Apple is renowned for incorporating numerous hidden settings and keyboard shortcuts that often go unnoticed by many users. If you can do it with a keyboard shortcut, there’s no reason to do it with your mouse. While just about everyone knows the basic ones like copy and paste, here are some great lesser-known shortcuts you probably didn’t know about.
- Change volume without the notification sound: shift-volume
Hate that sound letting you know how loud your speakers are every time you press the volume up or down key? Hold shift while changing your volume and you’ll still see the on-screen indicator, but won’t have to listen to the droplet noise. - Change volume in smaller increments: option-shift-volume
Get in between the 16 standard volume increments and change your volume 1/64 at a time with this combo - Screen shot of a single element: command-shift-4, then tap space bar
Quickly take a screen shot of a window, dialog, dock, or any other element. You’ll save time having to edit out unwanted things later, like that desktop picture of a sloth you use. - Slow-motion effects: hold shift while closing a window, minimizing a window, opening a folder, etc
With negative productivity gain, you can make various in the OS items go slow-mo. Now you can see every detail in those beautiful genie animations. - Quick search Google: command-shift-L
Highlight any text and use this keyboard combo to do a quick Google search - Close all open windows: command-option-W
Ever have 25 windows open in the Finder and want to close them all? Stop clicking one at a time, and start using this shortcut. - Hide the active program and switch to another: option-click
Using the standard hide function (command-H) does a good job at hiding the one you’re in, but it throws you in the next open program you have running. Hold option and click on any program (in the background or in the dock) to hide the current active app and switch the one you click on all in one fell swoop. - Hide the dock: command-option-D
Temporarily get rid of your dock by pressing this combo. Do it again to reveal the dock. When the dock is hidden, you can still access it by putting your mouse where the dock is hiding.
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