If you want to get things done faster on your Mac, using keyboard shortcuts is the best way to be more productive without cutting corners. Here’s how to customize keyboard shortcuts in OS X.
While there is a certain way to do something on your Mac, there is always a way to do it faster. Keyboard shortcuts are the most popular way to get something done faster, and sometimes the only way to get something done (like taking a screenshot).
You may be familiar with basic keyboard shortcuts like copy and paste, but there are many more ways every user should know.
You can also customize the keyboard shortcuts in OS X to change them to your liking. Some keyboard shortcuts are incredibly useful, but can be really confusing as they may require three or more keys to press, and when you want to memorize a handful of keyboard shortcuts it can get confusing pretty quickly.
Here’s how to customize keyboard shortcuts in OS X; this hopefully makes keyboard shortcuts easier to remember.
Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts
An incredibly confusing keyboard shortcut is to take a screenshot. Cmd+Shift+3 takes a screenshot of your Mac and saves it as a file on your desktop. Of course, this key combination is not incredibly difficult to remember, but it is quite difficult to do it with one hand. Fortunately, you can replace this shortcut with something a little easier to execute on the keyboard.
To change a keyboard shortcut, you’ll want to go to Navigate to a specific shortcut by selecting a category in the left sidebar. I decided to click and change some of these shortcuts to something easier.
When you find a shortcut you want to change, click the keyboard shortcut on the right and enter the new keyboard shortcuts. I changed the screenshot shortcut to F12. I’ll still have to press the Function key and then F12, but I think it’s still much easier than Cmd+Shift+3.
However, the great thing about customization is that you can change it however you want to make it easier for you. You can even disable some keyboard shortcuts of your choice. For example, if you’re not using Mission Control, simply disable all Mission Control-related keyboard shortcuts to avoid accidentally pressing a shortcut and enabling it.
Useful Keyboard Shortcuts You Should Know
There are loads of keyboard shortcuts in OS X, but here are a few you need to know that can help you save time and go crazy.
– Pastes copied text without formatting (like bold or italicized when you copy).
– Reopens a tab you may have accidentally closed.
– Switches between different windows from the same app you have open.
– Instantly opens and displays All My Files window.
– Opens a new Finder window.
– Force Quit opens the Force Quit window where you can select an application.
– Opens the app switcher to switch between apps.
– Provides finer volume controls by adjusting volumes in quarterly increments.
– Brings up OS X Spotlight Search.
