In a busy day, you know it well what it means to save a second of time. It seems a waste of time to leave your keypad and fiddle on your mouse or keypad.
Another approach to save those seconds is to remember Mac shortcuts to work faster and smarter. This will truly make your work quicker than trifling on mouse or touchpad. In fact, not using keyboard shortcuts actually makes you lose 64 hours every year.
I think all of you know command- C means copy and Command- V means paste, but there are a lot more shortcuts other than these. The following commands have been compiled to sky rocket your productivity.
Before we start, here’re things to take note of:
- The shortcuts that I will be discussing here corresponds to the keyboard of US layout .
- Sometimes you may find a couple of difficulties using console substitute routes in Mac as the OS and a couple of uses may struggle with each other. If you come across such problems, then please refer to Mac help for your version of the operating system or you may also refer to a utility application.
Okay, let’s get to it!
1. Command+Shift + Three(3)
For full screen capture, press Command+ shift + 3.
2. Command +Shift + Four(4)
You may similarly need to take a screen catch of a selected window from the entire screen.
Hit the Command +shift + four and as the desired window gets emphasized tap the mouse or trackpad.
3. Command + Option + D
This shortcut helps you to hide or show the dock. It is particularly important in Macbooks where the screens are smaller and you need more real estate.
4. Command + Q
If you want to stop an application at a point, you just need to click Command + Q and you are done.
5. Command + T
With the dispatch of Mac OS Sierra, windows now can carry a tab. However, all the applications in Mac Sierra may not bolster multi-tab control. For the ones which do, you can press Command + T, to open another tab.
6. Command + R
I write a lot of mails and a lot of people write to me as well. Hence when I want to reply to someone instead of hunting for the reply button, I simply click Command + R and a new reply box opens up.
It is important to note that this function is useful only when you are in your mailbox.
7. Command + Spacebar
This is an amazing feature Apple has added to the Mac. If you are searching for something on your operating system or on the web then you can call for a spotlight, you can do this merely by holding Command + Spacebar.
8. Command + shift + ?
If you want to learn how a custom application works or are stuck up with troubleshooting of Mac, a quick shortcut from the keyboard for “Help”, then just hit Command + Shift + ?.
9. Command + OPTION + ESC.
Sometimes when working with an app, it might so happen that the system hangs and stops working. The mouse or touchpad is of no use and at that point just by pressing Command + option + esc together you can quit the application.
10. Command + X / C / V / Z
Although most readers would know this, these are important functions and worth mentioning. These four shortcuts – Cut, Copy, Paste and Undo can be summoned using Command + X/C/V/Z respectively.
11. Command + F
If you are perusing a long article and looking for a specific word or expression, you can take the assistance of Find Order by holding Command + F.
A finder pops up and you can easily enter your search term and it will navigate to all the places in the document where the word/term is mentioned.
12. Control + Media Eject.
A single command to help with restart, shutdown and sleep for your Mac – Control + Eject.
When you press the command, a dialogue box will be opened, asking you what would you like your system to do further – sleep, shutdown or restart.
13. Command + A
If you’d like to select all the content of the document at one go, then this command comes in handy. Just press Command + A and the entire document will be selected.
14. Command + Navigation keys
If you are going through a long record and need to go to a dedicated page without troubling your mouse, you can do so by holding the Command + up or down key.
15. Command + Option + H
If you are not using a window and want to keep your desktop free of clutter, then the shortcut key you can use is Command + Option + H.
It hides all windows barring the front app giving you a clean looking screen.
16. Command + M
The window you are working on is not of use now and you’d like to minimize it? Just press Command + M and your current active window will be minimized.
17. Command + W
In the event that you need to close a functioning window the order that you can utilize is Command + W.
18. Control + P
If you have to print a record, the key combinations that you can use is Control + P. If you have a printer connected, a pop up box will open and will ask for further necessary actions to print the document.
19. Command + Move + F5.
In the event that you need to alter an archive, just hold Command + Move + F5.
20. Command + N
If you are working with a document or a browser tab, hitting Command + N will open up a new window. Remember a new window for the current active application opens up.
For example, if you are surfing on your browser, activating the command will open up a new browser window. If you’re on a document, a new document window will pop up.
21. Command + Control + N
This is one of my favorite shortcuts that not too many people know about or use. However it is super useful.
If you have too many files on your desktop and would like to move them to a new folder, this command is what helps you out.
Simply select all the files that you would like to be moved and press Command + Control + N. In a second, all the selected files will move to a new folder.
22. Command + Shift + V
You’ve found something on the internet and you would like to paste it on your document. Most of the times, it ends up in a weird format. To solve this issue just use Command + Shift + V and the text will be pasted without any formatting, making it easy to format the way you want it.
23. Command + B/I/U
The old classic. If you want to make your selection, Bold, Italics or Underline them, simply use the command button and press B/I/U respectively.
24. Command + Tab
Working with too many windows? It gets difficult to navigate seamlessly between applications when a lot of them are open. Use this command to easily navigate between windows.
25. Option + Shift + Volume(+/-)
When I work on my Mac system, I usually use the volume keys frequently. However, I noticed that just pressing the volume key would increase/decrease the volume speedily. So I hunted down this shortcut.
Using this you can adjust the volume by +/- 1 point for the perfect decibel sound you require.
Summing It Up
Depending on the usage of your Mac and the kind of work you do with it, you will find a selection of these shortcuts, extremely helpful.
You might already be using some if these shortcuts but adding a few of them to your arsenal will save you on those precious seconds that don’t hamper your flow.
If you are a new Apple user, it might be a bit challenging to get accustomed to these quickly. However, once you’ve got used to it, you’ll be a lot more productive.
Featured photo credit: Alex Bachor via unsplash.com
