Using keyboard shortcuts instead of reaching for your mouse or trackpad and hunting through menus is a great way to save time and get work done efficiently.
AText Typing Accelerator aText accelerates your typing in any application by replacing abbreviations with frequently used phrases you define. Save your priceless time, stop typing the same thing over and over. Also known as text template, text shortcut, text expansion tool. This command doesn’t just minimize the app (as sometimes happens when you hit the red “X” button at the top of any Mac app)—it completely shuts it down. Take screenshots or record the screen.
Even though for complex task you could use a keyboard assistant like Lacona (which will semantically understand any operation you need to perform) for complex tasks, knowing essential shortcuts will speed up every repetitive action related to the basic Mac functionality.
Learning shortcuts takes time and practice; it’s only by using them repeatedly that you develop a habit. But then you start really saving time and boosting productivity to the point where you won’t know how you’ve lived without them.
Top time-saving Mac keyboard shortcuts everyone should know
To help you, we’ve collected the best keyboard shortcuts for the Mac — those that will save you the most time every day. Remember: learn them and practice them.
We’ve avoided the obvious shortcuts, the ones that all casual Mac users will know, like copy, paste, and cut. Before we start with a list, let’s take a look at all the modifier keys:
Cmd = Command key (the one either side of the spacebar and looks like this: ⌘)
Ctrl = Control key, usually labelled “ctrl”
Alt = old-time Mac users would call this “option” and looks like this: ⌥ Mac app back light.
Shift = ⇧
Tab = ⇥
Now, let’s dive right in.
Navigate quickly to a folder in Finder
When you’re in Finder, there are a number of shortcuts you can use to go directly to a folder.
Change the Finder view
In a Finder window, use the following shortcuts to change the view for all the items in a folder:
Navigate folders in the Finder
Going through folders in the Finder is especially easy with:
Add a selected item to a Finder window sidebar.
Select the item you’d like to add and press Cmd-Option-S.
View a Quick Look slideshow of selected files
First Shift- or Cmd-click the files you want to preview and then press Cmd-Option-Y to see the slideshow.
Find anything
Use Cmd-F to search for something. In most applications, including word processors and web browsers, it’s used to search for bits of text on the page you’re on. Cmd-F in Finder opens a new Finder search window, with the cursor already in the search box.
Invoke Spotlight from anywhere
Press Cmd-Space from anywhere to pull up the Spotlight search bar.
Quickly open Accessibility options
Your Mac has a number of features, such as the ability to invert colors on the screen, to help those who have additional needs when it comes to using a computer. To access them quickly, press Cmd-Option-F5.
Switch applications quickly
Press Cmd-Tab and keep holding Cmd to pull up the macOS application switcher. Press Tab again to highlight the next app and let go when you reach the app you want to switch to. Pressing Cmd-Tab and letting go of both immediately switches to the next app without further interaction.
![]() Open any application’s Preferences
Press Cmd-comma to open any application’s Preferences window.
Open the Get Info window
Get Info is available for every file and folder on your Mac and provides information such as the size of the file and the application that will be used by default. To open this window, click on the file or folder and press Cmd-I.
Show or hide the Dock
Press Cmd-Alt-D to show or hide the Dock in any application.
Note: this doesn’t work when applications are in full-screen mode.
Add a Finder item to the Dock
Select the item then press Ctrl-Shift-Cmd-T.
Invoke AirDrop
AirDrop is a great tool for transferring files quickly between Macs or between a Mac and an iOS device. To get to it right away, press Cmd-Shift-R in the Finder.
Undo
This one is a huge timesaver and can get you out of trouble, depending on the app you use it in. Press Cmd-Z to undo your most recent action. In apps that allow multiple undos, press it again to move back another step and so on. To redo something you’ve undone, it’s either Cmd-Shift-Z or Cmd-Y, depending on the app.
Navigate text
Press Alt-Right Arrow to jump a word or Cmd-Right Arrow to jump to the end of a line.
Alt-Left Arrow and Cmd-Left Arrow jump backwards a word and a line, respectively. To select text as you jump, hold down the Shift key.
Find misspelled words in a document
Press Cmd-semicolon to have misspelled words highlighted.
Select all
To select everything in a document or folder, press Cmd-A.
Paste in the correct style
While Cmd-V will paste whatever is in the clipboard, it does so in the style of the document you copied from. To paste text in the style of the document you’re pasting into, press Cmd-Option-Shift-V.
Take a screenshot
Press Cmd-Shift-3 to screenshot the whole screen. To grab a selection, press Cmd-Shift-4 and drag over the part of the screen you want to grab. To take a shot of a single window, press Cmd-Shift-4 then press Space and place the camera icon over the window you want to grab and click on it.
You can also copy and paste a screenshot in one move. If you add the Ctrl key to the shortcuts above, it will paste the screenshot to the clipboard rather than saving it. For example, Ctrl-Cmd-Shift-3 will take a screenshot of the whole screen and paste it to the clipboard. To paste it into your document, just press Cmd-V.
Open a new tab in Safari (or any other web browser)
Press Cmd-T to open a new tab. If you close a tab by accident, Cmd-Shift-T will re-open it.
Zoom into a web page
In Safari, Firefox, or Chrome, you can make the contents of a web page larger or smaller using Cmd and either the + or - keys, depending on whether you want to zoom in or out. This also works in some other apps.
Zoom in anywhere
To make the universal zoom work, you’ll need to go to System Preferences, then click the Accessibility pane and choose the Zoom option, checking all the boxes. After that, you can press Cmd-Option-Plus to zoom in anywhere. Cmd-Option-Minus will zoom out in stages. To return to 100%, press Cmd-Option-8.
