Tips & tricks

Hide the Dock and reclaim a slice of your screen

Cmd+Option+D

Cmd+Option+D hides the Dock. On a laptop that gets you a noticeable strip of extra screen — the Dock slides out only when you want it.

Copy on your iPhone, paste on your Mac

Universal Clipboard works between Apple devices automatically — text, photos, and links travel over without emailing yourself.

Paste text without the formatting

Cmd+Option+Shift+V

Cmd+Option+Shift+V pastes text clean — no foreign fonts, colors, or sizes. Saves the look of every document.

Copy text right out of images and photos

macOS can select text in a photo or screenshot just like regular text. Grab a phone number off a photo of a business card in two clicks.

Quick Finder jumps: Desktop, Applications, Downloads

Cmd+Option+L

Finder has shortcuts for the folders you use most — Cmd+Shift+D for Desktop, Cmd+Option+L for Downloads, and more.

Your iPhone as a scanner: scan a document straight into your Mac

Right-click in Finder → Import from iPhone → Scan Documents. The scan lands directly in the folder, perfectly cropped.

Lock your Mac every time you step away

Ctrl+Cmd+Q

Ctrl+Cmd+Q locks the screen instantly. A two-second habit that protects your work and your data.

Split View: two apps side by side, full screen

Hold down the green button on a window and pick a half of the screen. Perfect for writing with reference material alongside.

Sign PDFs in Preview — no printer or scanner needed

The Preview app can drop your signature straight into a PDF. Capture it once, then sign in two clicks from then on.

Multiple desktops: separate work from communication

Ctrl+→

Ctrl+arrows switch between virtual desktops. One for focused work, one for mail and chat — and distractions disappear from view.

Hot corners: reveal the desktop or lock your screen with one flick

Assign actions to the corners of your screen — flicking into a corner shows the desktop, starts the screensaver, or locks the screen.

Text replacement: type “addr” and the whole address pops out

macOS can replace short shortcuts with long text system-wide — in email, browser, and chat alike. Set it up once, works everywhere.

The Option key unlocks hidden options in menus

Option

Hold Option and click Wi-Fi, sound, or an app menu — expanded options appear that you'd otherwise never see.

Bulk rename files right inside Finder

Select files, right-click, Rename — Finder can replace text, add sequence numbers, and format names with numbering.

Emoji and special characters with one key

Ctrl+Cmd+Space

The 🌐 (fn) key or Ctrl+Cmd+Space opens a panel of emoji and special characters — with built-in search.

Dictation: you talk, your Mac types

Double-tapping the keyboard shortcut starts dictation wherever the cursor is blinking. It handles other languages surprisingly well.

Show hidden files with a single shortcut

Cmd+Shift+.

Cmd+Shift+period in Finder toggles hidden-file visibility. Handy for configs, backups, and cleaning up your drive.

Space bar: preview a file without opening an app

Space

Select a file in Finder and press Space. PDFs, photos, video, and spreadsheets appear instantly — no waiting for an app to launch.

“Cut and paste” files in Finder

Cmd+Option+V

The Mac has no Ctrl+X for files — instead, copy with Cmd+C and paste with Option: the file moves instead of copying.

Frozen app? Force quit without restarting

Cmd+Option+Esc

Cmd+Option+Esc is macOS's version of Ctrl+Alt+Delete. Quit a frozen app in three seconds.

Jump to any folder with Cmd+Shift+G

Cmd+Shift+G

You don't have to click through the folder structure. Cmd+Shift+G in Finder opens a field where you just type the path.

Spotlight: launch apps without touching the mouse

Cmd+Space

Cmd+Space opens Spotlight — the fastest way to launch anything on a Mac. You can practically stop using the Dock.

Spotlight as a calculator and unit converter

Cmd+Space

No need to open a calculator or google an exchange rate. Spotlight calculates and converts currencies and units right in the search field.

A screenshot of exactly the part of the screen you want

Cmd+Shift+4

Cmd+Shift+4 turns your cursor into a crosshair. Select an area and the shot lands on the desktop — or straight in the clipboard.

Screen recording without installing anything

Cmd+Shift+5

Cmd+Shift+5 opens a panel that handles both screenshots and screen video — including area selection and a timer.

Cmd+Tab: switch apps like a pro

Cmd+Tab

The app switcher can do more than it looks — quit apps, hide them, or switch between windows without ever letting go of the keys.