11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | 2023 Written by Mac Adviser at Mac Adviser
Do you feel like your productivity is slipping? Do you find yourself struggling to keep up with all of the tasks that need attention? Maybe its time to learn some keyboard shortcuts! But with so many different keyboard shortcuts available, it can be hard to remember which ones are the most important and which will save you the most time in your day-to-day tasks.
Thats why we compiled this blog post for all of our readers. Here is a list of the11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcutsthat will help save you hours! We hope you find these helpful as they have saved us many hours at work!
![11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts 11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Command + Spacebar](https://mac-adviser.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/11-most-useful-Mac-keyboard-shortcuts-1-1051x438.jpg)
Open the Spotlight Search Tool |Command + Spacebar
Spotlight is one of the most useful shortcuts for any Mac user. TapCommand + Spacebarand type in what youre looking to find, like your favorite song or TV show episode. The results will be instant! Spotlight also searches through iMessages, bookmarks, and files on your hard drive text-wise as well so that it can give you a quick way to open apps without having them sitting around all over the dock space.
![11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts 2 11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Switch Between Active Apps | Command + Tab](https://mac-adviser.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/11-most-useful-Mac-keyboard-shortcuts-2-1-1051x438.jpg)
Switch Between Active Apps | Command + Tab
The Mac has two methods to switch between open apps. You can use the Dock, which shows all of your currently opened applications, or you can access an app switcher by hittingCommand + Taband then Tab repeatedly until you find the desired application on the screen. You can also use theCommand + Qshortcut to quit the app you have highlighted in the app switcher.
![11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts 11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Minimize Active Window | Command + M](https://mac-adviser.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/11-most-useful-Mac-keyboard-shortcuts-3-1051x438.jpg)
Minimize Active Window | Command + M
You can click the yellow dash button in the upper-left corner of a window to minimize it, but if you want to save more time, useCommand + M. If you have multiple windows open of the same app and want to minimize all of them, hitCommand + Option + M.
![11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Close Active Window | Command+W 11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Close Active Window | Command+W](https://mac-adviser.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/11-most-useful-Mac-keyboard-shortcuts-4-1051x438.jpg)
Close Active Window | Command + W
The cool thing about Macs is that you have different ways to get out of an app. To close the active window on Mac, you can click the little red x in the upper left corner or use theCommand + Wshortcut. If you want to close all the currently active windows of an app, hit Option + Command + W. This is different than quitting the application, the app will still be running in the background using this method. Below is how you can quit the application altogether!
![11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Quit Active Application | Command + Q 11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Quit Active Application | Command + Q](https://mac-adviser.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/11-most-useful-Mac-keyboard-shortcuts-5-1051x438.jpg)
Quit Active Application | Command + Q
As mention above,Command + Wcloses the window but not the application. To altogether quit an application, you can choose Quit from the Apple menu ? in the upper-left corner of the screen or use the keyboard shortcutCommand + Q.If the application stops responding, you might need to force quit the application. Below is how you can force quit an application altogether.
![11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Force Quit Application | Option + Command + Esc 11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Force Quit Application | Option + Command + Esc](https://mac-adviser.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/11-most-useful-Mac-keyboard-shortcuts-6-1051x438.jpg)
Force Quit Application | Option + Command + Esc
If a Mac app stops responding and cant quit the app normally, there are many ways to force it closed. One of them is pressing these three keys together:Option + Command + Escon your keyboard. Another way to do this would be to choose Force Quit from the Apple menu ? in the upper-left corner of the screen.
![11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Open Applications folder | Command+Shift+A 11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Open Applications folder | Command+Shift+A](https://mac-adviser.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/11-most-useful-Mac-keyboard-shortcuts-7-1051x438.jpg)
Open Applications folder | Command + Shift + A
Need to open your Applications folder? No problem, just hitCommand + Shift + A, and youll be there in a flash. Want the Utilities window instead? HitCommand + Shift + Ufor the utilities folder.Command + Shift + Dopens up your desktop folder.
![11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Safari Search Bar / Address Bar | Command + L 11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Safari Search Bar / Address Bar | Command + L](https://mac-adviser.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/11-most-useful-Mac-keyboard-shortcuts-8-1-1051x438.jpg)
Safari Search Bar / Address Bar | Command + L
Reaching for your mouse and moving the cursor to the search bar on Safari wastes a lot of time. HitCommand + Lwhile youre using Safari, and the cursor will move up to the search bar where you can type either a new address or a search! This shortcut also works with Google Chrome.
![11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Forward / Backwards in Safari | Command-left/right arrows 11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Forward / Backwards in Safari | Command-left/right arrows](https://mac-adviser.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/11-most-useful-Mac-keyboard-shortcuts-10-1-1051x438.jpg)
Forward / Backwards in Safari | Command-left/right arrows
If youre looking for a quicker way to move back and forth in your browser, theCommand + Left Arrowkey will take you back one page. Moving forward in your browser can be achieved with theCommand + Right arrowshortcut.
Open a Link in a New Tab | Command + Click
TheCommand-clickshortcut is a great way to open links/ bookmarks in new tabs. If you want to open a link in a new tab, usethe Command + click a linkshortcut. If you want to open the link in a new tab but make it your active window, use theShift + Command + click a linkcommand.
![11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Special Characters Menu |Control +Command + Space 11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Special Characters Menu |Control +Command + Space](https://mac-adviser.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/11-most-useful-Mac-keyboard-shortcuts-11-1-1051x438.jpg)
Special Characters Menu| Control + Command + Space
The Character Viewer is a quick way to insert emojis and other symbols into what you are typing. Just pressControl-Command-Space, then pick the symbol that suits your fancy!
11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | Part 1
If you didnt see what you were looking for, Apples extensive collection ofkeyboard shortcuts.
If you found this article helpful, you might also find these Mac Advisers articles useful as well.
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11 most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts | 2023 Written by Mac Adviser at Mac Adviser