Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts

• Last Modified: October 20, 2008
• Article: HT1343

• Old Article: 75459

Summary

Learn about common Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts.

Products Affected

Mac OS, Windows

Startup
Keystroke	Description
Press X during startup	Force Mac OS X startup
Press Option-Command-Shift-Delete during startup	Bypass primary startup volume and seek a different startup volume (such as a CD or external disk)
Press C during startup	Start up from a CD that has a system folder
Press N during startup	Attempt to start up from a compatible network server (NetBoot)
Press T during startup	Start up in FireWire Target Disk mode
Press Shift during startup	start up in Safe Boot mode and temporarily disable login items and non-essential kernel extension files (Mac OS X 10.2 and later)
Press Command-V during startup	Start up in Verbose mode.
Press Command-S during startup	Start up in Single-User mode

 

Finder window
Keyboard shortcut	Description
Command-W	Close Window
Option-Command-W	Close all Windows
Command-Right Arrow	Expand folder (list view)
Option-Command-Right Arrow	Expand folder and nested subfolders (list view)
Command-Left Arrow	Collapse Folder (list view)
Option-Command-Up Arrow	Open parent folder and close current window
(Assigned in Keyboard & Mouse preferences)	Show Package Contents (of selected file in Mac OS X 10.5 or later only). To create this contextual menu shortcut, open Keyboard & Mouse preferences in Mac OS X 10.5, click Keyboard Shortcuts, click the "+" button, choose Finder.app as the Application, and type "Show Package Contents" (exactly), and set whichever shortcut you want, such as Command-Control-S.

 

Menu commands
Keyboard shortcut	Description
Shift-Command-Q	Apple Menu      Log out
Shift-Option-Command-Q	Apple Menu      Log out immediately
Shift-Command-Delete	Finder Menu      Empty Trash
Option-Shift-Command-Delete	Finder Menu      Empty Trash without dialog
Command-H	Finder Menu      Hide Finder
Option-Command-H	Finder Menu      Hide Others
Command-N	File Menu      New Finder window
Shift-Command-N	File Menu      New Folder
Command-O	File Menu      Open
Command-S	File Menu      Save
Shift-Command-S	File Menu      Save as
Command-P	File Menu      Print
Command-W	File Menu      Close Window
Option-Command-W	File Menu      Close all Windows
Command-I	File Menu      Get Info
Option-Command-I	File Menu      Show Attributes Inspector
Command-D	File Menu      Duplicate
Command-L	File Menu      Make Alias
Command-R	File Menu      Show original
Command-T	File Menu      Add to Favorites (Mac OS X 10.2.8 or earlier), Add to Sidebar (Mac OS X 10.3 or later—use Shift-Command-T for Add to Favorites)
Command-Delete	File Menu      Move to Trash
Command-E	File Menu      Eject
Command-F	File Menu      Find
Command-Z	Edit Menu      Undo
Command-X	Edit Menu      Cut
Command-C	Edit Menu      Copy
Command-V	Edit Menu      Paste
Command-A	Edit Menu      Select All
Command-1	View Menu      View as Icons
Command-2	View Menu      View as List
Command-3	View Menu      View as Columns
Command-B	View Menu      Hide Toolbar
Command-J	View Menu      Show View Options
Command - [	Go Menu      Back
Command - ]	Go Menu      Forward
Shift-Command-C	Go Menu      Computer
Shift-Command-H	Go Menu      Home
Shift-Command-I	Go Menu      iDisk
Shift-Command-A	Go Menu      Applications
Shift-Command-F	Go Menu      Favorites
Shift-Command-G	Go Menu      Goto Folder
Command-K	Go Menu      Connect to Server
Command-M	Window Menu      Minimize Window
Option-Command-M	Window Menu      Minimize All Windows
Command-?	Help Menu      Open Mac Help
Command-Space	Open Spotlight (Mac OS X 10.4 or later)
Command-esc	Front Row      Activates Front Row for certain Apple computers

