5 Magic Keyboard Shortcuts You Need to Know

Have you just recently bought a Mac? It’s not surprising why you’d choose one. Perhaps you’ve opted for the new MacBook Pro 16 inch. Or maybe you want a thinner, less expensive model such as the MacBook Air.

They are great machines that enable you to be more productive. But if you’ve recently bought a new Mac you’re probably now wondering about how to use it and are thinking about what magic keyboard shortcuts are available. Especially since the latest MacBook Pro comes with a new keyboard to use.

Here’s everything you need to know about MacBook shortcuts and the Mac hotkey.

Command + F – Search Function

If you are searching for a document, a photo or an application in your Mac system sometimes it can be hard to know where to look.

The Mac does have a color-coding system included with it called tags and the folder system is quite intuitive. However, sometimes you want to find a document fast. You don’t want to have to sift through endless folders or tasks.

You can use Siri by simply asking it to find the name of your document but Siri is not always reliable.

Pressing command+ f on the desktop page will bring up the Mac search shortcut and allow you to search with your keyboard for the document you want.

Remember you can search for files in external drives as well. But to connect these with a new Mac that uses USB-C you’ll need to purchase a MacBook docking station to help you on your way.

Searching Within Documents

One of the great features of the search function is not only that you can search for documents but that you can search within documents and other programs as well.

Let’s say you are working on a Ph.D. thesis on your Mac or a novel and you’ve discovered that you’ve spelled a word incorrectly. Don’t waste time looking for each instance of the word. Instead, use command+ f to bring up every time the word is mentioned.

You can use the match case as well if you are looking for a version of the word or sentence, perhaps only when something occurs in the middle of the sentence and not at the start.

You can also use the command+ f search function to search web pages. This is handy if you are reading a long essay or article and lose your page or you are looking for a specific reference.

Command + Shift + V – Paste With Correct Formating

One of the most annoying things about copying and pasting a phrase from a website is that when it appears in your document it usually arrives with the formatting from the website. It doesn’t fit into your document.

Imagine that the website you are reading from the text is size 24 comic sans and you want to insert it into your formal Word document as a quote. Pasting it in, directly, will not only look out of place if you’ve been writing in size 12 Times New Roman, but it could also mess up the formatting.

The size of the font could push the content into new pages and also mess up the alignment of any pictures you’ve placed into the document.

One way around this is to paste the text without its previous formatting so that it matches the style and format of your document.

To do this you can copy as you usually would by either clicking ‘cut’ via the trackpad or using the shortcut command+ x. Then instead of using the usual command+ v, use command+ shift+ v., This will ensure your formats match when you paste into a new document.

Command + Shift + 3 – Screenshot

Another common feature you need to take advantage of when using a Mac is the screenshot feature.

Maybe we want to take a screenshot of a conversation with a friend we had on Facebook to share with another friend. Or perhaps we want to share an issue or bug we are having with our Mac to share with an expert who can help resolve the problem.

Taking a screenshot is an invaluable tool that you should try. To do this try using command+ shift+ 3. This shortcut will take a screenshot of the entire screen. You can always crop this later if you so wish.

Command+ Shift+ 4

But what if you only want to take a screenshot of a particular part of your screen rather than the whole screen?

Perhaps you want to highlight a particular tweet on Twitter or a singular Facebook Page and you don’t want those you send it to see your entire Facebook feed. 

Then there is a way to do that. Use the command+shift function but instead of pressing 3 this time hit 4. A selector icon will come up and you will be able to drag and select the parts of your screen you want screenshotting.

There Are Many Magic Keyboard Shortcuts To Learn

If you have bought a new MacBook then you will want to take advantage of all the features that are available to you. But one of the reasons for buying a Mac is to be able to get stuff done.

This is where MacBook shortcuts come in handy. You can try the Mac search shortcut if you want to find a specific document and you can even use this function to search within documents. This is great if you’ve written a long and complex document.

If you want to copy and paste whilst ensuring the formatting remains intact then use the shortcut command+shift+v.

If you are interested in reading more about magic keyboard shortcuts or the search shortcut then be sure to check out the rest of our site for more.