14 DAY TRIAL // One of the most important features of an operating system is its capability of helping you get your job done in as less time as possible. The keyboard shortcuts are the ones that will maximize your speed of completing any given task and OS X is one OS that has plenty of them.
Keyboard shortcuts have been a constant interest for me since I first used a computer, and, from the basic CTRL+ALT+DEL shortcut I got to use so often on my first Windows-based system, I have come to a point when I thought I knew all possible keyboard shortcuts ever invented by man.
But, the moment I used a Mac for the first time and saw the Command (CMD) key, I understood the fact that the keyboard universe was way bigger and thus started searching for new shortcuts to satisfy my need for speed (while using a Mac).
The list of Mac OS X shortcuts I am about to present in this article are the ones that have stuck with me and also the ones I consider of outmost importance if you want to take full advantage of what your Mac is capable of. You will be able to do it without having to navigate through the system’s menus just to activate a feature - you can do so by pressing a keyboard sequence in about half a second.
The OS X shortcut list
CMD + Scrollwheel This keyboard shortcut will allow you to zoom in or out on the image you can see on your Mac’s display (this means that you can also zoom in/out on videos playing on your Mac). If the shortcut does not work on your Mac, you will have to use OPTION + CMD + 8 to quickly turn on zooming in your Universal Access preference pane).
CTRL + OPTION+ CMD + 8 This keyboard sequence will help you quickly invert the colors on your Mac's display, thus obtaining a negative image of whatever is on your screen. This can prove very useful if you are outside with your MacBook and want to get rid of the polarizing effect that direct sunlight or odd angles give to an LCD screen. It will also make anything on your display a lot more legible (e.g. if you want to see certain details in a low-contrast scanned image).
CMD + Mouse drag You can successfully use this keyboard shortcut if you do not like how the menu bar items are arranged. By dragging the menu extras icons while holding the CMD key on your Mac’s keyboard, you will be able to easily rearrange them as you like.
CMD + OPTION + D This key sequence will quickly toggle the Dock hiding feature on and off. You may want to use it whenever you need more screen space for one of your currently running tasks.
SHIFT + OPTION while adjusting your Mac's volume Using this OS X shortcut, you will be able to easily fine tune your Mac’s volume level so that it will match your needs.
CTRL + CMD + EJECT Quickly reboot the system without displaying a confirmation dialog. Before restarting the Mac, all the applications will be quit automatically and a message will be displayed for each that will need to save information before quitting.
CTRL + CMD + SHIFT + EJECT Shutdown your Mac, again without a confirmation dialog, and, exactly like in the case of the shortcut above, it will allow the apps that will be forced to quit to display a dialog to save the contained information if needed.
SHIFT + CMD + Q This will instantly log out the current account. You can also use this shortcut if you want to restrict other people’s access to your system while you are away because it also doubles as an effective system-locking tool if you have previously set a password to your account.
SHIFT + CTRL + EJECT Using the shortcut, you can sleep your Mac’s display. This can prove to be an invaluable help for MacBook owners that want to run an application in the background and to preserve battery power at the same time (if they closed the laptop’s lid, the whole system would go to sleep and the said background app will be automatically stopped). It can also double as a highly effective way to stop people to sneak a peak on what is on your display.
CTRL + EJECT This is the quickest way for you to bring up the Restart, Sleep, Shutdown dialog. While this dialog is open, you can press “R” to restart the system, “S” to sleep it and “CMD + .” to cancel.
CMD + SHIFT + OPTION + ESC This represents a very quick way to kill an unresponsive application. All you have to do is to select the non responsive app in the dock and press the key sequence.
CMD + OPTION + ESC This will open the “Force Quit” dialog that will allow you to choose which application you want to kill.
CMD + SHIFT + OPTION+ BACKSPACE This keyboard shortcut will allow you to empty the trash without displaying a confirmation dialog.
Pressing OPTION during startup
Doing this will force your Mac to display the Startup manager, where you will be able to select which volume you want your system to boot from (pressing N will also make the first bootable Network volume appear).
These are the keyboard shortcuts that I consider the basic set for everyone who wants to get the most of the Mac user experience without having to overuse the Mighty Mouse. Do not forget though that you can also add your own custom shortcuts using the System Preferences / Keyboard & Mouse / Keyboard Shortcuts preference pane.
Do you know any other OS X shortcuts not featured in this list that you consider very important for completing your daily tasks on your Mac? Is there a shortcut that has boosted your speed in using your Mac and you want to share it with the other readers? You can do so by leaving a comment for everyone else to see.