To use a keyboard shortcut, press and hold one or more modifier keys and then press the last key of the shortcut. For example, to use Command-C (copy), press and hold the Command key, then the C key, then release both keys. Mac menus and keyboards often use symbols for certain keys, including modifier keys:

For Mac OS X v.10.4.x and Mac OS X v.10.3.9. Launch the Printer Setup Utility. Select Applications from the Go menu of Finder, double-click the Utilities folder, and then double-click the Printer Setup Utility icon. The Printer Setup Utility is launched and the Printer List appears. Select the printer. Doing so will reboot your Mac in OS X Recovery Mode which will let you access your support and service options through Safari and see additional troubleshooting steps and information to help resolve your issue. After choosing your country, click the Agree to send link to send your Mac’s serial number and reference codes to Apple.

There are different special start-up modes that your Mac can be powered into. These modes can be used to troubleshoot various Mac problems. Advanced users may use these modes. Single user mode enables a single superuser and loads directly into the command line of Mac OS. There is no graphical shell. How do I boot into recovery mode? To launch Mac Recovery Mode, reboot the Mac, hold Command and R keys together at startup window. Release the keys when you see the macOS Recovery window. How to Reinstall Mac OS from Recovery Mode. Here is how to reinstall macOS in Recovery mode: Select the Reinstall macOS option; Click Continue button.


On keyboards made for Windows PCs, use the Alt key instead of Option, and the Windows logo key instead of Command.

Some keys on some Apple keyboards have special symbols and functions, such as for display brightness , keyboard brightness , Mission Control, and more. If these functions aren't available on your keyboard, you might be able to reproduce some of them by creating your own keyboard shortcuts. To use these keys as F1, F2, F3, or other standard function keys, combine them with the Fn key.

Cut, copy, paste, and other common shortcuts

  • Command-X: Cut the selected item and copy it to the Clipboard.
  • Command-C: Copy the selected item to the Clipboard. This also works for files in the Finder.
  • Command-V: Paste the contents of the Clipboard into the current document or app. This also works for files in the Finder.
  • Command-Z: Undo the previous command. You can then press Shift-Command-Z to Redo, reversing the undo command. In some apps, you can undo and redo multiple commands.
  • Command-A: Select All items.
  • Command-F: Find items in a document or open a Find window.
  • Command-G: Find Again: Find the next occurrence of the item previously found. To find the previous occurrence, press Shift-Command-G.
  • Command-H: Hide the windows of the front app. To view the front app but hide all other apps, press Option-Command-H.
  • Command-M: Minimize the front window to the Dock. To minimize all windows of the front app, press Option-Command-M.
  • Command-O: Open the selected item, or open a dialog to select a file to open.
  • Command-P: Print the current document.
  • Command-S: Save the current document.
  • Command-T: Open a new tab.
  • Command-W: Close the front window. To close all windows of the app, press Option-Command-W.
  • Option-Command-Esc: Force quit an app.
  • Command–Space bar: Show or hide the Spotlight search field. To perform a Spotlight search from a Finder window, press Command–Option–Space bar. (If you use multiple input sources to type in different languages, these shortcuts change input sources instead of showing Spotlight. Learn how to change a conflicting keyboard shortcut.)
  • Control–Command–Space bar: Show the Character Viewer, from which you can choose emoji and other symbols.
  • Control-Command-F: Use the app in full screen, if supported by the app.
  • Space bar: Use Quick Look to preview the selected item.
  • Command-Tab: Switch to the next most recently used app among your open apps.
  • Shift-Command-5: In macOS Mojave or later, take a screenshot or make a screen recording. Or use Shift-Command-3 or Shift-Command-4 for screenshots. Learn more about screenshots.
  • Shift-Command-N: Create a new folder in the Finder.
  • Command-Comma (,): Open preferences for the front app.

Sleep, log out, and shut down shortcuts

You might need to press and hold some of these shortcuts for slightly longer than other shortcuts. This helps you to avoid using them unintentionally.

