On a mac, the shift key is pressed all the time. Apple Keyboard: Mac Option Key and Other Features of the Apple Keyboard


Hotkeys increase our productivity when working on a computer, be it OS X or . Having developed the habit of using them, we significantly increase the speed of performing a number of operations. Many of the hotkeys on Mac OS X are almost the same as on Windows (except that instead of Ctrl and Alt you need to use Command and Option). But there are also completely unique keyboard shortcuts.

If you are switching from Windows to OS X, I recommend that you read this article. Otherwise you will never fully know why Mac is better PC.

Starting and ending programs

Use Spotlight for quick search the desired program. The Spotlight search bar on Russian Macs is launched using the hotkeys Control + Space (in English-language systems Command + Space - we use this combination to change the input language). In the Spotlight search bar, start typing the name of the program (or file). The system will show matches, among which choose the one you need. The down and up keys will allow you to quickly move to the desired item. With it highlighted, press Enter.

The Command + Option + Esc hotkey is the equivalent of Ctrl + Alt + Escape (or Ctrl + Alt + Delete) in Windows. They call the window quick completion applications. From it you can quickly close a program that is frozen in OS X.

To close active application press Command + Shift + Option + Esc at the same time and hold them for about three seconds. This technique is best used only if the program has stopped responding to commands. If the program is closed using this keyboard shortcut, changes to the document you were working on in it may not be saved.

Browser

  • Command + F – Opens a search bar for a piece of text on current page. Works in most OS X programs that deal with text.
  • Command + Left Arrow – Return to the previous page.
  • Command + Right Arrow – Move forward one page.
  • Command + T – Opens a new tab.
  • Command + W – Closes the current tab.
  • Command + L – Moves the cursor to the address input line.
  • Ctrl + Tab – Switch between browser tabs.
  • Ctrl + Shift + Tab – Switch between tabs in reverse order.

Work with text

Keyboard shortcuts for text editing on Mac and Windows have a lot in common. Just press Command instead of Ctrl.

  • Command + A – Select all.
  • Command + X – Cut.
  • Command + C – Copy.
  • Command + V – Paste.
  • Command + Z – Undo the last action.
  • Command + Shift + Z – Undo the undone action.
  • Command + Left Arrow - Move the cursor to the beginning of the current line.
  • Command + Right Arrow – Move the cursor to the end of the current line.
  • Option + Left Arrow – Move the cursor back one word.
  • Option + Right Arrow – Move the cursor one word to the right.
  • Option + Delete – Delete the word to the left of the cursor. You'll have to get used to the fact that the Delete button on a Mac is functionally equivalent to the Backspace button on Windows.

As in Windows, you can additionally press the Shift key to select a piece of text as you move the cursor.

Command + Space – Switch input language.

Managing open applications

For driving running applications OS X has a special tool - Mission Control. But a lot can be done using hotkeys.

  • Command + Tab – Switch between running programs. Similar to Alt + Tab on Windows.
  • Command + Shift + Tab – Switch between running programs in the opposite direction.
  • Command + Q – Close the active program. Similar to Alt + F4 on Windows.
  • F3 – Launch Mission Control to view all running programs and go to any of them.
  • Control + Left Arrow (or Right Arrow) – Move between desktops (in Windows there is only one).

To take a screenshot of the entire screen in Mac OS X, press Command + Shift + 3 at the same time. And if you press Command + Shift + 4, you can select a section of the screen that will be copied as an image.

If you think Mac and PC keyboards are exactly the same, you'll be surprised when you start using Mac. The letter keys, fortunately, are in their usual places, as well as function keys such as Esc, Tab, Caps Lock, Shift, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down. On full-size keyboards, you'll also find a number pad.

But then there is confusion and hesitation... How do the Command and Options keys work? Control keys on Mac keyboard and Ctrl in Windows perform the same functions? What is the Return key? Here short review these and other standard keys on the Mac keyboard, which will help you get rid of confusion:

Command. This is the main special key, which is part of the so-called “hot” key combinations: you press it, hold it, press one or two other keys and thus launch required process. From your experience in Windows, you are familiar with the Ctrl + S combination for saving a document. Ctrl key- this is a special key. The vast majority of keyboard shortcuts involve Command, so the closest analogy to Ctrl is Windows environment on Mac it will be Command. To save a document, use the combination Command + S.

Option. This is another one service key, which is mainly used in combination with Command. For example, in most programs that have a Toolbar, you can hide or show it using Option + Command + T.

