A physical device with buttons that allow characters to be entered
76
votes
16answers
7k views
Is there a quick way to lock my Mac?
On Windows you can hit the keys Windows+L to lock your computer if you step away.
I don't want to have to remember if sleep currently asks for a password, if there is a time out where my screen isn't ...
32
votes
2answers
7k views
What do I type to produce the command symbol (⌘) in Mac OS X?
What combination of keys do I press to produce the command symbol (⌘) on Mac OS X?
(I copied the above symbol from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_key.)
31
votes
31answers
7k views
What are your favorite Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts?
What are your favorite keyboard shortcuts on Mac OS X?
31
votes
12answers
5k views
Keyboard shortcut for restoring applications from the Mac OS X Dock?
Is there a keyboard shortcut to restore a minimised application window from the Dock?
Almost all Apple Mac OSX applications respond to the Apple + M command which minimises the current application ...
26
votes
11answers
2k views
21
votes
6answers
9k views
How do I type a ² or a ³ on an Apple keyboard (International English layout)?
I use ² and ³ a lot in e-mails. When using my Belgian Windows keyboard and a custom keymap it was easy to type this in Mac OS X as I assigned the appropriate key.
Now I switched to a qwerty ...
18
votes
6answers
2k views
How can I select buttons with just the keyboard?
Many user interface (UI) elements or dialog boxes have buttons. I would like to be able to select a button with just the keyboard, without the mouse. How can I do this?
18
votes
6answers
3k views
How to add characters to the press and hold character picker in OS X Lion?
In OS X Lion, there is a very useful feature for people like me who need to write in multiple languages, which pops up a small menu of additional characters when you hold down a letter.
For instance, ...
15
votes
4answers
1k views
Ctrl + Alt + Delete: Mac Equivalent?
Ctrl + Alt + Delete on Windows provides a variety of functions, the main one of interest being the Task Manager. Is there an equivalent keyboard shortcut & indeed Task Manager for carrying out ...
15
votes
3answers
2k views
Remap “Home” and “End” to beginning and end of line
Most of my computing time is spent in Linux (with occasional time in Windows). On these platforms the Home and End keys universally jump to the beginning or end of the current line.
I am gradually ...
14
votes
2answers
1k views
Return vs. Enter?
I noticed that my MacBook's keyboard has the word enter above the return key. I also noticed that on Mac OS X, there's a special symbol for return ↩, and another for enter ⌤. How would I send the ...
14
votes
2answers
411 views
How do I take a screenshot on my Mac?
What's the easiest way to take a screenshot of my Mac?
I've used Grab.app, but it's a bit annoying just to get a quick screenshot. Is there a faster way?
13
votes
2answers
671 views
What is the Mac keyboard key with a symbol ⌅ of an up arrow pointing into a horizontal line?
On a Mac, symbols are often used for keys rather than names. In Adobe Indesign for Mac, the keyboard shortcuts for inserting various break characters are described using what looks like an up arrow / ...
13
votes
5answers
547 views
Lock keyboard in lion
Is there a way to lock the keyboard in Lion? By "lock keyboard" I mean some way to make the computer ignore almost any keypresses, except some special "unlock" sequence. Maybe an OS X feature or ...
13
votes
6answers
5k views
Can I get windows 7 like window resizing on Mac OS X?
Windows 7 has a nice new feature for moving around windows.
The one that I am particularly interested in is:
Windows Key + Left/Right : Move the window to the left or right of the screen, or over ...
13
votes
2answers
702 views
Can I globally change the cmd-Q shortcut to require holding for two seconds, like the option in Chrome?
Many, many times, I accidentally press ⌘+Q when I meant to close a tab or window, or switch applications. When I saw the option in Google Chrome to require the shortcut to be held, I was overjoyed. ...
12
votes
5answers
11k views
Are there keyboard shortcuts for Home, End, PageDown, and PageUp in OS X?
How do I set keyboard shortcuts for Home, End, PageDown, and PageUp on a 13" MacBook Pro? Are there default keyboard shortcuts? Or can I do it with Automator (and if so, how)?
I want them to work the ...
