MacBook owners have a number of tools that come in very handy for using their laptops efficiently and for maintaining the operating system to keep it running in top shape. These MacBook keyboard shortcuts for the Finder, a maintenance checklist, and a “translation” of the modifier keys will speed you on your way to becoming a MacBook power user.
Mac OS X Finder Keyboard Shortcuts
The Mac OS X Lion Finder helps you access and organize most of the important Mac OS X functions while you work. Use Finder keyboard shortcuts to display windows, copy and move files, and launch applications. These keyboard shortcuts help you get things done more efficiently.
Terminal Commands To Check System Memory. The free command. It’s the most frequently. Shut down your Mac, turn it on while holding down Command+R. Your Mac will boot into the recovery partition. If you’re using an older Mac (from 2010 or earlier), there’s a chance that you can’t use Recovery Mode. On those devices, hold “Option” while turning your computer on, then select the recovery partition instead. The Missing Package Manager for macOS (or Linux). It's all Git and Ruby underneath, so hack away with the knowledge that you can easily revert your modifications and merge upstream updates. The top command on OS X is pretty crappy. The one included with most Linux distros allows you to change the sort-by column using, there is a coloured mode (by pressing the z key), and a bunch of other useful options. Apple’s man pages are useful because a popup menu near the top of the page lets you choose an OS X version, so if you need to see the man page for an older version of OS X, you can do so.
| Key | Function |
|---|---|
| Command+A | Selects all items in the active window (icon view), all items in the column (column view), or all items in the list (cover flow view) |
| Command+C | Copies selected items |
| Command+D | Duplicates the selected item(s) |
| Command+E | Ejects the selected volume |
| Command+F | Displays the Find dialog |
| Command+H | Hides All Finder windows |
| Command+I | Shows info for selected item or items |
| Command+J | Shows the view options for the active window |
| Command+K | Displays the Connect to Server dialog |
| Command+L | Creates an alias for the selected item |
| Command+M | Minimizes the active window |
| Command+N | Opens a new Finder window |
| Command+O | Opens (or launches) the selected item |
| Command+R | Shows the original for selected alias |
| Command+T | Adds the selected item to the Sidebar |
| Command+V | Pastes items from the Clipboard |
| Command+W | Closes the active window |
| Command+X | Cuts the selected items |
| Command+Z | Undoes the last action (if possible) |
| Command+, | Displays Finder Preferences |
| Command+1 | Shows the active window in icon mode |
| Command+2 | Shows the active window in list mode |
| Command+3 | Shows the active window in column mode |
| Command+4 | Shows the active window in cover flow mode |
| Command+[ | Moves back to the previous Finder location |
| Command+] | Moves forward to the next Finder location |
| Command+Del | Moves selected items to the Trash |
| Command+up-arrow | Show enclosing folder |
| Command+` | Cycles through windows |
| Command+? | Displays the Mac OS X Help Viewer |
| Command+Shift+A | Takes you to your Applications folder |
| Command+Shift+C | Takes you to the top-level Computer location |
| Command+Shift+G | Takes you to a folder that you specify |
| Command+Shift+H | Takes you to your Home folder |
| Command+Shift+I | Connects you to your iDisk |
| Command+Shift+Q | Logs you out |
| Command+Shift+N | Creates a new untitled folder in the active window |
| Command+Shift+U | Takes you to your Utilities folder |
| Command+Shift+Del | Deletes the contents of the Trash |
| Command+Option+H | Hides all windows except the Finder’s window(s) |
| Command+Option+N | Creates a new Smart Folder |
| Command+Option+T | Hides the Finder window toolbar |
| Command+Option+Space | Opens the Spotlight window |
| Command+Space | Opens the Spotlight menu |
| F8 | Choose another desktop using Spaces |
| Control+up-arrow (or F3, depending on your keyboard model) | Displays the Mission Control screen |
| Control+down-arrow (or Control+F3, depending on your keyboard model) | Shows all open windows for the current application using Mission Control |
| F11 (or Command+F3, depending on your keyboard model) | Hides all windows to display the Desktop using Mission Control |
| F12 (or F4, depending on your keyboard model) | Displays your Dashboard widgets |
| Space | Quick Look |
Strange-Looking Keys on the MacBook Keyboard
New to the Macintosh world? Some keys on the MacBook keyboard may be mystifying. Whether you’re using Snow Leopard or an older version of Mac OS X, recognizing and using modifier keys will make your job easier. Here’s a look at the modifier keys on both MacBook and desktop keyboards:
Mac OS X Maintenance Checklist
Maintenance is vital if you want to keep Mac OS X Lion in tip-top condition for as long as possible. Maintaining your MacBook keeps it running fast and smooth. Basic housekeeping includes regular back-ups plus some other, less familiar, tasks. Check this table often, or print it and keep a copy near your laptop!
