100 Tips #15: The Command Key Is Your Best Friend

Giles Turnbull ()

20100510-command.jpg

CC license photo from jessica.garro

Remember how, back on Windows, you used to use the Win key and the Control key quite often? Well, on OS X, the Command key is your best friend.

There are two Command keys, one each side of the spacebar. You should find them easy to reach with your thumbs while typing.

Mac OS X is stuffed full of keyboard shortcuts – quick ways to get things done without taking your hands off the keyboard. The vast majority of them are done by holding down Command with your thumb while tapping another key with a finger.

Some of these shortcuts are universal: Command+S always saves what you’re working on. Command+Q always quits the app you’re working with. Command+N usually opens a new document; Command+O usually allows you to browse to a particular document so that you can open it in the current application.

Other commands vary according to the application you’re using. For example, in iTunes, Command+T shows the visualizer; but in Safari, Command+T opens a new tab.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to remember all these shortcuts from the start. After all, there are hundreds. Here’s a list from Apple, and here’s Dan Rodney’s list; neither of these is exhaustive, because there are many hundreds of application shortcuts not included. But you’ll get the idea.

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But over time, you’ll find yourself picking up some of these shortcuts and using them more often. You’ll soon wonder how you managed without them.

(You’re reading the 15th post in our series, 100 Essential Mac Tips And Tricks For Windows Switchers. Find out more.)

15 comments »

About the author

gilest

Giles Turnbull is a freelance writer in England. He writes for the Press Association and The Morning News. He has a website you can ignore and a Twitter account you needn't follow.

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Posted in 100 Tips, 7, Tips & Tricks |

  • Jimjar

    and you probably should have mentioned – in older nomenclature the Command key is also sometimes referred to as the ‘Apple’ key. Older Mac keyboards will have the icon of an apple on that key.

  • DCJ001

    Jimjar forgot to include a word in his post.

    .. the Command key is also sometimes [mistakenly] referred to as the ‘Apple’ key…

    This key has always been [correctly] referred to as the Command key.

  • jk

    A better way to learn shortcuts is to use the menu system as a reference: beside each selection, the shortcut is also shown – repeat a menu selection three times and realize that a shortcut key is going to save you a lot of time in the future.

  • iMike

    I highly recommend KeyCue (http://www.ergonis.com/products/keycue/) program for that purpose and in my humble opinion KeyCue
    should be in the 50 most essential programs for MAC list.
    Simply press and hold command key for an extra second and a list of all commands that applicable to this will appear on the screen.
    Hope it helps.

    Kind Regards

    iMike

  • talassala

    Why did they remove the Apple logo on that key? I don’t remember exactly when they did this. Was it a few years ago?

  • Jonas

    Most useful shortcut: command-comma. Opens preferences in every app, except those from Adobe and several Microsoft apps.

  • Aaron Smith

    @talassala in late 2007 starting with the macbooks and Leopard’s release. Probably removed it because it was always referred to as the cmd key and with all the new mac owners they didn’t want them to get confused I guess.

  • http://www.oakbog.com Adam Rosen

    In my experience the name people use for the command key depends on when they started with the Mac. Those who go back to the start of the platform (68k era) generally say Command Key. Those who picked up the Mac along the way, until just the past few years, say Apple Key. Those switching to the platform since Apple put the word “command” on the key use Command Key.

    The vast majority of Mac users say “Apple Key” even though it’s technically incorrect. I suspect that’s why Apple changed the labeling.

  • onesixone

    best command key feature: Press Command Key when clicking on a search result in Spotlight or in recently used files and a finder window with the place of the file will pop up.

  • Ruud

    Also nice to mention: when you hit a key command the respective menu in you menu bar gets highlighted for a moment. Makes it possible to find out what you’ve just hit if you did it by accident.

  • MMNW

    In my opinion the most important commands are cmd-c and cmd-v … I mean, if you mention open, save and quit, you should mention copy & paste …

  • MrCrispy

    I always call it the command key but when I’m walking a complete mac nooby through shortcuts I will sometimes say “The cloverleaf.”

    I will, of course, explain to them that it’s actually the command key but when pointing it out for the first couple times, cloverleaf is a bit more descriptive.

  • IcyFog

    I never used nor use the Windows key when on a Windows computer, therefore I don’t remember.

  • Jon

    The Apple/Command key goes back to the early ADB keyboards which could be used with the IIGS or Mac

    The Apple ///, //e, //c, IIGS had ‘Open’ Apple and ‘Closed’ Apple’ keys

    On the Mac the ‘Open’ Apple key became the Command Key and the ‘Closed’ Apple key became the Option key.

    The early pre ADB Mac keyboards (128, 512, Plus) did not have the ‘Open’ Apple symbol on the Command key, it was used on the ADB keyboards to show the key funtioned as ‘Open’ Apple on the IIGS and Command on the Mac

    Though after the switch to USB it’s a mystery why they kept the ‘Open Apple symbol as that keyboard cannot be used with the IIGS!

    Look up Wikipedia for the history of Apple keyboards.

  • Site7000

    @ IcyFog Agreed. When I switched from Windows to Mac 2 years ago, I was astonished at how much more keyboard dependent OS X is and how often a simple action requires 2 clicks instead of 1. There’s never an answer to how to do something on a Mac that doesn’t have an arcane keyboard shortcut to remember. I’ll never switch back to Windows, but I wasn’t expecting that.