Advanced Mac keyboard shortcuts for power users
By Brendon Chase on 23 July 2008
Recently, CNET.com.au wrote a guide for basic Mac keyboard shortcuts which showed how you can navigate around the Mac OS X Leopard operating system. If you've mastered the elementary skills, it's time to learn some more advanced shortcuts to help increase productivity.
The basics of all keyboard shortcuts
While we covered the basics of keyboard shortcuts in our last article, it's useful to include it again for reference as it forms the basis for all of the shortcuts we'll be showing in this article.
| Name | Symbol | Abbreviation |
| Command |  |
cmd |
| Control |  |
ctrl |
| Shift |  |
shft |
| Option |  |
opt |
| Function | F | fn5 |
| Escape |  |
esc |
Remember, you can almost always find the correct keyboard shortcut for your favourite application by simply using the mouse and click on the file menu. There you will see the corresponding shortcut next to the mouse click. See screenshot below.
Safari
Surfing with Safari? Here are some of the more useful window and menu keyboard shortcuts for the Safari browser.
| Action | Keyboard Shortcut |
| Scroll page vertically | Up/Down arrow keys |
| Scroll to the top or bottom of a Web page | Command + Up/Down arrow keys |
| Go to Home Page | Command + Shift + H |
| Scoll down by a screenful | Spacebar |
| Scroll up by a screenful | Shift + Spacebar |
| Browse back | Delete |
| Browse forward | Shift + Delete |
| Open link in a new window | Command + click link |
| Download a link | Option + click link |
| Show bookmarks | Command + Option + B |
| Empty cache | Command + Option + E |
| Google search | Command + Option + F |
| View source code in TextEdit | Command + Option + V |
| Stop browser loading | Command + . |
| Hide or show status bar | Command + \ |
| Find a word | Command + F |
| New Window | Command + N |
| Open File | Command + O |
| Command + P | |
| New Tab | Command + T |
| Quit Safari | Command + Q |
| Minimise | Command + M |
| Page Set-up | Command + Shift + P |
| Undo | Command + Z |
| Reload Page | Command + R |
| Add Web page to bookmarks | Control + D |
iTunes
While iTunes can be an annoying iPod manager it's a top notch music and video playback application. Here's some keyboard shortcuts which will let you spend less time navigating with your mouse and more time practising your air guitar skills:
| Action | Keyboard Shortcut |
| Stop or pause the selected song | Space Bar |
| Play next song on the list | Command + right arrow key |
| Play previous song on the list | Command + left arrow key |
| Increase volume | Command + up arrow key |
| Decrease volume | Command + down arrow key |
| Mute sound | Option + Command + down arrow key |
| Eject CD or DVD | Command + E or Eject key |
| Turn visuals on or off | Command + T |
| Make visuals full screen | Command + F |
| Listen to the next or previous album in a list | Option + left or right arrow key |
| Create a new Smart Playlist | Option + click (+) button |
| Delete selected playlist | Command + D |
| Reshuffle the current playlist | Option + click the Shuffle button |
| Prevent iPod from automatically updating when connected | Command + Option as connecting |
| Create new playlist | Command + N |
| Create a new playlist with selected songs | Shift + Command + N |
| Add a file to iTunes library | Command + O |
| Open the song Info window for the selected song | Command + I |
| Show where a song file is located | Command + R |
| Copy the selected song's information | Command + C |
| Paste the selected song's information | Command + V |
| Hide or show the Artist and Album columns | Command + B |
| Hide or Show the song artwork | Command + G |
| Select all the songs in a list | Command + A |
| Deselect all songs in a list | Shift + Command + A |
| Open Stream | Command + U |
| Open iTunes Music Store | Shift + Command + H |
| Toggle iTunes MiniStore | Shift + Command + M |
| Show the currently playing song | Command + L |
iPhoto
iPhoto is one of the easiest ways to manage your albums of photos. Here's how to navigate the application easier with shortcuts:
| Action | Keyboard Shortcut |
| Create a new folder | Shift + Command + Option + N |
| Create a new album | Command + N |
| Create a new album from a selection of photos | Shift + Command + N |
| Split Event | S |
| Scroll selected Event into view | G |
| Magnify photo | M |
| Move to next or previous photo | Left or right arrow keys |
| Open photo in edit view | Return |
| Duplicate a photo | Command + D |
| Import photos | Shift + Command + I |
| Select all photos | Command + A |
| Remove a photo's rating | Command + 0 |
| Assign stars to photos | Command + 1-5 |
| Rotate photo | Command + R |
| Enter crop mode | C |
| Remove red eye | R |
| Open Effects pane | E |
| Open Adjust pane | A |
| Compare before and after edits | Hold Shift key |
| Zoom in on photo 100% | 1 |
| Zoom in on photo 200% | 2 |
| Zoom out | 0 |
| Adjust the view of a photo when zoomed in | Spacebar + drag photo |
| Retouch | R |
| Straighten | S |
| Ajdust white balance | W |
| Full screen edit view | Option + Command + F |
| Command + P | |
| Undo last action | Command + Z |
| Set key photo for events view | Press Spacebar when the photo appears |
iCal
iCal is the default calendar application in OS X Leopard.