 

Universal Access and VoiceOver
Keyboard shortcut	Description
Option-Command-8	Turn on Zoom
Option-Command-+ (plus)	Zoom in
Option-Command-- (minus)	Zoom out
Control-Option-Command-8	Switch to White on Black
Control-F1	Turn on Full Keyboard Access When Full Keyboard Access is turned on, you can use the key combinations listed in the table below from the Finder.
Control-F2	Full Keyboard Access      Highlight Menu
Control-F3	Full Keyboard Access      Highlight Dock
Control-F4	Full Keyboard Access      Highlight Window (active) or next window behind it
Control-F5	Full Keyboard Access      Highlight Toolbar
Control-F6	Full Keyboard Access      Highlight Utility window (palette)
Command-F5 or fn-Command-F5	Turn VoiceOver on or off (Mac OS X 10.4 or later)
Control-Option-F8 or fn-Control-Option-F8	Open VoiceOver Utility (Mac OS X 10.4 or later)
Control-Option-F7 or fn-Control-option-F7	Display VoiceOver menu (Mac OS X 10.4 or later)
Control-Option-;  or fn-Control-option-;	Enable/disable VoiceOver Control-Option lock (Mac OS X 10.4 or later)

 

The Universal Access preference pane allows you to turn on Mouse Keys. When Mouse Keys is on, you can use the numeric keypad to move the mouse. If your computer doesn't have a numeric keypad, use the Fn (function) key.

 

Mouse Keys
Keystroke	Description
8	Move Up
2	Move Down
4	Move Left
6	Move Right
1, 3, 7, and 9	Move Diagonally
5	Press Mouse Button
0	Hold Mouse Button
. (period on keypad)	Release Mouse Button (use after pressing 0)

 

 

Other Commands
Keystroke	Description
Option-Command-D	Show/Hide Dock
Command-Tab	Switch application
tab	Highlight next item
Command-Up Arrow	Move up one directory
Command-Down Arrow	Move down one directory
Page Up or Control-Up Arrow	Move up one page
Page Down or Control-Down Arrow	Move down one page
Option-Drag	Copy to new location
Option-Command-Drag	Make alias in new location
Command-Drag	Move to new location without copying
Shift-Command-C	Show Colors palette in application
Command-T	Show Font palette in application
Command-Shift-3	Take a picture of the screen
Command-Shift-4	Take a picture of the selection
Command-Shift-4, then press Control while selecting	Take a picture of the screen, place in Clipboard
Command-Shift-4, then Spacebar	Take a picture of the selected window
Option-Command-esc	Force Quit
Control-Eject	Restart, Sleep, Shutdown dialog box
Control-Command-Eject	Quit all applications and restart
Option-Command-Eject or Option-Command-Power	Sleep
Command-click window toolbar button (upper right corner)	Cycle through available views for the window's toolbar (dependant on the nature of the Finder or application window)
Command-`	Cycle through windows in application or Finder (if more than one window is open)
Function-Delete (portables only--PowerBook, iBook, MacBook, MacBook Pro)	Forward Delete (delete the character to the right of your cursor)

Additional Information

Mac OS X: Shortcuts for Activating Full Keyboard Access

Mac OS X: How to Use the Keyboard to Perform Actions

Startup Manager: How to Select a Startup Volume

Mac OS X: Alternative Ways to Control Your Computer

Mac OS X: Shortcuts for Taking Pictures of the Screen

Mac OS: Apple Pro Keyboard Shortcuts for Shut Down and Restart

Mac OS X 10.2: Kotoeri Keyboard Shortcuts Have Changed

Mac OS X: Shortcuts for Windows

Mac OS X 10.1: Additional Features of the Dock

Mac OS X: Speech - How to Add a Spoken Command for Keyboard Shortcut

How to use your iPod to move your music to a new computer

• Last Modified: September 24, 2008
• Article: HT1329

• Old Article: 300173

Summary

Got a new computer and want to move your entire iTunes library? Starting with iTunes 7 there is a new backup feature that will archive your entire library to CD or DVD, including ratings and playcounts, which can be moved to another computer. If you are interested in moving your library using this method click, here.