Control. Rarely used. You can, for example, reboot your Mac by pressing Control + Command + Eject. It is mainly used to display a context menu of a selected object, such as a file. To do this, you need to hold the key pressed and click once on the object of interest.

Return. This is the equivalent Enter buttons on Windows. On keyboards with a numeric keypad, you will see an Enter key, the functions of which are absolutely identical to Return.

Delete. Acts similarly to the Backspace button in Windows, that is, it erases the character to the left of the cursor. Don't confuse it with Delete button in Windows, which removes the character to the right of the cursor!

Foward Delete ([x>). Works exactly the same as Delete in Windows, that is, it deletes the character to the right of the cursor. Note that the Forward Delete key appears only on number pad and is indicated by the symbol. This will help avoid confusion.

Fn. Used to work with function keys. For example, on one of the top row keys you will find a schematic representation of a speaker without sound waves and designation F10. By pressing this key you can mute and unmute the speaker sound, and in combination with the Fn key you can launch additional functions programs that are “bound” to the F10 key.
Navigation keys. The Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End arrow keys, always present on full-size keyboards, work exactly the same as in Windows. On portable keyboards, the last four keys are not present, and their functions are available through combinations of Fn and arrow keys: Fn + up arrow - Page Up, down - Page Down, left - Home, right - End.

Eject (±). By pressing this key, you will remove the CD from the drive (sometimes you need to hold this button for a couple of seconds).

Function keys. This is the top row of keys from F1 to F19 and with icons additional features. On most modern keyboards The last key in the row is F12. In table 1.1 are given standard features keys from F1 to F12, relevant for most modern Mac keyboards.

It is, of course, difficult to remember all these combinations, so the corresponding keyboard shortcuts are given in the drop-down menus after the commands. For example, the View menu commands Finder programs(“Icons”, “List”, “Columns”, Cover Flow) correspond to the keyboard shortcuts Command + 1... Command + 4. Pay attention to the “Hide Toolbar” command: notice an unfamiliar icon?

Open apple menu and take a look at the keyboard shortcuts. You won't find such icons on your keyboard even with a magnifying glass. But I will help you deal with them. In table 1.2 shows the symbols and their corresponding keys.

What do the key symbols mean for the Force Quit and Log Out commands?

The best way to remember all these keys is to keep the virtual keyboard turned on at all times.

To activate it, do the following:

1. Launch System Preferences from the Dock. The system settings window will appear.
2. Click the Language & Text icon. The Language and Text settings window will open.
3. Switch to the Input Sources tab and check the box next to Keyboard & Character.
4. Check the box next to “Show input menu in the menu bar.”
5. Click the Close button to exit System Preferences.
6. Click on the input menu icon in the “Menu Bar”.
7. Select Show Keyboard Viewer. The Keyboard panel will appear (though the layout of the Keyboard panel will vary depending on your Mac).

Despite the most convenient trackpads and mice, experienced Mac users prefer to use hotkeys. Over time, you will learn dozens of different combinations, but for now remember the most basic ones.

First, let's recall the names and designations of the modifier keys on the Mac keyboard, the symbols of which are different generations computers are slightly different and may be unfamiliar to newbies.

  • ⌘ - Command, Cmd.
  • ⌥ - Option, Alt.
  • ⌃ - Control, Ctrl.
  • ⎋ - Escape, Esc.
  • ⏏ - Eject.

Terminating the application

Unlike Windows, macOS applications can have multiple windows, so closing a window does not mean exiting the application. To terminate any application in macOS, use the ⌘Q keyboard shortcut.

Closing the active window

This is also why the ⌘W shortcut exists. It allows you to close the current program window without stopping the application as a whole.

Opening a new tab

Many applications support multiple tabs. This way you can avoid cluttering the screen and open just a tab instead of new windows. The key combination ⌘T is responsible for this action.

Switching applications

To switch between running applications in macOS, use the shortcut ⌘⇥. Pressing it once will return you to the previous application, and pressing ⇥ while holding ⌘ will open the switch panel itself. You can use the navigation arrows to switch between applications within the panel.

Call Spotlight

Spotlight search is rightfully considered one of the most useful features of macOS X. You can open it from the menu bar, but it is much more convenient to do this using the keyboard shortcut ⌃Spacebar.

Force termination of the application

It doesn't happen often, but it happens that applications freeze. In this case, they can be terminated forcefully by calling the termination menu by pressing the ⎋⌥⌘ keys, which are analogous to Ctrl + Alt + Delete in Windows.