| Action | Keyboard Shortcut |
| Create a new event | Command + N |
| Create a new to-do | Command + K |
| Create a new calendar group | Shift + Command + N |
| Subscribe to a calendar | Option + Command + S |
| Address Panel | Option + Command + A |
| Toggle to-do list | Option + Command + T |
| View by day | Command + 1 |
| View by week | Command + 2 |
| View by month | Command + 3 |
| Refresh calendars | Shift + Command + R |
| Go to today | Command + T |
| Go to date | Shift + Command + T |
| Next event | Command + right arrow key |
| Previous event | Command + left arrow key |
| Duplicate event | Command + D |
| Print Calendar and to-do list | Command + P |
Mail
Apple's Mail program ships for free with OS X Leopard. If you spend much of your day wrestling emails then these shortcuts will help you get the upper hand.
| Action | Keyboard Shortcut |
| Open Inbox | Command + 1 |
| Open Outbox | Command + 2 |
| Open Drafts | Command + 3 |
| Open Sent folder | Command + 4 |
| Open Trash | Command + 5 |
| Open Junk | Command + 6 |
| Select Search field | Command + Option + F |
| Erase junk mail | Command + Option + J |
| Create new email | Command + N |
| Get new mail | Command + Shift + N |
| Open activity monitor | Command + 0 |
| Add senders to address book | Command + Y |
| Add Reply To | Command + Option + R |
| Add Bcc | Command + Option + B |
| Toggle headers | Command + Shift + H |
| Attach file to message | Command + Shift + A |
| Paste as quotation | Command + Shift + V |
| Send message | Command + Shift + D |
| Forward message | Command + Shift + F |
| Save as draft | Command + S |
| Select all highlighted emails | Command + Shift + K |
| Mark as junk mail | Command + Shift + J |
| Toggle messages as flagged or unflagged | Command + Shift + L |
| Reply to message | Command + R |
| Reply to all | Command + Shift + R |
| Show raw source of email | Command + Option + U |
| Show font panel | Command + T |
| Convert message to plain text | Command + Shift + T |
| Make font larger/smaller | Command + (+) or (-) |
| Check spelling | Command + : |
| Move to next message | Down and Up arrow keys |
| Collapse or expand threads | Left and Right arrow keys |
iMovie
iMovie is an easy way for people to store, share, edit and create videos from a built-in library that organises your clips. So to make the process even simpler here are some of the shortcuts.
