10 time-saving Mac keyboard shortcuts your fingers need to know

When you need to create a copy of a file, right-clicking and selecting Duplicate might seem like the easiest way, but we’ve got one better. Click on a file and then hit ⌘-D to make a copy. And it’s easy to remember too: D is for “double.” 

If you’re constantly clicking over to the Finder to open your iCloud Drive, this keystroke will save you countless seconds each day. Just take the swift Shift-⌘-I expressway to your iCloud to retrieve old or store new files in a flash.

AirDrop is already a super-easy way to send someone nearby a photo, song, document, or another file right away, and this keystroke makes it that much quicker. Now you won’t have to use Spotlight to find the AirDrop app or use the sharing menu.

We all need a little help sometimes and moving the cursor all the way up to the Help menu is very tedious. But there’s another way—help with the app you’ve got working in the front is just three keys away: Shift, ⌘, and the question mark, which should help with memorizing it, too.

You probably already have this shortcut in your back pocket if you’re prone to over-foldering your desktop, but it’s just as handy if you need just do a little decluttering.

The function key on your keyboard is more than an abbreviated expletive—it unlocks all sorts og cool tricks on your Mac. Our favorite is the combo of Fn and the arrow keys will help you jump up to the top of a document (or bottom, with Fn-Down Arrow), and that’s handy if you just want to skim and get the gist of the text.

When you need to visit preferences, you probably know to click the app’s name in the menu bar and then slide your cursor down to Preferences. But there’s an even easier way: save precious seconds by pressing ⌘-Comma (,) to automatically pull up a pop-up Preferences window for whichever app you’re using. 

We all have things that we need to throw away, but dropping everything into the trash doesn’t have to be a drag—just click on the file you want to get rid of and press ⌘-Delete to remove it off your desktop with a satisfying audio click that lets you know it’s out of your hair for now. And a bonus tip: if you want to retrieve it, just press ⌘-Z to restore it to where it was.

A discarded file isn’t really gone until you actually empty your Trash, but you can save yourself the time of going up to the Finder and selecting Empty Trash with a quick stroke of the keys: Shift-⌘-Delete. You’ll still be asked if you’re sure you want to “Permanently Erase the Items in the Trash,” which you can answer with a simple tap of the Return key.