MacBook keyboard and trackpad

Are you new to Mac? Here are some quick tips and tricks on navigating your Mac and using macOS.

The keyboard

Command (⌘) is equivalent to Ctrl on Windows and Linux. If you used Ctrl to do something in Windows, it’s typically replaced with an equivalent using Command.

You may see some icons used for Control, Option, and Command instead of the words themselves. The icons for your reference are Control (⌃), Option (⌥) and Command (⌘).

Basic key combinations

• ⌘ + X Cut
• ⌘ + C Copy
• ⌘ + V Paste
• Shift + ⌥ + ⌘ + V Paste and match style
• ⌘ + P Print
• ⌘ + S Save
• ⌘ + Q Quit or exit

Advanced key combinations

• ⌘ + Space Open Spotlight Search
• ⌘ + Tab Open Application Switcher
• ⌘ + ⌃ + Q Open Application Switcher

The trackpad

Most people are issued a MacBook and will have access to the trackpad. The trackpad on Macs supports multi-touch gestures like your phone.

• One finger: move around
• Two fingers: scroll
• Tap with one finger: click
• Tap with two fingers: right-click
• Pinch in/out: zoom in/out
• Swipe up with three fingers: open Mission Control (shows all open apps)
• Swipe left/right with three fingers: switch desktops