12
votes
3answers
233 views
Is there an equivalent to ⌘ + D in the new save dialogs?
In Snow Leopard and prior, when clsoing a window with unsaved changes, the system would suggest to either save, cancel or discard the changes from keyboard shortcuts. You could:
save return
cancel ...
12
votes
6answers
6k views
What Is the Keyboard Shortcut for Sleep Display Without Eject Key?
I read that if you want to put your display into sleep the keyboard shortcut is Control ⌃+Shift ⇧+Eject ⏏, but what is it in Mountain Lion or Lion using a retina MacBook Pro or MacBook Air without an ...
12
votes
2answers
401 views
What is the ⌥ key?
Is this key the same as shift?
If so, why don't people just call it shift? I spent a long time looking around for what this key means. Google returned no results. My MacBook Air keyboard does not ...
11
votes
13answers
22k views
Is there a way to start the Terminal with a keyboard short cut?
Sort of like the Windows+R command in the windows world? That actually just lets you run a command but you get the idea.
11
votes
6answers
3k views
How can I expand the number of special characters I can type using my keyboard?
I am aware that when I press ⌥ or ⇧⌥ on my Mac, I can type a variety of special characters. I also know that I can insert special characters using the character palette. Is there a way to expand the ...
11
votes
5answers
5k views
Why does the enter/return key rename a file/folder, instead of opening it? [closed]
Is there some sort of known logic behind Apple's choice to make the enter key rename a file/folder, rather than open it as is standard on Windows and Linux?
For those of you coming here for the ...
11
votes
4answers
1k views
Do the current Apple USB Keyboards support charging the iPad?
As the new owner of an iPad, it was disappointing, but not surprising, to see a "not charging" in the upper right hand corner of my iPad when I connected it via USB to my Apple Keyboard from 2007. ...
11
votes
6answers
2k views
Command+right/left stopped working
On a couple occasions since I installed Lion, the keyboard shortcuts ⌘+→ and ⌘+← have stopped working to navigate to the beginning/end of a line inside text fields and such. Any ideas what's going ...
11
votes
1answer
4k views
How can I get Safari to reopen my last closed tab?
I'm switching back to Safari from Chrome. Now that I figured out how to get Safari to let me navigate tabs the way I want, only one thing remains: I want to be able to reopen my last closed tab with ...
11
votes
1answer
2k views
In Lion, if I keep pressing a key, why doesn't it repeat?
I don't know if there are any settings to toggle, but I figured out that if I keep pressing a button on my keyboard it doesn't repeat it and displays only one character! Can this be fixed to go back ...
11
votes
1answer
2k views
Make a custom keyboard layout the system default on Lion — even for the login screen
Can I make a custom keyboard layout (one that wasn’t included with OS X by default) the system default on Lion — even for the login screen?
10
votes
6answers
26k views
Alternative to Windows Snipping Tool for Mac OSX
Is there something like the Windows Snipping Tool for OSX?
For those, who don't know about the tool, it's an easy to use software to take snapshot of any portion of screen, and is really useful in ...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
Disable Command-W in the terminal
Is there any way to disable Command+W in the terminal?
On several occasions I have accidentally closed a terminal window containing important information when I meant to close a Safari tab and did ...
10
votes
4answers
714 views
Switching from Ubuntu to OS X and I'm lost
Situation
I got tired of some bugs/annoyments in Ubuntu(=some programs coming along with it). For example after using compiz for a few days I found bugs that were
distracting my work flow pretty bad ...
10
votes
4answers
4k views
Is there a keyboard shortcut to move a window from one monitor to another?
Is there a free app that I can use to move a window from one monitor to the other monitor (assuming only two monitors) via the keyboard? I shouldn't have to use the mouse at all (e.g., for selecting ...
10
votes
1answer
676 views
With the “small” Mac keyboard, how to simulate a HOME, END, and PageUp, PageDown key?
My desk is a little too narrow for the long type of Apple keyboard -- the one that has the keypad and the Home ↖, End ↘, Page Up ⇞, Page Down ⇟ keys... (it will take up the space for the mouse).
So ...
10
votes
2answers
5k views
Can I change the behavior of the Home and End keys on an Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad?