If you do not have access to a CD or DVD burner then there is another option if you own an iPod. Because your iPod contains a high-capacity hard drive, you can use it to move all your music from your old computer to the new one.

Note: While you can use the Transfer Purchases from iPod option under the File menu to copy iTunes Store purchases from the iPod to another computer, you can't transfer songs from other sources from the iPod library to iTunes, so you'll need to follow the steps below to use iPod as a hard disk to transfer music files from one computer to another. This process will require the use of iTunes 7 on all computers. Any computers running iTunes 6 or earlier will need to be updated to follow these steps. Download the latest version of iTunes here. Once you have the files transferred, you'll need to authorize any iTunes Store content. If you won't be using your old computer, you'll want todeauthorize it.

Important: Windows operating systems don't recognize Mac OS-formatted disks (HFS or HFS Plus formats), so you can't use a Mac-formatted iPod to move your music to a Windows PC. See "iPod: How to determine iPod's hard disk format" if you're not sure what format your iPod is.

Products Affected

iTunes 7 for Mac, iTunes 7 for Windows, iPod, Microsoft Windows

Switch the iPod to manual update and enable disk use

The first thing you need to do is make sure have configured your iPod to enable disk use. To do this:

1. Open iTunes on your old computer.
2. Connect your iPod to your old computer and wait for it to appear in iTunes.
3. Select your iPod in the Source pane under the Devices section to display your iPod preferences in the main library window.
4. Click the Summary tab in the main iTunes window.
5. Click the Manually manage music button. Changing from automatic updating to manual puts a check mark by Enable disk use. A message says

   "Disabling automatic update requires manually unmounting the iPod before each disconnect."

   

6. Click OK in the message window.
7. Click Apply in the iPod preferences section of the iTunes window.

Is all the music together?

To make the move as easy as possible, be sure your music is all in one place.

1. Open iTunes Preferences:
   Mac: From the iTunes menu, choose Preferences.
   Windows: From the Edit menu, choose Preferences.
2. Click Advanced and then click General.
3. Look to see if the checkbox for "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library" is selected. If it is, skip ahead to Is there enough room on the iPod. If it is not, continue to step 4.
   
4. Select the "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library" checkbox.
5. Click OK. Note: Clicking OK will cause iTunes to copy all of your music files to another location on your computer. You will need to manually remove the files from their previous locations if you are concerned about space. If your computer does not have enough hard-drive space this process will not work correctly. Please speak to your computer manufacturer or Microsoft for more information on how to obtain more space to perform this action.
6. From the Advanced menu, choose Consolidate Library. A window appears reading: "Consolidating your library will copy all of your music into the iTunes music folder. This cannot be undone."
7. Click Consolidate.

Is there enough room on the iPod?

iPod shares its hard disk space between the songs that iTunes puts on it and any files you've added when using its disk mode. To transfer music with your iPod, you need enough free space to hold a copy of all your music files in addition to any copies that may already have been placed by iTunes (this is because non-purchased songs placed on the iPod by iTunes cannot be copied off the iPod while in disk mode). To figure out how much space you have on your iPod:

1. Open iTunes on your old computer.
2. Click on Music in the Source pane. The size of your library appears at the bottom of the iTunes window:
3. 
4. Connect your iPod to your old computer and wait for it to appear in iTunes.
5. Click the iPod under the Devices section of the Source pane.
6. The amount of free space on the iPod appears near the bottom of the iTunes window:
7. 
8. If the amount of free space left on your iPod is larger than your library, skip to Copy iTunes folder to iPod.

