Alt On Macbook Pro
As a.Net Developer, I need my MacBook Pro to run Windows. I did so using Boot Camp (which was okay, but my mouse wouldn’t scroll) In Windows I use alt+tab a lot. But the cmd and alt keys are not in the right place (from a Windows keyboard perspective).
If you’ve used Windows you know that Ctrl + Alt + Delete—now “Ctrl + Shift + Delete“—is what you do when things aren’t going as expected. Like when you go to launch a program and you get a never-ending loading bar. Or when you’re browsing a webpage and the entire browser locks up. Or when nothing works right because you’re using a Windows PC and not a Mac.
But truth be told, even our shiny iMacs and our unibody MacBooks experience some not-so-smooth sailing. On a Windows PC you press three magic buttons to access the Task Manager. Here you can view running applications and processes and end them. But where are the three magic buttons on a Mac?
MacBook Pro 13' Retina Display Late 2012. 2.5 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz) with 3 MB shared L3 cache. Shift-Alt/Option-K; A check mark or tick. This is a handy one - the V almost looks like a tick, add an Option/Alt and that's what you get. Option/Alt-V = √ Other keys.
How to Ctrl Alt Delete on Mac
Turns out they are there—three magic buttons just like Windows. Command + Option (Alt) + Esc.
Pressing these three buttons simultaneously opens the “Force Quit Applications” window. Here you’ll see all your running applications and a button that says “Force Quit.”
Simply select the application(s) you want to go nuclear on and click “Force Quit.” Your Mac will take care of the rest.
Pro Tip: You can close multiple apps at once. To select a range of apps hold shift and click the starting and ending apps in the list. To select individual apps, hold command and select the apps you want to close. Then just click “Force Quit.”
Task Manager for Mac
Of course Windows also lets you view running processes in the Task Manager. What about Mac? Because Mac is Unix-based you could fire up the Terminal app. Or you could save yourself some work and open the Activity Monitor app.
Activity Monitor is a fantastic tool. You can view which processes are taking up the most memory, the most processing power, and even the most energy. You can also view disk and network statistics. The bottom of the window even provides a visual representation of the numbers.
If you ever hear your fan running faster than normal—or notice lag within your apps—Activity Monitor can help you identify which apps are hogging resources; and, even shut them down as needed. Just remember to be careful when closing processes and applications. Especially if you’re not sure what they do.
Click the headings to sort processes. When you want to end a process, you can use the force quit icon in the top-left of the window (it looks like a stop sign with an “x” in it). Just select the process you want to end and click that force quit icon.
Of course there’s always more than one way to bake a cake. In addition to Activity Monitor and the Force Quit Applications menu, you can also click and hold a non-responsive app in the dock and choose “Force Quit” from the contextual menu.
Ctrl-Alt Delete: An Origin Story
Many people think Ctrl-Alt-Delete started with Windows. Truth is it didn’t. Bill Gates adopted the shortcut from IBM. Early IBM computers utilized the keyboard shortcut to soft reboot devices. That being said, Gates has said it was a mistake and that he would’ve preferred a single button. Of course the rest of us probably just dream of a day where we don’t have to use it all.
Happy Easter
While pressing Ctrl + Alt (Option) + Delete on a Mac doesn’t do anything, you can use it in the macOS server login screen. Performing the command will present you with an Easter egg which reads “This is not DOS” before restarting the computer.
Other “Windows Shortcuts” on Mac
Here are a few other commands you might want to use that translate a little differently on macOS.
Formatting: Bold, Italic, Underline (Ctrl + B, I, or U)
Make a statement. Whether you’re using Pages or writing a quick email. Generally copying and pasting is pretty straight forward.
Command + B for bold, Command + I for italic, or Command + U for underline.
In-Browser Zoom (Ctrl + “-“ or “+”)
In Web browsers and some other applications you can zoom by holding Command and pressing either the plus (+) key to zoom in or the minus (-) key to zoom out.