| Mac Maintenance Task | Schedule |
|---|---|
| Check for updates with Software Update | Once a day (automatic setting) |
| Back up with Time Machine | Automatic |
| Defragment (Micromat TechTool Pro/Prosoft Engineering Drive Genius 3) | Once a week |
| Repair Disk Permissions (Disk Utility) | Once a week |
| Delete Unnecessary User Accounts (System Preferences) | As necessary |
| Scan for viruses (Intego VirusBarrier X6, ClamXav 2) | Automatic |
| Check all volumes (Disk Utility/ Micromat TechTool Pro) | Once a week |
| Check for the latest drivers for your hardware | Once a month (or after installing new hardware) |
| Delete temporary Internet cache files (Prosoft Engineering Drive Genius 3) | Once a month |
The Terminal app allows you to control your Mac using a command prompt. Why would you want to do that? Well, perhaps because you’re used to working on a command line in a Unix-based system and prefer to work that way. Terminal is a Mac command line interface. There are several advantages to using Terminal to accomplish some tasks — it’s usually quicker, for example. In order to use it, however, you’ll need to get to grips with its basic commands and functions. Once you’ve done that, you can dig deeper and learn more commands and use your Mac’s command prompt for more complex, as well as some fun, tasks.
Curated Mac apps that keep your Mac’s performance under control. Avoid Terminal commands, avoid trouble.
Download FreeHow to open Terminal on Mac
The Terminal app is in the Utilities folder in Applications. To open it, either open your Applications folder, then open Utilities and double-click on Terminal, or press Command - spacebar to launch Spotlight and type 'Terminal,' then double-click the search result.
You’ll see a small window with a white background open on your desktop. In the title bar are your username, the word 'bash' and the dimensions of the window in pixels. Bash stands for 'Bourne again shell'. There are a number of different shells that can run Unix commands, and on the Mac Bash is the one used by Terminal.
If you want to make the window bigger, click on the bottom right corner and drag it outwards. If you don’t like the black text on a white background, go to the Shell menu, choose New Window and select from the options in the list.
If Terminal feels complicated or you have issues with the set-up, let us tell you right away that there are alternatives. MacPilot allows to get access to over 1,200 macOS features without memorizing any commands. Basically, a third-party Terminal for Mac that acts like Finder.
For Mac monitoring features, try iStat Menus. The app collects data like CPU load, disk activity, network usage, and more — all of which accessible from your menu bar.
Basic Mac commands in Terminal
The quickest way to get to know Terminal and understand how it works is to start using it. But before we do that, it’s worth spending a little time getting to know how commands work. To run a command, you just type it at the cursor and hit Return to execute.
Every command is made up of three elements: the command itself, an argument which tells the command what resource it should operate on, and an option that modifies the output. So, for example, to move a file from one folder to another on your Mac, you’d use the move command 'mv' and then type the location of the file you want to move, including the file name and the location where you want to move it to.
Let’s try it.
Type cd ~/Documentsthen and press Return to navigate to your Home folder.
Type lsthen Return (you type Return after every command).
You should now see a list of all the files in your Documents folder — ls is the command for listing files.
To see a list of all the commands available in Terminal, hold down the Escape key and then press y when you see a question asking if you want to see all the possibilities. To see more commands, press Return.
Unix has its own built-in manual. So, to learn more about a command type man [name of command], where 'command' is the name of the command you want find out more about.
Terminal rules
There are a few things you need to bear in mind when you’re typing commands in Terminal, or any other command-line tool. Firstly, every character matters, including spaces. So when you’re copying a command you see here, make sure you include the spaces and that characters are in the correct case.
You can’t use a mouse or trackpad in Terminal, but you can navigate using the arrow keys. If you want to re-run a command, tap the up arrow key until you reach it, then press Return. To interrupt a command that’s already running, type Control-C.