Free up space on the iPod

If your library is larger than the amount of free space on your iPod, you'll need to free up some space on it. Here's how:

1. Click your iPod in the Source pane.
2. Click on the Music option listed under iPod in the Source pane. (If you do not see this option, click the gray arrow next to the iPod to reveal the iPod's contents)
3. Click any song that appears in the main part of the iTunes window (to the right).
4. From the Edit menu, choose Select All.
5. 
6. Important: The next step will delete all music from your iPod. If you have been using automatic update you don't need to worry, because all your music is also on your computer. If you have not been using automatic update, and your iPod has music on it from another source (other than your iTunes library), following the next step will delete that music.
7. Press Delete on the keyboard. If you see a message that says "Are you sure you want to remove the selected items from the list?", click Yes.

Copy iTunes folder to iPod

To copy all your music files (including the library file that holds all your playlists and other settings) to your iPod:

1. Quit iTunes.
2. Locate your iPod:
   Mac OS X: On the desktop
   Windows: In My Computer
3. Locate your iTunes folder:
   Mac OS X: /Users/username/Music
   Windows: \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\
4. Drag the iTunes folder to the iPod. This can take a while if you have a lot of songs.

   

   From your old Mac to the iPod

   

   From your old Windows PC to the iPod
5. When the copy completes open iTunes.
6. Click on the iPod in the Source pane
7. Click the Eject button in the lower right corner of the iTunes window.
8. Disconnect the iPod from the computer when the "Do not disconnect" message no longer appears on the iPod screen.

Get iTunes ready on your new computer

To get iTunes ready to accept all your music on your new computer:

1. Download and install the latest version of iTunes.
2. Open iTunes on your new computer. If this is your first time to open iTunes on your new computer you will need to choose your options in the iTunes Setup Assistant.
3. Connect the iPod to your new computer.

Backup any music that's already on your new computer

Do you already have some music showing up in your Library in iTunes on the new computer? If so follow these steps to make sure this music gets saved (You can see how to add it back into iTunes in the Adding music on new computer back in section below). If not you can skip down to the Copy music to new computer section.

1. Open iTunes Preferences Mac OS X:
   From the iTunes menu, choose Preferences.
   Windows: On the Edit menu, click Preferences.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Click the Reset button next to iTunes Music folder location.
4. Make sure the checkbox next to Copy files to Music folder when adding to library is checked.

   

5. Click OK.
6. From the Advanced menu, choose Consolidate Library. An alert message appears: "Consolidating your library will copy all of your music into the iTunes music folder. This cannot be undone."
7. Click Consolidate.
8. Quit iTunes.

Copy music to new computer

To copy all your music files (including the library file that holds all your playlists and other settings) to your new computer:

1. Locate your Music folder (Mac OS X) or your My Music folder (Windows) on your new computer:
   Mac OS X: /Users/username/Music
   Windows: \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\
2. Drag the iTunes folder in this location out to the desktop.

   

   From the Music folder to the Desktop on your new Mac
   
   
   
   From the My Music folder to the Desktop on your new PC
   
   
3. Locate the iPod on the new computer:
   Mac OS X: On the desktop.
   Windows: In My Computer.
4. Double-click on the iPod to open it.
5. Drag the iTunes folder from the iPod to the Music folder (Mac OS X) or My Music Folder (Windows) on your new computer. This can take a while if you have a lot of songs.

   

   From the iPod to the Music folder on your new Mac

   

   From the iPod to the My Music folder on your new PC
6. Open iTunes.

There you go. All your music, playlists, and other information like play counts and ratings have all been moved from your old computer to your new one.

Add existing music on new computer back in

If you already had some music on your new computer, and you want to incorporate it into the music you just moved from your old computer:

1. From the File menu in iTunes, choose Add to Library (Mac OS X) or Add Folder to Library (Windows).
2. Navigate to the iTunes folder on your Desktop.
3. Click Choose (Mac OS X) or OK (Windows).

Note: Information like ratings and play count are not preserved for these songs.