I just bought an "Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad", then I connected it to my Macbook Pro running Lion.
But the home and end key under the F14 key doesn't work as I expected. Say in "Pages", the ...
10
votes
3answers
305 views
Keyboard shortcut for toggling between Fn and F keys
Is there a keyboard shortcut for toggling between Function and classic F keys?
10
votes
1answer
262 views
Is there a keyboard shortcut for Don't Save?
One thing I do a lot is Command ⌘-Tab over to TextEdit, jot down some notes, and then decide to throw them away. I can close the window with ⌘-W, but is there a way to not-save it from just the ...
10
votes
6answers
4k views
How to set screen resolution with a keyboard shortcut on Retina MBP?
I've found myself switching between the 1440x900 and 1920x1200 "effective resolution" setting depending on what I'm doing (need more space on screen, etc).
Is there a way to toggle between these two ...
9
votes
21answers
2k views
Shortcuts & gestures you can't live without
What are some gestures or shortcuts you use on a daily basis that you can't live without?
I've found the BetterTouchTool preference pane add on to be great for creating custom gestures on a per app ...
9
votes
3answers
260 views
Is there a list of menu shortcut icons?
For example, see the screenshot below. The menu items have keyboard shortcuts associated with them, but where can I find a list of what keys the icons are referring to?
9
votes
5answers
4k views
How do you type a true minus sign (not a hyphen) on a Mac?
I'm looking for one of those ⌥+? shortcuts to type a minus sign (−) from the keyboard, without touching the mouse.
I'm looking for the minus sign (−). It should have the same width as a plus ...
9
votes
5answers
1k views
Is there a keyboard shortcut to queue a selected song so that iTunes will play it next?
Is there a keyboard shortcut to queue up a selected song to the "Up Next" playlist that was introduced in iTunes 11?
I like that new feature but having to alt-click or select from a panel isn't fast ...
9
votes
6answers
2k views
Home and End commands in Lion
After installing Lion, ⌘ + ← doesn't go to the line start and ⌘ + → doesn't go to the line end.
Anyone know how to reconfigure this?
9
votes
3answers
1k views
How can I force command-line arguments to a program shortcut in the dock?
I have Chrome installed in Applications, and a shortcut to it in the Dock.
How can I achieve to force some command-line arguments to each start-up of this app?
Let me be clearer, in the Terminal, I ...
8
votes
5answers
577 views
How to memorize the Option key ⌥?
I wonder if there is a good way to memorize the Option key ⌥. I almost always think of it as the Shift key, because it looks like a lower level and a higher level (the small hyphen elevated).
Or ...
8
votes
1answer
356 views
What's the Mac equivalent for CTR+ALT+Backspace on Linux?
I need to regularly shutdown brutally my Mac, due to program misbehavior (Starcraft 2 and EVE Online), which take control of the graphics and never surrender it back.
While I admire the tenacity of ...
8
votes
2answers
701 views
Keyboard shortcut to unhide or unminimize a window in OS X
I am asking this question because I feel it belongs on apple, not superuser. Also the perfect answer is not checked off there.
You hide a window using ⌘ + M. However even ⌘ + ⇥ to that window does ...
8
votes
8answers
15k views
Sharing a Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse sequentially between two Macs
I work out of my house where I have two computers: a mid-2010 Macbook Pro (for my day job) and a mid-2010 iMac (personal). During the workday, my iMac acts as a second display for my Macbook Pro via ...
8
votes
7answers
3k views
Mail.app - keyboard shortcuts to move mail and jump to folder
I'm coming to Mail.app with a background using both Outlook (on the PC) and GMail. In every mail client I've used, there are easy keyboard shortcuts to do these:
jump to any folder I want, just by ...
8
votes
1answer
3k views
Open Finder window from current Terminal location?
If I am in a specific path in a Terminal window, how can I open that same window in a new Finder window?
Note: This is the opposite of opening a Terminal from Finder.
8
votes
3answers
2k views
Where can I find the unicode symbols for Mac functional keys? (Command, Shift, etc.)
Is there a list of key-symbols that I could reference?