In many apps—if you have a trackpad or Magic Mouse—you can use pinch-to-zoom to adjust the zoom. Usually Command + 0 will reset the zoom level.
Undo (Ctrl + Z)
Sometimes you just need to take back your last move. Many applications on Mac allow you to undo a command by pressing Command + Z.
You may even be able to “redo” your last move by pressing Command + Shift + Z.
Copy, Cut, and Paste (Ctrl + C, X, or V)
Copying and pasting is a way of life for most people. It’s not so different on Mac. Just substitute the Command key where you see Ctrl.
Find (Ctrl + F) and Print (Ctrl + P)
Pretty much substituting any Ctrl with Command will work for most shortcuts. Command + F will let you search for words in many apps and browsers. And Command + P lets you print the current page if applicable.
Final Thoughts
You’re sure to be more efficient if you can keep your Mac running smoothly and if you use shortcuts to improve your productivity.
Keep in mind, Command + Alt + Esc shouldn’t be used as a magic fix for all of your macOS problems. If you’re constantly having issues with your Mac, you may want to take a deeper look under the hood or speak with an Apple Certified Technician.
You can use Activity Monitor to help you see which apps are hogging resources and shut them down; and, if they’re apps that shouldn’t be there you may want to try removing them from your device.
As always, be careful you don’t remove system apps or other integral programs. Another way to avoid performance issues is to steer clear of malicious apps that disguise themselves as antivirus software.
Happy Ctrl + Alt + Delete-ing! Let us know in the comments—or on social media—what your favorite macOS shortcuts are.
This is the ultimate guide for working with MacBook keyboards, including accessing special functions, characters, accents, and using keyboard shortcuts in Mac OS system. Click on the list below to jump to an appropriate section.
MacBook Keyboard Diagram / Map
MacBook keyboard has few distinctive sections: Function keys (in light blue), which provides access to various functions in MacBook itself or Mac OS system. By combining them with the FN key, you'll get access to F1 - F12 keys, which can be associated with particular application features (useful in Photoshop for example).
The second section is the modifier keys (in light yellow). Shift allows to type uppercase letters and other additional characters. Command and Alt/Option are used in keyboard shortcuts, as well as the Control key, which is used almost exclusively by Mac OS X and Apple programs.
Return and left Shift has two variants, one used in the US and Eastern Asia (horizontal Return and long Shift), and second, used in Europe, Middle East and Africa (vertical Return and short left Shift). On the diagram, this is shown by dashed lines. Of course, MacBook keyboards have lots of localizations, the most common - US English - is shown above. If you're unsure about the localization you have, go and check it with this guide.
MacBook Air 11' has slightly different keyboard, with smaller top and bottom row keys to accommodate smaller laptop size. Newest MacBooks Pro with TouchBar don't have upper F keys row, instead, they have a touchscreen which changes displayed options based on context.
MacBook Keyboard Symbols Chart
| Symbol | Meaning | Notes |
| Screen brightness down | ||
| Screen brightness up | ||
| Launches Mission Control | Icon available on MacBooks Unibody | |
| Launches Mission Control | Icon available on MacBooks pre-unibody | |
| Launches Dashboard | Icon available on MacBooks Unibody | |
| Launches Dashboard | Icon available on MacBooks pre-unibody | |
| Keyboard backlight down | ||
| Keyboard backlight up | ||
| Rewind | ||
| Play / Pause | ||
| Fast Forward | ||
| Sound: mute | ||
| Sound: volume down | ||
| Sound: volume up | ||
| Eject | Available on MacBooks with CD/DVD drive | |
| Power | Available on MacBooks without CD/DVD drive | |
| Command | On MacBooks 1st generation this is replaced by Apple logo | |
| Alt / Option | Available on European/ISO keyboard layouts | |
| Tab | Available on European/ISO keyboard layouts | |
| Backspace | Available on European/ISO keyboard layouts | |
| Shift | Available on European/ISO keyboard layouts | |
| Caps Lock | Available on European/ISO keyboard layouts | |
| Return | Available on European/ISO keyboard layouts | |
| Enter | Available on European/ISO keyboard layouts, accessed with FN key | |
| Delete | Not on MacBooks, but worth knowing | |
| Clear | Not on MacBooks, but worth knowing | |
| Home | Not on MacBooks, but worth knowing. Can be substituted by CMD + up arrow shortcut. | |
| End | Not on MacBooks, but worth knowing. Can be substituted by CMD + down arrow shortcut. | |
| Page Up | Not on MacBooks, but worth knowing | |
| Page Down | Not on MacBooks, but worth knowing | |
| Arrows | Used to move things or pointer |
MacBook Keyboard Special Characters and Accents Map
Alt On Mac Keyboard
If you want to type special characters or accents, change your keyboard language to US International PC (thanks, Steve!) and use the map below to get them. You can also check out our solution to the two languages on one keyboard problem.