Open Display Preferences
Press Option-F2 to show the Display Preferences window.
Open Sound Preferences
Press Option-F12 to show Sound Preferences.
Adjust the volume in small increments
Press Option-Shift-Volume Key to move the volume of your Mac’s audio up or down by smaller increments than just using the volume key alone.
Put your Mac to sleep
Hit Option-Cmd-Power (or Ctrl-Option-Cmd-Eject) and your Mac will go to sleep, gently and effortlessly.
Shut down your Mac
To quit open programs and shut down your Mac without needing to hit a confirmation button, press Ctrl-Option-Cmd-Power (or Ctrl-Option-Cmd-Eject). This will simply shut down your Mac, safely and securely.
Restart your Mac
If you want to restart your Mac, hit Ctrl-Cmd-Power (or Ctrl-Cmd/Eject). This will reboot your Mac.
Keep on learning
Presented above are introductory shortcuts, just one level above the ones everyone is used to. Once you learn them and use them daily, you’ll notice how your workflow suddenly starts to speed up. Soon enough, it would be time to step up you game with a collection of intermediate time-savers. But more on this later.
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This cheatsheet covers the default hotkeys, keywords and shortcuts for Alfred's features. Hotkeys in green are part of Powerpack features.
Note that, if you have changed hotkeys and keywords away from defaults, you'll need to refer to your own Alfred preferences to find out what they are.
Clever Question Mark:In Alfred, type '?hotkeys', '?keywords' or the question mark followed by the name of a feature, workflow, snippet, custom search, etc to bring up the relevant results.
⇧ Shift
⌃ Control
⌥ Option
⌘ Command
Basic Hotkeys
⌥space Show Alfred
↓ Select the next result in the list
↑ Select the previous item in the list
↩ Action the currently selected item
⌘# Action the # item directly [1-9]
⌘o Open file or application in default application
⌘, Show the Preferences Window
⌥↩ Search the currently typed query in Spotlight
Using Shortcuts App
⌃↩ Search the currently typed query in default web search
⌘↩ Reveal in Finder (if the result is a local file)
preferences Show Alfred Preferences
Launch applications
app name To launch an application simply start typing its name, then hit Return
Search the web
google, wiki .. Use predefined web search keywords
Find files quickly
open Follow keyword by query to open a file
spacebar Follow a space with your query to open a file
find Follow keyword by query to reveal file in Finder
⌘o Open the file
in Follow by a query to search for files that contain this query
Speed up your Mac productivity
define Follow keyword by a word and get a definition
Text Shortcut Mac
spell Follow keyword by a word and see results with suggested spelling
13*567 Type a calculation into main window to get the result
= Start an advanced calculation (enable this function in the Calculator Preferences)
screensaver Start Screen Saver
trash Show Trash
emptytrash Empty Trash
logout Log Out
sleep Sleep your Mac
sleepdisplays Sleep your Mac's displays
lock Lock your Mac
restart Restart your Mac
shutdown Shut Down your Mac
eject Eject (removable media or all mounted volumes)
hide Hide the running application
quit Quit the running application
forcequit Force Quit the running application
Work with files and applications
~ Navigate to your home folder
/ Navigate to your root folder
⌥⌘/ Go to last browsed path in the File System Navigation
previous Go to last browsed path in the File System Navigation
→ Show list of available Actions for selected item
fn Show list of available Actions for selected item
⌃ Show list of available Actions for selected item
⌥⌘ Show list of available Actions for selected Finder item
⌘↓ Browse selected folder in File System Navigation
↩ Enter a folder in File System Navigation
backspace Go up a folder
⇥ Autocomplete
. Show hidden files in File System Navigation
Tip: start typing in name of a folder/file to select it
Save your clips
Clipboard History and Snippets are Powerpack features.
⌥⌘c Open Clipboard History viewer
⌘c Copy selected clip to current Clipboard
snip Access snippets from main Alfred window with this keyword
clear Use keyword to clear Clipboard History
⌘s While in the Clipboard Viewer, save current clip as a snippet
Listen to Music
The iTunes Mini Player is a Powerpack feature.
These keywords must be used while the Mini Player is showing. Set up iTunes workflows to add keywords to your default results or global hotkeys.
⌃⌘↩ Show the iTunes Mini Player
itunes Use keyword to show the iTunes Mini Player
⌃⌘↓ Play / Pause
play/pause Play / Pause keywords
⌃⌘→ Next Track
next Next Track
⌃⌘← Back Track
back Back Track
previous Previous Track
⌃⌘↑ Play Random Album
random Play Random Album
volmax Maximum volume
volmid Half volume
mute Mute volume
⌃⌘[0-5] Rate currently playing song from 0 to 5 stars
backspace Go up a folder in iTunes Mini Player
⌘r Reindex iTunes library
Text Shortcut Mac App ShortcutsEmail and keep contactsKeyboard Shortcuts For Mac
Contacts and Emailing is a Powerpack feature.
email Use keyword followed by name or email address to send an email using your default email client
Disable mail app macos. Tip: If you open Address Book entries within Alfred, you can action individual fields (e.g. pressing return on an email Address will launch a new email to this address, etc)
WorkflowsText Shortcut Mac App Shortcut
Every workflow has its own set of keywords and arguments, so have a look at the workflow's own documentation for details. You'll either find the documentation within the content of the workflow or on the creator's own website.
Text Shortcut Mac App Keyboard
You can also type your keyword or part of the hotkey into the Workflows search to find them more easily!
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