Question

Mac shortcuts: The most important shortcuts for macOS

Answer 1

Key legend
Standard keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts for word processing and documents
Shortcuts for switching on and off
The most important special characters as shortcuts
Shortcuts for the finder
Other useful shortcuts

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Shortcuts simplify your everyday life with your Mac. We have put together the most important shortcuts for macOS for you..

As a switch to macOS, you not only have to get used to a new keyboard layout, but also learn new key combinations. Many of these key combinations make working faster and more convenient. But even long-time macOS users may find one or the other shortcut in our overview that they did not know before.

• Key legend
• Standard keyboard shortcuts
• Keyboard shortcuts for word processing and documents
• Shortcuts for switching on and off
• The most important special characters as shortcuts
• Shortcuts for the finder
• Other useful shortcuts

Key legend

button	designation
cmd ⌘	Command key
ctrl	Control button
←	Backspace
◂	Left arrow
▸	arrow to the right
▴	up arrow
▾	Down arrow
⏏	Eject button
⇧	Shift key
old ⌥	Options button
↩	Enter key
fn	Function key
↹	Tab or tab key

button	designation
cmd ⌘	Command key
ctrl	Control button
←	Backspace
◂	Left arrow
▸	arrow to the right
▴	up arrow
▾	Down arrow
⏏	Eject button
⇧	Shift key
old ⌥	Options button
↩	Enter key
fn	Function key
↹	Tab or tab key

Standard keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcut	description
cmd + C	Copy
cmd + V	Insert
cmd + X	cutting out
cmd + A	Mark all
cmd + S	Save on computer
cmd + Z	Back
fn + backspace	Remove

Keyboard shortcut	description
cmd + C	Copy
cmd + V	Insert
cmd + X	cutting out
cmd + A	alle Markieren
cmd + S	Speichern
cmd + Z	Zurück
fn + Backspace	Entfernen

Keyboard shortcuts for word processing and documents

Keyboard shortcut	description
cmd + right arrow	jump to the end of the line
cmd + left arrow	jump to the beginning of the line
cmd + up arrow	jump to the beginning of the document
cmd + down arrow	jump to the end of the document
alt + right arrow	one word further
alt + left arrow	one word back
alt + up arrow	back one paragraph
alt + down arrow	one paragraph further

Tastenkombination	Beschreibung
cmd + Pfeil nach rechts	zum Zeilenende springen
cmd + Pfeil nach links	zum Zeilenanfang springen
cmd + Pfeil nach oben	zum Dokumentenanfang springen
cmd + Pfeil nach unten	zum Dokumentenende springen
alt + Pfeil nach rechts	ein Wort weiter
alt + Pfeil nach links	ein Wort zurück
alt + Pfeil nach oben	einen Absatz zurück
alt + Pfeil nach unten	einen Absatz weiter

Shortcuts for switching on and off

Keyboard shortcut	description
Shift + cmd + Q	De-register
alt + cmd + eject	Sleep mode (not possible on Macs with Touch ID)
ctrl + cmd + Q	Lock screen
cmd + ctrl + eject	Restart (not possible on Macs with Touch ID)
alt + cmd + ctrl + eject	Shut down (not possible on Macs with Touch ID)

Tastenkombination	Beschreibung
Umschalttaste + cmd + Q	Abmelden
alt + cmd + Eject	Ruhezustand (nicht bei Macs mit Touch-ID möglich)
ctrl + cmd + Q	Bildschirm sperren
cmd + ctrl + Eject	Neu starten (nicht bei Macs mit Touch-ID möglich)
alt + cmd + ctrl + Eject	Herunterfahren (nicht bei Macs mit Touch-ID möglich)

The most important special characters as shortcuts

Keyboard shortcut	special character
old + L	@
old + E	€
old + R	®
old + N	~
old + 5	[
old + 6	]
old + 8	{
old + 9	}
Shift + 7	/
alt + Shift + 7	\
old + 7	|

Tastenkombination	Sonderzeichen
alt + L	@
alt + E	€
alt + R	®
alt + N	~
alt + 5	[
alt + 6	]
alt + 8	{
alt + 9	}
Shift + 7	/
alt + Shift + 7	\
alt + 7	|

Shortcuts for the finder

Keyboard shortcut	description
Enter	Rename the selected file
old + cmd + T	Show finder toolbar
cmd + N	new Finder window
cmd + O	Open file or folder
cmd + D	Duplicate a file or folder
cmd + Shift + N	create new folder
cmd + I	Get file information
cmd + L	create link
cmd + 1	Icon view
cmd + 2	List view
cmd + 3	Column view
cmd + 4	Cover flow view
Spacebar or cmd + Y	Quicklook

Tastenkombination	Beschreibung
Enter	markierte Datei umbenennen
alt + cmd + T	Finder Toolbar anzeigen
cmd + N	neues Finder Fenster
cmd + O	Datei oder Ordner öffnen
cmd + D	Datei oder Ordner duplizieren
cmd + Shift + N	neuen Ordner erstellen
cmd + I	Dateiinformationen abrufen
cmd + L	Verknüpfung erstellen
cmd + 1	Iconansicht
cmd + 2	Listenansicht
cmd + 3	Spaltenansicht
cmd + 4	Cover-Flow-Ansicht
Leertaste oder cmd + Y	Quicklook

Other useful shortcuts

Keyboard shortcut	description
cmd + tab	switch between active applications
cmd + Shift + 3	Screenshot of the entire screen ( more screenshot keyboard shortcuts can be found here )
cmd + <	Switch between windows in an application
cmd + Q	exit program
alt + cmd + Esc	Opens the "End program immediately" window similar to the Task Manager
alt + cmd + Shift + Esc (hold down)	Force quit program
F3 (Mission Control)	Show all active windows (only for Macs without a touch bar)
cmd + F3 (Mission Control)	Hide all active windows / show desktop (only for Macs without a touch bar)
cmd + F (in the Finder)	Search
cmd + space bar	Spotlight search
cmd + backspace	Move the file or folder to the trash
cmd + Shift + Backspace	Empty the trash

Tastenkombination	Beschreibung
cmd + Tab	zwischen aktiven Anwendungen wechseln
cmd + Shift + 3	Screenshot vom gesamten Bildschirm ( weitere Screenshot-Tastenkombinationen finden Sie hier )
cmd + <	Wechsel zwischen Fenstern in einer Anwendung
cmd + Q	Programm beenden
alt + cmd + Esc	Öffnet das Fenster "Programm sofort beenden" ähnlich dem Task-Manager
alt + cmd + Shift + Esc (länger gedrückt halten)	Programm beenden erzwingen
F3 (Mission Control)	Alle aktiven Fenster einblenden (nur bei Macs ohne Touch-Bar)
cmd + F3 (Mission Control)	Alle aktiven Fenster ausblenden / Desktop anzeigen (nur bei Macs ohne Touch-Bar)
cmd + F (im Finder)	Suchen
cmd + Leertaste	Spotlight Suche
cmd + Backspace	Datei oder Ordner in Papierkorb verschieben
cmd + Shift + Backspace	Papierkorb leeren

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