Free up room on the iPod

To free up room on your iPod so iTunes can put all your music back on it:

1. Quit iTunes.
2. Drag the iTunes folder out of the iPod to the Trash (Mac OS X) or Recycle Bin (Windows).
   Mac OS X: From the File menu, choose Empty Trash.
   Windows: A Confirm Folder Delete window appears. Click Yes.

Switch the iPod back to automatic update

To set up your iPod to be updated with all your music from iTunes on your new computer:

1. Open iTunes.
2. Select your iPod in the Source pane and click the Music tab that is available on the right in the iPod Settings.
3. Click the “Sync music” option, and the “All songs and playlists” option. An alert message appears:

   "Are you sure you want to enable automatic updating? All existing songs and playlist on the iPod "ipod name" will be replaced with songs and playlists from the iTunes music library."

   Optional: Uncheck the Enable disk use button in the Summary tab if you don't want to use the iPod as a disk. If you leave this option checked you need to eject your iPod from iTunes before you disconnect the iPod from your computer.

4. Click Apply.

The iPod update begins. All your music is now on your new computer, and after the update completes it will be on your iPod again too.

 

Configure Advanced File Sharing with SharePoints

Mac OS X only: Share more than just your user folder on your Mac using the SharePoints preference pane. You already know how to access your Mac's files from your PC, but OS X's default Windows sharing only shares the user folder. To share other folders, grab SharePoints, which offers a graphical interface for configuring Samba (Windows sharing) as well as advanced AFS (AppleFileServer) properties. SharePoints is a free download for Mac only, donations requested.

SharePoints 3.5.4

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/8658

How to mount a Windows shared folder on your Mac

So you've made the switch to Mac, but kept your old PC, and now you've got both connected to your home router. How do you access your Windows files from OS X?

Sure you could set up an FTP or SSH server, but that's overkill for a regular home network. Turns out that Mac OS X can connect to Windows shared folders very easily. Read on to find out how.

Set up sharing on your PC. To get this going, make sure your PC is set up for file sharing. In Windows, choose the folder you want to access from your Mac, and right-click to get to its Properties dialog box. From the sharing tab, turn on sharing, and choose a name for the shared folder. (This is the name you'll see on your Mac.)

If you try to use a name more than 12 characters long, Windows will warn you about some operating systems not being able to grok it. To be safe, stick with something less than 12. Here, I'm sharing the "My Documents" folder as "PC - My Docs." Also, check the "Allow network users to change my files" if you want to save files to this share from your Mac.

Determine your PC's IP address. You'll need to give your Mac an address to look for this shared folder, so get your PC's local IP address from the command line by running ipconfig. In my setup (shown below), that address is 192.168.1.102. Write that number down.

UPDATE: Several readers have pointed out that you can use your PC's name versus its IP address to connect to it. Using the name is a better method than IP address because the IP can change if it's assigned dynamically, but the name won't unless you change it.

Connect to the server on your Mac. Now, on your Mac, from Finder's Go menu, choose "Connect to Server." Enter the IP address you just obtained from your PC, preceded by smb://, as shown:

UPDATE: To use your PC's name instead of IP address, replace the number with the name. So if your PC's name is "MyWindowsBox", you'd usesmb://mywindowsbox (not case-sensitive).

If it finds your server, you'll get prompted to enter your network credentials - by default, your Windows username and password:

Once you're in, you'll get to choose which shared folder you want to mount on your Mac. In this case, we're going to choose the "PC - My Docs" share:

And you're done! Now the "PC - My Docs" folder will be mounted on your Mac, and accessible from your desktop and in Finder. If you've allowed reading and writing to the shared folder in Windows, you can drag and drop and save files to it as if it were any disk.

This technique comes in very handy for backing up your Mac's data to a PC, too - just set your Mac's backup software destination to the Windows drive. Also,using Hamachi, you can also do this over the internet when you're away from home.

UPDATE: You can automatically mount your Windows drive every time you login to your Mac by adding it to your Login items. In System Preferences, Accounts, choose the "Login Items" tab and add the Volume to the list of apps that automatically start up. Thanks, Snorbalp!