--- description: In architecting its latest operating system (OS) for Macs — OS X version 10.8, also known as Mountain Lion — Apple liberally mimicked iOS, the... title: The Most Useful Mac Keyboard Shortcuts image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d0f7eec107f4372/6998ba9666d4e38048cbb280/wpid-cam00017.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) # The Most Useful Mac Keyboard Shortcuts by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) May 24, 2013 9:45 AM CUT  Doug Aamoth / TIME.com by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) May 24, 2013 9:45 AM CUT In architecting its latest operating system (OS) for Macs — OS X version 10.8, also known as [Mountain Lion](http://www.techlicious.com/review/apple-mountain-lion-review/ "undefined") — [Apple](http://topics.time.com/apple/ "undefined") liberally mimicked iOS, the operating system that runs the iPhone, [iPad](http://topics.time.com/ipad/ "undefined") and iPod touch. Many functions and features in Mountain Lion are accessed and controlled by swiping, flicking, tapping and pinching on the surface of a trackpad (or on the top of Apple’s accessory Magic Mouse), as well as by pointing and clicking. But like operating systems of yesteryear, when trackpads and mice were far less integral, Mountain Lion also lets you use a keyboard alone to summon a feature or function. In fact, Mountain Lion contains so many “keyboard shortcuts” — combinations of key presses that invoke a command — that an [Apple webpage lists hundreds of them](http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1343 "undefined"). What follows here is our choice of the most useful keyboard shortcuts in Mountain Lion (and all OS X versions, starting with OS X 10.2 Jaguar), plus a selection of our favorite ways to control the Mac OS with trackpad swipes, flicks, taps and pinches. ## Keyboard Shortcuts ### Shortcuts for navigating among applications, open windows and the desktop **Command Key + Tab** – Move forward to the next most recently used application in a list of open applications **Command Key + Q** – Quit the frontmost application **Command Key + W** – Close the frontmost window **F9 Key** – Tile or un-tile all open windows (for quick selection and access) **F10 Key** – Tile or un-tile all open windows in the currently active (frontmost) application **F11 Key** – Hide or show all open windows **F12 Key** – Hide or display Dashboard (Note: Holding the F12 key when the computer is first starting up also ejects a removable disc — CD or DVD — from the drive) ### Shortcuts to use within open applications and windows **Command Key + N** – Create a new document in the frontmost application **Command Key + P** – Display the print dialog box **Command Key + S** – Saves the active document **Command Key + Shift Key + S** – Display the Save As dialog box **Command Key + T** – Opens a new tab in a web browser; while in other applications displays the Fonts window **Command Key + Z** – Undo previous command (some applications permit multiple Undos) **Command Key + Shift Key + Z** – Redo previous command (some applications permit multiple Redos) ### Shortcuts for selecting and acting on selected items **Command Key + A** – Selects all items in a document or window (or on the desktop if no window is open), or all characters in a text field **Command Key + B** – Boldface the selected text or toggle boldfaced text on and off **Command Key + C** – Copies selected item or text to the Clipboard **Command Key + E** – Uses the selection for a Find **Command Key + I** – Italicize the selected text or toggle Italic text on and off **Command Key + V** – Paste the Clipboard contents at the location of the cursor **Command Key + X** – Cuts the selected item and stores it in the Clipboard ### Shortcuts for screen captures **Command Key + Shift Key + 3** – Capture the screen to a file **Command Key + Shift Key + Control Key + 3** – Capture the screen to the Clipboard **Command Key + Shift Key + 4** – Capture a selection to a file **Command Key + Shift Key + Control Key + 4** – Capture a selection to the Clipboard ### Shortcuts for navigating the menu bar **Control Key + F2** – Puts the focus on the menu bar, so you can now use the following keyboard shortcuts to navigate through the menu bar menus. (Useful if your portable mouse or portable trackpad has dead batteries and won’t operate.) **Left Arrow and Right Arrow** – Moves from menu to menu **Return** – Opens a selected menu **Up Arrow and Down Arrow** – Move to menu items in the selected menu **Type the menu item’s name** – Jump to a menu item in the selected menu **Return** – Select a menu item (within a selected menu) ## Trackpad Gesture Controls Perhaps the most fun way to use Mountain Lion is with gesture controls, and our favorites are listed below –– but you’ll find a lot more, and see video demonstrations of them all on [Apple’s Mountain Lion gestures explanation page](http://www.apple.com/osx/what-is/gestures.html "undefined"). Show Safari Tabs – Pinch in with two fingers to reveal all open tabs at once (navigate among them with a two-finger swipe left or right; point and click or tap on a tab to open it) Three-Finger Drag – Move a selected item from one place to another on the desktop or within an active window (where allowed) Tap-To-Zoom – Double-tap the trackpad with two fingers within a PDF or web page to zoom in where the cursor is positioned (or zoom back out to a normal view) Word Lookup – Tap a word with three fingers to look up its Dictionary, Thesaurus and Wikipedia entries Show Desktop – Spread your thumb and three fingers to reveal the desktop (when you’re otherwise in an open window or active application) Did we miss any of your favorites? Share them in a comment. _This article was written by Robert E. Calem and_ [_originally appeared on Techlicious_](http://www.techlicious.com/tip/the-most-useful-mac-keyboard-shortcuts/ "undefined")_._ **More from** [**Techlicious**](http://www.techlicious.com/ "undefined")**:** * [The Comprehensive Guide to Facebook Privacy Settings 2013](http://www.techlicious.com/guide/the-guide-to-facebook-privacy-settings-2013/ "undefined") * [Top Tips To Manage Your Inbox](http://www.techlicious.com/tip/top-tips-to-manage-your-inbox/ "undefined") * [Who Is Tracking You Online?](http://www.techlicious.com/blog/who-is-tracking-you-online/ "undefined") The Most Useful Mac Keyboard Shortcuts ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7231594/the-most-useful-mac-keyboard-shortcuts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7231594/the-most-useful-mac-keyboard-shortcuts/"},"headline":"The Most Useful Mac Keyboard Shortcuts","datePublished":"2013-05-24T09:45:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T10:47:58.724Z","description":"In architecting its latest operating system (OS) for Macs — OS X version 10.8, also known as Mountain Lion — Apple liberally mimicked iOS, the...","url":"https://time.com/archive/7231594/the-most-useful-mac-keyboard-shortcuts/","keywords":["Tech","mac"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d0f7eec107f4372/6998ba9666d4e38048cbb280/wpid-cam00017.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d0f7eec107f4372/6998ba9666d4e38048cbb280/wpid-cam00017.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"wpid-CAM00017.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"Doug Aamoth / TIME.com","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7231594/the-most-useful-mac-keyboard-shortcuts/","name":"The Most Useful Mac Keyboard Shortcuts"}}]}] ```