Commands are always executed in the current location. So, if you don’t specify a location in the command, it will run wherever you last moved to or where the last command was run. Use the cdcommand, followed by a directory path, like in Step 1 above, to specify the folder where you want a command to run.
There is another way to specify a location: go to the Finder, navigate to the file or folder you want and drag it onto the Terminal window, with the cursor at the point where you would have typed the path.
Here’s another example. This time, we’ll create a new folder inside your Documents directory and call it 'TerminalTest.'
Open a Finder window and navigate to your Documents folder.
Type cd and drag the Documents folder onto the Terminal window.
Now, type mkdir 'TerminalTest'
Go back to the Finder, open Text Edit and create a new file called 'TerminalTestFile.rtf'. Now save it to the TerminalTest folder in your Documents folder.
In the Terminal window, type cd ~/Documents/TerminalTest then Return. Now type lsand you should see 'TerminalTestFile' listed.
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To change the name of the file, type this, pressing Return after every step:
cd~/Documents/Terminal Test
mv TerminalTestFile TerminalTestFile2.rtf
That will change the name of the file to 'TerminalTestFile2'. You can, of course, use any name you like. The mv command means 'move' and you can also use it to move files from one directory to another. In that case, you’d keep the file names the same, but specify another directory before typing the the second instance of the name, like this:
mv ~/Documents/TerminalTest TerminalTestFile.rtf ~/Documents/TerminalTest2 TerminalTestFile.rtf
More advanced Terminal commands
Terminal can be used for all sorts of different tasks. Some of them can be performed in the Finder, but are quicker in Terminal. Others access deep-rooted parts of macOS that aren’t accessible from the Finder without specialist applications. Here are a few examples.
Copy files from one folder to another
In a Terminal window, type ditto [folder 1] [folder 1] where 'folder 1' is the folder that hosts the files and 'folder 2' is the folder you want to move them to.
To see the files being copied in the Terminal window, type -v after the command.
Download files from the internet
You’ll need the URL of the file you want to download in order to use Terminal for this.
cd ~/Downloads/
curl -O [URL of file you want to download]
If you want to download the file to a directory other than your Downloads folder, replace ~/Downloads/ with the path to that folder, or drag it onto the Terminal window after you type the cd command.
Change the default location for screenshots
If you don’t want macOS to save screenshots to your Desktop when you press Command-Shift-3, you can change the default location in Terminal
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location [path to folder where you want screenshots to be saved]
Hit Return
killall SystemUIServer
Hit Return
Change the default file type for screenshots
By default, macOS saves screenshots as .png files. To change that to .jpg, do this:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type JPG
Press Return
killall SystemUIServer
Press Return
Delete all files in a folder
Command Prompt For Mac Os X
The command used to delete, or remove, files in Terminal is rm. So, for example, if you wanted to remove a file in your Documents folder named 'oldfile.rtf' you’d use cd ~/Documents to go to your Documents folder then to delete the file. As it stands, that will delete the file without further intervention from you. If you want to confirm the file to be deleted, use -i as in rm -i oldfile.rtf
To delete all the files and sub-folders in a directory named 'oldfolder', the command is rm -R oldfolder and to confirm each file should be deleted, rm -iR oldfolder
Just because you can use Terminal to delete files on your Mac, doesn’t mean you should. It’s a relatively blunt instrument, deleting only those files and folders you specify.
Another way to free up space
If your goal in removing files or folders is to free up space on your Mac, or to remove junk files that are causing your Mac to run slowly, it’s far better to use an app designed for the purpose. CleanMyMac X is one such app.
It will scan your Mac for files and recommend which ones you can delete safely, as well as telling you how much space you’ll save. And once you’ve decided which files to delete, you can get rid of them in a click. You can download CleanMyMac here.
As you can see, while Terminal may look scary and seem like it’s difficult to use, it really isn’t. The key is learning a few commands, such as those we’ve outlined above, and getting to know the syntax for those commands.
However, you should be careful when using Terminal, it’s a powerful tool that has deep access to your Mac’s system files. Check commands by googling them if you’re not sure what they do. And if you need to delete files to save space, use an app like CleanMyMac X to do it. It’s much safer!
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