Where is the Print Screen Button?
Unlike PC keyboard, there is no Print Screen key on MacBook keyboard. This functionality is accessed by keyboard shortcuts and - on Mac - you have greater flexibility:
- Command + Shift + 3 - captures entire screen;
- Command + Shift + 4 - captures selected region. Your cursor turns to crosshair and by clicking and dragging you can specify which area you want to capture;
- Command + Shift + 4 + Space - captures selected window. First press the shortcut from above, then - when you have crosshair - hit Space. The cursor will turn to the camera and the active window will have a blue overlay. Click on it to get it captured.
In some apps, like Photoshop, you need to add Control into the mix, to paste the screenshot into the app.
MacBook Keyboard Tricks
There's a lot you can do in Mac OS by using the keyboard only. Here's a list of highly useful and not-so-useful keyboard shortcuts:
| Shortcut | Action |
| Command + W | Quickly closes the active window in Safari or any other browser. Works also with many applications, like Pages, Numbers, Photoshop. Great way to quickly close something when your boss is coming around :) |
| Command + H | Hides the active application. Useful for hiding something quickly ;) |
| Option + Shift + F11/F12 | Makes tiny changes in volume level instead of standard jumps. |
| Control + Option + Command + 8 | Reverses colors on the screen. |
| 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | When watching YouTube video, this will advance you to 10%, 20%, 30%... of movie completion. |
| Option + Delete | Deletes whole word in text editors |
| Control + Command + V | Pastes copied text without formatting. Useful when copying something from Pages and pasting into eg. Wordpress :) |
| Control + Command + Option + Eject/Shutdown | Shuts down the MacBook without the need to provide username and password. |
| Command + Shift + A | Opens the Applications folder in Finder. |
| Command + Shift + U | Opens the Utilities folder in Finder. |
| Command + Shift + D | Opens the Desktop folder in Finder. |
| Command + Shift + I | When in Safari, this shortcut copies the URL, opens Mail app and creates a new email with the copied URL pasted as a link in a message. |
| Command + Option + M | Minimizes all open windows, showing Desktop. |
| Command + Option + Shift + Esc | Hold for 3 seconds to force quit any app. |
| Command + Tab | Cycle through opened apps from left to right. |
| Command + Shift + Tab | Cycle through opened apps from right to left. |
| Command + ` | Cycles through active app windows. |
| Command + Q | Quit active app. |
| Command + T | Opens a new tab in Finder. Opens a new tab in a web browser. |
| Command + N | Creates new Finder window. |
| Command + Shift + N | Creates new folder in Finder. |
| Command + Space | Launches Spotlight. |
| Command + Option + Space | Switches to next keyboard language (if you have more than one). |
| Command + Control + Space | In some websites and apps this will give you the emoji keyboard. |
| Command + Delete | Sends selected files/folders to trash. |
| Fn + Delete | Deletes text from left to right. |
| F10 + Shutdown | Hold while launching MacBook to get a silent start. |
| Command + up arrow/down arrow | Jump to the beginning or end of a page. This is equivalent to PC's Home and End keys. |
| Command + up arrow + L | Highlights the address bar in a web browser. |
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