Do you own an Apple computer?
The first time you walk out of the Apple store with your brand new computer, you likely feel pretty excited. After all, many people consider Macs to be one of the best computers out there, and you want to know how to use your computer to its full advantage.
Apple computers can help you streamline and improve your workflow in many ways. In specific, Mac shortcuts serve you well once you learn how to employ them.
Yet, when you switch over from PC computers to Mac devices, you might experience a learning curve. Apple products have different shortcuts than other computers, causing some people to find them confusing at first.
So, do you want to know some of the best Mac shortcuts?
If so, keep reading! We’ll go into everything you need to know below!
About the Command Key for Mac Shortcuts
If you look at your new Mac keyboard, you’ll notice a primary difference.
In place of the control key–located on either side of the space bar–exists a shiny new feature: the command key.
Command keys constitute the most fundamental part of Mac shortcuts. When you hold down the command key and use it on combination with different keys, you give yourself the ability to use the keyboard shortcuts. Familiarize yourself with the location of the command keys on your keyboard. It will help you learn the shortcuts more quickly.
The Basics
If you use computers a lot, chances are you do a lot of cutting, copying, and pasting.
Cut, copy, and paste features save people a lot of time. They enable people to move text from one location to another without having to replicate it. If someone doesn’t use this feature, they have to re-type out everything they’ve already written.
As such, we recommend learning these shortcuts first.
On a Mac, highlight the text you want to cut or copy. Then, to cut, press command and then the “x” key. This should remove the contents from the page and give you the ability to paste it elsewhere. To copy, press command and then “c.” Doing so won’t remove the contents from the page, but you’ll be able to paste them somewhere else.
To paste, press command and then “p.”
Other Document Shortcuts
Do you often work with documents?
Many people who use Apple products use documents on a regular basis, either at work or in their personal lives. Most businesses require their employees to have a working knowledge of software such as Microsoft Word, and in order to work quickly, you need to know how to use shortcuts.
Fortunately, Apple already has this built into their systems. They allow you to quickly save and access different essential document features using your command key.
To save a document, press command and then “s.” If you wish to undo whatever action you just took, hold down command and then press “z.” Have something you undid but then want to redo? Press command, and then shift, and then “z.” The deleted contents should reappear!
Do you want to move content from the top to the bottom of a document or vice versa? Many people who wish to do this end up scrolling all the way up or down. But what if you need to save time? Luckily, Macs let you do this. Simply press command and then either the up or down arrows, depending on which direction you want to go.
Log Out Quickly
Do you work in a confidential field? Do you often find yourself needing to quickly go away from your computer but don’t want to leave it open for everyone to read?
There’s good news here: with a Mac, you can easily secure your computer. Hitting control and then command and then “q” will automatically lock your screen. You can log out of your user account on your computer by pressing command and then shift and then “q.”
Some Apple computers, such as Macbook Pros, allow you to unlock your computer with your fingerprint or your password, even further securing your files.
Force Quit
Do you ever find yourself in the middle of using an application when it stops working suddenly, and it becomes impossible for you to exit out of it?
Sometimes, computers suffer these glitches in their operations, and it requires you to quit the application. When you can’t get out of something the regular way, try pressing command and then holding down “q.”
This should prompt the application to quit. If you haven’t saved your progress, the device will give you the opportunity to do so before closing out the application. Should you choose not to save, you will lose whatever you were just working on, but if you do save, you will be able to retrieve it at a later time.
Open Preferences
Do you want to open preferences while you’re working in an application?
People use preferences for a variety of things, including customizing their working experience. If you find yourself working in a document and a certain aspect starts bothering you, press command and then the comma key. This should open the application’s preferences and allow you to make the needed changes.
Using Spotlight Search
Do you want to search all the files on your computer at the same time?
On a Mac computer, you can do this via the spotlight feature. To access spotlight, simply press the command key and then the space bar. This should open spotlight’s search bar and give you access to the information you need.
Mac computers also feature many other shortcuts, including taking screenshots, which you can learn about at https://setapp.com/how-to/screenshot-on-mac.
Ready for More Technology Advice?
If you own an Apple computer, the Mac shortcuts on your keyboard help you work more efficiently.
Though there might be a learning curve if you’re switching from PC to Mac, you’ll find that these shortcuts ultimately help you work better. You can use them to do a variety of actions, such as moving text around, logging out quickly, force quitting, opening preferences, and using spotlight’s search feature.
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