped-down installation that may lack some of the Unix tools you're accustomed to having, but you can move around, look at files, and delete things. Be careful!
Complete List Of MacOS Versions - Macworld UK
D: Apple Diagnostics — If nothing mentioned so far is solving your problem, your Mac might be suffering from a hardware issue. Hold D at startup to boot into Apple Hardware Test or Apple Diagnostics.
MacOS Big Sur
Which you get depends on the age of your Mac; Macs produced before June 2013 have Apple Hardware Test, while later Macs have Apple Diagnostics. They do basically the same thing, but Apple Hardware Test is a blast from the past — it looks like the old, pre-OS X Mac OS! Apple Diagnostics is a lot slicker looking and more or less automatic, while you have to click a button to start Apple Hardware Test. Apple Hardware Test also gives the option of an extended test, which takes a lot longer and isn't usually necessary. Apple recommends disconnecting all external devices except the keyboard, mouse, display, and Ethernet adapter before starting either test.
If you can't boot into one of these tests for some reason, try holding Option-D instead to load an Internet-based hardware test.
Command-V: Verbose Mode Cookie clicker (itch) (speedrunner346) mac os. — Holding Command-V during startup puts your Mac in verbose mode. Instead of a tasteful gray screen, you see every single Unix system message as your Mac boots. Verbose mode could be useful for troubleshooting if you're already a Unix expert; otherwise it's mostly amusing to watch.
Command-S: Single-User Mode — To go one step beyond verbose mode, hold Command-S during boot, which puts your Mac in single-user mode. After the Mac finishes displaying all the Unix messages during its boot sequence, you're given a command-line prompt, just as though you were in Terminal. As with using Terminal from Recovery, single-user mode is useful mostly if you're already comfortable in Unix. Some people use single-user mode to run the Unix fsck utility, although it's easier to boot into Safe Mode or run Disk Utility from Recovery for that purpose.
To leave single-user mode and continue booting, type exit
and press Return. Or, to start over, type reboot
and press Return.
Neither single-user mode nor verbose mode is accessible if you have a firmware password enabled.
C: Boot from Removable Media — If you hold the C key during boot, the Mac will start up from removable media, such as a CD, DVD, or USB thumb drive. Since Apple has largely done away with optical drives and physical installation discs are a thing of the past, this shortcut isn't as useful as it used to be. Using Option to bring up Startup Manager is a better option because then you know exactly which disk you're going to boot from.
Eject, F12: Eject All Removable Media — Here's a neat trick: if you hold the Eject key (if your Mac has one), F12, or the mouse or trackpad button during boot, the Mac will eject all removable media. Like the C shortcut, this technique isn't as necessary as it used to be when it was the standard way of getting non-bootable floppy disks out of a Mac quickly, but it's worth remembering should you ever end up working on an old Mac.
N: NetBoot — If you hold N at startup, the Mac will boot from an available NetBoot server. Holding Option-N will boot from the default boot image on a NetBoot server. For those who have never even heard of NetBoot, it's an Apple technology in OS X Server that enables a Mac to load the operating system from a network server, rather than from a local drive. Large networked environments sometimes use NetBoot to ensure that every Mac is using a consistent, approved version of the operating system. Chances are, you will never have to worry about booting from NetBoot.
X: Force a Boot into OS X, instead of Classic — Finally, there's X, which Apple says causes the Mac to 'Start up from an OS X startup volume when the Mac would otherwise start up from a non-OS X startup volume.' This one threw us for a loop, but Phil Dokas, our shadow editor Chris Pepper, and several commenters reminded us that it's a holdover from the early days of Mac OS X, when it was used to keep the Mac from booting into the Classic environment. Kevin Patfield said there was even a companion option — holding 9 — that forced a boot into Classic. If you know a contemporary use for this key, let us know in the comments!