  • Power button: Press to turn on your Mac or wake it from sleep. Press and hold for 1.5 seconds to put your Mac to sleep.* Continue holding to force your Mac to turn off.
  • Option–Command–Power button* or Option–Command–Media Eject : Put your Mac to sleep.
  • Control–Shift–Power button* or Control–Shift–Media Eject : Put your displays to sleep.
  • Control–Power button* or Control–Media Eject : Display a dialog asking whether you want to restart, sleep, or shut down.
  • Control–Command–Power button:* Force your Mac to restart, without prompting to save any open and unsaved documents.
  • Control–Command–Media Eject : Quit all apps, then restart your Mac. If any open documents have unsaved changes, you will be asked whether you want to save them.
  • Control–Option–Command–Power button* or Control–Option–Command–Media Eject : Quit all apps, then shut down your Mac. If any open documents have unsaved changes, you will be asked whether you want to save them.
  • Control-Command-Q: Immediately lock your screen.
  • Shift-Command-Q: Log out of your macOS user account. You will be asked to confirm. To log out immediately without confirming, press Option-Shift-Command-Q.

* Does not apply to the Touch ID sensor.

Finder and system shortcuts

  • Command-D: Duplicate the selected files.
  • Command-E: Eject the selected disk or volume.
  • Command-F: Start a Spotlight search in the Finder window.
  • Command-I: Show the Get Info window for a selected file.
  • Command-R: (1) When an alias is selected in the Finder: show the original file for the selected alias. (2) In some apps, such as Calendar or Safari, refresh or reload the page. (3) In Software Update preferences, check for software updates again.
  • Shift-Command-C: Open the Computer window.
  • Shift-Command-D: Open the desktop folder.
  • Shift-Command-F: Open the Recents window, showing all of the files you viewed or changed recently.
  • Shift-Command-G: Open a Go to Folder window.
  • Shift-Command-H: Open the Home folder of the current macOS user account.
  • Shift-Command-I: Open iCloud Drive.
  • Shift-Command-K: Open the Network window.
  • Option-Command-L: Open the Downloads folder.
  • Shift-Command-N: Create a new folder.
  • Shift-Command-O: Open the Documents folder.
  • Shift-Command-P: Show or hide the Preview pane in Finder windows.
  • Shift-Command-R: Open the AirDrop window.
  • Shift-Command-T: Show or hide the tab bar in Finder windows.
  • Control-Shift-Command-T: Add selected Finder item to the Dock (OS X Mavericks or later)
  • Shift-Command-U: Open the Utilities folder.
  • Option-Command-D: Show or hide the Dock.
  • Control-Command-T: Add the selected item to the sidebar (OS X Mavericks or later).
  • Option-Command-P: Hide or show the path bar in Finder windows.
  • Option-Command-S: Hide or show the Sidebar in Finder windows.
  • Command–Slash (/): Hide or show the status bar in Finder windows.
  • Command-J: Show View Options.
  • Command-K: Open the Connect to Server window.
  • Control-Command-A: Make an alias of the selected item.
  • Command-N: Open a new Finder window.
  • Option-Command-N: Create a new Smart Folder.
  • Command-T: Show or hide the tab bar when a single tab is open in the current Finder window.
  • Option-Command-T: Show or hide the toolbar when a single tab is open in the current Finder window.
  • Option-Command-V: Move the files in the Clipboard from their original location to the current location.
  • Command-Y: Use Quick Look to preview the selected files.
  • Option-Command-Y: View a Quick Look slideshow of the selected files.
  • Command-1: View the items in the Finder window as icons.
  • Command-2: View the items in a Finder window as a list.
  • Command-3: View the items in a Finder window in columns.
  • Command-4: View the items in a Finder window in a gallery.
  • Command–Left Bracket ([): Go to the previous folder.
  • Command–Right Bracket (]): Go to the next folder.
  • Command–Up Arrow: Open the folder that contains the current folder.
  • Command–Control–Up Arrow: Open the folder that contains the current folder in a new window.
  • Command–Down Arrow: Open the selected item.
  • Right Arrow: Open the selected folder. This works only when in list view.
  • Left Arrow: Close the selected folder. This works only when in list view.
  • Command-Delete: Move the selected item to the Trash.
  • Shift-Command-Delete: Empty the Trash.
  • Option-Shift-Command-Delete: Empty the Trash without confirmation dialog.
  • Command–Brightness Down: Turn video mirroring on or off when your Mac is connected to more than one display.
  • Option–Brightness Up: Open Displays preferences. This works with either Brightness key.
  • Control–Brightness Up or Control–Brightness Down: Change the brightness of your external display, if supported by your display.
  • Option–Shift–Brightness Up or Option–Shift–Brightness Down: Adjust the display brightness in smaller steps. Add the Control key to this shortcut to make the adjustment on your external display, if supported by your display.
  • Option–Mission Control: Open Mission Control preferences.
  • Command–Mission Control: Show the desktop.
  • Control–Down Arrow: Show all windows of the front app.
  • Option–Volume Up: Open Sound preferences. This works with any of the volume keys.
  • Option–Shift–Volume Up or Option–Shift–Volume Down: Adjust the sound volume in smaller steps.
  • Option–Keyboard Brightness Up: Open Keyboard preferences. This works with either Keyboard Brightness key.
  • Option–Shift–Keyboard Brightness Up or Option–Shift–Keyboard Brightness Down: Adjust the keyboard brightness in smaller steps.
  • Option key while double-clicking: Open the item in a separate window, then close the original window.
  • Command key while double-clicking: Open a folder in a separate tab or window.
  • Command key while dragging to another volume: Move the dragged item to the other volume, instead of copying it.
  • Option key while dragging: Copy the dragged item. The pointer changes while you drag the item.
  • Option-Command while dragging: Make an alias of the dragged item. The pointer changes while you drag the item.
  • Option-click a disclosure triangle: Open all folders within the selected folder. This works only when in list view.
  • Command-click a window title: See the folders that contain the current folder.
  • Learn how to use Command or Shift to select multiple items in the Finder.
  • Click the Go menu in the Finder menu bar to see shortcuts for opening many commonly used folders, such as Applications, Documents, Downloads, Utilities, and iCloud Drive.