Copy, paste, undo input

⌘X, ⌘C, ⌘V, ⌘Z

Hotkeys for cut, copy, paste and undo in macOS differ only in the modifier key - ⌘ is used instead of Ctrl. Otherwise, the keyboard shortcuts are similar: ⌘X, ⌘C, ⌘V, ⌘Z.

Search by document or site

Search is very common on macOS specific words or phrases in applications - it can be open page in Safari or any document. To find text inside a document or website, you must use the combination ⌘F.

Quick View in Finder

Quickly viewing documents and images is probably the simplest, but also incredibly useful feature macOS is. It works just as simply. To view a file, you just need to select it and press Space.

Shutdown

You can put your Mac to sleep, reboot, or shut down through the  menu. But this is done much faster from the shutdown menu, which is called up by the keyboard shortcut ⌃⏏. In this case, on a MacBook, instead of pressing the ⏏ key, you should press the power button.

Keyboard on computers made by Apple slightly different from the standard one we are used to Windows users. First of all, there is no key with the “windows” logo; its place is taken by the Command key. The familiar Alt is also missing, its place is taken in Mac OS by the Option key. We will tell you about the opportunities that it opens up for users of Apple computers in this material.

Keyboard on Macs

Apple is both a manufacturer of its own brand of computers and a supplier software for them. No company in the world does this. This is what explains the differences between standard keyboard and used on Mac computers.

The number and letter series do not have significant differences. The layout used is almost entirely QWERTY, with a few exceptions. The letter “е” on them is located in a different place. Only the top row with control keys and the bottom row with the space bar are significantly different.

To the left of the space bar are located sequentially Command, Option, Control, Fn. To the right of it are Command, Option and an arrow block. Thus, the bottom row of keys contains the entire specific set that only the Apple keyboard uses. The Option key on a Mac is represented by a "⌥" icon and an "alt" sign. Modern models Keyboards with a butterfly mechanism have a larger key area and instead of an icon they contain the inscriptions “Option” and “alt”.

Option Features

Now you know what the Option key looks like on a Mac and where it is located. It's time to move on to studying its capabilities, which can help the user in a variety of situations, from loading to expanding the capabilities of the control menu in various programs.

It is Option, held down when bootstrap Mac computer, allows you to log in boot menu. Thus, this one key gives you the opportunity to select the drive from which the operating system will boot. When working with Windows using the built-in BootCamp manager as a second system, this key is simply irreplaceable. And the combination Option+Command+R will help you completely restore the OS if necessary.

Using keyboard shortcuts has always opened up more possibilities for users than working only with a graphical interface. In the next few sections, we'll go into more detail about where the Option key on a Mac can significantly add functionality or expand upon existing capabilities.

Fine tuning

The necessary buttons for quickly changing some system parameters, managing windows and multimedia are displayed on top line keyboards of computers running Mac OS X. We master the Option button in relation to changes in brightness and volume settings. By default, these values ​​range from zero to a maximum of 16 positions. For example, if you turn down the brightness, then at the zero position the screen will be completely black.

When using the Shift+Option combination, pressing the brightness or volume button allows you to more fine tuning these system parameters. Each position out of sixteen will be divided into four. Thus, instead of 16 divisions, you get 64 at once. If the default values ​​​​set by the system are not enough for you, you can always use this keyboard shortcut and adjust these values ​​more precisely.

Selecting Applications

Another useful feature that the Option key has on a Mac is that it allows you to quickly set the default application for the selected file to open. Typically, users use the File Inspector to make this selection. He gives out full information about a file in one window, allows you to configure a number of parameters for it: quickly change access rights, change the name or extension, and, of course, set the application with which it will be associated.

In most cases this is convenient. All the file characteristics that you can work with are collected in one place. But there are situations when file associations need to be changed on the fly. In this case, using Option comes to the rescue. Once you hold it down, in the application selection menu for opening a file, the “Open in a program” item will change to “Always open in a program.”

Extra screen space

A feature of the Mac interface that makes it unmistakable is the Dock panel located at the bottom of the screen. It is always visible, and the windows of applications that open do not overlap it, opening only to its upper border. To prevent the user from being distracted from work, Mac provides the ability to transfer applications to full screen mode. In this case, the work area occupies the entire monitor. Top panel status and the lower Dock are not displayed unless you specifically move the cursor over them.