| Action | Keyboard Shortcut |
| Show properties for video frames | Command + Y |
| Import work from camera | Command + I |
| Export work | Command + E |
| Create new project | Command + N |
| Play video from where the pointer is | Spacebar |
| Play selection | / |
| Play selected event from beginning | \ |
| Play full screen | Command + G |
| Open music pane | Command + 1 |
| Open photos pane | Command + 2 |
| Open titles pane | Command + 3 |
| Open transitions pane | Command + 4 |
| Make viewer small | Command + 5 |
| Make viewer medium | Command + 6 |
| Make viewer large | Command + 7 |
| Select entire clip | Command + A |
| Deselect all clips | Shift + Command + A |
| Add selected frames to a project | E |
| Copy selected frames | Command + C |
| Paste selected frames | Command + V |
| Paste all adjustments | Shift + Command + V |
| Paste video adjustments | Option + Command + I |
| Paste audio adjustments | Option + Command + U |
| Paste crop | Option + Command + R |
| Open trimmer | Command + R |
| Trim selection | Command + B |
| Mark selected frame as a favourite | F |
| Unmark selected frame | U |
| Open keywords window | K |
| Remove all keywords | 0 |
| Open effects editor | C |
| Open video adjustments window | V |
| Open voiceover window | O |
| Toggle audio while skimming video | Command + K |
| Undo last action | Command + Z |
| Show fonts window | Command + T |
| Add outline to selected text | Shift + Command + O |
| Make selected text bigger | Command + (+) sign |
| Make selected text smaller | Command + (-) sign |
| Make text lines tighter | Option + Command + Left arrow key |
| Make text lines looser | Option + Command + Right arrow key |
| Copy text style | Option + Command + C |
| Paste text style | Option + Command + V |
| Align text left | Command + [ |
| Align text right | Command + ] |
| Align text centre | Command + | |
| Make selected text bold | Shift + Command + B |
iWeb
iWeb is an intuitive drag and drop website editor. While most tasks can be used with a mouse or trackpad, these following keyboard tips will save you time on repetitive tasks or hard to find menu items.
| Action | Keyboard Shortcut |
| Toggle Inspector | Optin +Command + I |
| Toggle layout look | Shift + Command + L |
| Show fonts window | Command + T |
| Show colours window | Shift + Command + C |
| Make selected text superscript | Control + Command + (+) sign |
| Make selected text subscript | Control + Command + (-) sign |
| Align text flush right | Shift + Command + } |
| Align text flush left and right (justify) | Shift + Command | |
| Copy paragraph style | Option + Command + C |
| Copy character style | Shift + Option + Command + C |
| Paste character or paragraph style | Option + Command + V |
| Paste and match style of destination text | Shift + Option + Command + V |
| Insert line break | Shift + Return |
| Send selected object to the back | Shift + Command + B |
| Bring selected object to the front | Shift + Command + F |
| Resize object from centre | Option + drag handle |
| Constrain aspect ratio when resizing object | Shift + drag handle |
| Mask or unmask object | Shift + Command + M |
| Exit mask mode | Return |
| Open shortcut menu for selected object | Control + click |
| Exit text edit mode and select text box or shape | Command + Return |
| Rotate object | Command + drag handle |
Quicktime
The default movie media player inside Mac OS X isn't the prettiest application but these keyboard shortcuts will get around the aging user interface.
| Action | Keyboard Shortcut |
| Start or stop playback | Spacebar |
| Play movie backwards | Command + left arrow key |
| Fast forward | Right arrow key |
| Rewind | Left arrow key |
| Go to beginning of movie | Option + left arrow key |
| Go to the end of a movie | Optin + right arrow key |
| Increase volume | Up arrow key |
| Decrease volume | Down arrow key |
| View movie in full screen | Command + F |
| Exit full screen mode | Esc |
| Play movie at half size | Command + 0 |
| Play movie at normal size | Command + 1 |
| Play movie at double size | Command + 2 |
| Play movie at full size | Command + 3 |
GarageBand
Familiar with GarageBand? While the user interface relies heavily on mouse dragging and dropping there are keyboard shortcuts to make repetitive tasks much faster:
| Action | Keyboard Shortcut |
| Start or stop playback | Spacebar |
| Go to the beginning | Z |
| Go to the end | Option + Z |
| Create a new track | Command + Option + N |
| Create a new basic track | Command + Shift + N |