Document shortcuts

The behavior of these shortcuts may vary with the app you're using.

  • Command-B: Boldface the selected text, or turn boldfacing on or off.
  • Command-I: Italicize the selected text, or turn italics on or off.
  • Command-K: Add a web link.
  • Command-U: Underline the selected text, or turn underlining on or off.
  • Command-T: Show or hide the Fonts window.
  • Command-D: Select the Desktop folder from within an Open dialog or Save dialog.
  • Control-Command-D: Show or hide the definition of the selected word.
  • Shift-Command-Colon (:): Display the Spelling and Grammar window.
  • Command-Semicolon (;): Find misspelled words in the document.
  • Option-Delete: Delete the word to the left of the insertion point.
  • Control-H: Delete the character to the left of the insertion point. Or use Delete.
  • Control-D: Delete the character to the right of the insertion point. Or use Fn-Delete.
  • Fn-Delete: Forward delete on keyboards that don't have a Forward Delete key. Or use Control-D.
  • Control-K: Delete the text between the insertion point and the end of the line or paragraph.
  • Fn–Up Arrow: Page Up: Scroll up one page.
  • Fn–Down Arrow: Page Down: Scroll down one page.
  • Fn–Left Arrow: Home: Scroll to the beginning of a document.
  • Fn–Right Arrow: End: Scroll to the end of a document.
  • Command–Up Arrow: Move the insertion point to the beginning of the document.
  • Command–Down Arrow: Move the insertion point to the end of the document.
  • Command–Left Arrow: Move the insertion point to the beginning of the current line.
  • Command–Right Arrow: Move the insertion point to the end of the current line.
  • Option–Left Arrow: Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word.
  • Option–Right Arrow: Move the insertion point to the end of the next word.
  • Shift–Command–Up Arrow: Select the text between the insertion point and the beginning of the document.
  • Shift–Command–Down Arrow: Select the text between the insertion point and the end of the document.
  • Shift–Command–Left Arrow: Select the text between the insertion point and the beginning of the current line.
  • Shift–Command–Right Arrow: Select the text between the insertion point and the end of the current line.
  • Shift–Up Arrow: Extend text selection to the nearest character at the same horizontal location on the line above.
  • Shift–Down Arrow: Extend text selection to the nearest character at the same horizontal location on the line below.
  • Shift–Left Arrow: Extend text selection one character to the left.
  • Shift–Right Arrow: Extend text selection one character to the right.
  • Option–Shift–Up Arrow: Extend text selection to the beginning of the current paragraph, then to the beginning of the following paragraph if pressed again.
  • Option–Shift–Down Arrow: Extend text selection to the end of the current paragraph, then to the end of the following paragraph if pressed again.
  • Option–Shift–Left Arrow: Extend text selection to the beginning of the current word, then to the beginning of the following word if pressed again.
  • Option–Shift–Right Arrow: Extend text selection to the end of the current word, then to the end of the following word if pressed again.
  • Control-A: Move to the beginning of the line or paragraph.
  • Control-E: Move to the end of a line or paragraph.
  • Control-F: Move one character forward.
  • Control-B: Move one character backward.
  • Control-L: Center the cursor or selection in the visible area.
  • Control-P: Move up one line.
  • Control-N: Move down one line.
  • Control-O: Insert a new line after the insertion point.
  • Control-T: Swap the character behind the insertion point with the character in front of the insertion point.
  • Command–Left Curly Bracket ({): Left align.
  • Command–Right Curly Bracket (}): Right align.
  • Shift–Command–Vertical bar ( ): Center align.
  • Option-Command-F: Go to the search field.
  • Option-Command-T: Show or hide a toolbar in the app.
  • Option-Command-C: Copy Style: Copy the formatting settings of the selected item to the Clipboard.
  • Option-Command-V: Paste Style: Apply the copied style to the selected item.
  • Option-Shift-Command-V: Paste and Match Style: Apply the style of the surrounding content to the item pasted within that content.
  • Option-Command-I: Show or hide the inspector window.
  • Shift-Command-P: Page setup: Display a window for selecting document settings.
  • Shift-Command-S: Display the Save As dialog, or duplicate the current document.
  • Shift–Command–Minus sign (-): Decrease the size of the selected item.
  • Shift–Command–Plus sign (+): Increase the size of the selected item. Command–Equal sign (=) performs the same function.
  • Shift–Command–Question mark (?): Open the Help menu.

