 Mac Keyboard Shortcuts

A Quick & Friendly Guide from Tom Koch and OmniTech: Mac Tech, Tutoring and Security, 949-293-4161

👉 Click for a downloadable PDF of these Mac Keyboard Shortcuts

These are some of the most useful Mac-only keyboard shortcuts to help you move faster, fix mistakes, and feel more confident using your Mac.
You don’t need to memorize them all — even learning a few can make a big difference!
Feel free to print this guide out and keep it handy for when you need it.

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🧭 Everyday Basics

• ⌘ Command + C – Copy
• ⌘ Command + V – Paste
• ⌘ Command + X – Cut
• ⌘ Command + A – Select All
• ⌘ Command + Z – Undo (your best friend!)
• ⌘ Command + Shift + Z – Redo

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🪟 Window & App Control

• ⌘ Command + Tab – Switch between open apps (keep clicking Tab to cycle through the open apps in the App Picker)
• ⌘ Command + H – Hide the current app
• ⌘ Command + Q – Quit the current app
• ⌘ Command + M – Minimize the current window

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📂 Finder & File Shortcuts

• ⌘ Command + Space – Open Spotlight search
• ⌘ Command + N – New Finder window
• ⌘ Command + Delete – Move selected file to Trash
• ⌘ Command + Shift + Delete – Empty Trash (careful!)
• Space bar – Click once on a file in the Finder/Desktop, then hit Space Bar for Quick Look to preview files instantly. Click Spacebar again to toggle off.

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📝 Text & Editing Helpers

• ⌘ Command + Arrow keys – Jump to start or end of a line
• ⌘ Command + B – Bold text (in most apps)
• ⌘ Command + I – Italic text

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🖼 Screenshots

• ⌘ Command + Shift + 3 – Screenshot the entire screen
• ⌘ Command + Shift + 4 – Screenshot a selected area: drag the target cursor from one corner to another around what you want to screenshot and let go.
• ⌘ Command + Shift + 5 – Screenshot & screen recording options

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🧹 When Something Feels Stuck

• ⌘ Command + ⌥ (Option) + Esc – Force Quit an app: in the window that appears, click on the app you want to force quit, then click Force Quit at the bottom right.
• ⌘ Command + W – Close the current window
• ⌘ Command + R – Refresh or reload (in web browsers (Safari, Chrome, Firefox)

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⭐ Friendly Tip

You don’t need to use all of these. Start with Copy, Paste, Undo, Spotlight, and Screenshots — they’re the biggest time-savers.
Over time, your fingers will remember them automatically.

Macs are designed to be forgiving, so don’t be afraid to explore.
If something goes wrong, there’s almost always an Undo.

🙂

And, as always, if you have any questions, feel free to give me a call,