One of the biggest faults with Windows, in my honest opinion, is that it doesn’t have a uniform design behind it. Both in interface and in shortcuts. In this post I will discuss the shortcuts.
Shortcuts, keystrokes, macros, whatever you wish to call them, are the key to being a power user on any platform (no pun intended). They allow you to quickly and easily manipulate the application you’re in without having to move your mouse. The good thing about OS X is that many keystrokes are universal. Most applications have the same basic keystrokes, so in learning these few commands you will slowly transition into becoming a power user
First and foremost is command + Q. One thing you’ll learn about keystrokes is that they’re often common sense. “Q” is short for “Quit.” So command + Q will quit the application you are in. Likewise command + W will close the window you have open of an application, or if you wish to hide it you can use command + H.
Command + C will copy whatever you have selected. There are many deviations from this “common sense” rule however. Command + P will not paste the text you have selected. For that you will have to use command + V. Instead command + P more often than not opens the print dialogue for you to print the document you are in. Command + X can be used to cut away/erase text.
One of the more important keystrokes is command + , (command + comma). This will pretty much always open the preferences of the application you are in. Another important keystroke is command + N. This macro will usually make a new window or file of the application you are in. If you use it in Safari you’ll make a new window. If you use it in Pages you’ll make a new pages document. Similarly command + O will let you open saved documents and command + S will let you save the documents.
Some lesser used but equally important commands are command + - (minus) and command + + (plus). These commands usually either decrease/enlarge font or decrease/increase the size of whatever you’re viewing.
If you’re in a text/pdf document you can use command + F to find search terms in said document.
I could literally go on for thousands of words describing almost every little keystroke commonly found in OS X, but I’ll let you explore those for yourself. What I have already said is enough to jump-start you on your to becoming a power user. Remember, it’s always quicker to use two hands instead of one.
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