In the system settings, you can enable the option in which the bottom panel will automatically hide and appear. All these changes are permanent. In other words, you give the OS values ​​that it will always use. Customizing system parameters is usually done only once. And this time the Option key will come to our aid.

On a Mac, using the keyboard shortcut Option+Command+D, you can hide and bring up the Dock without changing system parameters. We need more space on the screen - we removed the panel, there is a need to work with the programs located on it - we called it using a keyboard shortcut. In this case, you do not change anything in the settings.

Advanced menu

The most basic function that the Option key performs on a Mac is to expand menus. For example, if you click the connect icon Wi-Fi is normal method, only information about available networks will open. Using Option, the same icon will give you full information about the existing connection. You will be able to view network security settings, your IP address, router address, connection speed and much more. In the same way, the volume icon menu allows you to select the audio playback or recording device and go to advanced settings.

Almost any system menu with the Option button held down, it changes its view, opening additional functions. Clicking it in the Navigation Pane of the Finder opens the Libraries folder, which is hidden from view by default. Context menu invoked for Finder in Dock, will allow you to restart it forcibly without having to call up the entire list of applications running on the system.

There are a lot of options for using this wonderful button in Mac OS. Anyone who wants to study in detail all the available keyboard shortcuts can view their list on the page technical support Apple and choose what you need and are easy to use.

Finally

From our material, you learned only some of the capabilities that the Option key provides. On a Mac, it is simply irreplaceable, and some believe that it is the study of its properties that makes you simple user a real "poppy farmer". Find out more about the possibilities operating system, which you use, you are already one foot on the path that will ultimately turn you into a confident user who can cope with any computer task.

The Option key in Mac OS X hides many secrets, and it is through it that the path from a beginner to a pro OS X user lies. MacBook will tell you how to master this tricky Option button.

So, first things first.

How to Use the Option Key in OS X Finder

Deselect all files

When you open a Finder window with files, you can press Command-A to select everything in the window, right? And to deselect all files, click Command-A.

Quickly jump to the search field

Want to quickly jump to the Finder search box? Normally, Command-F will open a new Finder window in search mode, but press this instead Command-F and the cursor will immediately appear in the search bar in the Spotlight window!

Quickly close or minimize many windows

You have a lot open Finder windows? Click Command– – M to reduce them, or Command– – W to close everything. The same combinations work with any open applications. Magic!

Open all subfolders

Typically, in list view mode, clicking on the small triangle next to a folder will open that particular folder. If you want to open all folders inside the selected folder in the list, click – Click.

Get rid of the trash dialog

If you want to empty the Trash, you can press Command-Shift-Delete. A dialog box will appear asking you if you really want to do this. To bypass this window, use the Option key! Click Command– Shift– – Delete.

How to Use the Option Key in the OS X Menu Bar

Change sound settings

You are used to changing sound settings via system settings? There is a faster and easier way - hold down the Option key and click on the volume icon, and you will immediately have access to the inputs and outputs.

Wi-Fi information

If you click on the WiFi icon in the menu, you will see available networks. If you hold down our favorite Option button, information about the node will appear in front of you WiFi access, to which you are connected, its SSID, 802.11 type, signal strength and frequency, etc. This information can be very useful in case of problems with your WiFi connection.

More information about Bluetooth

Hold down the Option key while clicking on the Bluetooth icon and you'll get a ton useful information: Your Bluetooth version number, your Mac's name, Bluetooth address. In addition, you can create a Bluetooth diagnostic report if necessary.

As you know, in OS X Lion Apple removed the “Save As...” item from the menu, but then silently returned it to Mountain Lion. There are several ways to return this item permanently, but if you don't want to mess around with the Terminal and configuration files, we'll tell you how you can solve everything very simply: press the Option button when opening the File menu. Alternative option– press Shift-Option-Cmd-S.

Get more file formats

You can click on the format drop-down list at the bottom of the save dialog box and you will get about 6 formats to save the file, such as PDF, JPG, etc. If you need more formats, press you know what key when you click on the drop-down list of formats and you will get an expanded list.

Copy and Replace Options

If you want to save a file in another folder where there is already a file with the same name, a dialog box will appear asking you what to do: stop copying, replace existing file or save both files with this name. If you press Option when this box appears, you will see that the "keep both" option changes to "skip". This way you can simply avoid copying a duplicate file.

In fact, Option has more secret powers; we only talked about the most basic and unobvious ones.


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