Other shortcuts

For more shortcuts, check the shortcut abbreviations shown in the menus of your apps. Every app can have its own shortcuts, and shortcuts that work in one app might not work in another.

  • Apple Music shortcuts: Choose Help > Keyboard shortcuts from the menu bar in the Music app.
  • Other shortcuts: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard, then click Shortcuts.

Learn more

  • Create your own shortcuts and resolve conflicts between shortcuts
  • Change the behavior of the function keys or modifier keys

Macs are generally known for being very dependable machines that produce little bugs, have a secure sandboxed space to fight off any intrusions (especially so since macOS 10.15 Catalina), and usually present minimum problems for the whole duration of their ownership.

However, occasionally, Macs do allow clashing processes to result in bugs, accumulate too much cache files from resource-intensive apps, and even let in a rare piece of malware if you’ve given it your admin access credentials (please don’t do it).

So there might be a time when you think that your Mac is not the same as it used to be and you probably want to queue a Mac reinstall OS process to start anew. To do that, you need to launch the Mac Recovery Mode.

What’s Mac Recovery Mode?

Chances are you might’ve never even used your Recovery Mode Mac feature before. So what is it?

Recovery Mode is an essential part of macOS utilities and lets you get out of precarious situations when your Mac is seriously stuck or some process is invading your system so much that regular Mac restarting doesn’t seem to help. A thing to do then is to boot Mac in Recovery Mode, which only allows for a few core features to operate.

In such system restore Mac environment, you’re able to:

  1. Restore from Time Machine backup

  2. Reinstall macOS

  3. Get help online (browse Apple’s documentation)

  4. Disk Utility (repair or erase your hard drive)

The natural thing to try and do if you see that your Mac is not working as expected is to go ahead and reinstall OS X. But before you proceed with the Mac system restore process, let’s see if you can fix your Mac using more accessible tools.

How to optimize your Mac the easy way

You can think about the Mac reinstall OS procedure as some heavy artillery you have at your disposal but that’s reserved for true emergencies. For most situations — Mac slowing down, files piling up, and apps spreading leftovers — a good Mac optimization software should be more than enough.

CleanMyMac X is just the kind of a powerful app that’s able to keep your Mac clean, fast, and secure in no time. It presents you with an easy-to-use toolkit and gives you access to complex operations at the click of a button. For example, you can delete all the duplicate Mail attachments, empty all the Trash bins at once, shred sensitive documents without leaving a trace, run maintenance scripts, flush DNS cache, repair disk permissions, and so much more.

