Few people enjoy spending more time on work than they have to, yet often a simple lack of knowledge causes us to do exactly this, simply because we don’t easy, time-saving steps.
By learning several common Mac shortcuts, covering shortcuts that help with everything from documents to web pages to even Mac’s operating system, you’ll save you plenty of time in the long run.
Mac Keyboard Shortcuts: Writing Papers and Working with Documents
Writing papers can be time-consuming. However, there is (a vast) range of Mac shortcuts and commands that make life a little easier for any would-be essayist.
Here’s how to cut, copy and paste:
| Command | What will happen |
|---|---|
| Command + C | Copy text |
| Command + V | Paste clipboard content |
| Command + Shift + V | Pastes without formatting |
| Command + X | Cut |
| Command + A | Select All |
Here are Mac shortcuts that deal more specifically with formatting or editing your text, although not all of them work with every word-processing app.
| Command | Action |
|---|---|
| Command + B | Bold lettering |
| Command + I | Italics |
| Command + U | Underline |
| Option + Delete | Delete word on the left of the cursor |
| Fn + Delete | Forward delete |
| Control + K | Delete text between cursor and end of Paragraph |
| Command + Control + Spacebar | Open Character Viewer Window |
| Command + K | Add a hyperlink to selected text |
Hunting for particular words in your document or definitions or misspellings? Here are the Mac commands you need.
Note: some of these shortcuts are different for Google Docs and Microsoft Word, which occasionally have their own specific key combinations (noted below where available).
| Command | Action |
|---|---|
| Command + F | Find a specific word |
| Command + semi-colon (;) | Find misspelled words |
| Command + Control + D | Display definition of highlighted word |
| Command + Shift + Colon (:) | Open spelling and grammar window |
Here are several Mac keyboard shortcuts related to undoing actions and jumping to particular parts of your work:
| Command | Action |
|---|---|
| Command + Z | Undo the Previous Action |
| Command + Shift + Z | Redo previously undone action |
| Fn + Left / Right Arrow | Jump to Beginning/End of Doc |
| Command + Left/Right Arrow | Move cursor to the beginning/end of the line |
And finally, if you’ve finished a writing session, here are three Apple shortcuts that deal with saving, printing and opening new documents:
| Command | Action |
|---|---|
| Command + S | Save your doc |
| Command + O | Open Doc |
| Command + P | Print of Doc |
Mac Keyboard Shortcuts: Navigating Web Pages and Apps
Writing papers and reports is one thing, but no list of the best Mac shortcuts for students would be complete without detailing the commands that can be used to navigate between web pages and apps. These are the kinds of alternatives that prove useful when conducting the research and reading necessary for writing a paper, or when opening additional apps to help you finish your work.
It should be noted that these shortcuts work with all major browsers (e.g., Chrome, Safari, Firefox).
| Command | Action |
|---|---|
| Command + T | Open new Tab |
| Command + Shift + T | Reopen |
| Command + N | Open a New window |
| Command + W | Close current window |
| Command + Shift + W | Close all window |
| Command + M | Minimize the current window |
Mac Keyboard Shortcuts: Managing Files and Folders
If you save lots of essays and documents to your Mac, you may want to save them to particular folders, as a way of making them more findable. Here is a batch of Mac shortcuts that relate to folders:
| Command | Action |
|---|---|
| Command + Shift + N | Create a new folder |
| Command + Shift + D | Open the desktop folder |
| Command + Option + L | Open Downloads folder (in finder) |
| Command + Shift + O | Open Documents folder (in finder) |
| Command + Shift + G | Open to go to Folder |
| Command + Shift + H | Open user’s home folder |
| Command + Shift + F | Open all my files |
Mac Keyboard Shortcuts: Handy System Shortcuts
While none of the Mac commands below relate specifically to writing papers or managing your work, they’re all useful time-savers in one way or another:
| Command | Action |
|---|---|
| Command + Shift + Question mark (?) | Open help menu |
| Option + Shift + Volume up/down | Adjust volume |
| Command + Shift + Delete | Empty your Mac’s trash |
| Command + Delete | To empty the trash without confirmation |
| Command + Shift + 3 | Take a screenshot of the entire screen |
| Command + Mousepad click | Right-click |
| Command + Option + Esc | Brings up menu to help your force an app to quite |
| Command + Tab | Open the app switcher |
| Command + Spacebar | Open spotlight search bar |