| Duplicate selected track | Command + D |
| Delete selected track | Command + Delete |
| Toggle mute on selected track | M |
| Toggle solo on selected track | S |
| Lock and unlock selected track | L |
| Toggle track's automation curve | A |
| Show master track | Command + B |
| Show arrange track | Command + Shift + A |
| Show podcast track | Command + Shift + B |
| Show movie track | Command + Option + B |
| Toggle track info pane | Command + I |
| Split selected region | Command + T |
| Join selected regions | Shift + Command + J |
| Toggle snap to grid on and off | Command + G |
| Show/hide alignment guidelines | Command + Shift + G |
| Delete selected arrange region and timeline content | Command + Option + Delete |
| Delete selected region and fill in time | Control + Delete |
| Turn Ducking on/off | Command+ Shift + R |
| Start or stop recording | R |
| Turn the cycle region on or off | C |
| Toggle metronome | Command + U |
| Toggle count in | Command + Shift + U |
| Raise master volume | Command-up arrow key |
| Lower master volume | Command + down arrow key |
| Show track mixer | Command + Y |
| Show editor | Command + E |
| Show loop browser | Command + L |
| Toggle media browser | Command + R |
| Show on-screen keyboard | Command + K |
| Show musical typing window | Command + Shift + K |
| Show chord in LCD pane | Command + F (software instrument) |
| Show tuner mode in LCD pane | Command + F (real instrument) |
| Show time mode in LCD pane | Command + Shift + F |
| Show measures mode in LCD pane | Command + Option + F |
| Show tempo mode in LCD pane | Command + Control + F |
| Move notes to previous grid position | Left arrow key |
| Move notes to next grid position | Right arrow key |
| Move notes back one measure | Shift + left arrow key |
| Move notes forward one measure | Shift + right arrow key |
| Send selected object up one semitone | Up arrow key |
| Transpose selected notes down one semitone | Down arrow key |
| Transpose selected notes up one octave | Shift + up arrow key |
| Transpose selected notes down one octave | Shift + down arrow key |
| Print notation | Control + P |
Firefox on Mac
While we've covered Safari, Firefox is more often a better supported browser. Here are the essential keyboard shortcuts for Firefox on your Mac:
| Action | Keyboard Shortcut |
| Add to bookmarks | Command + D |
| Open bookmarks | Command + B |
| Toggle Caret browsing | F7 |
| Open new tab | Command + T |
| Close tab | Command + W |
| New browser window | Command + N |
| Close window | Command + Shift + W |
| Find | Command + F |
| History | Command + H |
| Open file | Command + O |
| Downloads pane | Command + J |
| Page info | Command + I |
| Page source code | Command + U |
| Refresh page | Command + R |
| Super refresh (force refresh) | Command + Shift + R |
| Select Location bar | Command + L |
| Download selected link | Option + Return |
| Select tabs | Command + 1, 2, 3, 4... |
| Web search | Command + K |
| Zoom text in | Command + (+) plus sign |
| Zoom text out | Command + (-) minus sign |
| Error console | Shift + Command + J |
| Bookmark all tabs | Shift + Command + D |
| Organise bookmarks | Shift + Command + B |
Adium
Adium is a multi-protocol instant messenger which will let you connect to your friends on Windows Live messenger, Yahoo instant messenger, Google Talk, AOL, among many others. Here's some handy keyboard shortcuts to manage this useful application:
| Action | Keyboard Shortcut |
| Get information on a selected contact | Command + I |
| Open log viewer for selected contact | Command + L |
| Block selected contact | Option + Command + B |
| Hide/show contact list | Command + / |
| Open file transfer window | Option + Command + L |
| Open transcripts window | Shift + Command + L |
| Open privacy settings | Option + Command + P |
| Open new chat | Command + N |
| Join group chat | Shift + Command + J |
| Connect all instant messenger services | Shift + Command + R |
| Paste images and colours | Shift + Command + V |
| Show spelling and grammar | Command + : |
| Custom status message | Shift + Command + Y |
| Show status messages of contacts | Ctrl + Command + S |
| Show user icons of contacts | Ctrl + Command + I |
| Show fonts | Command + T |
| Show colours | Command + C |
| Add contact | Command + D |
| Hide/show offline contacts | Shift + Command + H |
Have we missed your favourite Mac keyboard shortcut for the applications above? Feel free to add it in the comment section below and we'll add it to our list over time.