Using CleanMyMac X is as intuitive as it can be:

  1. To speed up your Mac, head to the Maintenance tab under Speed

  2. Select Free Up RAM, Run Maintenance Scripts, Speed Up Mail, Reindex Spotlight, and anything else you find interesting

  3. Click Run

How to boot Mac in Recovery Mode

In some rare circumstances, your Mac might become seriously unresponsive, in which case you need to know how to reinstall Mac OS X to pretty much return all system processes back to their default settings.

Another important time to do a Mac reinstall OS is when you’re planning to sell your Mac and want to wipe out all your data completely or perhaps you’ve bought a Mac with someone else’s stuff on it.

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In both situations, the process for going into the Recovery Mode Mac feature is the same:

  1. Turn off your Mac and start it back up while holding ⌘ + R

  2. The Recovery Mode Mac menu will open. You can then choose the appropriate course of action. If you experience some systemic problems, you can just choose to reinstall macOS. If you have a Time Machine backup available, choose that. If you’re about to sell your Mac, use Disk Utility to erase your hard drive first and then start your Mac with ⌘ + R again and reinstall OS X. Click here to know more about how to use time machine on mac.

  3. Click Continue and follow the directions for the chosen option

How to install another version of macOS

When it comes to using the system restore Mac functionality, most of the time you’d just reinstall macOS you’ve had before. A lesser known trick is to use Mac Recovery Mode to install an older (or in fact the newer) version of the operating system.

So while you use ⌘ + R to go into Recovery Mode for the same macOS, you can use Option + ⌘ + R instead to install the latest compatible macOS or Shift + Option + ⌘ + R for the possibility to get the original macOS that your Mac was shipped with or the oldest available version after that.

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Why would you ever need to run an old operating system? Mostly because you might find that some software you depend on is not yet compatible with the latest version of macOS.

How to connect to WiFi in Recovery Mode

Before you go into the Mac system restore environment, it’s good to check that your WiFi is stable and fast or, better yet, connect to a wired connection via Ethernet.

Still, if your WiFi has broken down for one reason or another while you’re in Mac Recovery Mode, there’s a way out:

  1. Find and click the WiFi icon in the menu bar

  2. Select a WiFi network

  3. Enter the password if needed and press Return

How to properly backup your Mac

Talking about your Mac malfunctioning and all the important macOS utilities that help you with its recovery, it’s impossible to skip the notion of conducting frequent backups — the only thing that stands between your sanity and losing all of your files in an accident. But backups are boring and not something most people would want to bother themselves with, so automation is key.

Get Backup Pro is the most flexible solution for keeping your files safe, regardless of what happens with your Mac. It offers you easy ways to synchronize your Mac with another device, to clone your hard drive to an external one, to establish a scheduled versioned backup routine, and even to do frequent incremental backups of the most important files. Even better, you can mix and match, and create multiple clones of the same files or break up your hard drive in different ways for extra security. A very small price to pay to be able to reinstall Mac OS without losing data at any time.

How to recover any Mac files quickly

You might not think about it right now, but it’s likely that at some points you’re going to lose some of your files. Maybe it’s because you’ve overwritten changes on the same document, you’ve accidentally deleted an important file, or your Mac just simply crashed. A robust backup solution would be your first go-to, but what do you do if you need the last version of the document that hasn’t yet been saved anywhere?

Disk Drill is an essential Mac recovery app that can quickly scan your affected hard drive and extract all the recently deleted information in seconds:

  1. Open Disk Drill and wait for it to display all the connected drives

  2. Click Recover next to the hard drive with deleted files and follow the guide

Note: Even though Disk Drill is able to recover old files in most circumstances, it shouldn’t replace your comprehensive backup strategy. Think of Disk Drill as an uber-important tool of last resort.
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Here you go, now you know how to reinstall Mac OS X, speed up your Mac with CleanMyMac X, do proper backups with Get Backup Pro, and even recover lost files with Disk Drill.

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Best of all, you can try CleanMyMac X, Get Backup Pro, and Disk Drill absolutely free for seven days via Setapp, a platform with more than 170 cool macOS utilities and apps that make your days 10x more productive and fun. Download them all at no cost today and see for yourself!

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